The PCC of St. Andrew's, Gargrave, is wholly committed to ensuring the safety, wellbeing and flourishing of everyone in our church.
We have adopted the Church of England's House of Bishops' Safeguarding Policy 'Promoting a Safer Church' and have appointed Jen Rowlands as its Safeguarding Officer.
In line with the House of Bishops' Policy, we believe that the care and protection of children, young people and adults involved in church activities is the responsibility of everyone who participates in the life of the church, and our commitments include:
- Promoting a safer environment and culture
- Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility for children and vulnerable adults
- Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation
- Caring pastorally for victims and survivors of abuse and others affected
- Caring pastorally for those who are the subjects of concerns or allegations of abuse, and others affected
- Responding to those who may pose a present risk
If you are concerned that someone you know is at risk of, or is being abused, or presents a risk to others, please report the matter to the Local Authority Social Care Services or the Police without delay. Where this matter relates to the services, events, ministries, groups or individuals at St Andrew's church, we also ask you to seek advice from our Safeguarding Officer or the Diocesan Safeguarding Team as soon as possible. The parish safeguarding officer for St Andrew's is Jen Rowlands, and she can be contacted on 07897 657618 should you have any concerns about the welfare of a child, young person or vulnerable adult in connection with St Andrew's Church.
Alternatively, you can contact the vicar, Reverend Andrew Steer, on 01756 749275, or via email at [email protected]
If you would like to speak to someone outside of the parish you can contact the Diocesan Safeguarding team on 0113 353 0257 or via email at [email protected].
The Safeguarding section of the Leeds Diocesan website can be found here: https://www.leeds.anglican.org/safe
The Church of England's policy statement can be viewed here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/PromotingSaferChurchWeb.pdf
Local Authority Social Services can be contacted on 01609 780780 for concerns around a young person or see the North Yorkshire Council Safeguarding web pages for further details: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/safeguarding
Remember, everyone has a right to feel safe, well and respected. If you suspect any form of abuse or risk of abuse, report it.