St Oswald's Church

School Lane, Ashbourne DE61AN

Tel: 01335 343 052

Email the Office

Safeguarding

We are committed to ensuring that our church is a safe place for everyone and take the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults very seriously. We adhere to safeguarding rules laid down by the Church of England and the Diocese of Derby.

Click here for the latest Safeguarding Newsletter.

National Parish Safeguarding Handbook 2018

Download a copy of the Parish Safeguarding Handbook 2018 from the Church of England Website [PDF]

Report a Safeguarding Concern

Protecting children, young people and vulnerable adults is the responsibility of us all, whether they are in the communities in which we live or part of our Christian family. If you have a concern about a child, young person or adult who may be at risk of harm please speak to the parish safeguarding coordinator. The contact details are:

Celia Dickinson (Safeguarding Officer), Tel: 01335 418341  Mobile: 07754 883935 Email: celiadickinson1955@icloud.com

If you have concerns about a member of the clergy or an employee of the church please contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, Hannah Hogg (01332 388678) or one of the Archdeacons. You can also report any concerns to the Police or Social Care. The important thing is that your concerns are shared with someone in a position to help.

For more information on safeguarding please visit the Derby Diocesian web page at

https://derby.anglican.org/en/about-us/safeguarding-information-menu.html

Past Cases Review 2

Protocols and practice guidance for the Church of England’s Past Cases Review 2, (PCR2) have been published and are on the National Church of England Website: churchofengland.org/safeguarding/promoting-safer-church/safeguarding-news-statements/past-cases-review-2

Individual survivors who wish to make representations to the PCR2 process in the Diocese of Derby or who need to come forward with information or make any disclosures regarding church related abuse are encouraged to make direct contact with the Safeguarding Team on 01332 388678.

However, recognising that this may not feel safe for those with experience of abuse from within the church, a dedicated national helpline - 0800 80 20 20 - operated independently from the church, by the NSPCC, was set up in September 2019 and remains available.

Survivors and victims can use the helpline to provide information or to raise concerns regarding abuse within the Church of England context; whether they are reporting issues relating to children, adults or seeking to whistle blow about poor safeguarding practice.

Survivors were not invited to contribute to the 2007-2009 PCR and the Church has wanted to ensure a different, trauma informed approach is taken by PCR2.  Listening to survivor voices has helped to shape how this review will be conducted.

We are now at the beginning of the PCR2 process, this is an independent review to look at all the safeguarding files, historic and current for both adults and children, including all Church officers.

The review aims to ensure that wherever concerns have been raised that the cases have been handled appropriately.

The National Church has given a commitment to undertake a new Past Cases Review (PCR2) which will not only look at all types of harm, both to children and or adults, but will probe much deeper in records or concerns held in parishes, some of which may not have been reported to the DSA. 

Your vicar (or church warden if in Interregnum) will now have received a letter from Bishop Libby outlining what is required to enable this significant piece of work to be completed.

We need to submit the final report to the National Safeguarding team by the end of December 2020.

We will be in touch directly with PSOs to give the detail of the next step, but as mentioned in the last Newsletter it may be helpful if you identify where any parish records are held so that there is less work to do when we ask you for the details.

The timescale for responding to PCR2 in the Diocese of Derby is by 31st March 2020.

 

Further information - Downloads

>> PCR2 Background and Overview [PDF]

>> PCR2 Protocol and Practice Guidance [PDF]

>> PCR2 Full Appendices Practice Guidance [PDF]

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse - update

On Monday, 1 July, IICSA will begin the final series of public hearings into safeguarding within the Church of England.

It has previously considered safeguarding within the Diocese of Chichester and the concerns relating to Bishop Peter Ball. It produced a series of recommendations earlier in June.

July’s hearing will focus on how the Church of England currently manages safeguarding concerns, and we expect IICSA to publish a final report later this year.

The Diocese of Derby is conscious that the work of the public inquiry may trigger memories and be traumatic for some individuals.

Bishop Libby would like to reassure anyone who is affected by the content of the IICSA hearing that the Diocese will take seriously any concerns or information relating to safeguarding within the Church.

Should you wish to talk to someone about this, the safeguarding team is available to work with you directly, or to signpost you to the most appropriate resource, and can be contacted on 01332 388678 or via this link: https://derby.anglican.org/en/safeguarding.html

The team is available if you want to talk about any new or non-recent concern relating to any church officer or person working within the Church.

More information about IICSA can be found at https://www.iicsa.org.uk/ and the hearings are streamed live at https://www.iicsa.org.uk/live

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