AS YOUR Parish Safeguarding Officer I need to bring to your attention a very important subject. A Safe Church, a new comprehensive policy manual, is on display at the back of the church for everyone to access. No, please just read a bit more. I know at the words €˜policy manual’ many of you, well everyone I expect, will have felt the tendency to doze off or certainly feel that you would rather this was left to someone else. In fact the folder is not the usual dry document. It is well illustrated and laid out in an easy to use format. It provides guidance for all parishes in Southwark on the issues of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults which has implications for everyone (not just the Safeguarding Officer) a bit like Health and Safety. I do recommend you have a look if only to flick through a few pages. There will be discussion at the PCC as to whether St John’s will adopt the new policies later in the year and I would welcome your views on the folder. Please email with any comments on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it For those who lead groups, there are templates for every sort of form and the whole manual including these templates can be downloaded from - http://www.southwark.anglican.org/what/diocesan-policies-procedures
Christine Ely