1. SAFEGUARDING POLICY

At Hope Church Borders we believe that every person has a value and dignity as God’s creation, made in His image and likeness. As such we are fully committed to the safeguarding the welfare of everyone in our care.

Trustees, staff, volunteers, and the church community will work together to adopt and follow good working practices in order to protect children, young people and adults from harm and take all reasonable steps to provide a safe environment that promotes and supports the wellbeing of children, young people and adults.

We believe every child and adult should be valued, safe and happy. We want to make sure that children and adults we have contact with know this and are empowered to tell us if they are suffering harm. All children, young people and adults have the right to be treated with respect, to be listened to and to be protected from all forms of abuse and neglect.

We all have a responsibility to help prevent harm, abuse and neglect. We expect everyone working with children, young people or adults to be able to recognise signs of potential abuse and neglect, respond appropriately to the individual and report concerns through the appropriate channels.

For the purposes of this policy the protection of children and young people includes unborn babies, children and young people under the age of 18 years.

We understand that adults are autonomous and able to make choices about how to manage risk in their lives. However, recognise that some adults are unable to safeguard their own interests, and are at risk of harm because they are affected by disability, mental disorder, illness or physical or mental infirmity and are more vulnerable to harm than those who are not so affected.

We recognise that we all have a responsibility in supporting the care and protection of adults who may be at risk of harm and are unable to safeguard themselves, to help prevent the physical, sexual, psychological, financial and discriminatory abuse and neglect of these adults and to report any such abuse that we discover or suspect.

We recognise the personal dignity and rights of adults and will ensure all our policies and procedures reflect this.

We are alert to the possibility that a person could attend Hope Church Borders who may pose a risk to children or adults who are unable to safeguard themselves and will undertake to exercise proper care in the appointment and selection of all those who will work with children and adults at risk of harm.

We believe all adults should enjoy and be included in the life of Hope Church Borders, unless they pose a risk to the safety of those we serve.

Throughout the rest of the document Hope Church Borders will be referred to as ‘Hope Church’ and Hope Church Borders Trustees will be referred to as ‘The Leadership’.

2. AIMS OF THE POLICY

This Safeguarding Policy, alongside the related safeguarding Procedures and Safeguarding Guidelines, aim to outline in detail how we will achieve the commitments outlined in the Policy Statement, and what we will do if we believe someone is at risk of harm.

3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1. The Leadership:

As leaders, we recognise our duty to protect and safeguard everyone entrusted to the church’s care, and that we have a collective responsibility for safeguarding, even if certain aspects of the work are delegated to staff and volunteers.

We commit to:

• Having in place policies and procedures that will help make sure that children and vulnerable adults are protected from harm, and that reflect both law and best practice.

• Making sure those policies and procedures are implemented and understood by everyone in Hope Church.

• Having clear lines of responsibility and accountability within Hope Church to deal with any safeguarding issues.

• Providing safe recruitment, supervision, and training for team members.

• Ensuing that staff and volunteers are trained to identify potential harm, know what action to take and are clear about how, when and who to report to.

• Adhering to national and local safeguarding legislation, in addition to international conventions, and keeping up to date with the latest safeguarding legislation and guidance.

• Providing a safe and caring environment while acknowledging the potential for abuse and neglect.

• Respecting the rights of all individuals.

• Maintaining strong connections with statutory care authorities and voluntary agencies.

• Regularly monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the content of this policy. If incidents do occur, reflecting and learning from them

3.2. Staff Team & Team Leaders:

The Staff Team & Team Leaders are paramount in helping to ensure the principal themes of safeguarding are embedded in the culture of the church, encouraging a safe environment so that anyone who has a concern feels able to report it as soon as abuse is identified or suspected.

We commit to:

• Ensuring that these safeguarding policies, procedures and guidelines are fully implemented within our teams / group activities

• Providing support and training for our team members in all required aspects of safeguarding procedure

• Ensuring that our team members have completed all the necessary recruitment and training requirements before they begin working with vulnerable groups. (Or for a short-term supervised time period)

• Ensuring that the individuals we engage with in our teams / group activities are empowered to tell us if they are experiencing harm.

• Establishing a system within our teams for raising concerns about possible abuse and neglect.

• Offering pastoral care and support to those who have experienced abuse.

• Providing information on where to get help and advice in relation to abuse, discrimination, bullying or any other safeguarding matter.

3.3 The Safeguarding Team:

Rachel Pulman - Safeguarding Coordinator

Anna Cressey - Deputy Safeguarding Coordinator

Johan Aitken - Deputy Safeguarding Coordinator

Mike McLeister - Trustee with Safeguarding oversight

The role of the team is to ensure that all reported concerns are appropriately and sensitively managed and promptly acted on. This will include collating and clarifying the details of any reports or concerns and passing this information on to statutory agencies with a legal duty to investigate where required.

The Leadership will support the Safeguarding Coordinator/Deputies in their role primarily through the Trustee with Safeguarding oversight, and will accept that any information they possess will be shared on a strictly ‘need- to-know’ basis.

We commit to:

• Ensuring that Hope Church is as safe as possible for everyone

• Speak for and on behalf of children and adults at risk

• Act independently in reporting concerns and making onward referrals where necessary

• Oversee the implementation of this Safeguarding Policy

3.4 The Hope Church Borders Community:

We firmly believe that safeguarding is a collective responsibility within our Hope Church community and everyone has a responsibility to help prevent the abuse and neglect of children or adults.

As a church we are committed to:

• Valuing and respecting the views of children, young people, and adults.

• Implementing procedures to safeguard them and protect from abuse or neglect.

• Encouraging and supporting parents, guardians, and carers.

• Responding to allegations of misconduct in line with this policy.

• Reporting concerns to The Leadership or to The Safeguarding Team.

• Supporting those affected by abuse and neglect.

A copy of our full Safeguarding Policy, Procedures and Guidelines is available on request.

If you have a concern about someone’s safety at Hope Church, please contact our safeguarding team direct or via the button below.