WELCOME TO ST PAUL'S CHURCH KEWSTOKE


Where the spirit of the Lord is all around you


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The Reverend Gail Thomas is vicar of the Benefice by the Sea – St Paul’s with Wick St Lawrence.

Rev Gail studied at Trinity College, Bristol and was ordained in 2017. She was curate at Yate, near Bristol for four years before moving with her family to our vicarage situated between Kewstoke and Wick St Lawrence.


Contact details -Telephone: 07746050607 Revgailthomas@gmail.com


Mailing address: Kewstoke & Wick St Lawrence, 32 Southdown, Weston-super-Mare BS22 6PE, UK.





Contact Us

Our Vicar

For Church hall bookings -

For Church Hall bookings, please contact:

Sue Crosse - tel 07979188977. Email:kewstokechurchhallbookings@gmail. com














Sue

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Meet the bellringers of St Paul’s

The bellringers of St Paul’s (pictured right) are a friendly team keen to hear from experienced people interested in joining the group, or from those who wish to train to become ringers.

The team perform at the church ahead of the 10am Sunday service and practise every Monday from 7.30 until 9pm. Further sessions are held at the same time every other Friday.The bells are also rung, when required, at weddings and funerals.

Anyone interested in joining the group should contact Alan Castell by email, Kewstoke@bath-wells.org

Churchwarden

Deb low

Tel:01934 629986

Churchwarden

Jennifer Hart

Tel:07884021423

Organist

Mike Tedstone

Tel: 414366

Parish of Kewstoke

SAFEGUARDING POLICY: PROMOTING A SAFER CHURCH

The following policy was agreed at the Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting.

In accordance with the Church of England Safeguarding Policy our church is committed to:

Promoting a safer environment and culture.

Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children, young people and vulnerable adults within the church.

Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation.

Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons.

Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons.

Responding to those that may pose a present risk to others.

Create a safe and caring place for all.

Organisation and Responsibilities:  

The Vicar, church wardens and members of the PCC have a duty of care to ensure the protection of vulnerable people within our Church Community and as such the implementation of and compliance with this Policy.

A Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) will be appointed to support the Vicar and PCC to achieve this and also provide a point of contact for anyone within the church community who wishes to raise a concern or seek advice. The job description of the PSO is detailed in Appendix 2.

Where considered beneficial, the PSO will be supported by the separate appointment of a DBS Administrator and Training Coordinator

All church officers will adhere to safer good working practice and challenge the abuse of power in line with the training they receive.

Each person who works within this church community will agree to abide by this policy and the guidelines established by this church.

Advice and support will be sought from the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) whenever required

Arrangements

Recruitment of Church Officers: The recruitment process for church officers, normally made by the Vicar, will follow that described in the Church of England document: Parish Safeguarding Handbook, Section 5. In particular: All applicants will be required to complete a confidential declaration form
  Identification will be confirmed
  Offers of appointment will be subject to the successful completion of a DBS check

DBS Checks: The Vicar, Readers, Parish Safeguarding Officer and those directly working with children must be subject to an enhanced check with barring information
The Church Wardens and all other members of the Church Council, including the Deanery Synod Representative, Treasurer and Secretary, will be subject to an enhanced check without barring information Requirements in relation to new roles introduced into the Church Community must be determined before the allocation of the role and any necessary DBS check arranged before appointment.  
For any individuals born or who has lived abroad for an extended period, additional information will be sought from the
relevant country.  
DBS checks will be administered by the PSO or DBS Administrator using the service provided by Security Watchdog on behalf of the Diocese as detailed in Appendix 3.  
A copy of the DBS Certificate or the email confirming that the disclosure is clear will be retained 6-months before it is destroyed; the date of the certificate will be recorded in the Church Officers Database as a permanent record and to prompt repeat checks as required
DBS checks will be repeated every 5-years; to reduce the need for the whole process to be repeated, individuals will be encouraged to subscribe to the DBS Update Service  
Any blemished DBS will be referred to the DSA for consideration and advice

Training: All Church Officers will undergo the relevant Safeguarding Training to equip them with the confidence and skills to care for and support vulnerable people and to recognise and respond to signs of abuse
The Vicar, PSO, Church Wardens, and those directly working with Children (eg Sunday Club) will be required to attend the full suite of training
This training will be refreshed every 3-years.

All members of the PCC will be required to attend the Basic-level (Awareness training)  
Relevant training courses provided by the Diocese will be used for this purpose
The PSO or Training Coordinator will ensure that training is organised, completed, recorded and refreshed in line with this policy.

Insurance: Adequate Employers and Public Liability insurance is in place in relation to all church activities involving children, young people and adults.

Social Media: The use of any Social Media church-related activities must be approved in advance by the PCC.
Each “group” will have an identified named person, who must be a church officer, to whom all associated church workers are accountable
The named person will monitor the group by logging on periodically to check the activity
Church and personal profiles/accounts must be separate; no one is permitted to use church accounts for private posts or vice-versa
Parental consent must be sought before:
 Photographs are posted on social media or any other church publication
 Communicating with children via email, telephone, text or other messaging platforms
 Allowing children to connect to Church social media
Any inappropriate material posted through social media must be downloaded to hardcopy and referred to the PSO immediately

Children’s Activities: All church events and activities organised for children will be subject to a full Risk Assessment.
All events/activities will be staffed by a minimum of 2 suitable adults and meet or exceed the minimum staffing ratios defined by the NSPCC and as determined by the Risk Assessment.  
The Risk Assessment will be reviewed following any associated adverse event, if there is reason to believe it is no longer valid or at least annually.
Parents will be asked to complete a Use of Photographs Consent Form for each event to indicate their consent to the use of photographs of their children being used on Social Media and in church publications

Home visits: A Home Visiting Risk Assessment will be carried out before any first visit to someone on church business
This Risk Assessment will be reviewed following any associated adverse event, if there is reason to believe it is no longer valid, if more than 3-months has passed since the last visit or at least annually.

Provision of Information: All church officers will be made aware of the contents of this policy and their associated responsibilities emphasised
A notice will be displayed and replaced as required on the Church Porch Noticeboard detailing:
The Parish Safeguarding Policy Statement
Contact details of Parish Safeguarding Officer and Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor     Advise on action to be taken by anyone concerned that someone may be at risk  
Posters detailing the Childline and Family Lives numbers will also be displayed

Records: All documentation relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, including copies of DBS checks, home visit risk assessments, records of parental consent details of concerns raised and associated investigations will be securely stored electronically by the PSO to ensure ongoing confidentiality

Monitoring and Reporting: Safeguarding will be a regular item on each PCC Agenda when the PSO will make any relevant reports to the PCC
At the APCM, the PCC will report on safeguarding progress and a statement relating to compliance with the duty to have “due regard” to the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy and Practice Guidance

Concerns and Allegations: Concerns or allegations should normally be made to the PSO; any other church officer being made aware of someone who may be at risk or an allegation against an individual must immediately consult with the PSO (or where not available, the Vicar); if there is an indication of immediate danger, the police must be called via 999 immediately
All concerns or allegations must be reported by the PSO to the DSA within 24-hours of the concern arising The management of any concerns or allegations against Church Officers will be deferred to the DSA
Other concerns or allegations will be managed in line with the advice provided by the DSA

Ongoing Support: Pastoral Care for victims and survivors of abuse will normally coordinated by the DSA with the involvement of the Vicar and PSO
If an individual wishing to worship in the church is identified as being a potential risk to others, the DSA will be notified within 24-hours of obtaining this knowledge for advice and support with managing the associated risk while continuing to welcome that individual.

Whistleblowing: Church officers wishing to pass on information that they believe to be in the public interest concerning a safeguarding wrongdoing must report that information to the DSA

Vacancy Periods: During any vacancy period, all Safeguarding information will be securely held by the PSO before passing to the new Vicar.





Benefice administrator: please contact by email – beneficebytheseaparishoffice@gmail.com