WELCOME TO ST PAUL'S CHURCH KEWSTOKE
Where the spirit of the Lord is all around you
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 -
Mailing address: Kewstoke & Wick St Lawrence, 32 Southdown, Weston-
Contact Us
Our Vicar
For Church hall bookings -
For Church Hall bookings, please contact:
Sue Crosse -
Sue
##########################cr ose
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-
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-
DBS checks will be repeated every 5-
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-
All members
of the PCC will be required to attend the Basic-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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