The Parish of St Andrew’s Haughton le Skerne

SAFEGUARDING POLICY

PROMOTING A SAFER CHURCH

The following Parish Safeguarding Policy was adopted  at the Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting held on 19^th March 2019.
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.

The Parish will:

• Create a safe and caring place for all.
• Have a named Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) to work with the incumbent and the PCC to implement policy and procedures.
• Safely recruit, train and support all those with any responsibility for children, young people and adults to have the confidence and skills to recognise and respond to abuse.
• Ensure that there is appropriate insurance cover for all activities involving children and adults undertaken in the name of the parish.
• Display in church premises and on the Parish website the details of who to contact if there are safeguarding concerns or support needs.
• Listen to and take seriously all those who disclose abuse.
• Take steps to protect children and adults when a safeguarding concern of any kind arises, following House of Bishops guidance, including notifying the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (DSA) and statutory agencies immediately.
• Offer support to victims/survivors of abuse regardless of the type of abuse, when or where it occurred.
• Care for and monitor any member of the church community who may pose a risk to children and adults whilst maintaining appropriate confidentiality and the safety of all parties.
• Ensure that health and safety policy, procedures and risk assessments are in place and that these are reviewed annually.
• Review the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy, Procedures and Practices at least annually.

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

This church appoints Mrs Gillian Jones as  the Parish Safeguarding Officer she can be contacted on 01325 468142

Incumbent The Revd Mark East

Churchwardens Andy Teague, Denise Hope, Moyra Cooper, Carole Ainslie and Claire Kay?

Date: 19^th March 2019

Parish of St Andrew’s Church, Haughton le Skerne

Policy for Responding to Domestic Abuse

All forms of domestic abuse are wrong and must stop. We are committed to promoting and supporting environments which:

• ensure that all people feel welcomed, respected and safe from abuse;
• protect those vulnerable to domestic abuse from actual or potential harm;
• recognise equality amongst people and within relationships;
• enable and encourage concerns to be raised and responded to appropriately and consistently.

We recognise that:

• all forms of domestic abuse cause damage to the survivor and express an imbalance of power in the relationship;
• all survivors (regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity) have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse;
• domestic abuse can occur in all communities;
• domestic abuse may be a single incident, but is usually a systematic, repeated pattern which escalates in severity and frequency;
• domestic abuse, if witnessed or overheard by a child, is a form of abuse by the perpetrator of the abusive behaviour;
• working in partnership with children, adults and other agencies is essential in promoting the welfare of any child or adult suffering abuse.

We will endeavour to respond to domestic abuse by:

In all our activities –

• valuing, listening to and respecting both survivors and alleged or known perpetrators of domestic abuse.

In our publicity –

• raising awareness about other agencies, support services, resources and expertise, through providing information in public and women-only areas of relevance to survivors, children and alleged or known perpetrators of domestic abuse.

When concerns are raised –

• ensuring that those who have experienced abuse can find safety and informed help;
• working with the appropriate statutory bodies during an investigation into domestic abuse, including when allegations are made against a member of the church community.

In our care –

• ensuring that informed and appropriate pastoral care is offered to any child, young person or adult who has suffered abuse;
• identifying and outlining the appropriate relationship of those with pastoral care responsibilities with both survivors and alleged or known perpetrators of domestic abuse.

If you have any concerns or need to talk to anyone please contact our Safeguarding Office,  Gillian Jones 01325 468142

Other Useful Contacts

• The Durham Diocesan Safeguarding Officer is Beth Miller, and she can be contacted on 07968 034075.
• Police Call 101 or 999 in an emergency

Local Contacts - Adult and Children’s Social Care:

• Children Contact the Children’s Access Point on 01325 406222 or Emergency Duty Team on 01642 524552.
• Adult Contact the First Point of Contact Team on 01325 406111 or the Emergency Duty Team on 01642 524552.

 Helplines for further support

• NSPCC - For adults concerned about a child 0808 800 5000 
• ChildLine - For children and young people on 0800 1111 
• Action on Elder Abuse Helpline - 0808 808 8141 
• 24-hour National Domestic Violence Helpline - 0808 2000 247
• NAPAC – Offer support and advice to adult survivors of childhood abuse 0808 801 0331
• Stop It Now – Preventing child sexual abuse 0808 1000 900 Cruse
• Bereavement helpline 0808 808 1677

Web Link to Durham Diocese Safeguarding Information:

• https://durhamdiocese.org/safeguarding-abuse-concerns/

Monthly Information Leaflets

Every month we publish three information leaflets which are distributed freely in church

• A monthly information leaflet - named "Little Net", which gives information about services, events in the coming month and other items of interest.
• A monthly information sheet which gives more specific information about forthcoming services and a calendar of events.
• A monthly prayer leaflet suggesting prayer items related to the church for each day of the month.

Please collect these from church, or if you can't get along contact the office and ask for one.

A page of information about some of the people at St. Andrew's. Any of these people can be contacted through the Church Office, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or phone 01325 468142 during a weekday morning. There are many other people who give their time and talents unstintingly for the work of St. Andrew's. If you need a contact for a particular aspect of the church's work please contact the Office.

Use these links to fetch interactive Google maps of Haughton Le Skerne Village

• St. Andrew's Church
• Hall & Office

Getting to St. Andrew's by public transport

• The no.9 bus from the Town centre to Springfield stops outside the church
• The no.10 bus from the Town centre to Whinfield stops about 200 yards away on Haughton Green.

Telephone

Church Office (Weekday mornings): 01325 468142.
The Rev. Mark East: 01325 492993.

Postal address

St Andrew's Church Office,
Haughton Green,
Darlington.
DL1 2DD.

St. Andrew's relies on the generosity of many supporters to be able to maintain it's life and work which costs in the region of £110,000 a year.

This page explains some of the ways that can be used to contribute to the church.

• Gifts can be either one off, or part of the regular "Freewill Offering" scheme organised by the church.
• You can give for designated special purposes if you have an interest in say the preservation of the building, the Food Bank or outreach of some sort.
• For those who pay income tax, gifts can be "Gift Aided", which enables the church to claim an extra 25% of the value of the gift from the Inland Revenue. Each £100 gift aided gives the church £125; well worth doing.
• For more information about giving please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• The Generous Giving Website gives some helpful notes about how we can enjoy being generous.

Follow this link for information on the church's banking details. It will download a small pdf document.

Ways to give to St. Andrew's

Cash or cheque Please make cheques payable to "St. Andrew's PCC". Send cheques to the church office or place in the church offering plate during a service.

Offering envelopes If you want to make a regular gift the treasurer is able to supply a set of Offering Envelopes which take cash or cheques for regular weekly, monthly or annual giving.

Standing Order The treasurer is able to supply the requisite form for your Bank, or download and print the form with this link - Planned Giving and Gift Aid leaflet

PayPal You can make a gift directly from your PayPal account. Simply follow this link on any internet capable device, enter the amount you want to give and follow the links to your personal PayPal account to authorise the gift. https://paypal.me/standrewshls . We'll receive your gift directly into our church PayPal account.(Note:If the box is clicked saying that the person is receiving goods there's a fee of 20p plus1.4% per transaction. So please don't click that box!)

Gift Aid Please remember if you pay Income Tax and you give by Gift Aid, then you increase the value of your gift by 25%. The form for Gift Aid is incorporated in the Standing Order form. Download it from the link under the Standing Order heading.

Thank you for your generosity. We could not do without continuous loving support.

If our church is to grow spiritually and numerically, it needs to be driven by biblical purposes. So, as a PCC, we asked ourselves "Why do we exist as a church? What is our purpose?"

If we want to build a healthy, strong, and growing church we must spend time laying a solid foundation. We do this by clarifying in the minds of everyone involved exactly why the church exists and what it is supposed to do.

A clear purpose not only defines what we do, it defines what we don't do. Without a purpose statement it is easy to be frustrated by all the distractions around us. Anytime someone suggests an activity or an event or a new ministry, we should simply ask, "Will this fulfil one of our purposes?" If it does, we do it. If it doesn't, we don't do it!

We believe that prayer to God is vitally important, both for the individual and the church. We seek to promote heartfelt prayer throughout the church, and to that end seek to provide resources for it. Apart from public intercessory prayer in our services these include the following.

Monthly Prayer Leaflet

Each month we produce a printed prayer leaflet which includes a rota for praying day by day for every street in the parish, and for families listed in our records. It also includes names of the bereaved, the sick, and the recently baptised.

Prayer Chain

We run a "Prayer Chain", that is a list of people linked together by telephone. Urgent prayer requests can be given to anyone in the chain, who will offer prayer as well as passing the request to the next person in the chain until it's gone all round the chain.

Prayer First

Prayer First takes place on the first Sunday of the month at 6:30pm. It's an informal gathering for prayer in the church or hall, and usually focuses on one thing, such as the persecuted church, or other topical event.

Healing Service

Two or three times a year we hold a service of Prayer and Laying on of Hands for the sick. This takes place at 6:30pm on a Sunday evening, and an extended time is offered to pray for individuals as needed.

Memorial Service

Twice a year we run a "Memorial Service" to which people who are bereaved are invited, and remember those families to whom the church has recently ministered.

Discipeship Group Prayer

We encourage people to support and pray for each other in the various Discipleship Groups which usually meet week by week in term time.

St Andrew's is part of the family of the Church of England, based in Haughton-le-Skerne. Haughton is an ancient village, which is now part of Darlington, a town with an exciting and vibrant life in the north east of England.

As a lively and welcoming Anglican Church we serve a number of communities including Haughton village, Whinfield, Red Hall and Springfield, and also welcome folks from further afield.

Our worship brings together contemporary music and the treasures of previous generations. We thoughtfully explore how the Bible's wisdom can address the challenges of our time. We have a variety of Sunday services, from traditional to "Messy Church" to suit the different people within the church. When a Sunday falls on the 5th Sunday of the month we encourage folks to stay on for a shared lunch which may be cooked or sometimes "bring & share"

Alongside the church services our vision is to serve the local community through other means. We are a hub for the Darlington Food Network. We run "Boathouse", a community cafe every Wednesday morning in the church hall. We host a meeting point for the Darlington Credit Union in the Boathouse Cafe. The church hall is available for hire for personal and community events. You can check the availablity of the hall with our online calendar.

Social events take place from time to time. Recent events include a Harvest Barn Dance, a Christmas Fayre, a Burns Supper and an Agape meal (normally on Maundy Thursday in Holy Week). Advance notice of these are published in monthly pewsheets and the "Latest News" section of this website.

As a church we are very much involved in servicing Baptisms and Weddings, and there is some useful information on planning your wedding in church here on this site.

There are a wide range of other events during the week including ABC (Adults, Babies and Children) for our youngest members on Monday morning and Wednesday afternoon. Other groups for adults include the monthly events Ladies Guild, Girls Aloud, and MenMeet. We also run a number of home based "Discipleship Groups" for Bible study, fellowship and prayer which usually meet on a weekly schedule.

St.Andrew's Scouts and Guides are affiliated to the church and usually attend a number of "Parade Services" every year.

St.Andrew's Haughton works closely with St.Andrew's, Sadberge. The Vicar and staff team service the spiritual needs of Sadberge Village and should be contacted for all queries about services, baptisms and weddings.

Please contact us for any queries or information about any of our services or other activities. E-mail the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you want to be kept in touch with what's going on you are very welcome to join our FaceBook Group, see the link at the bottom of the page.