SAFEGUARDING IN OUR CHURCH
It is the responsibility of all of us, clergy or lay to ensure that our church is a safe and welcoming place for everyone and to ensure that children and vulnerable adults are protected.
Safeguarding in the Catholic Church means doing everything we can to protect our children and vulnerable adults; firstly, by having a safe system of recruitment for clergy, religious, employees and all our volunteers; which includes PVG checks, references and safeguarding training; and secondly, by having a reporting system so people can come forward with their concerns, be listened to and have their concerns acted upon. Safeguarding also includes care and support for survivors. The Church in Scotland has a mandatory reporting policy. This means that if an allegation of abuse is received it is immediately reported to the police.
The parish Safeguarding Coordinators are John McCormack (John.mccormack@staned.org.uk) and Clare Kilkerr (clare.kilkerr@staned.org.uk). John and Clare work alongside Canon Paul Kelly to ensure the safe recruitment of volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults in the parish. We also do an annual safeguarding audit to assess the safeguarding work being done in the parish, to identify any weaknesses and opportunities for improvements.
Safeguarding advice and materials are available on the Diocesan website https://archedinburgh.org/administration/#safeguarding and Scottish Catholic Safeguarding service https://www.scsafeguarding.org.uk/
Please contact John or Clare if you have any concerns about a safeguarding matter.
Resources:
Safeguarding in the Catholic Church Leaflet (www.scsafeguarding.org.uk) – https://www.scsafeguarding.org.uk/Portals/0/Safeguarding%20Leaflet.pdf
(This leaflet outlines the Safeguarding efforts of the Catholic Church in Scotland, in terms of people and policies. It also provide advice to anyone who has a concern about, or who receives an allegation of, abuse.)