The Church Leadership [The Council of Elders/Trustees -hereafter referred to as CL] recognizes the importance of its ministry to children and young people and its responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of children and young people entrusted to the church’s care.
As part of its mission, the Church is committed to:

The [CL] recognizes the need to provide a safe and caring environment for children and young people. It also acknowledges that children and young people can be the victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect. The [CL] has therefore adopted the procedures set out in this document (hereafter “the policy”). It also recognizes the need to build constructive links with statutory and voluntary child protection agencies. The policy and attached practice guidelines are based on a model published by the Churchesʹ Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS). The [CL] is committed to on-going child protection training for all children’s workers and will regularly review the operational guidelines attached.
The [CL] also undertakes to follow the principles found within the Abuse of Trust guidance issued by the Home Office and it is therefore, unacceptable for those in a position of trust to engage in any behavior which might allow a sexual relationship to develop for as long as the relationship of trust continues.

Under no circumstances should a church worker carry out their own investigation into the allegation or suspicion of abuse.
The person in receipt of allegations or suspicions of abuse will do the following:

If a child has a physical injury or symptom of neglect, the Coordinators will:

In the event of allegations or suspicions of sexual abuse, the Coordinators will:

The [CL] will ensure all workers will be appointed, trained, supported and supervised in accordance with the principles set out in government guidelines “Safe from Harm” ( HMSO 1993), CCPAS guidance and Church practice guidelines attached.
The same principles will be applied to those appointed to work with vulnerable adults.

The [CL] will ensure that the every children’s’ activities are supervised by two adult parents.

The [CL] is committed to offering pastoral care, working with statutory agencies as appropriate, and support to those attending a church affected by abuse.

When someone attending the church is known to have abused children, the [CL] will supervise the individual concerned and offer pastoral care, but in its commitment to the protection of children, set boundaries for that person which they will be expected to keep.