Safeguarding
We take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously. Safeguarding is a term which is broader than ‘child protection’ and relates to the action taken to promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and protect them from harm. One of the River's Trustees, Graham Burgess, has overall responsibility for safeguarding and he is supported by our Safeguarding Officer, Rachael Odeniyi, and a number of Safeguarding Coordinators across the local churches. If you would like to contact any of them please email safeguarding@riverchurch.org.uk.
The video below refers to Child Protection but we do have policies in place regarding vulnerable adults.
Click the Pledge for Change image to read about our commitment to make change happen
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Safeguarding Policy
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River Churches are committed to the physical, emotional and spiritual well being of all the children in our care and to provide a safe environment for them to thrive.
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The leadership will support the safeguarding coordinators in their work and in any action they may need to take in order to protect children.
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We want all persons working with children in the River Churches to be supported to care for children in a way that promotes the child’s health, well-being and safety.
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We will provide safeguarding training as the need arises for all our workers and volunteers.
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We believe in working closely with Thirtyone:eight (fomerly known as CCPAS) and with the borough of each congregation, in implementing any child protection planning processes.
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We will implement safe recruiting policies to ensure that workers and volunteers are suitable to work with children by following national and local guidance.
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If we discover or suspect a child is suffering harm we will notify Children’s Social Care (formerly Social Services) or the Police so that they can take appropriate action to protect the child.
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We will investigate all allegations that a worker or volunteer may have harmed a child, involving Children’s Social Care and the Police as necessary in line with this document.
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We will review our child protection policy and procedures at least every two years to make sure they are still relevant and effective.