The Catholic Church is committed to do everything possible to ensure children, young people and vulnerable adults are kept safe from harm.
To meet this responsibility, the Church in England & Wales follows national requirements and has set up specific procedures which each Diocese is expected to follow.
As part of the Archdiocese of Southwark we follow the procedures set out in detail on their website (http://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/safeguarding.html ) and summarised here.
The regular activities involving children which we have in the Parish currently include
The key way in which we ensure that children are kept safe is to make sure that the activities are run by appropriate volunteers who understand their role and responsibilities to the children.
When someone volunteers to work with children in the Parish they are interviewed by the person responsible for the activity and one of the Parish’s safeguarding representatives. After 6 months in the role there will be a discussion to ensure that both sides are happy with the arrangement.
A formal requirement is that before undertaking the role, the volunteer registers with the national Criminal Registration Bureau (CRB).
Safeguarding policy is an important part of the agenda at meetings held by the organisers of Parish activities.
The representatives are Ali Lane and Edward Hutt, who are responsible for making sure that the Parish follows the Archdiocese procedures and guidelines.
Please contact Ali or Edward if you have any concerns about Child Safeguarding:
Ali Lane: 07761 755028
Edward Hutt: 07919 626921
For further information and contact details please see the Parish website http://www.rcgoudhurst.org.uk/index.html and the dedicated notice boards in each of the Parish churches.