Safeguarding

At St. Mary's we're committed to the well-being of the children and vulnerable adults in our care.

• All of our adult helpers are DBS checked
• We have a designated Safeguarding Officer named Bethany Boddy, tel: 01608 645668, email: safeguarding@stmaryscnorton.com​
• We follow the Diocesan Code of Safer Working Practice and our Safeguarding Policy can be found here.
• We are supported by the Diocesan Safeguarding Team, who can be contacted here.
• Our adult helpers receive Diocesan safeguarding training, and the Training Portal login area can be found here.
• Promoting a Safer Church: House of Bishops Policy Statement can be found here https://tools.parishdashboards.org.uk/storage/app/media/Resources/promoting-a-safer-church.pdf
• The Parish handbook is here: Parish Handbook https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/ParishSafeGuardingHandBookAugust2019Web.pdf
• Our policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders is here.

Reporting Concerns

If our clergy, church wardens, volunteers or any member of the congregation have any safeguarding concerns, these must be immediately reported as follows:

Important contact numbers:

In an emergency: call 999

Parish Safeguarding Officer: Bethany Boddy, 01608 645668, safeguarding@stmaryscnorton.com

Diocesan Safeguarding Officer: Richard Woodley, 07391 868478, richard.woodley@oxford.anglican.org

Vicar: James Kennedy, 01608 646202

Churchwardens: Tim Woolcock/Graham Povey, churchwarden@stmaryscnorton.com

Oxfordshire County Council (Children): Kingfisher Team (sexual exploitation), 01865 309196/ MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Services), 0345 050 7666

Local Authority (Adults): Find info, including how to report, here.

Further help can be found here:

• NSPCC Child Protection Helpline: 0808 800 5000 (lines free and open 24 hours). Phone if you are worried about a child.
• Child-line: 0800 1111 (lines free and open 24 hours). Phone if you are a child or young person and are worried about anything.
• National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247 (lines free and open 24 hours). Phone if you are experiencing domestic abuse.
• Samaritans Helpline: 08457 90 90 90 (open 24 hours). Phone if you feel you are struggling to cope and need someone to talk to.
• Action on Elder Abuse Helpline: 080 8808 8141 (free phone Monday to Friday 9-5pm).