Safeguarding

Promoting a Safer Church

Our safeguarding policy

We take the care of children and vulnerable adults very seriously and work hard to ensure that we operate in line with current best practice, as recommended by the Diocese of London and the Church of England.

We believe the care and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are involved in church activities is the responsibility of the whole Church. Everyone who participates in the life of the Church has a role to play in promoting a Safer Church for all.

We commit to the following:
• We accept and endorse the principles of ‘Safeguarding in the Diocese of London’.
• We commit ourselves to nurture, protect and safeguard all our members, particularly children, young people and adults at risk.
• We recognise that safeguarding i s the responsibility of the whole church community.
• We undertake to exercise proper care in the selection, appointment, training and support of those working in both paid and voluntary positions with children, young people or adults at risk, including the use of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) disclosures and making appropriate referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Services.
• We will respond without delay to concerns or allegations that a child, young person or adult at risk may have been harmed, cooperating with the pol ice and social care services in any investigation.
• We will challenge any abuse of power by anyone in a position of trust.
• We will seek to offer pastoral care and support to anyone who has suffered abuse, developing with them appropriate pastoral support.
• We will seek to offer pastoral care and support, including supervision and referral to the proper authorities, to any member of our church community known to have offended against a child, young person or adult at risk.

If you have any concerns, please speak to our safeguarding officer: Barbara Ofori-Boateng.
Contact: safeguarding@stjohnschelsea.org // +44 (0) 7956 418659

Other helpful information:

Diocesan Safeguarding Advisers Telephone: 020 7932 1224 Email: safeguarding@london.anglican.org
Thirtyone:Eight’s 24-hour helpline - 0303 003 1111
Family Lives - 0808 800 222
Childline - 0800 1111

Domestic Abuse Help:

Women’s Aid
- Telephone: 0808 2000 247
- Website: www.womensaid.org.uk
Refuge National Domestic Violence Helpline
- Telephone: 0808 2000 247 - freephone, 24-hour.
- Website: www.refuge.org.uk
National Centre for Domestic Violence - free, fast emergency injunction service. 24 hour
- Telephone: 0800 970 2070
- Website: www.ncdv.org.uk

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

Welcome!

We are a church made up lots of different kinds of people from different backgrounds. We gather together on Sundays and during the week and treat each other as a big family.

You are very welcome to one of our services, whatever your background or beliefs. We all come with all kinds of problems, struggles and doubts. None of us are sorted people, and so we like to call church a hospital for the sick, and not a waiting room for a job interview!

So, we’re just very ordinary people who have been deeply changed by coming to know the God who’s described in the Bible. That God no longer seems unreal nor remote to us, but real and powerful and life-changing. It feels like we’ve been given a dramatic new start through getting to know him. We firmly believe that this is good news for the whole of London and would love people to experience it themselves.

In terms of practicalities, we meet 11am on a Sunday morning.

Finding St John’s can be a little tricky for some as it doesn’t look much like a church building from the outside, and is located on the first floor above a police station (!). You basically go up some steps up from the World’s End Piazza and enter the building through the white doors at the top.
We have a lift available by the stairs for accessibility purposes (we also have disabled toilet).

The service is informal and we sit on chairs around coffee tables in the main church hall. The service includes some singing, prayers and teaching from the front. We also have a short break in the middle. It is normally finished by around 12.30. No one has to participate in anything they don’t want to and everything comes up on a big projector screen at the front. Bibles are supplied.
If you want to, and have time, you can also stay after and eat lunch with everyone. We have food every week.

There is a separate group for kids aged 3-11 so they can go out for some of the service and have fun and child-friendly teaching during the service. Teenagers sit in for the whole service.

We’d love to meet you and are happy to talk through any questions or doubts you have. Come and get some hope in a very troubled world.

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Andy Mason		Darren Nardoni
Vicar		Assistant Minister

Whatever your questions, whatever your burdens, whatever your struggles, you are very welcome here at St John's. We look forward to getting to know you!

Blessings,
Andy and Darren