Safeguarding

At St Mary's and St James, we strive to create a welcoming and safe environment for ALL, especially those who are most vulnerable in our society - ALL children, young people and vulnerable adults. We are committed to implementing the Church of England and Diocese of Bristol safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that ALL people can safely access our church activities throughout the week. If you have a disclosure to make, please contact one of our safeguarding team below.

To view our safeguarding policy, click here.

Laura is an experienced secondary school teacher with years of working within safeguarding policies and procedures. She primarily handles any disclosures, safeguarding concerns and updating policies. If anything is worrying you, please contact her.

Email Laura

safeguarding@stmarysstjames.org.uk

Safeguarding Team

Laura De Hondt - Safeguarding Lead

Rob Smith - Vicar

Tamara Snell - Administrator

Rob has over 20 years experience working in a church context with children and vulnerable adults, supporting schools and other Christian organisations. Rob can be contacted about safeguarding concerns and is involved in keeping policies up to date.

Email Rob

vicar@stmarysstjames.org.uk

Tam is our administrator and does a lot for us behind the scenes. Tam handles DBS checks, admin and also works on policies, procedures and updating the website. Her working days are Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Email Tam

admin@stmarysstjames.org.uk

If you are unsure who to contact or want to contact the whole team, email: safeguardingteam@stmarysstjames.org.uk

Other advice and helplines:

If anyone, whether a child or adult, is in immediate danger, you must dial 999.

If you would like to speak with someone outside of the church contact Diocesan Safeguarding Officer Adam Bond, on 0117 906 0100 or adam.bond@bristoldiocese.org.

These are the contact details of other agencies that will be able to assist either on a 24-hour basis or through specialist helplines:

NSPCC Child Helpline:

0808 800 5000 (lines free and open 24 hours)

Phone if you are worried about a child.

Childline:

0800 1111 (lines free and open 24 hours)

Phone if you are a child or young person and are worried about anything.

Samaritans:

166 123 (lines free and open 24 hours a day)

Phone if you are in a mental health crisis or concerned about someone else.

National Domestic Violence Helpline:

0808 2000 247 (lines free and open 24 hours)