SAFEGUARDING AT ST JOHN'S
St John's Statement of Commitment to the safety and wellbeing of children, young people and adults at risk.
At St John's, Merrow, we have policies and proceedures in place to safeguard children, young people and adults at risk. We take these areas of our responsibility very seriously. The whole church family aims to be vigilant in matters of safeguarding and pastoral care.
If you have a particular concern that you wish to share then please contact any of the following:
Rector : Rev. Tim Clifford Hill
rector@saintjohns.org.uk 01483 951649
Parish Safeguarding Officer: Rosanne Bond
safeguarding@saintjohns.org.uk 01483 579462
Diocesan Safeguarding Team
safeguarding@cofeguildford.org.uk 01483 790379
(lines are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
Safeguarding at St John’s
We adhere to the strict guidelines set out by the Church of England and adopted by the Diocese of Guildford, in their Safeguarding E-manuel under Safer Recruitment and People Management Code of Practice (June 2026).
In addition the Parochial Church Council (PCC) adopted the Church of England’s Safeguarding Policy, Promoting A Safer Church in May 2020.
Both these documents can be found below
Rev. Tim Clifford Hill
Rector
Rosanne Bond
Parish Safeguarding Officer
Volunteers working with children and/or adults at risk are carefully recruited. For those helping on a regular basis we carry out a full criminal record check, known as a DBS.
Job descriptions and safeguarding training are provided to ensure that they understand the church’s expectation of their roles and know what to do if they have any concerns.
Laid out below are the policies and notices that our volunteers need access to as part of their Safer Recruitment, including those available in the parish office upon request:
ST JOHN'S POLICIES AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD
Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy (including our Equal Opportunities information)
ST JOHN'S POLICIES AVAILABLE IN THE PARISH OFFICE
Helath and Safety Policy
Procedure for dealing with Safeguarding Concerns
Anti-Bullying Policy
Lone Working Policy
CHURCH OF ENGALND POLICIES
Church of England - Promoting a Safer Church
Reporting A Safeguarding Concern
If you are concerned that a child or an adult is, or may be, at risk of abuse then you should report it without delay to the Rector or the Parish Safeguarding Officer.
Contact details are given above.
If it is a non emergency situation please make contact either by telephone or email. We will contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser to ensure that we respond appropriately.
We will do everything we can to support the person at risk.
If it is an emergency situation and you believe the child or adult is in
immediate danger of significant harm then you should call 999 before reporting it to either the Rector or Parish Safeguarding Officer.
SUPPORT HELPLINES
If you wish to speak with someone outside the church then you might find that one of the following help lines could be of assistance.
NSPCC for adults concerned about a child
0808 800 5000
CHILDLINE for children and young people
0800 1111
ACTION FOR ELDER ABUSE helpline
0808 808 8141
THE SILVER LINE dedicated to older people
0800 470 8090
24-HOUR NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE helpline
0808 200 0247
NAPAC offer support and advice to adult survivors of childhood abuse
0808 801 0331
STOP IT NOW preventing child sexual abuse
0808 100 0900
CRUSE BEREVMENT helpline
0808 808 1677
FAMILY LIVES support and advice on family issues
0808 800 2222
MACSAS for people who have been abused by church officers
0808 801 0340
SAMARITANS for people struggling to cope and needing someone to talk to
116 123
