Safeguarding

We take safeguarding extremely seriously in our churches. Melonie Hambly is the Parish Safeguarding Officer for St Matthew’s and Louise Whittaker for St Edmund’s (with the aid of Madeleine Fullerton). All our PCC members and anyone who works with children and vulnerable adults will have had the required checks and will have done the appropriate training.

If you’re worried that a child or vulnerable adult in this church might be suffering from some kind of abuse:

DO NOT try to diagnose, investigate or sort it out yourself
THINK HARD about what it is about the child’s or vulnerable adults appearance or behaviour that is making you worried or suspicious
DO NOT promise confidentiality if someone talks to you about what might be abuse
DECIDE who you should talk to, and
TALK TO THEM – within 24 hours

This flow chart, produced by the Diocese, lays out the procedure in full details: safeguarding-flowchart

Here is the PCC Safeguarding Policy for St Matthew's, Darley Abbey.

Here is the PCC Safeguarding Policy for St Edmund's, Allestree.

Melonie Hambly (St Matthew's) 07496 322880

Louise Whittaker (St Edmund's) 01332 556455

Madeleine Fullerton (St Edmund's) 01332 554762

Caroline Audley (Church Administrator) 01332 552031

The Diocesan Safeguarding Team 01332 388678

The Diocese of Derby offers an out of office hours service (available in the evenings, at weekends and during Bank Holiday closures) please call:

Thirtyone:eight – telephone: 0303 003 1111

Callers should state that they are calling from the Diocese of Derby.

In an emergency (especially if someone is in immediate danger of harm) you should always call 999 and ask for the police/ambulance.

Here are further support service contacts

The Diocese of Derby is currently involved in a Past Cases Review, going back through the safeguarding cases that have involved clergy or church officers over the last decade. Peter, our previous Vicar, worked with Melonie Hambly (Parish Safeguarding Officer at St Matthew’s) and Louise Whittaker (PSO at St Edmund’s), had a conversation with Chris Dyer (previous Vicar), and returned his review paperwork to the Bishop. However, if anyone in our communities has anything you would like to talk about, please do contact one of us. Alternatively, you can phone the Diocesan Safeguarding Team on 01332 388678 or the dedicated national hotline run by the NSPCC. You can contact the NSPCC Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000 or emailing help@NSPCC.org.uk.