St Nicholas' and St Leonard's Parochial Church Councils are committed to the safeguarding, care and nurture of all our members.

We recognise that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to implementing all safeguarding policies and practice guidance issued by the House of Bishops

We will carefully select and train all those who work or volunteer in positions of trust. We will use the Disclosure and Barring Service, amongst other tools, to check the background of each person.

We will respond, without delay, to every concern made that a person for whom we are responsible may have been harmed.

We will co-operate fully with statutory agencies during any investigation concerning a member of the church community.

We will seek to ensure that anyone for whom we have pastoral responsibility who has suffered abuse is offered support that meets their needs.

We will respond appropriately to those who have committed sexual offences who wish to join our fellowship, following House of Bishop's guidance and the advice of the Safeguarding Team.

We will review this policy annually and as part of this process will ensure that all our procedures, particularly in relation to the Disclosure and Barring Service, are up to date.

For further information, or to contact the Diocesan Safeguarding adviser,  please see the safeguarding pages on the Diocese of Chichester website: https://safeguarding.chichester.anglican.org/

Links to outside agencies who can help with adult and child protection issues can be found at: https://safeguarding.chichester.anglican.org/links/