Safeguarding

The parish of Taplow is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). We have adopted the Diocese of Oxford Model Parish Safeguarding Policy which we review annually (May). The Diocese of Oxford’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our PSOs. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA. If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority Children or Adults Services.

The last annual review of our policy took place at the PCC meeting on Tuesday 21st May.

Our Safeguarding Officer is Caroline Breede who can be contacted on 07793 955 498 or emailed on caroline.stnicolas@gmail.com

Other contacts regarding safeguarding are:

Our Parish Priest: Revd Jane Cresswell, jane.stnicolas@gmail.com or 01628 661182.

The Oxford Diocese Safeguarding Advisor is Tsungai Muchegwa: 01865 208 295 

Tsungai.Muchegwa@oxford.anglican.org

For further information about safeguarding in the Diocese of Oxford, click this link.

IICSA inquiry

A Reflection from Rev. Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields

The IICSA final report on the Church of England and child sex abuse is depressing for four reasons. It’s a terrible thing that the most formative years of any person’s life are characterised not by safety and nurture but by harm, hurt and cruelty. It’s horrifying that such damage can happen within the context of church, which should regard every person as precious, honoured and loved. It’s shameful how often the church’s response, at all levels, has been not to listen to survivors and assist in bringing perpetrators to face justice, but to hide perpetrators and turn its back on survivors. And it’s miserable to know how extensive all this has been, and how much of it hasn’t substantially changed up to the present day.

This is not a problem of a few rotten apples – a tiny group of ‘they.’ It’s a collective failure: a moment for repentance and crushing humiliation for all of us – a ‘we.’ It’s hard to imagine how any of us can speak with any authority for quite some time, given how badly wrong we’ve got something so basic to what should be our core commitments. It’s a long Ash Wednesday. There are things worse than a pandemic: this is one of them.

Any idea that the church is a place where bad things don’t happen has been exposed as sentimental and naïve. One way we can all do better is to revise our understanding of love. Love usually means seeing the best in people, supporting them as they work to overcome their shortcomings, being gentle and kind. But in this case that’s got the church into terrible trouble. Love sometimes means confronting people with the truth, setting aside usual loyalties to uphold the most vulnerable, remaining vigilant even when no one wants to acknowledge what’s really happening, and putting in place processes that do everything possible to ensure such terrible things don’t happen again.

Sometimes it’s easier to say sorry than actually to do anything about it. This time we need to do both.

Download a copy here.

IICSA report cover

Safeguarding in the Diocese of Oxford

We are determined to deal effectively with wrong-doing wherever it occurs and deeply committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults:

  • We have invested heavily in our safeguarding team, in training and safer processes of support, review and oversight. 
  • Our safeguarding team have full authority to make safeguarding-related decisions without requiring permission to act from Bishops or senior clergy. 
  • The Diocesan Safeguarding Panel, independently chaired by Peter Hay, ensures a strong safeguarding culture across the Diocese and acts as a critical friend; helping us to continually strengthen our safeguarding procedures and practices. 

If you or anyone you are in contact with are affected by the publication of this report and want to talk to someone independently please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or email safespaces@victimsupport.org.uk (other support services are also available).