Ensuring a safe church for all

The Church of Scotland has a deep concern for the wholeness and well-being of each individual. The Gospel proclaims it is the responsibility of everyone within the fellowship of the Church to prevent harm, be it physical, sexual or emotional and we will always seek to reduce the risk.

The above is an extract from the Church of Scotland Safeguarding Policy Statement 2010. It is the responsibility of each congregation to ensure that they have appropriate measures in place to protect and support everyone, particularly children and vulnerable adults within the congregation, Abbey organisations and organisations associated with the Abbey.

All the leaders and staff within the Abbey who have regular contact with children or vulnerable adults are required to register under the requirements of the PVG Scheme before they can work unsupervised within any of the organisations or groups of individuals that come under the auspices of the Scheme.

Training sessions (in conjunction with the Presbytery Safeguarding Trainer) are arranged for all organisation leaders and church staff to bring everyone up to speed with the new requirements. In addition information about Safeguarding within the Abbey is placed on the notice boards in the Abbey and the Church Halls.

This provides an easy point of reference for parents in particular who may not be members of the congregation but who have children attending organisations who meet in the Hall. The young people in particular are the future of the congregation and the church nationally and it is therefore the responsibility of us all to ensure that their time with us in the Abbey is a happy and safe one.

If anyone wishes to know more about our Safeguarding responsibilities and the work of the Safeguarding Co-ordinator, please do not hesitate to contact Lorraine Fraser by contacting dunfermline.abbey.church@gmail.com

We all hope that there will never be an occasion where one of us is concerned about the safety and well being of our young people or vulnerable members of the congregation. However, in the unlikely event that you have concerns, please contact Mrs Fraser immediately and appropriate steps will be taken to investigate and hopefully allay any concerns that may have arisen.