Safeguarding

The District Safeguarding Officer (DSO)

Howard Smedley – 07758 239286/01332 479343
safeguarding@lincolnshiremethodist.org.uk

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the safeguarding pages of the Lincolnshire Methodist District website for 2024/2025

I believe that for the majority of people, there is now a greater understanding that safeguarding is the very essence of the outworking of the Gospel and the core the life of the church and in its outreach to others. It is about how we "thread" safeguarding through the whole life of the church rather than see it as something separate to the conducting of the Gods mission and ministry.

Safeguarding is about keeping people safe, creating safe places, and being better with each other in our relationships as well as developing a culture within our churches that help people through that sense of safety to grow, flourish and enjoy the life in all tis fullness.

I remain so very grateful to the District, working hard to integrate safeguarding into all it does. We have moved on so much, there remains a commitment to keeping it a top priority, and even despite the extra challenges it brings, putting it at the centre of the life of the church, Circuit and District.

Yet, there is still much to do and to learn. We continue to be mindful of the Methodist church's Past Case Review and its subsequent report "Courage, Cost and Hope" (2015), the apology issued to victims and survivors of abuse in the church in 2015, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and a range of Cases within our denomination, and others. All of these continue to help us to build a learning culture within our District to seek ways of being wiser, more robust yet compassionate in all we do.

My role as DSO is to support the churches within the District to ensure safeguarding is at the core of its work and ministry and offer advice, support and at times direct involvement in situations where people need to be safe and free from harm.

All this done with the enormous support and commitment of colleagues across the District. I affirm especially the work of our volunteers who give up so much of their time to do all they can.

Our policies and procedures are updated to take account of national and local developments and especially learning from within the District. On our website, you will find these dated 1st September 2024.

Further, the work of the District in responding well to victims and survivors remains a priority. We are learning things all the time about how we can walk alongside those who have been hurt, especially in the life of the church.

A principle that has become commonly used in the District is "doing nothing is not an option". Through our training, we stress that seeking help, advice and support even for something that seems trivial, is enough – doing nothing is a decision in itself. So, It's OK to have a niggle, a feeling in your belly or a sense that something isn't right to ask for help. Our policies will let you know who to go to for help.

Finally, do let us know if you feel that there is any support that not covered in our policies and procedures so we can work even harder to improve them for the safety of all.

Howard Smedley
DSO
01.09.2024