The Methodist Church in Cambridge, Royston, and south Cambridgeshire.
If you feel there is immediate danger of harm please always call 999.
If you are concerned that what you're witnessing may be a police matter, but does not present an immediate risk, please call 101 for advice.
Our safeguarding officers are all very kind volunteers, who help us on a part-time basis, and as such we are concerned that there is a risk that emails could be missed if anyone is on holiday or unwell. We are currently setting up a dedicated email address to which we would appreciate all safeguarding concerns being reported. This page will be updated very soon, but in the meantime, please use the contact details below as appropriate. Elsie ultimately has responsibility as Circuit SO for our wider community, so if you can't speak to someone at your home church, please contact her.
Our Circuit Safeguarding Officer is Elsie Salmon 07838 344580.
Bar Hill LEP SO: Hannah Wright 01954 206120
Cambourne LEP SO: Alison Butler 07871 096265
Castle Street SO: Chris Rayson
Chesterton Interim SO: Elsie Salmon 07838 344580
Haslingfield SO: Elsie Salmon 07838 344580
Histon SO: Julia Daft 07808 630455
Orwell SO: Irene Desborough
Royston SO: Gill Grainger
Sawston Free LEP SO: Maggie Jones
Wesley SO: Helen Garside-Hornby
For further advice and guidance, or to access specialised support:
Helplines
• NSPCC for adults concerned about a child – 0808 800 5000
• Childline for children and young people – 0800 1111
• Action on Elder Abuse helpline – 0808 808 8141
• 24-hour National Domestic Violence helpline – 0808 2000 247
• NAPAC offer support and advice to adult survivors of childhood abuse – 08088010331
• Stop It Now preventing child sexual abuse – 0808 1000 900
• Cruse bereavement helpline – 0808 808 1677
• Family Lives support and advice on family issues – 0808 800 222
• MACSAS for people who have been abused by church officers – 0808 801 0340
• Samaritans for people struggling to cope and needing someone to talk to – 116 123
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The vast majority of volunteer positions within our churches require specific safeguarding training be completed prior to working in the community.
A foundation safeguarding course needs to be completed for most roles, along with modules on Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion (EDI), and Unconscious Bias (UB) which are mandatory in most cases. These courses are refreshed every four years, to ensure we are following current best practice.
Roles working with people considered vulnerable in our community are likely to require completion of an advanced safeguarding course.
Please see the District Safeguarding page for further information, or contact Jay in the Circuit Office with any queries.
All our ministers, local preachers, and worship leaders are expected to undertake advanced safeguarding training, and to ensure their certificates are kept up-to-date.
The vast majority of our staff and volunteers who work directly with members of our community are DBS checked every five years.
Circuit Safeguarding Policy (March 2024)
The documents we may ask to inspect in order to conduct a DBS check. Any copies will be destroyed once the application is successfully submitted:
Safer Recruitment Policy
Further resources from the Connexional website :