Safeguarding
At St Mary Magdalene the Vicar and Church Council (PCC) take the safety and wellbeing of all our visitors and regular members most seriously. As people made in the image of God, we want everyone to feel protected and free to explore faith as part of our church family.
Please read our Safeguarding Policy here.
Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and the policies provided here are reviewed and approved each year by our Church Council (PCC). Their implementation is the responsibility of the whole PCC and is primarily undertaken on their behalf by the clergy and parish safeguarding officer, John Galvin. To contact John please email safeguarding@lyminsterchurch.org.uk or call the numbers below.
Every volunteer who might be in contact with children and/or potentially vulnerable adults in a regulated activity is required to undergo safeguarding training, to receive the correct level of DBS clearance, agrees to abide by the behaviour policy and receives an induction and welcome pack so that everyone can feel safe within the life of the church.
How to contact the National Statutory Services and other agencies
If you are worried about a child and believe that child is in immediate danger, you should contact the police on 999.
The phone number to call if you are worried about a child in West Sussex is 01403 229900, or 033 022 26664 for out-of-hours calls.
In a similar way if you are worried about an adult and believe that adult is in immediate danger, you should contact the police on 999.
The phone number to call if you are worried about an adult in West Sussex is 01243 642121 (office and out-of-hours).
The telephone number for Child Line is 0800 1111. All calls are free.
The Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. All calls are free.
Further Information and people To speak to
Guidance and updates on safeguarding are available on the Diocese Safeguarding website.
If you are a child and you need to talk to someone about things that are happening to you that you don’t like, please click here for the Childline website, or telephone Childline on 0800 1111
If you are an adult and you need to access support about something that is happening to you, please click on this link to find out how you can do that. Scroll down to find links to various support organisations for you to contact.
If you need to contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Team, please click here.
If you need to report a safeguarding concern to the statutory authorities in Sussex, please click on this link, click on the option on the left that most describes the situation you are concerned about, and follow the advice and further links you find there.