Safeguarding Children And Adults | Agape Family Ministries

Domestic Violence/Family Violence

Domestic violence covers many areas of people’s behaviours. Examples are physical, verbal, psychological abuses. It can also cover sexual violence, economic and social abuse by one’s husband or wife or partner.

Our aim as a Christian charity, is to reduce domestic and family violence among families in new emerging communities by raising awareness, knowledge ability of migrants in accessing the required services. We have noticed that there are barriers to many African migrants not seeking help when they are abused by their partners because of their cultural backgrounds. As migrants, they are always afraid that reporting their partner’s conduct will result in the involvement of the law enforcement authorities and this may lead to the aggressor’s deportation. This is where we come in to help.

Our Safeguarding Policy

Agape Family Ministries acknowledge children’s and adults at risk of harm’s rights to protection from abuse, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, and beliefs. We believe that safeguarding is preventative, and that it involves protecting children and adults at risk’s safety and wellbeing by encouraging children’s natural healthy development: academically, physically, socially, and emotionally and maintaining or improving adults at risk’s wellbeing, promoting their independence, and protecting them from abuse, harm, and neglect.

Our safeguarding policies have a person-centred approach with the wellbeing of the child and the adult at risk of harm, at the heart of every action we take. We have put in place procedures that need to be followed if there is concern of abuse of a child or an adult at risk of harm.

We have noticed four main categories of abuse, namely: emotional, physical, sexual, neglect. We also include bullying, cyberbullying, trafficking, human trafficking, forced labour, FGM as abuse. We train our staff to have a clear knowledge of our safeguarding policies.

We seek to establish a caring environment in which there is an informed vigilance about the dangers of abuse. We implement, maintain, and regularly review the procedures outlined in our policies which are designed to prevent abuse. We have appointed a Safeguarding Co-ordinator who is the person to whom all concerns or allegations are addressed to. We organise activities in such a way as to promote a safe environment and minimise the risk of harm to children and adults at risk of harm.

We follow a safer recruitment process for the selection and appointment of people to work with children and adults at risk of harm, whether voluntary or paid. We are committed to providing support, resources, and training to those who work with children and adults at risk of harm. We cooperate with statutory authorities in any investigation, follow multi-agency decisions and maintain confidentiality of any investigations to those directly involved.

“Let the little children come to Me and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”

(Mark 10:14 NKJV)

Our Policy Statement

The following statement has been agreed by the Leadership of Agape Family Ministries

This Church is committed to the safeguarding of children and adults at risk, and to ensuring their well-being.

We believe that all children and adults at risk should know that they are valued within the church and safely enjoy and have access to every aspect of the life of our church.
We respect the personal dignity and rights of children and adults at risk (for example, as set out in the Human Rights Act 1998 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) and will ensure that our policies and procedures reflect this.
We recognise that we all have a responsibility to help prevent the physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect of children under 18 years of age.
responsibility to help prevent the physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, financial, discriminatory abuse and neglect of adults at risk.
We recognise that domestic abuse affects both adults and children and believe that domestic abuse in all its forms is unacceptable and inconsistent with a Christian way of living.
We will report any abuse of children or adults at risk that we discover or suspect.
Where an allegation suggests that a criminal offence may have been committed, the Police will be contacted as a matter of urgency.
We recognise that Children’s Services has responsibility for investigating all allegations or suspicions of abuse where there are concerns about a child, and that Adult Services do so for adults at risk.
We acknowledge that the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADOs) have responsibility for dealing with all allegations and concerns about people working with children, whether paid or voluntary workers, lay or ordained.
We recognise that safeguarding is a whole church responsibility.

What We Are Committed To

The establishment of a loving environment, which is safe and caring, and where there is an informed vigilance about the dangers of abuse.
Following the relevant legislation, statutory, denominational and specialist guidelines in relation to safeguarding children and adults at risk.
Ensuring that we keep up to date with national and local developments relating to safeguarding.
Building constructive links with the relevant Voluntary and Statutory Authorities.
Taking all reasonable steps to ensure that as a church, everyone works within the agreed procedures of our safeguarding policies.
Supporting the Safeguarding Coordinator and Deputy in their work and in any action they may need to take in order to protect children and adults at risk.
Following safer recruitment principles in the appointment and selection of all those who work with children and adults at risk, be they volunteer or paid staff, lay or ordained.
Supporting, supervising, resourcing and training all those who undertake work with children and adults at risk.
Ensuring that the children and adults we have contact with know that they are valued and feel empowered to tell us if they are suffering harm
Reporting any abuse of children or adults at risk that we discover or suspect.
Supporting all those in our church who are affected by abuse.
Supporting and supervising those who pose a risk to children or adults at risk, implementing contracts of behaviour, whilst bearing in mind the overarching principle that the welfare of the child is paramount.
If an assessment is made that someone poses an unmanageable risk to those in need of protection and could not safely attend our church, we will ensure that they continue to be offered pastoral care and will signpost them to appropriate agencies for support

The Six Key Principles

The six key principles that underpin our safeguarding policies are:

Empowerment- the person is capable, so ask them to make decisions about the support they are being given.
Prevention- keeping the person safe from harm.
Proportionality- being aware of any risk and doing something about them before they happen.
Protection- when we respond to risk, we use the least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented.
Partnership- we work together with councils and services and with our communities to prevent, detect and report abuse.
Accountability- whichever situations we find ourselves in it is always clear who is responsible for safeguarding and what the policy and procedures are in our organisation.

Staff must act upon any suspicion or evidence of abuse or neglect and all allegations must be recorded using an incident form. Our person-centred approach is the foundation of best practice in Safeguarding. A person-centred approach is about supporting each person to be independent wherever possible. Helping people to make their own decisions is one way of encouraging their independence and this results in the individuals maintaining their dignity, sense of self-worth, self-confidence, and personal identity.