The parish of Leominster is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer, Ceri Hibbert. If you have a safeguarding concern, you can contact her at safeguarding@leominsterpriory.org.uk.
The Diocese of Hereford’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our PSOs. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA. If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority Children or Adults Services.
The Diocese of Hereford Safeguarding Officer is Carl Steventon and he can be contacted on 07593817717.
If you have any difficulty in finding the information you are looking for please email any member of the safeguarding team - we can point you in the right direction.
For any non-urgent safeguarding inquiries or in the event of Carl being unavailable please contact the Diocesan Office on 01432 373300
The welfare of the vulnerable person – child or adult – must always be held paramount, no matter how uncomfortable that may be because only in that way, can we create a church that is safe for everyone.
If you are worried about a current or historic incidence of abuse - which could be sexual, financial, emotional, controlling behaviour, bullying or domestic abuse - you don’t need to suffer alone. Please contact our Parish Safeguarding Officer, Ceri Hibbert 07754 559043 to share your concerns. Alternatively, support can be found at safespacesenglandandwales.
You can also seek advice from the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, or report the matter to your Local Authority Social Care Services or the Police. If in doubt, please don't hesitate to call the police.
Other useful Safeguarding contact numbers an be found below:
Herefordshire Council Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub
Children: 01432 260800
Adult: 01432 260715
Emergency Duty Team: 0330 123 9309 (after 5 pm, weekends and Public Holidays)
NSPCC: 0808 800 5000
Childline (help line for children): 0800 11 11
National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247
Action on Elder Abuse: 0808 808 8141
You can find out more about Safeguarding in the Church of England here: https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding/promoting-safer-church-safeguarding
And you can read the Parish Safeguarding Handbook here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/ParishSafeGuardingHandBookAugust2019Web.pdf