Faith Life Ministries is committed to developing a culture in which people of all ages find a safe place to belong as they grow and flourish in their faith. We take safeguarding seriously. As such we strive to provide a positive safe environment in which children and adults can develop physically, mentally and spiritually.

If you are concerned about a child or adult or they have told you something that is a concern, speak to a Safeguarding Coordinator in the first instance. If you are not able to report your concern in-person to a Safeguarding Coordinator you can complete the Cause for Concern form below. The information you provide will be addressed by the Safeguarding Team and you should expect a response directly from them.

IMPORTANT! If you believe a child or adult is in imminent danger, you should telephone the police, before you complete the Cause for Concern Form. Doing so will help us to link up with the relevant authorities. 


Guidance Notes

Helpful information in completing the above form:

  1. As a registered body, the church/charitable organisation is required to ensure that its duty of care towards its beneficiaries is carried out in line with the principles enshrined within the Working together to safeguard children and young people, 2018 and the Care Act, 2014.

  2. Essential principles of recording the information received/disclosed/observed: 

    1. Remember: do not investigate or ask any leading questions

    2. make notes within the first one hour of receiving the disclosure or observing the incident

    3. be clear and factual in your recording of the incident or disclosure

    4. avoid giving your opinion or feelings on the matter

    5. aim to record using the 4 W’s and 1 H: When, where, what, why and how

    6. do not share this information with anyone else except your safeguarding coordinator in the first instance and they will advise on who else will need to be informed, how and when.

    7. make use of the additional information section to add any other relevant information regarding the child/adult/ family that you may be aware of. This can include any historic concerns or observations. 

  1. What constitutes a safeguarding concern? – any incident that has caused or is likely to cause significant harm to a child can be classed as a safeguarding concern. Abuse is classified under four different categories (with regards to children) as already stated within the safeguarding policy (physical, sexual, emotional, and neglect). With regards to adults, there are 6 further categorisations. Whilst it may be helpful to record a specific category in the above form, if possible, this may not always be the case. Therefore, it is important to seek advice from your safeguarding coordinator or thirtyone:eight at this stage.

  2. Why do you need information regarding ‘other household members’? – It has been demonstrated as important to include information about significant adults in the household especially when concerns relate to children as this has been a recurrent risk factor in several serious case reviews. 

  3. Why is the view of the child/adult significant? It is important to give whatever detail is available of the child or adult’s explanation (or verbatim) of the matter to help ascertain if it is plausible and to help offer a context to the concern identified.

  4. Passing information to the Safeguarding co-ordinator – Your safeguarding co-ordinator holds ultimate responsibility in responding to any safeguarding concerns within the church/organisation and therefore it is important that they have oversight of the actions being taken and make relevant and appropriate contact with statutory agencies if required. They will remain the most appropriate link between the organisation and external agencies.

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