St. John's Church

Access and Inclusion Policy

This policy is intended to set out our approach to ensuring that the church buildings, worship, activities and congregations are as welcoming and inclusive to all in the local community, and in particular to people with disabilities.

Under the Equality Act 2010, all activities that take place in the church buildings need to be considered in terms of the risk people face when interacting with that environment – either as visitors, members of the congregation or ministers and other leaders. 

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This policy should be read in conjunction with the Fire Risk Assessment Policy and the Social Media and Website Policy.

Children at Communion Policy

It is our practice to offer communion to those children seeking to receive it under the guidance of their parents.

We recognise that some families may choose to wait before children receive communion. In some cases Baptism was not performed as infants and taking communion is reserved for after baptism.

Complaints Policy

The procedure for dealing with a complaint or grievance is formed of three main stages:

    1. Receipt of complaint and initial assessment
    2. Informal problem solving
    3. Formal procedure

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For details, see the document:

Conflict of Interest Policy

There is a duty to declare an interest where a potential or actual conflict of interests arises, in advance of any proposed transaction or arrangement being decided by the PCC and entered into.

The Document defines "conflict of interest" and gives details of management procedures

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Data Privacy Notices

The document includes:

• Our legal basis for processing your data

• Personal Data we hold

• Purposes for which the Data will be processed

• Third Parties to which information may be disclosed

• Security and Confidentiality

• Special Category Data

• Retention of the Data

• Data owner rights

• Contacts

Data Protection Policy

This document sets out the Data Protection policy of the PCC of St John's Church Kenilworth with regard to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Election Procedures

The document specifies:

• Election of Churchwardens and Assistant Churchwardens

• Election to PCC and Deanery Synod

• General election procedures

Finance Policy

The document defines policies for:

• Roles of people and groups

• Finance controls

• Reserves policy

• Accounting policies

• Mission Giving

• Parish Share

Fire Safety Policy

This policy is intended to set out our approach to ensuring that all who worship at St John’s Church are kept safe from the threat of fire and to reduce any potential damage to the buildings and fabric of the church should a fire occur. 

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This policy should be read in conjunction with the Access and Inclusion Policy as there are a number of overlaps.

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Health & Safety Policy

The document is in three main parts:

• General statement of policy

• Organisation and responsibilities

• Arrangements

The third part lists items available to assist in ensuring safety, as well as listing those who are qualified First Aiders. It also includes procedures to be followed in case of fire, procedures for handling electrical items, heavy items and food among other things.

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Revised June 2021, approved July 2021

First aider list updated November 2021

HR Policy

The document (revised June 2021) includes

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• Principles of selecting people for roles

• Beliefs and values underpinning the policy

• Induction and training policies for the roles

• Supervision and support policies

• Problem resolution policies

• Disciplinary procedures​

Infant Baptism Policy

The document describes:

• The background to the policy

• Requirements on the parents

• The process

Lone Working Policy

The Lone Worker Policy, which is set within the Health and Safety Policy, outlines the actions being taken by the PCC in relation to our staff, volunteers and visitors who may at any time work alone on church activity, together with the actions we expect such workers to take themselves to minimise risks.

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The purpose of this Lone Worker Policy is to ensure all staff and volunteers are aware of the specific risks in working alone and to set out the respective responsibilities of the PCC and staff/volunteers to minimise such risks. The PCC commit to carrying out their responsibilities in a thorough and disciplined way.

Lone Worker Guidelines

The Lone Worker Guidelines list what the worker must do in order to manage the risk of working by themselves without close or direct supervision.

Memorial Garden Policy

The document (issued May 2017)  sets out how St John’s plans to use the memorial garden created in March 2017 as part of the church reordering project 2014-2017.

Rules and procedures for memorial gardens are set out in Diocesan guidance. Faculty approval for our garden was obtained in November 2016.

A Garden of Remembrance allows for the interment of ashes of loved ones.

Memorial Garden Leaflet

The leaflet (issued May 2017) summarises the rules for the interment of ashes in the St. John's Church Memorial Garden and for laying of flowers on the plots.​

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We hope that our memorial garden will provide a space for mourning, remembering, reflecting and praying. Its simplicity is in keeping with the design of the church and is intended to focus attention on departed loved ones and their maker.

Risk Management Policy

This document provides details of the approach to risk management adopted by the PCC of St John's Church, Kenilworth. It is intended to provide part of the governance required by the PCC to ensure that the PCC, as Trustees of the charity, identify and evaluate possible risks, are aware of those that have been recognised (and are on the risk register) and regularly assess how those risks are being managed.

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Revised June 2021, approved July 2021

Safeguarding (1)

Promoting a safer Church

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St. Johns has adopted the Diocese of Coventry Safeguarding Policy:

Safeguarding (2)

Procedure for Responding to a Safeguarding Concern or Allegation

This procedure must be followed by all church officers1 and it is strongly recommended for all other church members.

The document lists do's and dont's, and provides a flowchart of the procedure. 

Safeguarding (3)

Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders:

St Johns has adopted the Diocese of Coventry Policy:

Safeguarding (4): Action Plan

This document has been developed to guide Safeguarding work in the church over the period April 2021 to March 2022. It is based on:
* Information from the Parish Safeguarding dashboard
* Discussion with wardens and Vicar
* Requirements derived from Diocesan training courses

Use of ICT

Promoting a safer Church

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Information and Communication Technologies enable speedier administration and interaction, but come with social, legal, financial and security risks. This St. John's policy document sets rules on the use of ICT in the parish.

Use of Social Media

Promoting a safer Church

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Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and other forms of social media can be a blessing, but need to be used wisely. This St. John's policy document, based on the Parish Safeguarding Handbook March 2021, sets some boundaries.