Code of Conduct

We hope that the atmosphere at all of the activities organised by this church is positively affected by the staff and volunteers running the activities, all of whom are required to sign up to the following code of conduct: 

I will seek to:
love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength; having the highest regard for love, generosity, creativity, truth, faithfulness, humility, thankfulness, peace, hope, mercy and justice;
love those I meet as I love myself; remembering that we are made in the image of God;
care for those I meet, giving them respect & dignity; praying for them; & being generously forgiving;
listen to those I meet, paying attention to my assumptions and their body language and tone of voice; endeavouring to understand them;
speak to those I meet generously, watching language, tone of voice and posture; and
look for and seek to emulate the good practice that I see in the listening, speaking and caring of others, expressing to them my appreciation as appropriate.

Knowing that we all fall short of the glory of God, I will seek to
accept forgiveness and to be forgiving, of myself and others;
not be verbally or emotionally hurtful, whether face to face or by phone, text, email or social media - this includes shouting, name calling, ridiculing, scapegoating, public undermining, making personal insults, and spreading rumours, malicious untruths or false accusations;
not be physically or sexually hurtful: including inappropriate or intrusive touch, sexually provocative games, inappropriate sexually suggestive comments, distributing degrading images, invading privacy;
not be socially hurtful: including isolating or deliberately ignoring someone, or excluding them from group activities,
be self critical, learning from my mistakes and the mistakes of others and asking for help from others, and
consider raising concerns either directly or to a pastoral overseer of someone who seems unaware of their potentially hurtful behaviour.

Where I am in a position of trust over someone
I will seek not to be verbally, emotionally or physically hurtful;
I will seek to react appropriately to attention-seeking behaviour;
I will seek to not be alone with them where my actions cannot be seen – including being alone in a car;
I will not have a sexual or romantic relationship with them; and
I will not verbally, emotionally or physically abuse them.

When I discover or suspect abuse I will report this using the Safeguarding Concern Form (available in the kitchens of the Church building and the Family Centre or from the person running the activity).  I understand that illustrative examples of cause for concern are:
unexplained injuries on areas of the body not usually prone to such injuries;
an injury that has not been treated/received medical attention;
an injury for which the explanation seems inconsistent;
a child discloses behaviour that is harmful to them;
unexplained changes in behaviour or mood;
inappropriate sexual awareness; and
signs of neglect, such as being under-nourished, untreated illnesses, inadequate care.