Reporting a concern

If you have information about a safeguarding situation where a child or adult is in immediate danger or requires immediate medical attention, call 999.

If you do not think there is a risk of immediate danger but you are concerned that a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of harm you should approach your Local Safeguarding Children's or Local Safeguarding adult's Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), details for Local Authorities are at the bottom of this page - if you do this please also inform the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.

Please inform our Diocesan Safeguarding Officer about any case where a child or vulnerable adult appears to be at risk or where an adult appears to present a risk. You should inform them of any safeguarding concerns involving a Church Officer.  A ‘Church Officer’ is anyone appointed/elected by or on behalf of the Church to a post or role, whether they are ordained or lay, paid or unpaid.

If you aren’t sure what to do, contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Team. Email safeguarding@bristoldiocese.org or contact one of the Diocesan Safeguarding team. The team is committed to responding to safeguarding concerns, providing advice, and supporting survivors. We are not able to offer an emergency or 24-hour response.

If you need to obtain advice out of hours and it is not a matter that you need to discuss with the police, Thirtyone:eight provide a Helpline 0303 003 11 11 (please ensure that you tell them that you are calling from the Diocese of Bristol).

If you are unsure whether you can share information or not please refer to the information sharing flowchart which will help you decide: Information Sharing Flowchart 

Please use this flowchart to help guide you through the process of alerting the relevant authorities to your concern.