Community and Child Safety Policy Initiative

Dear Red Door Family,

Our church community is truly a joy to be part of. We are a warm, friendly, welcoming and safe community. Parish Council feels a deep gratitude knowing this is because we strive to make all of life, all about Jesus. At Red Door, we have policies to help us continue to do the things we need to keep our church vibrant and safe. For this reason, we are pleased to highlight the development of our new Community & Child Safety policy for your ongoing engagement and support.

Context

As an Anglican church, we receive valuable guidance from the Diocese in approaching compliance with legal requirements and growing our safety culture and practice. This guidance helps us to maintain a safe environment both physical and relational for our community in conjunction with the highest standards.

A new Community and Child Safety policy

In 2025, we are developing a new Community and Child Safety policy that will incorporate the latest Diocesan guidance and also encompass broader aspects of safety. The purpose is to maintain a holistic view of our safety commitments in one place for simplicity, accessibility and transparency. Our existing Child Safety Policy will remain relevant and in place until fully incorporated.

The policy will be developed incrementally, with a new section released every 1-2 months. We will keep everyone informed through the Loop email.

What does this mean for me?

Safety is a community initiative. We ask you to engage with the policy as new details are released and to please comply with policy requests to help keep our community vibrant and safe. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Staff team and/or Council so we can help.

Thank you,
Parish Council

Policy release 05/02/25

Objectives

Our community is a place of joy, belonging and friendship for youth, where their physical/emotional safety is continually front of mind

  • There is appropriate supervision of our youth at all times while they’re at church

  • We actively ensure our youth are never in a position where potential grooming and/or abuse can occur.

Supervision

Appropriate supervision is an important way we keep our youth and children safe at Red Door.

  • Red Door does not permit minors (under 18) to be alone or unsupervised on church premises at any time.

  • Parents/guardians/carers have primary responsibility for supervising their children and ensuring their safety at church. This responsibility is delegated to the ministry team during programmed activities (e.g. Sunday school), and returned at completion.

  • Out of prudence and caution, we do not permit minors to be alone 1-1 at any time with an adult who is not their parent/guardian/carer.

  • Adults must avoid situations that would place them alone 1-1 with a minor. If this is necessary for any reason, then the adult must immediately make a Reddoor Pastor or Warden aware of the situation.

  • Out of an abundance of caution, primary school-age children must be accompanied by a same gender parent/guardian/carer or peer when using the toilet.