OUR new diocesan safeguarding manager Emily Hassan introduces herself:

"I am delighted to introduce myself as the newly appointed Safeguarding Manager for the diocese and look forward to meeting as many people as possible over the coming weeks and months.

"For those of you who may be less familiar with the role, my role is to co-ordinate both the operational safeguarding function within the diocese and also the implementation of the national legal and procedural framework for safeguarding children and adults, including Church of England policies and practice within our diocese.

"Day to day I have responsibility for managing the diocesan safeguarding advisors and our diocesan safeguarding trainer and will work closely with our Independent Chair of the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP).

"I work closely with a wide range of partner agencies and statutory services, and attend Local Safeguarding Adults and Children’s Partnership board meetings.

"Currently a great deal of focus in the safeguarding team is around our Past Case Review 2 (PCR2) as we have now received the report and its recommendations. The report has been shared with the National Safeguarding Team and will contribute towards a national report focusing on safeguarding for the future within the Church of England as a whole.

"I hope to bring my knowledge and expertise to the role as a registered social worker, with 10 years front-line experience. My previous post was as a team manager within Hampshire Children’s Services, managing a children’s assessment & safeguarding team. I also continue to work for Hampshire Children’s Services on a casual basis one day per week as a team manager within their Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).

"In my spare time I am the parish safeguarding officer for Christ Church in Gosport, where I attend and can be found singing rather badly!"