Guidance Summary A compilation of various notes to help things run smoothly, this document serves as a useful introduction to many of the other more detailed policy documents that the church has. Document control Document reference SMB-GEN-INF-001 Issue: 2.1 (Reformatted, and appendix added) Status Published Issue Date: 04/10/2018 Written by: Jonathan Lupton Roles principally responsible for compliance All who do things in church with document Circulation (by job title) PCC, Church noticeboard; advertise its existence to all concerned Review period Annually Next review due 01/09/2019
Table of contents 1 Introduction... 3 2 Fire and evacuation... 3 2.1 Church... 3 2.2 Hall... 3 3 Safeguarding... 4 4 Keys, passwords and office door code... 4 5 Social Events... 4 6 Health and Safety... 5 6.1 Food Hygiene... 5 6.2 Clock chamber and bell tower... 5 6.3 First Aid Boxes... 5 6.4 Lifting and Handling... 5 6.5 Ladders... 5 6.6 Accident and "Near miss" reporting... 5 6.7 Working alone... 6 7 Copyright... 6 8 The Church Building... 6 8.1 Lighting and Heating... 6 8.2 Sound System... 6 8.3 Equipment... 7 9 Faults and Maintenance... 7 10 Appendix... 7 Issue 2.1 (Published) Page 2 of 8
1 Introduction As you know, the Church and Hall are used for many purposes as part of the mission of the Christian Church. St Michael's is a church with a lot going on and it relies on the time, effort and commitment of many, many people to keep everything going and carry out our mission for Jesus Christ. It takes a complex array of activities to keep the work going and it is easy for a large team of volunteers not to know about the various duties and issues that affect them. The Church has many responsibilities both legal and pastoral. Often people are unaware of some simple actions that can help things run more smoothly, avoid misunderstandings, and keep us all on the right side of the law. The following notes are a compilation of many things that we hope you will find useful for activities in the church, hall and elsewhere. Some or much of these notes may not apply to you, but having a single set of notes will hopefully ensure that everyone who may need to know things will have the information. The wardens ask that you would comply with them to the best of your ability. Thank you again for all that you are doing on behalf of the church. Note: many of the items on the following pages include a reference to a much fuller explanation of what s what. These can be accessed via the church website (www.stmichaelsbreaston.org.uk > Info > Documents). 2 Fire and evacuation 2.1 Church 2.2 Hall Whenever the church is occupied, the person leading the activity is the "Duty Warden" for the purposes of evacuation. Busy services may have an Assistant Warden as well to deal with evacuation through the vestry door if needed. All regular leaders of church services will be advised of the procedures. If you see a fire, alert the Duty Warden if present and only attempt to put it out (using an extinguisher if need be) if you can do so without endangering yourself. Follow the Duty Warden or Assistant's instructions and/or leave the building immediately by the nearest exit and go to the assembly point (the flagpole/notice board). If no Duty Warden or Assistant is present, the vestry door can be used for escape if needed - the key is retained in the lock for ease of use. Please ring the fire brigade on 999 and await their arrival. Please also contact a church warden or member of clergy and let them know what has happened. If you are leading an activity in the hall, you are responsible for people s safety. Please consult the Fire Evacuation Plan posted near the entrance and also note Issue 2.1 (Published) Page 3 of 8
in advance the maximum permitted numbers to avoid exceeding them 75 (seated) and 100 (standing) 3 Safeguarding SMB-HS-110-PROC Fire Safety and Evacuation Plan All work with children and vulnerable adults is subject to the Safeguarding Arrangements. If you have any concerns, please contact the Parish Safeguarding Link. The most important to note is that if you see or suspect any form of abuse, then doing nothing is not an option. 4 Keys, passwords and office door code SMB-CY-001-POL Safeguarding Principles Access to, and use of the church, hall and office need to be limited for reasons of security. If you believe you may need a key for whatever reason, please contact a warden. Please do not copy any existing keys or divulge any access codes to others. 5 Social Events SMB-FM-020-POL Key holders St Michael's is a friendly place with lots going on. If you are organising a social event, e.g. a lunch, a garden party, a concert etc, please be aware that many of the above aspects need to be taken into consideration and a simple risk assessment should be done e.g. food hygiene, electrical safety, slip/trip hazards, fire and evacuation, first aid, child protection etc. The Health and Safety Coordinator and the Parish Safeguarding Link can provide simple guidance to assist you. Please note the maximum numbers permitted in the hall for fire safety (75 seated and 100 standing) which must not be exceeded. If alcohol is involved and any money is charged for it at the event or if it is mentioned on admission tickets, then a Temporary Event licence is required from Erewash Borough Council (EBC). These are readily obtained at a modest cost and keep us all nice and legal. Events outside church premises (e.g. on Duffield Close) need to be thought about carefully. The EBC guide is worth looking at. SMB-HS-150-RA Risk Assessments SMB-HS-141-PROC Events checklist - EBC Guide If transportation is involved, then you must follow the guidelines in the policy document. SMB-HS-190-POL Transporting People Issue 2.1 (Published) Page 4 of 8
6 Health and Safety 6.1 Food Hygiene There are legal obligations for food hygiene if more than tea and biscuits are served at any church activities. If you are involved in preparing or serving food, please study the church procedure and ensure a person with the right qualifications is involved in any catering. 6.2 Clock chamber and bell tower SMB-HS-120-POL Food Preparation and Hygiene Access to this is up a steep ladder and an access hatch and must only be undertaken by persons authorised by the wardens. 6.3 First Aid Boxes These are at the back of the Church (near the "Come Holy Spirit" window), in the Hall Kitchen and in the Office. If medical assistance is needed, the postcode is written on the boxes. If used, please write down what has happened in the adjacent Accident Book and advise the office as soon as possible. If medical attendance or a hospital visit is needed, please advise a warden as soon as possible. 6.4 Lifting and Handling SMB-HS-170-POL Accidents and First Aid All the items regularly moved around have been assessed for their safety in terms of lifting and handling. If any task is beyond your ability to do safely, please advise a warden as soon as possible so we can look into ways of doing this safely, for example by use of a barrow. 6.5 Ladders SMB-HS-180-POL Lifting and Handling The 3-piece sliding ladders kept in the ringing chamber are only to be used by persons authorised by the wardens and you must follow the instructions shown on the notice and the procedure for working at height. 6.6 Accident and "Near miss" reporting SMB-HS-160-POL Working at Height Even if no First Aid is involved, please record all accidents in one of the Accident Books located adjacent to each First Aid box, complete the counterfoil stub and pass the tear-off slip to the Health and Safety Co-Ordinator or a warden. Please advise serious accidents (e.g. needing an ambulance) or any "near-misses" or potential hazards to a warden as soon as possible. Issue 2.1 (Published) Page 5 of 8
SMB-HS-170-POL Accidents and First Aid 6.7 Working alone This should be avoided if possible, but we know an element of this is unavoidable. Please undertake actions when the church has people around if possible e.g. Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, or try to have someone else around. If being alone is unavoidable then we would encourage you to have a mobile phone with you so you can summon help if needed, and let someone know when you should be back home. 7 Copyright Copying (and projecting) printed and visual materials must not be done without permission from the copyright holder. This includes music scores, lyrics and DVDs/films. Please contact the Church Copyright Licence Holder for advice on what can and cannot be copied/projected. 8 The Church Building SMB-GEN-010-POL Copyright and Perf Music and Film One of the advantages/disadvantages of such an old building as St Michael's is that changes cannot be made without due process. This covers the structure and also the fixtures and fittings. Changes, alterations, moving things etc cannot be done without authorisation. Please speak to a warden about any proposals for making changes. 8.1 Lighting and Heating It is stating the obvious, but please be mindful to turn off lights and heating when leaving the building. The ringing chamber light has a switch near the entrance door to allow you to enter/leave with some lighting. The porch has a light switch by the inner doors (on the left as you leave church). 8.2 Sound System The main church sound system is turned on and off by the mains switch behind the noticeboard. All the levels are set to the normal settings; at the end of the service please reverse any changes you may have made. There is a booklet explaining how everything works. The sound and vision system in the hall has a manual located in the small cupboard. If you need access to the system, then contact the Office, or the keyholder for the Church hall SMB-FM-010-MAN Church Sound System Issue 2.1 (Published) Page 6 of 8
8.3 Equipment Space is limited in church and it is important that no equipment is brought into church and left without the permission of a warden. This includes fan heaters, music stands, lamps, decorative items etc. No electrical equipment brought from home is permitted (e.g. extension leads, lighting, microwaves, TVs etc) unless it is brand new, PAT tested or will be only be used by its owner and taken away again immediately. Christmas tree lights must be the low voltage type. 9 Faults and Maintenance If you find any faults or maintenance issues please write them in the Maintenance Log book (colourful books in the Hall kitchen and the Church vestry), and report them to a warden as soon as possible. 10 Appendix The table on the next page is a guide (and only a guide!) to indicate which documents are most relevant to which roles. You should be at the very least familiar with the existence of the documents, and ideally with the contents. Issue 2.1 (Published) Page 7 of 8
you should be familiar with SMB-CY-001-POL / Safeguarding Principles SMB-CY-040-POL / esafety and Technology policy SMB-CY-110-POL / Children at Holy Communion SMB-FM-010-POL / Hall conditions of use SMB-GEN-010-POL / Copying and Copyright SMB-HS-001-POL / H&S Policy and Guidance SMB-HS-050-DOC / Ecclesiastical Insurance Personal Safety Plan SMB-HS-110-PROC / Fire Safety and Evacuation Plan SMB-HS-120-POL / Food hygiene procedure SMB-HS-140-PROC / Activity checklist SMB-HS-150-RA / Risk Assessment(s) SMB-HS-190-POL / Transporting People SMB-FM-020-POL / Key holders If you are (you may have several roles) Rector Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Other clergy Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Young Church leader Y Y Y Y Y Y Youth Café leader Y Y Y Y Y Youth, Children and Community Worker Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Choir master or Music Group leader Y Churches Together representative Y Y Churchwarden Y Y Y Y Coffee rota member Y Event organiser Y y Y Y Y Y Y Office staff Y Y PCC member Y Y Y Service leader Y Y Y Leader of a group Y Y Keyholder (or passwords etc) Y Issue 2.1 (Published) Page 8 of 8