We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officers (PSO’s).

The Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our PSOs.

If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA. If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority Children or Adults Services.

Contacts If you have any concerns about safeguarding please contact:

• In the Fosse Group: Safeguarding Leads: Mandy Beeby (07850 085055) Peter Golightly (07768 401406)
• In the Diocese: Julian Hodgson email {email_encode:safeguarding@southwell.anglican.org,link=safeguarding@southwell.anglican.org} OR contact the Safeguarding Team on 01636 817200 during working hours
• Out of hours for children and adults Nottinghamshire County Council (MASH): 0300 500 8090

You can view our full policies below and the Church of England's safeguarding information here.

Privacy & Social Media

We take looking after your information seriously. Here you can see our privacy policy and our social media policy. Furthermore, we will ask for consent where appropriate when using photos containing your image. You can see our media consent form here which allows us to obtain consent for taking and publishing photos. 

The Fosse Group of churches consists of five churches in two parishes:

• The Parish of East Bridgford, Kneeton and Flintham St Peter’s, St Helen’s, St Augustine’s 
• The Parish of Car Colston and Screveton St Mary’s and St Wilfrid’s

As part of the Church of England, we meet together and offer a variety of styles of worship to help people to discover Jesus Christ and grow as Christians.

We welcome you to begin an amazing journey with us whether it be for a significant occasion, to explore your Christian faith or to get involved with our communities.

Vision 2030 

As part of the diocese initiative we have developed our Vision for the next five years focusing on seven key areas. Here is a link to a video from the Diocese explaining the vision and you can see our full plan here. 

We know it can be hard to explore somewhere new for the first time so hopefully we can make that step more comfortable for you. If you can’t find the answer to your question below then please contact us and we would be happy to help.

What services do you hold?

We hold a variety of different services throughout the churches so hopefully there will be something to suit your needs. 

• Communion - These include
  • Book of Common Prayer (BCP)
  • Common Worship (CW)
• Evensong
• Festival Services

Children are welcome at all of our services, however, there are some services which may be better suited to them. Both St Mary’s in Car Colston and St Peter’s in East Bridgford have dedicated ‘Children’s corners’ and we hope to roll this out to the other churches soon.

The following services are also aimed at families:

• Pancakes and Praise (St Peter’s East Bridgford)
• Family and all age services in Car Colston.

There are also joint Messy Church events with the Methodist Church in East Bridgford and in Flintham throughout the year. See more about Messy Church here.

When are your services?

See the calendar of our services here. If you can’t make a service in your village Church that’s ok, everyone is welcome at all the churches in the Fosse Group.

Do I need to do anything in advance?

No. You do not need to book unless specified for an event and no preparation is needed. We will try to explain things as we go along. Hymn books will be provided for you and you don’t need to bring a bible. (Did you know you can download a bible app for free on your smartphone? That way you can easily read along if you find this easier).

Lots of our churches are open during the week therefore if you would like to attend but would like to be comfortable with the building first then please feel free to visit. See Our Churches for opening times.

Do I need to bring anything?

Just yourself (and anyone else you’re bringing with you)! There is sometimes a perception you need to wear your ‘Sunday best’, however, we would prefer you feel comfortable and relaxed therefore there is no need to dress up.

If you would like to donate money to the church then an offering plate is usually available and some of our churches have Digital Giving available.

What is it like at your services?

There will be some variation according to service and church but the general principles are the same. You will be met at the door by a greeter who will welcome you and give you any books or information required for the service. Usually you can sit anywhere, but please ask if you’re not sure.

Services usually consist of a few hymns, a couple of bible readings and the sermon (talk) from the leader of the service. Usually this is our Rector, but we are currently 'in interregnum' (which means we are recruiting for a new Rector and the position is vacant). We are using retired members of the clergy and others to take our services, as well as other members of the team. See ‘Our Team’ to understand who may be leading the service.

Most services last between 30-60 minutes. Some hints and tips if you’re new to our services:

• We would advise arriving at least a few minutes before the service is due to start so that you can make yourself comfortable.
• Sometimes it can feel like there is a lot of standing up and sitting down. If you’re not sure or less able feel free to stay in your seat.
• You may wish to join in with hymns but again there is no obligation. If you’re not sure feel free to listen to the music and lyrics.
• Refreshments are often available after the service. We would love for you to stay and have an opportunity to meet others in the church, ask any questions you may have, or simply look around our beautiful churches.

I would like to be involved in some way but not sure about attending regular services. Is there another way I can help the Church?

We know joining a church can feel like a big step but we would love people to join us in other ways outside of the Sunday services. See our ‘Community’ page to find out more, or contact us.

Are your Churches accessible?

Given that most of our Churches are grade I listed it can sometimes be difficult to be fully accessible. However, some of our churches may be more suitable than others. We will do our best to accommodate all needs. Please see ‘Our Churches’ to see their accessibility information, or contact us to find out more.

I would like to explore my faith a bit more, do you run any courses?

We periodically run courses including the ‘Pilgrim’ courses devised by the Church of England to help explore different aspects of faith, whether you are starting out and want to know more about the basics or a deeper exploration. Please contact us if you would like to find out more.