My commitment

At Many Treasures Ceremonies, I want everyone involved in preparing and taking part in a ceremony to feel respected, heard and treated with dignity.

I am committed to working in a way that helps protect children, young people and adults at risk from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

This commitment applies to my meetings, communications, ceremony preparation and ceremonies themselves.

A sensitive and respectful approach

Preparing a ceremony can involve personal conversations, family relationships and difficult emotions. I aim to approach these with care, patience and respect.

I will:

• Respect people’s wishes, personal boundaries, beliefs and backgrounds.

• Listen without making assumptions or putting pressure on anyone to share private information.

• Discuss how people wish to participate and respect their choice not to speak or take part.

• Consider accessibility and communication needs when planning meetings and ceremonies.

• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

• Take concerns about someone’s safety or wellbeing seriously.

Bereavement or distress does not, by itself, mean that someone is unable to make their own decisions. I will respect each person’s autonomy while remaining alert to possible harm.

Safe meetings and family visits

I want meetings to feel safe, comfortable and respectful for everyone, including me as your celebrant. As an independent celebrant, I may attend family meetings alone.

To support safe working:

• Visits are arranged in advance, with the location and expected attendees confirmed.

• I may suggest meeting online or at a suitable alternative venue if a home visit is not appropriate.

• I use a check-in arrangement with a trusted safety contact, sharing only the visit details necessary for my safety—not private family stories or ceremony material.

• I ask that pets are safely managed and that the meeting space is reasonably accessible and free from avoidable hazards.

• I expect respectful behaviour. Threatening, abusive, discriminatory or sexually inappropriate behaviour is not acceptable.

• If I feel unsafe, or circumstances make it inappropriate to continue, I may decline to enter, end the meeting or leave. Where appropriate, we can discuss a safer way to continue making arrangements.

• These precautions are part of maintaining professional boundaries and caring for everyone involved.

Children and young people

Where children or young people are involved in a ceremony, I will discuss suitable arrangements with their parent, carer or responsible adult, taking account of the child’s own wishes and understanding.

Children will not be pressured to speak, perform or share personal memories. Their participation should be appropriate to their age, needs and comfort.

My role is to provide celebrancy services, not childcare or supervision. A parent, carer or other agreed responsible adult remains responsible for supervising children during meetings and ceremonies.

I have had Basic, Standard and Advanced DBS clearance in previous roles, most recently in 2025.

Adults at risk

Some adults may need additional support to protect themselves from abuse or neglect because of their care and support needs.

I will aim to involve the person in decisions affecting them, listen to their wishes and avoid assuming that someone else should speak or decide on their behalf.

If I am concerned that an adult is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect, I will seek appropriate advice and consider a referral to the relevant safeguarding service.

If someone shares a concern

If someone tells me about possible abuse or neglect, or I observe something that causes concern, I will:

• Listen calmly and take what they say seriously.

• Avoid leading questions or attempting to investigate.

• Explain that I may need to share information with someone who can help.

• Make a timely, factual record of the concern and any action taken.

• Seek advice or refer the concern to the appropriate safeguarding service or police, according to the circumstances.

I will not confront a person alleged to have caused harm or attempt to resolve a safeguarding allegation through family mediation.

Confidentiality and information sharing

I treat personal information with care, but I cannot promise absolute confidentiality where someone’s safety may be at risk.

Where possible and safe, I will explain what information needs to be shared, with whom and why. I will seek agreement where appropriate, but there may be circumstances in which information needs to be shared without consent to protect a child or another person from harm.

Information will be shared only with appropriate people or services and limited to what is relevant and necessary.

Safeguarding records will be kept securely and separately from ceremony material where appropriate. Further information about how I handle personal information is available in my Privacy Policy.

My role and its limits

As an independent celebrant, I am responsible for responding appropriately to safeguarding concerns arising through my work.

I am not an emergency service, counsellor, social worker or safeguarding investigator. Where specialist help is needed, I will seek advice from or refer concerns to the appropriate services.

When working alongside a funeral director, venue or another organisation, I will cooperate with relevant safeguarding arrangements. This will not prevent me from reporting a concern directly to the appropriate authority where necessary.

Raising a concern

If you have a safeguarding concern connected with my work, you can contact me:

Christine Ozolins - Many Treasures Ceremonies

Email: christine@manytreasuresceremonies.co.uk

Telephone: 0151 272 1966

These contact channels are not monitored continuously. Please do not wait for a reply if someone may be in danger. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.