INEQE action planning, safeguarding risk register & diocesan staffing changes | DSAP June 2026

Sally Hodges, the Independent Chair for Southwell & Nottingham’s Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP), has summarised the key messages from the last panel meeting earlier in the summer.

The Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) met in June, and I am pleased to say that there was good representation from our partner colleagues, as well as safeguarding professionals and other senior leaders.

1. Draft INEQE report received

DSAP was happy to hear that the draft report from the INEQE safeguarding audit had been received by the diocesan leadership team. While it wasn’t possible to share all of the report’s details at that time, DSAP did consider the comments made about its own performance and activities. There were no surprises in this area and DSAP felt that all of the points raised were reasonable and well within its scope for improvement. Indeed, many of the actions needed had already been put into place.

2. Culture, leadership & capacity

The panel discussed safeguarding culture, leadership and capacity and agreed to embed actions within the existing INEQE and quality assurance action planning rather than commissioning a further cultural review at this time. It was felt that effort should be concentrated on making changes rather than on further reviews.

3. Positive report on training activity levels

DSAP received a positive report about training activity levels generally, though it acknowledged issues arising from training delivery. The panel was concerned to hear comments from training staff and those receiving national leadership training about the quality of the material. DSAP recommended that those concerns be conveyed to the National Safeguarding Team (NST) so that the feedback could be considered in future alterations and improvements.

4. Safeguarding risk register

The development of a safeguarding risk register aligned with diocesan governance processes was considered and supported by DSAP. The register’s goal is to make safeguarding risks clearly understandable so that mitigation can be put into place to reduce them.

5. Skills audit revisit

There is a wide range of skills and experience represented across DSAP’s membership. The panel found that an effective way to make more use of these qualities would be to revisit its skills audit and consider how the identified skills could be used meaningfully to support its strategy. Another longer-term benefit of such an audit is that it also allows DSAP to better understand the positive attributes that new members might bring in.

6. A heartfelt thanks to Julian and Lucy

With Julian Hodgson retiring and Lucy Grimsey moving on to pastures new, DSAP felt strongly that it wanted to thank them both for their many years of service in developing and supporting safeguarding in the diocese to its current standards, which has also been recognised externally.

DSAP also took note of the plans in place for Diocesan Safeguarding Team (DST) recruitment going forward.

7. Reports received from wider agencies

It is important for DSAP to keep abreast of current trends, activities and information on safeguarding activity from wider agencies. To this end, it received reports from colleagues in Nottinghamshire safeguarding services for both children and adults. Of particular note was the significant risks and prevalence of ‘cuckooing’ and the need to protect vulnerable adults. Partner material will be made available for further information.

Get in touch

If you would like more information about any of the topics discussed in the DSAP meeting, or you are seeking safeguarding support of any kind within our diocese, please contact the diocesan safeguarding team using the button below.