Audits and Reviews
We strive to improve our practice all the time and welcome opportunities to participate in external reviews – this is part of our approach to continuous improvement. When this happens the outcome of any review is presented and considered by the DSAP and we consider the best way in which all the recommendations can be embraced & implemented. Here are a few of the recent external audit reports for the Diocese:
Makin Review
The independent review by Keith Makin into the Church of England’s handling of allegations of serious abuse by the late John Smyth has been published click here
PCR2 National Report
The National Past Cases Review 2 (PCR2) Report has been published. You can read the national report using the following link click here.
Southwell and Nottingham Local Executive Summary Report
Following national guidance, the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham has produced an Executive Summary report outlining the key themes from our PCR2 process. The Executive Summary Report has been written to ensure that no survivors could be identified, a commitment given to them when they agreed to assist in the review. Those survivors who participated in the review have already received a copy of the Executive Summary Report and we extend our thanks once again for the valuable contribution they made to the review. The Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) will meet later this month and consider the recommendations within the national report and agree a final PCR2 Action Plan. This plan will be posted here once it has received DSAP approval.
You can read the Local Executive Summary here.
Parish Safeguarding and DSAP Member Skills Audit 2022
The Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) is looking to see what additional support structures might be available across the wide breadth of skills and experience within the diocese.
DSAP is also looking to improving the induction process for new DSAP members, PSOs and Lead Recruiters as these is recognition that working in a church context can be difficult to understand in terms of process, terminology etc.
In looking at the more informal support structures we hope that anyone, whether new or experienced in the role, might improve their confidence in carrying out the role for which they are volunteering.
This proposal aims to strengthen the links between parishes and the Diocesan Safeguarding Team (DST) and DSAP. Identifying local resources will also assist the strategic planning for the diocese as we will be better informed of the current skills base. This should enable the DST to prioritise the service offered to parishes and target those most in need of induction, training and support.
The DST will circulate a skills audit questionnaire which will be available to complete between Monday 1st August 2022 to Friday 30th September 2022. Over the summer months the DST will collate responses and produce a report for the October DSAP to inform the Safeguarding Action Plan over the next three years. You can access the questionnaire using the link below: https://forms.office.com/r/r3LBEvtTii
Update on Past Case Review 2
The Diocesan Safeguarding Team are pleased to announce the conclusion of the Past Case Review 2, which commenced in February 2020. This examination of diocesan safeguarding practice since 2007 has provided some helpful insight and recommendations.
We would like to thank everyone who has participated in the process; we are grateful for the thoroughness and commitment participants have shown.
We are enacting the recommendations made within the report, in consultation with the Diocesan Independent Chair for Safeguarding and the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel, to ensure that our safeguarding practice continues to improve and that the actions agreed with the Independent Reviewers are completed.
The National Safeguarding Team will be collating all the results for summer 2022.
Graham Gregory: Lessons Learnt Review | The Church of England
The publication of the report into the actions of Graham Gregory is a stark reminder of the failures of the Church over many years, including within the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.
We are deeply sorry for the part of the Diocese in this failure, and for the lack of empathy and action at the time these issues were drawn to diocesan attention. The National Safeguarding Team, NST, is seeking reassurance that current safeguarding practice in all dioceses is up to date and that a very different approach would be adopted now.
Apologies will never take away the lifelong effect on the survivors and victims, but pastoral support has been offered to all those affected.
We will be considering the findings in the report carefully in order to assess what further action may be required in this diocese.
We are committed to the safeguarding, care and nurture of everyone within our parishes and communities across this diocese, ensuring church is a safe place for all. If you have any concerns about safeguarding please contact safeguarding@southwell.anglican.org or call 01636 817200. If you or someone you know is at immediate risk please contact the police.
Past Case Review 2 (PCR2) 2021
PCR2 is a key step to making our Churches a safer place for all and is a large-scale independent review of the handling by the Church of England’s safeguarding cases over many years. It involves a scrutiny of clergy and church officers’ files to identify anyone potentially presenting on-going risks to children, adults at risk of harm and domestic abuse. It also seeks to identify those past cases which have not been acted upon appropriately. It follows PCR1 which took place in 2008/09; this further review includes files held at a parish level and there is a key focus on engaging survivors of any Church based abuse in the process. The review approved by the House of Bishops is being carried out across all 42 dioceses and includes all Cathedrals, Anglican Religious Communities and Theological Institutions. The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham has been working to complete our part of the PCR2 process and we will provide more details about what has been happening early in the New Year. This work is ongoing with the final national report due to be published in June 2022.
IICSA 2018
Following a number of high profile child abuse cases, the British Government ordered a public inquiry into how large organisations respond to allegations of child sexual abuse. The Church of England volunteered to participate in the Inquiry following the allegations made against Bishop Peter Ball and the Archbishop’s commissionaires report into the safeguarding arrangements in the Diocese of Chichester.
On 6th October 2020 the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, IICSA, published its Investigation Report, The Anglican Church – Safeguarding in the Church of England and the Church in Wales.
The full report can be accessed here
SCIE 2016 audit of Southwell and Nottingham Diocese safeguarding arrangements
In 2016 the Diocese was audited as part of a national church-wide audit of each of the then 43 Dioceses. All the audits were undertaken by the Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) and took place over a three-day period in 2016. Southwell and Nottingham were one of the early diocesan audits and the report was presented to the DSAP.
Southwell and Nottingham Final Report
Safeguarding action plan in response to SCIE audit