FOUR models for the long run of Church of England safeguarding might be presented to the General Synod when it meets next month, but members is not going to yet have the prospect to vote on which course is taken.
Instead, it was revealed yesterday, members might be invited to vote for further evaluation to be done on the proposals, in time for the group of sessions next February.
In February this 12 months, Synod members voted for a consultation (News, 1 March) after a report by Professor Alexis Jay beneficial the creation of two recent independent bodies: one to offer safeguarding services, and the opposite to scrutinise this work (News, 23 February).
Along with the update paper GS 2364, the outcomes of a survey soliciting responses to Professor Jay’s report were published on Thursday afternoon.
The Church Times reported at the tip of last month that the outcomes indicated strong opposition amongst senior clergy and church safeguarding staff to a model wherein day-to-day safeguarding can be conducted by an independent body (News, 31 May). There was, nevertheless, overwhelming support for the creation of a body to offer independent scrutiny of safeguarding work.
Models reflecting these options are specified by GS 2364, and a motion might be debated on 8 July which calls for “detailed evaluation” of them.
A “baseline” model outlined within the paper would involve no major structural reorganisation, but would proceed work towards fulfilling the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) — a process chaired by Professor Jay.
Models two and three offer variations on independent scrutiny of safeguarding work, with model three incorporating a recent external body that will take responsibility for safeguarding casework that reaches a certain threshold.
The final model “follows closely the recommendations presented by Professor Jay”, the paper says, and would create two recent bodies.
The motion to be put before Synod is:
That this Synod thank the Response Group for its work, welcome the progress update set out in GS 2364, and noting that feedback has identified concerns with:
- Professor Jay’s recommendations on spiritual abuse and the definition of safeguarding; and
- The role of bishops in decision-making on safeguarding cases
ask for detailed evaluation of the choices set out within the paper to be undertaken for the General Synod in February.
