THE diocese of Carlisle, and its cathedral, has a “positive safeguarding culture” based on an independent audit published on Thursday.
The INEQE Safeguarding Group found much to praise, but cited issues around safeguarding capability that are familiar from previous reports on other dioceses and cathedrals.
The culture of safeguarding within the diocese is commended, with the auditors saying that it features a “strong belief” amongst staff that “concerns will be raised without fear of reprisal, contributing to a way of trust and confidence.”
However, they conclude that there’s “room for improvement in engaging the broader community . . . Overall, the feedback suggests a culture that’s receptive to vary and improvement but additionally highlights the necessity for ongoing efforts to consolidate and strengthen practice and engagement, with an emphasis on reaching into parishes.”
Improvements within the dioceses’ safeguarding culture are credited to the “commitment and labor of the various volunteers on the grassroots level”, in addition to the diocese’s safeguarding staff.
The audit also praises the Acting Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Revd Rob Saner-Haigh, for his prioritisation of safeguarding, and strongly recommends that, when a recent everlasting diocesan bishop is appointed, she or he doesn’t delegate safeguarding to the suffragan bishop, as previously happened in Carlisle.
In a press release, Bishop Saner-Haigh said that “safeguarding stays a priority for us and we recognise that we are able to never sit still. We should look to do and be higher.”
He welcomed the recommendations, and said that the diocese was “committed to exploring how these will be implemented to further strengthen our safeguarding practices”.
The current Diocesan Safeguarding Officer (DSO), Joanna Van Lachterop, is described as a “clear asset” to the diocese, however the auditors go on to say that she has “been without appropriate support for a lot too long”.
The audit was conducted before the diocese had filled the newly created position of assistant diocesan safeguarding officer, and the report acknowledged that the diocese was “actively attempting to strengthen its safeguarding team”.
Oversight for clergy HR is held by the bishop’s chaplain, but INEQE advises that this might create a conflict of interest and recommends that this responsibility be separated from the role.
The auditors also recommend that the diocese’s safeguarding director is made an ex-officio member of the bishop’s leadership team, replacing the present arrangement during which they join chosen meetings.
Carlisle is the tenth diocese to be audited by INEQE. Almost all the other reports have raised similar concerns concerning the capability and structure of safeguarding teams (News, 7 February).
In Carlisle, the “heavy workload” on the DSO “has created challenges and hindered potential progress”, INEQE’s report says.
“This over-reliance on a small team creates a risk of unsustainability and hinders the potential for proactive and comprehensive safeguarding practice,” the auditors say, recommending that the team be bolstered by the employment of a director of safeguarding with oversight across the diocese in addition to the cathedral.
This advice tallies with INEQE’s vision for the structural changes required in C of E safeguarding.
Before the General Synod debate on the longer term of church safeguarding in February, the chief executive of INEQE, Jim Gamble, argued that it was this model, and never outsourcing diocesan safeguarding to an independent organisation, which ought to be pursued (News, 10 February).
INEQE also audited Carlisle Cathedral, which has a “memorandum of understanding” with the diocesan safeguarding structures managed by the Diocesan Board of Finance.
This includes the DSO spending someday a month on the cathedral site, in addition to offering support remotely. Operational safeguarding is conducted by the Canon Warden, the Revd Dr Benjamin Carter, whose commitment the audit describes as “exemplary”.
The Cathedral also has a lay safeguarding lead, who’s independent of the Chapter, and is developing a cathedral safeguarding group which the audit says “can play an important role in ensuring safeguarding is embedded inside the Cathedral community”.
The audit recommends the employment of a dedicated safeguarding advisor, managed by the DSO, as a way to further professionalise safeguarding provision on the cathedral.
Choristers engaged by the auditors were “overwhelming positive” about their experiences, and had a “clear sense” for who to approach if there have been any concerns.
The Dean of Carlisle, the Very Revd Jonathan Brewster, said on Thursday that he was grateful to INEQE for the “supportive way during which the audit was conducted.
“We welcome the auditor’s constructive engagement with the entire cathedral community and their recognition of the work now we have done to have interaction with victims and survivors of abuse through the Cathedral safeguarding season,” he said.
The full report is on the market on the Church of England website.
