Introduction This report covers the work of the National Safeguarding Panel during the calendar year 2020. It was an unusual year with the need to adapt to the Covid 19 pandemic. The Panel held its first meeting of the year in person but since the March lockdown all other meetings were online. The meetings continued … Continue reading ANNUAL REPORT 2020 NATIONAL SAFEGUARDING PANEL
Tag: National Safeguarding Panel
Archbishops and Bishops
The National Safeguarding Panel invited both Archbishops to answer questions on safeguarding. They attended our December meeting via Zoom for around an hour each. Below is a summary of the key areas of the discussions. Wrong-footed The first question was ‘what they thought had gone well with safeguarding?’ – which wrong footed both Archbishops. Within … Continue reading Archbishops and Bishops
TIME FOR REVIEW
The National Safeguarding Panel again used Zoom for its September meeting given the pandemic. The Panel expect to meet remotely for the foreseeable future. We welcomed a new Panel member, Kevin Ball, who has extensive experience working in children’s social work. He replaces Roger Singleton, who has completed his term. There were two major items: … Continue reading TIME FOR REVIEW
ZOOMING ALONG
Due to the Covid-19 crisis the National Safeguarding Panel did not hold its usual meeting in May, instead using the Zoom meeting app we met for 90 minutes with members of the National Safeguarding Team (NST). Our focus was a consultation presented by the NST on proposed new guidance for reviews of major cases. These … Continue reading ZOOMING ALONG
SAFEGUARDING ADULTS
Much of the conversation around safeguarding focuses on children, yet we know from the work of Diocesan Safeguarding Advisors that in the Church adults are a very significant part of the workload. A few statistics highlight this. Between 2015 and 2017 there was an increase of 78% in safeguarding concerns and allegations received by Diocesan … Continue reading SAFEGUARDING ADULTS
SYNOD DISCUSSES REDRESS
Over the last few weeks, the corona virus has rightly concerned everyone and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. This inevitably means cancellation of face to face meetings and a delay to some work on safeguarding. Following Government advice and giving priority to staying healthy is the right thing to do. I … Continue reading SYNOD DISCUSSES REDRESS
Church of England’s response to IICSA
In March 2018, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) held three weeks of public hearings about the Diocese of Chichester, and in July 2018, one week of hearings on Bishop Peter Ball. IICSA’s findings for these two case studies, with a set of recommendations, were published on 9 May 2019. The National Safeguarding … Continue reading Church of England’s response to IICSA
Focus on prevention
The first National Safeguarding Panel after the summer was the last meeting for Graham Tilby, the National Safeguarding Advisor, who is leaving for a new post in local government, and the first for Melissa Caslake in her new job as Director of Safeguarding. Sir Roger Singleton, who has been Interim Director of Safeguarding, will be … Continue reading Focus on prevention
Presenting to the Synod
On Sunday afternoon during July’s Synod ninety minutes was timetabled for a discussion on safeguarding within the church. The first half hour consisted of questions about safeguarding. A printed copy of questions previously submitted by Synod members with answers from the Church was handed out. Synod members had the opportunity to ask supplementary questions on … Continue reading Presenting to the Synod
First reflections…
On 17th September I took up my appointment as the first Independent Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel. Taking on a new role requires a period of time to establish who are the key people, and how the organisation is structured. As a Methodist I thought I would know about the Church of England, how … Continue reading First reflections…
