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Child and Adult Safeguarding
Every day hundreds of children enter the Precincts of Canterbury Cathedral and become part of our community. Some of the children are permanent members of the Foundation of Canterbury Cathedral and others may just visit once in their childhood, but to every child, we have a duty of care and responsibility which is an extremely serious trust.
There is, in our society, a great concern that children are cared for in the best possible way and the Church takes this responsibility as one of its most important concerns. We have a Management group, guidelines and policies in place to ensure we follow very closely the principles of the House of Bishops’ Child Protection Policy Document for the whole Church of England.
This duty of care, polices and guidelines also applies to any Vulnerable Adults who visit our Cathedral and our Policy states that:
- We are committed to respectful pastoral ministry to all adults within our Cathedral community.
- We are committed, within our Cathedral community to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable people. This encompasses those who live, work, worship and visit here.
As part of our commitment to both child and adult protection, we carefully select and train paid and voluntary staff who might come into contact with these groups, using the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) if appropriate amongst other tools, to check their suitability.
See also:
- Our Safeguarding Policy (.docx)
- Safeguarding Key Contacts (.docx)
- Responding to Safeguarding Concerns about a Child or Adult poster (.docx)
- Caring for Survivors of Abuse
- Survivor's Care Strategy 2022
- Domestic Abuse Policy and Procedures 2022
If you have any queries or concerns in this regard, please address these in the first instance to: [email protected]
Report a non-emergency safeguarding concern
Are you concerned about the safety of a child, young person or vulnerable adult?
Or is there something that you would like to discuss that affects you?
To report a non-emergency safeguarding concern, please complete the form linked below:
TO REPORT AN EMERGENCY SAFEGUARDING CONCERN PLEASE CONTACT THE CATHEDRAL CONSTABLES OFFICE:
Located by the main entrance to the Precincts, Christ Church Gate.
Alternatively, please call 01227 866237
Canterbury Diocese and Cathedral Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DCSAP)
The DCSAP’s role is to provide a source of independent advice and expertise on sound safeguarding policies, procedures and practices to the Bishop of Dover, the Cathedral Chapter and other senior clergy and officials.
The panel meets three times per year, these meetings are hybrid in nature and members can join online or in person at Diocesan House, Lady Wootton’s Green, Canterbury.
Agenda, and items for consideration, are shared with panel members prior to the meetings, and panel members are expected to have read these papers and be prepared for discussions during the meeting.
The DCSAP is made up of safeguarding representatives from the Diocese and the Cathedral. As well as representatives from statutory and charity sector organisations. The DCSAP is chaired by a person with safeguarding experience/knowledge who is independent from the Diocese.
Independent Safeguarding Audit
Commodore M J Atherton OBE MA FCMI FCILT RECEIVER GENERAL
8th April 2019
Safeguarding at Canterbury Cathedral
The Church of England has commissioned an independent audit of cathedral arrangements for keeping people safe from harm and abuse. These mandatory audits follow those carried out at diocesan level over the last two years. Canterbury Cathedral was pleased to volunteer as the first among all the cathedrals in England and Wales to be audited.
The Chapter believes that the audit allowed us to benefit from external scrutiny by measuring ourselves against current best practices in this vital area, demonstrating our own good practice, and then learning and developing as a result.
Leading improvement agency the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is conducting the audits and visited the Cathedral for three days in November 2018. As well as looking at safeguarding files, policies and training, they met with safeguarding professionals, key members of the Chapter, including the Dean, and a wide variety of others from across the Cathedral community.
The Chapter would like to thank all the colleagues who gave their time, views and expertise to contribute to this in-depth process since at the heart of the audit was a series of conversations and focus groups with people in significant roles at the Cathedral relevant to safeguarding.
We are pleased that the report concludes that Canterbury Cathedral’s safeguarding is good, with many areas of strength. The auditors also pose a number of challenges.
Below you will find the conclusions, the full report and a document detailing questions, challenges and responses. This document will remain live and will be updated as actions are completed and changes embedded into our processes.
Anyone who is affected by any safeguarding issue can speak in confidence to the Cathedral Safeguarding Advisers in the first instance, who will ensure support is provided. (Contact details available here).
If you have any queries, comments or concerns regarding the report, our responses or safeguarding in general, please direct these to [email protected]
Joint Statement from Canterbury Cathedral and Diocese of Canterbury
John Smyth Review (7 November 2024)
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 today. We are conscious that the high profile nature of safeguarding publications can impact on survivors and victims. If you need support, please contact the Cathedral and Diocesan Safeguarding teams whose details can be found at www.canterburydiocese.org/safeguarding or www.canterbury-cathedral.org/safeguarding/
Canterbury Cathedral and the Diocese of Canterbury have robust safeguarding measures in place to protect children and vulnerable adults. We have a duty of care and responsibility which is an extremely serious trust, and one of our most important concerns.
Additional support is available from:
Safe Spaces
Website: https://safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/
Helpline: 0300 303 1056 (available Monday to Friday 9am – 9pm; Saturdays 9am to 1pm; Sundays 1pm to 5pm)
The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC)
Website: https://napac.org.uk/
Support line: 0808 801 0331 (available Monday to Thursday 10am – 9pm; Friday 10am to 6pm).
Statement regarding serious safeguarding allegations (16 July 2024)
A number of separate non-recent allegations of a serious safeguarding nature have been made against Revd David Marriott, who died in 1995. These relate to his time as Headmaster at the Canterbury Cathedral Choir School in the 1960s, and later in his role as parish priest in the Benefice of Wye and Brook.
Having made significant enquiries, we consider these allegations to be credible on the balance of probability.
We are saddened and ashamed that this has happened at the Cathedral and Diocese with our duty of care and responsibility to those in our charge. To that end, this case has been referred to our Interim Diocesan and Cathedral Safeguarding Advisory Panel Chair, Dr Liza Thompson, to consider whether the threshold for a Safeguarding Practice Review has been met.
As representatives of the Cathedral and Diocese, we apologise unreservedly to the survivors and victims, those who have come forward, all those in their cohort at the time, and to all others affected. We acknowledge the wrong and the harm experienced by the survivors and victims, and the ongoing impact this has had on survivors. We are truly sorry.
A specific complaint was also made regarding a plaque in memory of David Marriott at Wye Church. This complaint and the concerns of the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer and Archdeacon were brought to the PCC (Parochial Church Council). Following a meeting on 15 July, the PCC resolved to support an application to remove the plaque.
The relatives of David Marriott were also informed of the allegations, and offered support.
We thank those who bravely came forward to report their experiences. If there is anyone else who has any experiences or information they would like to tell us about, we welcome this and will provide support. Please contact the Cathedral and Diocesan Safeguarding teams whose details can be found at www.canterburydiocese.org/safeguarding or www.canterbury-cathedral.org/safeguarding/
Today, the Cathedral and Diocese have robust safeguarding measures in place to protect children and vulnerable adults. We have a duty of care and responsibility which is an extremely serious trust, and one of our most important concerns.
The Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover
The Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury
If you would like support but feel that you do not want to speak to anyone at the Cathedral, please contact Safe Spaces or The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC):
Safe Spaces
Website: https://safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/
Helpline: 0300 303 1056 (available Monday to Friday 9am – 9pm; Saturdays 9am to 1pm; Sundays 1pm to 5pm)
The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC)
Website: https://napac.org.uk/
Support line: 0808 801 0331 (available Monday to Thursday 10am – 9pm; Friday 10am to 6pm).
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