Parish Self-Evaluation & Audit Documents:
1) If you are completing an evaluation of your Parish or require support for an upcoming Parish audit, you should request a Parish report to track the recruitment of your volunteers.
For a copy of the Parish report for your parish, please email dbsadmin@rcdow.org.uk to receive a copy.
2) To ensure your parish is following the 8 CSSA Safeguarding Standards, please click here to see the Standards on the CSSA website.
And to read the CSSA guidance on preparation for Parish audit, please click here.
3) To help you with the Safe recruitment of volunteers, paid staff, PSRs, residents at the Presbytery, visiting priests and temporary volunteers, please use this Safer recruitment tracker checklists to ensure each stage of the recruitment process has been completed:
4) To help prepare your Parish for Audit, please also complete this checklist of tasks, with this Parish Self-Evaluation Tool.
5) For more information on the Parish Audit process, please see this document on the Diocesan Internal Audit Programme.
Safe Spaces - Posters for parishes:
Please click the links below to print posters and an presentation with information that allow those affected by abuse to access and contact Safe Spaces for support:
- How Safe Spaces can provide support to survivors of abuse - information presentation
- Safe Spaces - Tear Off poster
- Safe Spaces - Tear Off poster 2
- Safe Spaces - QR Code poster
Seniors groups - Safeguarding Guidance:
Please see the document below with guidance on running activities for the elderly and seniors groups in your parish:
Parish seniors groups - Safeguarding Guidance
Warm Spaces - Safeguarding Guidance:
Please see these documents below with guidance on running Warm Spaces in your parish over the winter:
Key Statutory Guidance relating to Children and Adults at Risk:
- After school clubs, community activties, and tution 2023 - Safeguarding guidance for providers - Department of Education
- Working together to safeguard children 2023 - a guide to multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children - Department for Education
- Keeping children safe in Education 2025, Statutory guidance ofr schools and colleges - Department for Education
- Adults at Risk - Care and Support Statutory Guidance (Care Act 2014 Guidance)
- Cumberledge Report - https://www.immdsreview.org.uk/downloads/IMMDSReview_Web.pdf
- Nolan Report - a programme for action (nolan) report-2001.pdf
- DBS - Disclosure and Barring Service - www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service
- IICSA - Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse - www.iicsa.org.uk
National Safeguarding Policies and Procedures:
CSSA (Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency) ensure that the Church’s policies on safeguarding are kept up to date with good practice and are accessible to people at all levels in the Church
Please find all the Catholic safeguarding policies and procedures which apply to all Parishes within the Diocese of Westminster in the link below. This includes guidance for:
- How to respond to allegations of abuse
- Good practice when working with children and adults at risk
- Safer Recruitment
CSSA Safeguarding Practice Guidance
- CSSA - Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency - www.catholicsafeguarding.org.uk
- CSSA - Retention and Destruction of Information
- CSSA Privacy Policies
Other Useful Documents:
Disclaimer:
Throughout our section, you will find links to external websites. Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly and ensure these links are accurate, up to date, and relevant. However, the Safeguarding Department cannot take responsibility for pages maintained by external providers.
If you come across any external links that do not work, we would be grateful if you could report them to the web content team or at safeguardingadmin@rcdow.org.uk
