INEQE Safeguarding Audit praises Newcastle for improvements

An independent safeguarding audit has found that the Bishop of Newcastle and the Dean of Newcastle have been commended for driving improvement and strengthening safeguarding measures in the Diocese of Newcastle, at Newcastle Cathedral and at parish level.

Their ‘ambitious’ plans to restructure governance and further develop initiatives, education and partnerships have been recognised in the intensive audit carried out by the INEQE Safeguarding Group.

The audit was commissioned by the Archbishops’ Council and overseen by the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team (NST). The audit assesses safeguards against national safeguarding standards and is carried out in each diocese.

The Audit Team found that the Diocesan Safeguarding Team (DST) in Newcastle continues to do ‘good work’ with ‘impressive’ collaboration with external agencies and investment in a range of different safeguarding projects. They also praised the work of the DST in supporting and co-producing excellent initiatives with victims and survivors, and parishes for their hard work and dedication in helping to implement the Parish Safeguarding Dashboard.

However, they were concerned about the DST’s ability to meet the growing demands placed on it and advised the Diocesan Finance Council and Newcastle Cathedral to urgently address this.

You can read the full report and recommendations here.

The Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle, commented on the audit findings: “I welcome the report of the independent Safeguarding Audit and would like to express my sincere thanks to the Audit team for their thoughtful, robust and honest engagement throughout the Audit process.

“I sincerely hope that the Diocesan Council of Finance will fully accept the recommendations of the Audit Report and proceed without delay to implement the recommendations. I accept full responsibility for the protection and provision thereof in the Diocese of Newcastle and look forward to the recommendations being fully implemented.”

The Very Reverend Lee Batson, Dean of Newcastle, said: “I am very pleased to be able to express my thanks to the Bishop, to all those involved in carrying out the Safeguarding Audit of the diocese and the cathedral. My senior team share her belief that the process was ‘mindful, robust and fair’ and as a result will recommend that the Chapter implement all recommendations as soon as possible.

“We have already started to implement some of the recommendations in the report and will move on to the others as soon as possible. We are confident that the action plan that will be developed as a result of the audit will ensure that the Cathedral will be an even safer place for those who come into contact with us.”

The audit team analyzed more than 400 documents, interviewed various church officials, external partners, victims, survivors and other stakeholders, and collected 382 anonymous surveys.