Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults

The pastoral care offered by the friars, and by employees and volunteers associated with us, brings them into contact with children and vulnerable adults. We take very seriously our duty to protect those in our care from harm, and we encourage anyone who has any concerns in this area, regarding either the present day or the past, to contact those responsible for safeguarding.

Contacts

• Safeguarding Officer for the Province: safeguarding@english.op.org (this role is held by a friar)
• Religious Life Safeguarding Service (RLSS) for any safeguarding concerns or enquiries relating to the Province: https://religioussafeguarding.org
• Each of our priories / parishes has a lay Safeguarding representative. You can find their contact details on their noticeboard or on their website

Standards and Policies

The Safeguarding Standards and Policies of our Province are those of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, for which see the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) (https://www.catholicsafeguarding.org.uk)

Further to that, there are local policies specific to each of our houses which give details relevant to each house, including areas where children may or may not go, and what is to be done if there is an issue, etc.

Staff and Volunteers

We undertake checks on and provide training to staff and volunteers with pastoral roles, including lay chaplains, organists, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, sick visitors etc.