These eight standards, set by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency, are the national framework to achieve high standards in safeguarding practice in church bodies such as dioceses and religious life groups.
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News > About Us > Safeguarding Statement > Local Safeguarding > Resources > Online Training > Contact and Legal >On 1 April 2021, the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) was incorporated. The CSSA was established following the acceptance of the Elliott Review recommendations and the end of the IICSA enquiry process by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales.
Following the recommendations in the Elliott review and IICSA, the CSSA produced eight standards. The eight standards lay out what CSSA expects in terms of level of safeguarding practice in church bodies such as dioceses and religious life groups. The CSSA’s role through their inspection process, is to ensure compliance with those standards.
The eight standards are:
| Standard One | Safeguarding is embedded in the Church body’s leadership, governance, ministry and culture |
| Standard Two | Communicating the Church’s Safeguarding Message |
| Standard Three | Engaging with and Caring for those who report having been harmed |
| Standard Four | Effective Management of Allegations and Concerns |
| Standard Five | Management and Support of Subjects of Allegations and Concerns (respondents) |
| Standard Six | Robust Human Resource Management |
| Standard Seven | Training and Support for Safeguarding |
| Standard Eight | Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement |
The first standard is to ensure that safeguarding is embedded in leadership, governance, ministry and culture.
The second standard relates to how a Church body communicates its safeguarding messages.
The third standard concentrates on providing access to appropriate support, advice, and pastoral care for those who have suffered harm.
The fourth standard requires Church bodies to have processes for people to raise concerns or make allegations where appropriate that are clear, understood, accessible and reviewed by leadership.
The fifth standard relates to having a robust system for managing and monitoring, and an effective system for supporting respondents.
The sixth standard ensures that those working with children or adults at risk are appropriately recruited, vetted, and supported to deliver safeguarding standards in practice.
The seventh standard calls for Church bodies to provide ongoing training and support to everyone involved in safeguarding.
The eighth standard relates to quality assurance and compliance with standards to continuously improve practice.
