Safeguarding Team Expand These are the people at the Cathedral who are specially trained and available to talk to anyone who has a safeguarding concern about a child, young person, or have any questions about safeguarding at St Albans Cathedral. Elaine Rabbitt Cathedral Safeguarding Officer [email protected] 07759131584 The Rev'd Canon Will Gibbs Canon for Mission and Pastoral Care and Chapter Lead on Safeguarding [email protected] 01727 890201 The Very Rev'd Jo Kelly-Moore Dean of St Albans [email protected] 01727 890202 Jez Hirst Diocese Safeguarding Officer [email protected] 0786735088 If you are in immediate danger in crisis, or do not feel that you can keep yourself safe or are having thoughts of harming yourself or others, please contact emergency services via 999 or go to A & E. Other helpline numbers
Cathedral Safeguarding Policy and Procedures Expand St Albans Cathedral has adopted Safeguarding Policy and Procedures based on national requirements and guidance. These provide a framework for identifying and supporting vulnerable groups, information on what constitutes abuse and the processes to be followed. There is an emphasis on how to recruit safely and the necessity to support and train staff and volunteers. Chapter accepts and adopts in full the contents of The Church of England’s Safeguarding Policy for Children, Young People, and Adults, Promoting a Safer Church (2017) - Refer to National Policies and Procedures below. Download our Safeguarding Policies and Procedures below: Safeguarding Policies and Procedures Safeguarding Aide Memoire Cathedral Measures Cathedral Statement on Domestic Abuse statement The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has been commissioned by the Church of England to carry out independent audits of the safeguarding arrangements in each English cathedral between 2018 and 2022. Our audit was conducted in April 2021. SCIE’s audit approach does not result in a series of recommendations, instead it gives each cathedral questions to consider in relation to the audit’s findings. The Cathedral developed an action plan following the audit to deliver further improvements in our safeguarding of young people and adults. These actions are either now complete or embedded into ongoing activity. The INEQE Safeguarding Group has been appointed to carry out the next round of independent external audits across Church of England dioceses and cathedrals, starting in 2024 and ending in 2027. St Albans Cathedral's audit is scheduled for August 2027. SCIE Safeguarding Report SCIE Report Action Plan March 2024 St Albans Diocese Safeguarding Guidelines National Policies and Procedures
Responding to Safeguarding Concerns about a child or adult Expand A safeguarding issue is when a child or adult is being harmed or at risk of being harmed by others or themselves. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility; therefore this procedure applies to all clergy, staff, volunteers, contractors and members of the congregations and Cathedral community. In an emergency or if the vulnerable person is at immediate risk of serious harm, the person who has the safeguarding concern must phone the Police, using 999 or phone the relevant care services. (See list of other helpline numbers). Any safeguarding concern (including concerns about domestic abuse and any allegations against a colleague or clergy) must be reported to the Cathedral Safeguarding Officer, Elaine Rabbitt or any member of the Cathedral Safeguarding Team) within 24 hours. If the Cathedral Safeguarding Officer receives a safeguarding concern of any kind this must reported to the Rev’d Will Gibbs or, in his absence the Dean Jo Kelly-Moore. If both are absent, the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer, Jez Hirst, should be contacted. This must happen within 24 hours of the report being made. A written record of what happened, the person you spoke to, what was said and what you did should be made as soon as possible and emailed to the Cathedral Safeguarding Officer Elaine Rabbitt via [email protected] (assuming the person was implicated in your report). See Aide Memoir. The Cathedral Safeguarding Officer or, in her absence, the Chapter Safeguarding Lead Rev’d Will Gibbs is responsible for ensuring that any written records and any other related conversations and emails are recorded and stored on My Concern. The Cathedral Safeguarding Officer will ensure that any concern is discussed with the Rev’d Will Gibbs, the Dean Jo Kelly-Moore, professionals or Core group. They may decide to refer the matter to the LADO or other statutory authorities. In the event of the police or the statutory authorities being involved in the case, Chapter and staff will follow the guidance of the Safeguarding Officer, Elaine Rabbitt. Under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016, all authorised clergy, bishops, archdeacons, licensed readers and lay workers, churchwardens and PCCs must have ‘due regard’ to safeguarding guidance issued by the House of Bishops (this will include both policy and practice guidance). A duty to have ‘due regard’ to guidance means that the person under the duty is not free to disregard it but is required to follow it unless there are cogent reasons for not doing so. (‘Cogent’ for this purpose means clear, logical and convincing.) Failure by clergy to comply with the duty imposed by the 2016 Measure may result in disciplinary action. Taken from Promoting a Safer Church (2017), Church of England.
Margaret Chapman Non-Executive Safeguarding Lead Expand Non-Executive Safeguarding Lead Margaret is currently Co-CEO of Ambition Education Trust and was previously Head Teacher of St Albans Girls’ School from 2010 to 2024. She has extensive experience and expertise in safeguarding as the Designated Senior Lead in several schools in both North London and Hertfordshire over the past 30 years. Margaret was education representative of the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Board from 2021 to 2024 and is currently a trustee at Links Academy with the focus on School Improvement, Standards and Safeguarding, a position she has held since 2013. Born and raised in Cardiff, Margaret has lived in St Albans with her family for over 30 years.