Safeguarding Newsletter, February ’25

Safeguarding

Following on from the initial information we provided in the October 2024 issue of Safeguarding Matters, we provide below a more comprehensive update on the findings from the 2023 Safeguarding Self-Evaluation exercise participated in by the dioceses, parishes, religious congregations and Catholic organisations in Scotland.

Responses were received from all 8 dioceses, 377 parishes, 65 religious congregations and 40 Catholic organisations. Overall, this amounted to a very positive 98% completion rate.
Those who have participated have been significantly more reflective about their safeguarding policies and processes, as evidenced in the qualitative responses provided where necessary. Whilst some minor changes were made to the questionnaires distributed in an attempt to simplify the process and make it less time-consuming, around 53% of participants thought it was still too burdensome. This will be an area on which we will focus to ensure the audit process is not too burdensome or bureaucratic for practitioners….