MEMBERS of the public are being invited to take part in a consultation on the new national safeguarding organisation for the Church of England which seeks to “address long-standing concerns regarding complexity, inconsistency, and real or perceived institutional pressure in professional safeguarding decisions”.
The online consultation was launched on Thursday of last week by the Safeguarding Structures Reform Programme. Anyone can take part, but “targeted online briefings” are being provided for safeguarding staff, senior church leaders, survivors, and other groups.
The consultation follows a General Synod vote in February to endorse the creation of a single independent national charity, provisionally titled the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) (News, 13 February). The report placed before the Synod envisaged that this would be led by a majority-independent non-executive board. A chief safeguarding officer would be appointed, who would report both to the board and an external regulator.
The Safeguarding Structures Reform Programme tasked with implementation is chaired by Dame Christine Ryan, who chaired Ofsted from 2020 until 2025 (News, 3 October 2025). An explanatory document that accompanies the new consultation states that work to implement the Synod vote is “well underway” and that views are now invited to help “strengthen and refine” the proposals for the design of the new authority.
The authority will take on most of the functions of the National Safeguarding Team, including casework involving bishops, deans, and senior clergy; and “complex cases”, including those that span several dioceses.
A report summarising feedback and responses will be submitted to the General Synod in July. After agreement by the Safeguarding Structures Reform Programme Board, the Archbishops’ Council will then receive the final model for its consideration and approval.
The proposal says that the work of the authority should be funded by the Church Commissioners, but notes that this would require a change in the law. In the mean time, funding would be provided through the Archbishops’ Council. The funding body would be “legally required to monitor how the authority is using this funding and assure themselves that it is being used effectively and in accordance with charitable purposes — but they may not direct or control the authority or its work”.
In February 2025, the General Synod gave its support to a safeguarding model under which national governance bodies would remain responsible for policy development (following Charity Commission advice that this could not be outsourced), with the new national body offering advice on it (News, 14 February 2025).
The programme board’s recommendation is that the new authority will “develop safeguarding policies and standards for the Church of England, setting out expectations for how Church bodies should fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities”. It continues: “In some cases, established safeguarding policies and standards will be adopted by the authority while in other cases policies may be reviewed, adapted, revised or replaced.”
Under its proposals, the authority will “oversee a regular cycle of in-depth safeguarding audits of every Diocesan Board of Finance, bishop’s office and cathedral”. Where a serious safeguarding failure was identified in a diocesan body, cathedral or parish church, the authority would have the power to carry out an emergency inspection.
The report put before the Synod in February proposed a new and standardised complaints-handling process, comprising a standard mandatory process for each diocesan board of finance and other relevant church bodies to follow, and a national external ombudsman-style body to provide resolution of complaint — after processes within church bodies have been exhausted.
The programme team plans to pilot a new complaints process with volunteer organisations later this year.
Submissions to the consultation can be made up until 11 p.m. on 17 May.
