Child Safeguarding Statement of
Bolton
Abbey
This statement has been
prepared to comply with the requirements of the Children First Act 2015 and is
derived from Safeguarding Children Policy and Standards for the Catholic
Church in Ireland 2016.
Statement
As a constituent member of the Catholic Church in Ireland, we recognise
and uphold the dignity and rights of all children, are committed to ensuring
their safety and well- being and will work in partnership with parents/
guardians to do this. We recognise each child as a gift from God, and we value
and encourage the participation of children in all activities that enhance
their spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual and social development.
All Church personnel (including clergy, religious, staff and volunteers)
have a responsibility to safeguard children through promoting their welfare,
health and development in a safe and caring environment that supports their
best interests and prevents abuse.
Nature of service and principles to safeguard children from harm
Bolton Abbey, as a constituent member of the Catholic Church in Ireland,
exists to promote the teachings of the Catholic Church. This includes the
following ministry with children, as defined in Safeguarding Children Policy
and Standards for the Catholic Church in Ireland 2016:
As outlined in the Safeguarding Children 2016 Policy and Standards for
the Catholic Church in Ireland we are committed to the following principles:
Ľ Mandatory
reporting
Each of us has a duty to notify the statutory authorities of suspicions,
concerns, knowledge or allegations that a child is being or has been abused:
á physically
á emotionally
á sexually
á through neglect
Suspicions, concerns, knowledge or allegations may relate to possible
abuse by a member of Church personnel, but they can also relate to incidents in
the childŐs family, or elsewhere in the community.
á
Caring
for the welfare of all children and the adults who work with them Measures to create and maintain environments that are safe for children,
that prevent abuse, and that create nurturing, caring conditions within the
Church for children and the adults who work with them, will continue to be
strengthened and reviewed. This will be done through training support,
communications and quality assurance.
á Responding appropriately to child protection
suspicions, concerns, knowledge or allegations
Anyone who brings any suspicion, concern, knowledge or allegation of
current or past abuse of a child to the notice of the Church will be responded
to sensitively, respectfully, actively and in a timely manner, in line with
statutory child protection procedures and Church requirements.
All suspicions, concerns, knowledge or allegations that reach the
threshold for reporting to the statutory authorities (apart from those received
in the Sacrament of Reconciliation) will be reported to the appropriate
statutory authorities. This will be done irrespective of the status of the
person (lay, cleric or religious) who is suspected of having been abusive to a
child. If the allegation relates to a lay member of Church personnel, in
addition to notifying the statutory authorities, the allegation must be
reported to the Church authority. If the allegation relates to a cleric or
religious, in addition to notifying the statutory authorities, the allegation
must also be reported to the Church authority and the National Board for
Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland.
All
Church personnel will cooperate with the statutory authorities in all cases.
In responding to complaints of child sexual abuse relating to clergy and
all those in forms of consecrated life, Church authorities will act in
accordance with the requirements of civil law and canon law, and so will
respect the rights and uphold the safeguards afforded in these, both to the
complainant and respondent.
á
Caring
pastorally for complainants and other affected persons
Those who have suffered child abuse by Church personnel will receive a
compassionate and just response, and will be offered appropriate pastoral care,
counselling and support as they seek to rebuild their lives. An appropriate
pastoral response to the family, parish, congregation or order and to the wider
community will be provided, with due regard to the right of privacy of those
directly involved, and to the administration of justice.
á
Caring
pastorally for respondents and other affected persons
This Church body in its response to suspicions, concerns, knowledge or
allegations of child sexual abuse will respect the rights under civil law and
canon law of an accused cleric or religious or other Church personnel. A legal
presumption of innocence will be maintained during the statutory and Church
inquiry processes. As the processes develop, additional assessment, therapy and
support services may be offered to the respondent.
The Church authority will take responsibility for ensuring that any
cleric or religious who is considered to constitute a danger to children is
managed according to a risk management plan.
All requisite steps will be taken to restore the good name and reputation
of anyone who has been wrongly accused of abusing a child.
Respondents belong to families and diocesan or religious communities.
The Church authority will be mindful of the need to provide support to members
of families and communities affected by the respondentŐs changed situation.
Risk
Assessment
The table below sets out
the identified risks to the safety of children and young people involved in
Church activities in Bolton Abbey and the steps taken to minimise the risks of
abuse.
Risk Identified |
Procedure in place to manage risk identified |
Those that work with
children are unsafe to do so |
Procedures to meet
Indicator 1.1 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
Those that work with
children behave inappropriately towards them |
Procedures to meet
Indicator 1.2 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
Children who use our
service do not understand the roles and responsibilities in place to
encourage positive behaviour |
Procedures to meet
Indicator 1.3 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
The environment in which
work with children is facilitated fails to meet effective safeguarding
practice |
Procedures to meet
Indicators 1.4 and 1.8 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
External groups who use
Church property are unsafe to do so |
Procedures to meet
Indicator 1.5 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
Those who wish to behave
dangerously or unethically towards children are able to do so |
Procedures to meet
Indicators 1.6 an 1.7 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
Those who wish to exploit
children through the use of digital media in our ministries are able to do so
|
Procedures to meet
Indicator 1.9 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
Church personnel fail to
report an allegation, suspicion, concern or knowledge appropriately |
Procedures to meet Indicator 2.1 of the Child Safeguarding Policy
available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
Church personnel fail to
understand their responsibilities to safeguard children |
Procedures to meet Indicators 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 of the Child
Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
Children and their
parents do not understand the ChurchŐs policy, procedures and structure to
safeguard children |
Procedures to meet
Indicators 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 of the Child Safeguarding Policy
available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
The procedures for
safeguarding children fail to be implemented |
Procedures to meet
Indicators 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
The Church authority
fails to ensure the appointment of a relevant person and maintain a list of
mandated persons |
Procedures to meeting
Indicators 1.1, 6.1 and 2.1 of the Child Safeguarding Policy available from https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance |
Procedures
All procedures outlined in the risk assessment above are available at https://www.safeguarding.ie/index.php/guidance. The procedures listed above include the
following:
Implementation
Bolton Abbey is committed to safeguarding children through the
implementation of Safeguarding Children Policy and Standards for the
Catholic Church in Ireland 2016. This Child Safeguarding Statement and our
practice support our desire to keep children safe from harm while in our
ministries. As part of our annual audit against the relevant indicators of the
child safeguarding standards, we will review the effectiveness of our practice
as outlined in this statement and will revise, as appropriate.
Signed
Dom
Michael Ryan
Dom Michael Ryan ocso
Abbot
Date 10 March 2018
For
any queries relating to this statement please contact:
Fr. Ambrose Farrington
086 196 0046