A new approach to outsourcing church safeguarding to an independent body was endorsed overwhelmingly by the General Synod on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite some speeches that called for a greater sense of urgency, or urged the Synod to revisit the idea rejected last year of also moving diocesan safeguarding teams to a new external organisation, members overall welcomed the latest thinking on independent safeguarding.
Dame Christine Ryan, the independent chair of the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board, which is piloting this work, said that, after months of conversations and consultation, it had become clear to her that the Church of England was “ready to change” and had a “deep commitment” to doing “what was right”. Nevertheless, actual change was happening far too slowly, she concluded.
Regulators, Parliament, and the public would no longer tolerate incremental improvements, she warned. She had, therefore, drawn up a new model for independent safeguarding which would simplify matters, restore trust, and end the “invidious” situation in which the Church acted as both “pastor and judge” in safeguarding cases.
A new approach to outsourcing #churchsafeguarding to an independent body was endorsed overwhelmingly by the General #Synod on Wednesday afternoon#churchnews #churchtimes https://t.co/hdXsDti9jm
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 11, 2026
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