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Jersey's Dean says his team is "committed" to creating a strategy to support islanders affected by past abuse after a report highlighted 23 safeguarding cases linked to the Church of England in the Channel Islands.
The Very Reverend Mike Keirle's comments followed the publication of a national safeguarding review of the Church of England, which found that "a huge step forward" was taken locally between issues which arose in Jersey in 2008 and a more recent follow up inspection across all of the Channel Islands churches.
The Church, through the Diocese of Salisbury, carried out its 'Past Cases Review 2' (PCR2) between 2019 and 2022, as a follow-up to its first 'Past Cases Review' PCR, which was conducted between 2007 and 2009.
The first review was carried out because of the number of Church of England clergy and church officers who had been charged with sexual offences against children nationally. Concerns were raised following that PCR1 about the way the review had been carried out, so it was decided to repeat it.
PCR2 was commissioned by the Archbishops’ Council in 2019 as part of "the overall commitment to improving the way in which the Church responds to allegations and concerns".
Pictured: PCR2 presented some information redacted.
The review found that following events in 2008 in Jersey, which led to the CI moving diocese, there was a clear motivation to "improve and formalise the safeguarding practices and structure".
Where there were cases of concern, they had been identified and were already known about, with no new cases of concern identified as a result of the review.
PRC2 found that: "The cases where poor safeguarding practice was found related to the older historical cases, which took place before the current infrastructure and policies were put in place".
At the end of the review, a Known Cases List was drawn up out of the 316 files reviewed.
Pictured: The Known Cases List was drawn up during PCR2.
23 cases were placed on the KCL for the Channel Islands.
17 of these cases were linked to safeguarding concerns relating to children and six related to vulnerable adults.
Each KCL entry has a corresponding report, written by the Independent Reviewer, which is stored within the electronic safeguarding folder.
The details of these cases have not been published, however some information relating to the cases of concern were in redacted form.
Concerns are lodged within a system called SafeBase which the Church uses nationally.
Where the islands' churches have successfully implemented this and other policies is let down by some errors which have led to a number of recommendations being made to improve their files.
The review found that there is not a standardised format with regards to how files are maintained across the islands' churches, and that papers appear to be "randomly placed within".
One concern was that there was not a specific section for complaints, CDM process or safeguarding issues - the Deans of Guernsey and Jersey have been told this must be rectified.
The five recommendations for Channel Island Church of England churches are:
It is recommended that the Diocese adopt a process to have a section within each file to denote areas of concern – i.e. Complaints, CDM process or Safeguarding concerns. This should be based on guidance contained within House of Bishops Policy (June 21) on “Personal Files Relating to Clergy”
It is recommended that a template form is placed at the front of each file to highlight the fact that information is held by the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor. As part of the main Salisbury review, a form was provided to the Diocese by the Reviewers for their consideration.
It is recommended that 1) Canterbury Diocese is contacted to ascertain if there are any other records available (electronic or paper) which contain any information in relation to safeguarding referrals for the Channel Islands which have not been uploaded on to SafeBase. 2) That previous DSAs from Winchester and Canterbury are contacted and enquiries made with regards to passwords used to protect documents to see if any existing documents can be accessed 3) The Salisbury DSAs to devise a process to ensure all relevant information is uploaded on to the SafeBase system for all new enquiries.
It is recommended that the DSA review the Known Cases List for concerns relating to Church Officers and clergy members and ensure there is a corresponding record entered on to SafeBase.
It is recommended that the Salisbury DSAs implement a formal review process for open cases to ensure the cases are being progressed in a timely manner.
Following the publication of the report, the Dean of Jersey commented: "This has been a very thorough safeguarding review of past cases in Jersey. We are committed to creating a formal victim/survivor strategy that ensures ongoing support for anyone who has been affected by abuse in the past.
"As a Deanery team, we remain committed to making our churches as safe as possible, with safeguarding officers in every church, appropriate training for all those who come into contact with children and vulnerable people, and robust processes in place so that we may maintain good practice, as well as working in partnership with Jersey Safeguarding Partnership Board."
The Very Revd Tim Barker, Dean of Guernsey, added: "Past failures to provide good safeguarding practice have caused damage to individuals. That is why we in the Deanery of Guernsey are committed to the provision of safeguarding officers in every parish, and to provide regular and appropriate training and support for all who work with children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
"I welcome the review of past cases in Guernsey, and our renewed commitment to work with both victims/survivors and the statutory and voluntary organisations in Guernsey, so that we can implement the best possible practice and ensure that our churches are safe places for all."
The work to review the Channel Islands Church of England clergy and staff was carried out by the Diocese of Salisbury.
Both Bailiwicks have come under the auspices of the Diocese of Salisbury since 2020. Previously they came under the Diocese of Winchester but that relationship was irreparably damaged by the suspension of the then-Dean of Jersey following allegations he had mishandled a safeguarding matter in 2008.
Jem Carter, Salisbury Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, who supports the Channel Islands, said: "We look to continually improve our response to safeguarding incidents, and even before these reports were made public, significant changes have already been made to the way concerns of this nature are now responded to.
"A key area we have focused on is improving our support to victims and survivors of abuse – who must sit at the very heart of all we do".
The PRC2 was published this week, and can be read in full HERE.
Church changes after abuse complaints fall-out
Pictured top: Mike Keirle (Dean of Jersey), Nicholas Holtam and Tim Barker (Dean of Guernsey). (Ash Mills)
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