In September 2025, Jesuits in Britain underwent a baseline safeguarding audit conducted by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA), the independent body responsible for auditing safeguarding standards across the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

This audit forms part of the CSSA's Baseline Audit phase of Religious Life Groups in England and Wales. We are sharing the final report and our response.

Statement from the Jesuits in Britain

We welcome the publication of the baseline audit report by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) and are grateful for the thoroughness with which it was conducted. Transparency is central to our commitment to safeguarding, and we actively welcome independent scrutiny as an opportunity to reflect honestly on our practice and strengthen it.

The audit found that Jesuits in Britain achieved an overall rating of Results Being Achieved across eight national safeguarding standards. We are encouraged by a number of its findings: that our leadership is committed to embedding safeguarding across all our works; that our Safeguarding team is skilled and dedicated, particularly in its support of survivors; that our care home in Boscombe provides an excellent standard of care for our retired community members; and that safeguarding training is well received and increasingly embedded across the organisation.

At the same time, we are conscious that there is more to do. We receive all the findings in that spirit, particularly the two standards rated Firm Progress, and welcome the areas for development as a clear guide to where we need to focus our efforts. Our Safeguarding Committee has reviewed the report in full and is already working through its recommendations. We are pleased to share that a number of the recommendations are now in place:

• The Provincial's public statement in support of safeguarding is on our website.
• Our Safeguarding Communications Plan has been ratified and signed off by the Safeguarding Committee.
• We have adapted our case management system to better meet our needs and the expectations of the CSSA and are currently testing a sample of cases to ensure it is working as required.
• We are consolidating safeguarding and compensation records into one coordinated place.
• Work is underway to ensure that Charity Commission Serious Incident Notifications are properly reported to the Safeguarding Committee.

The Committee is monitoring progress against all recommendations at each of its meetings, working across the three-, six- and twelve-month timescales. Progress will be reflected in our regularly published Safeguarding Committee meeting summaries, available on this website.

Safeguarding is a continuing commitment. We are grateful for this opportunity to reflect honestly on what we have already tried to achieve, and to look ahead, with clarity and purpose, to what remains to be done.