TRUSTEES’ MEETING SATURDAY 6 DECEMBER 2025.

Summary Report: Trustees’ Safeguarding Committee, 26 November 2025

1.   Introduction

This summary report covers the meeting of the Trustees’ Safeguarding Committee held on 26 November 2025. In attendance: Mrs Fiona Bateman, Mr Jim Gallagher, Mr James Reilly (Chair), Fr Paul O’Reilly SJ, Fr David Smolira SJ, Fr Peter Gallagher SJ (Provincial), Mrs Nadra Gadeed and Mrs Julie Ashby-Ellis. An automated transcript was taken to assist Ms Angie Palmer to produce minutes of the meeting.

Approval was given to minutes of the meeting on 27 September2025 and the action log reviewed with future actions recorded.

2. Work with Victim/Survivors and Safety Management Plans

The Committee reviewed the current work, during which Nadra Gadeed reported on her ongoing engagement with four victim/survivors. All the complaints are historical and the perpetrator is deceased.

The Committee reaffirmed prior decisions that matters proceeding under misconduct provisions do not meet the criteria for safeguarding responses.

The Committee also noted that support to a Mount St Mary’s parent, who has been engaging with the safeguarding team over an extended period, is continuing as an ex-gratia arrangement supported by the Province.

3. Various Updates

No training has been delivered since the last Trustees’ Safeguarding Committee meeting, owing to staff sickness and a focus on the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) audit of religious life groups.

Mrs Julie Ashby-Ellis reported on the annual Meeting of Safeguarding Representatives of the European Conference held in Lisbon, which focused primarily on spiritual abuse, including by presentations from Dr Lisa Oakley, an expert supporting the Anglican Church. The work already undertaken by the Province was well received.

4.  Draft CSSA Audit Report

In the weeks prior to the meeting, the Committee received the draft report of the CSSA baseline audit, conducted in the second week of September, assessing the Province’s safeguarding practice against the eight national standards.

The audit process includes a period for the Church body to review the draft and submit any factual corrections or clarifications, which the CSSA will consider before issuing the final report.

The Committee reviewed the draft and agreed to support as mall number of corrections and clarifications. The final report is expected to be published in the new year. The Committee will consider its recommendations and produce an action plan for the Trustees to approve and submit to the CSSA.

The overall finding of the CSSA (subject to the final report but unlikely to change) is that the Province is Achieving the Standards in six of the eight areas assessed. In the two remaining standards, the finding is that the Province is Making Firm Progress.

5. Matters pertaining to publishing summaries to Trustees in the safeguarding area of the Province website

The Committee discussed substantively on the representations received regarding the summaries published in the first quarter of 2025. The Committee supplied the following papers to the Trustees:

·       The Briefing Report with three supporting Appendices.

·       The account of the Committee’s deliberations on the issues raised.

The Committee’s next meeting will be in early February 2026.‍