Church missed opportunity to hear victims, says bishop

The Church of England's failure to adopt a fully independent safeguarding model was a missed opportunity to make clear it has listened to victims, the bishop tasked with leading on the issue has said.

The Bishop of Stepney, Dr Joanne Grenfell, who is lead bishop for safeguarding, had put forward a motion to the General Synod for all Church-employed safeguarding officers to be transferred to a new independent body.

Dr Grenfell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she was "very disappointed", but that the Church had nonetheless adopted changes that amount to a "big step forward".

Representatives of survivors branded the outcome a "punch in the gut" for victims of abuse and said it showed the Church had decided to "keep it in the family".

It comes as the Church has faced intense scrutiny for its safeguarding practices in recent months after the the former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned over his handling of an abuse case.

On Tuesday the Synod, the Church of England's governing body, voted overwhelmingly for a less independent option which will see the creation of an independent central safeguarding team, but with local diocesan and cathedral safeguarding officers remaining with their current church employers.

Dr Grenfell told the BBC: "On the one hand I'm really disappointed, as were many, that Synod missed the opportunity to send an unequivocal message to victims and survivors and the wider nation that we hear their pain and concerns.

"On the other hand, what we did vote to get on with, an independent scrutiny body, is actually quite a big step forward in itself.

"But we need to do that further work around operational independence, and I'm really committed to doing that."

The Synod had been expected to vote on a model backed by Prof Alexis Jay - who previously chaired the national Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and another model.

However, following an amendment, the Prof Jay-backed model - which proposed that all safeguarding staff would be entirely independent of the Church - was not voted on at all, and a less ambitious proposal was adopted.

Bishop of Blackburn Philip North, who proposed the amendment to endorse the less independent option while work was done to see if the other one was "legally deliverable", described the latter as "eye-wateringly complex" and said it could take years to implement.

But Dr Grenfell said: "I don't think we can hide behind those complex structures, that's just not good enough for victims and survivors...

"What I'm concerned about, is that it sounds, it feels to victims and survivors who I have spoken to, that we didn't hear what they were saying and I really want to say to them 'I hear you and we will continue to do this work'."

The Survivors Trust group said public trust in the Church to effectively safeguard children "has been totally lost".

"Church leaders must reconsider their approach and take immediate steps toward genuine, independent safeguarding reform," it said.

Andrew Graystone, an advocate for abuse survivors, accused the Church of "shocking arrogance" and said the Synod had "voted for a measure that will leave the power of bishops completely unchanged and unchallenged".

Dr Grenfell added the Church is going through a "really painful and necessary time of reckoning" and there is a "huge amount to think through before we appoint a new Archbishop of Canterbury".

The Church has faced criticism for its handling of safeguarding issues, with a damning report into serial abuser and Christian camp leader John Smyth leading to Mr Welby's resignation.

The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who has temporarily taken on most of Mr Welby's responsibilities, has also faced criticism over his handling of an abuse case.

Mr Cottrell has said he supports "independence in safeguarding" and was "disappointed" that it would now happen in "two stages".

He said he would "fully commit" himself to "implementing Synod's decision and making it happen".

Both the models that had been proposed for changing safeguarding at the Synod took into account the recommendations of independent reports, including those by Prof Alexis Jay and barrister Sarah Wilkinson, the Church previously said.

Also known as the Church's parliament, the Synod meets up to three times a year to debate and pass measures governing how the Church works. It is made up of 478 members who are elected every five years.

Correction 14 February 2025: This article originally incorrectly stated the Synod had been expected to vote on a proposal for safeguarding by Prof Alexis Jay and barrister Sarah Wilkinson. Sarah Wilkinson previously conducted an independent review into the failure of the Independent Safeguarding Board but this did not involve any specific proposals for future safeguarding models for the Church of England. Prof Jay backed a model of full independence. We have amended our article to make this clear.