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safeguarding@religioussafeguarding.org

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DBS changes September 2026 – Why the removal of ‘Supervision Exemption’ matters for Religious Life

DBS changes September 2026 – Why the removal of ‘Supervision Exemption’ matters for Religious Life

Commitment to all with Lived or Living Experience of Abuse

 

Religious Life Safeguarding Service’s Commitment to all with Lived or Living Experience of Abuse

We will value and respect each individual as they share their unique lived experiences.

We will actively listen and learn from each individual’s unique lived experience.

We will always work for and with each individual.

We will always engage with each individual with empathy, warmth and trust.

What to Expect from Religious Life Safeguarding Service (RLSS)

 

Our Safeguarding Team will explain what services we can offer to assist you in your engagement with us. You may want some time to consider our explanation before you decide to continue to engage and we will respect this.

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If you would like to go ahead after hearing about our services, you will be offered a conversation either in person, by telephone or by video-call at a time to suit you. We understand that first meetings can be difficult therefore you are welcome to have a support person accompany you if you wish.

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Before we begin, we will explain in detail our responsibility in safeguarding, including when we will refer to the statutory authorities such as the Police, Children or Adult Social Care services. We will advise you of ways in which you can remain in control, such as remaining anonymous.

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We will advise you of what information we will share and with whom during the safeguarding process. We will explain our legal obligations under Data Protection relating to other individuals involved in the safeguarding process. As well as sharing information with statutory agencies, we may have to share information with other relevant stakeholders, such as our insurers, legal advisers and the Charity Commission.
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We will agree with you the scope of our engagement with you (how/when/where) and discuss the exit phase of our engagement. If appropriate before we end our engagement, we will ask for your wishes and preferences on any further contact you have with us.
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We will invite you to provide your views of your engagement with RLSS. With your approval we will use your thoughts and views to improve the quality of our engagement and anonymise these in our Reflection and Development Policy.

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In our ongoing development of the service and in order to ensure that we are trauma informed and responsive, we intend to include anonymised details of the support offered to individuals and any feedback, to help us to identify any emerging themes or improvements required. We will only ever do so with your permission.

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We will inform you of how you can access our Complaints Procedure. If you raise any concerns about national policies, we can refer this to the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) or with your consent any other relevant organisation. Your views on your engagement with us are important to our work and will form part of the annual safeguarding report to the CSSA Board.

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Click here for a printable version of What to Expect from RLSS
Religious Safeguarding | Religious Life Safeguarding Service

External Support Services

There may be times when the support you need falls outside the scope of what the RLSS team can provide.

In such cases, we’ll not only guide you to appropriate services, but we’ll also do our best to help you access them wherever possible.

Resources and Helplines

Confidentiality

We strongly acknowledge that confidentiality is central to our work and we adhere to this commitment. However, we want you to be aware that there may be occasions where we cannot maintain confidentiality.

We will always make you aware when confidentiality needs to be broken.

The following circumstances may mean we have to speak to other safeguarding professionals:

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If you tell us you are at serious risk of harm or abuse from self or others
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If you are telling us about a child or vulnerable adult at risk of harm or abuse from someone else
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If you tell us there is a serious risk of harm or abuse to someone else from yourself

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If you share an allegation of previous harm or abuse (this includes harm or abuse which may be physical, psychological, verbal, sexual, emotional, spiritual, domestic, modern slavery, discriminatory, organisational, neglect, self-neglect, financial or material)

If you do tell us about a risk of harm or abuse, we will make you aware of who we will need to tell and update and support you as much as we can, so you know who holds this information and what the next steps might be.

For more information, please contact the safeguarding team on 0151 5562311 or via e mail safeguarding@religioussafeguarding.org.

Importantly, if you are concerned about the safety and welfare of a child or adult at risk, do not delay in contacting the police, using 999 if a child or adult is believed to be in imminent danger.

Religious Safeguarding | Religious Life Safeguarding Service

Make A Report Now

If you or someone you know has experienced harm or abuse, we are here to listen to and support you. We understand how difficult it can be to come forward but please be assured you can speak to us and we will listen. Whether the concern is current or non-recent, our priority is to ensure your safety and well-being and to act in accordance with safeguarding best practice.

We will always do whatever we can to support anyone that gets in touch with us, but we are only able to handle abuse cases that are linked to Religious. If your report involves members of the Catholic Church who are not members of a Religious Life Group, please contact the relevant Diocesan Safeguarding Team. You will find their contact details here.