Birmingham Archdiocese Inspection Report Published

1 October 2026

The Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, in the latest independent inspection of its safeguarding practice today, has been judged by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) as ‘Exceeding Expectations.’ This is the third out of seven possible grades, one being the highest.

The Independent Inspectorate for England and Wales reports that the Archdiocese demonstrates good evidence of working towards the eight national safeguarding standards. The Archdiocese clearly demonstrated to independent analysts from within the CSSA how it keeps people safe.

Birmingham was consistently strong across six standards including safeguarding leadership and survivor engagement. The two standards relating to training and quality assurance met expectations.

The CSSA’s recommendations for Birmingham include:

• Within three months: strengthen governance records to ensure decisions are consistently evidenced
• Within six months: provide trauma-informed training for senior clergy and others
• With 12 months: implement a framework for evaluating safeguarding culture including feedback from parishes

Paul Threlfall, QA Manager said: “These results show that Birmingham is exceeding the standards expected. We were pleased to see results across many safeguarding standards. There is work to be done, however. They must keep improving to achieve the three higher possible grades. Only this way can they assure a wider public that everything possible is being done to help prevent harm.

The CSSA publish the full reports of safeguarding inspections from every Catholic Church archdiocese, diocese, eparchy and religious life group in England and Wales.

You can find Birmingham’s results  HERE

ENDS

More information about the CSSA’s inspection process can be found  HERE.

Journalists: to speak with someone from the CSSA, please initially contact Sarah Gleadall: sarah.gleadall@catholicsafeguarding.org.uk