The CSSA confirms safeguarding audit judgements on five religious life groups

2 June 2025

In the first audit of their safeguarding practice today, five religious life groups have been judged by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) with the following grades:

Belmont Abbey – Comprehensive Assurance

Benedictine Nuns of Minster Abbey – Met

Order of the Friar Servants of Mary – Early Progress

Sisters of the Divine Saviour – Not Met

Worth Abbey – Results Being Achieved

The Inspectorate for England and Wales report that these religious life groups demonstrate varying levels of progress towards the eight national safeguarding standards. They offered very different levels of evidence to independent analysts from within the CSSA about how they help keep people safe.

Steve Ashley, Chief Executive Officer, CSSA says: “These baseline results show widely varying levels of safeguarding in the five church bodies, including one with the second highest grade possible, which we are pleased to report. However, in some cases, there is a significant amount of work to be done and not meeting safeguarding standards concerns us.

“Each religious life group must either sustain its progress or make significant improvement. Only this way can they assure the public that everything possible is being done to help prevent harm.”

CSSA safeguarding audits for larger religious life groups range on a scale from: ‘below basic,’ ‘basic,’ ‘early progress,’ ‘firm progress,’ ‘comprehensive assurance’ and ‘exemplary.’

For smaller religious life groups, grades range from: ‘not met,’ ‘met with recommendations’ and ‘met.’ In each case, the overall grading represents a combination of their scoring across eight areas of work relating to safeguarding standards.

The CSSA publish the safeguarding audit and inspection results from every Catholic Church body in England and Wales. You can find the audits for religious life groups HERE.

ENDS

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

Journalists: to speak with Steve Ashley, CEO, please initially contact Sarah Gleadall: sarah.gleadall@catholicsafeguarding.org.uk