The CSSA confirms safeguarding audit judgements on five religious life groups

8 October 2026

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

Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre – comprehensive assurance

Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary – met

Discalced Carmelites Wolverhampton – met with recommendations

Prinknash Abbey – not met

St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough – not met

Please note: the report of St Michael’s Abbey, Farnborough, has been temporarily removed from the CSSA website pending external legal activity.

The Inspectorate for England and Wales report that these five religious life groups collectively demonstrate an extremely wide variation of results, with contrasting levels of evidence about how they meet the eight national safeguarding standards. Two of these are of concern to the Inspectorate.

Paul Threlfall, Quality Assurance Manager, CSSA said: “These baseline results show a profoundly significant level of difference in safeguarding standards in each of the individual five church bodies.  Any grade of ‘not met’ – as in the case of Prinknash Abbey and St Michael’s Abbey – is of concern to us. We will continue to monitor very closely to ensure the specific circumstances surrounding these two religious life groups are managed, and that everything possible is being done to keep people safe.

“The ‘Comprehensive Assurance’ grade achieved by the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre demonstrates good progress and they should be pleased with their results.

“They must each sustain a rate of progress. 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,’ ‘results being achieved’, ‘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 diocese, religious life group and eparchy 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.