Worth Abbey is committed to promoting the highest standards of safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.
If you have a present concern about the welfare of a child or an adult at risk, do not delay in contacting the police, using 999 if a child or adult is believed to be in immediate danger of harm.
The monastic community of Worth Abbey respects and values the personal dignity and rights of all people, and recognises that it has a special responsibility towards those who are young or vulnerable. The Abbey is also committed to taking all appropriate steps to maintain a safe environment for all, to practice fully and positively Christ’s ministry towards children, young people and adults at risk, and to respond sensitively and compassionately to their needs in order to promote their wellbeing and to help keep them safe from harm.
Worth Abbey is committed to working within the safeguarding standards adopted by the Catholic Church in England and Wales, as articulated and audited by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) and supported by training and advice from the Religious Life Safeguarding Service (RLSS).
The CSSA (https://www.catholicsafeguarding.org.uk/) holds a regulatory function extending to all Catholic dioceses and Religious Life Groups. It monitors compliance by Church bodies with the safeguarding standards adopted by the Church, using its own independent audit and review function and is empowered to undertake its role as a regulator through the freely entered into contractual relationships between it and the Church bodies it provides a service to. Through this, the CSSA has the powers to ensure that each Church body partnered with it, is complying with the published standards.
The RLSS https://religioussafeguarding.org/ is an independent team of safeguarding professionals offering safeguarding services including training, case management, administration, advice & support to the Religious of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
Worth Abbey liaises closely and openly with Worth School in relation to all safeguarding issues. Worth Abbey also liaises closely and openly with statutory authorities and Church agencies to ensure that any concerns or allegations of abuse that are raised are promptly reported and properly addressed, victims supported and perpetrators held to account.
It is the policy of the Catholic Church in England and Wales to report all allegations of abuse to statutory authorities, regardless of whether the abuse occurred recently or in the past, or whether the accused person is living or deceased.
The Worth Abbey Trust Safeguarding Lead is Fr Mark Barrett. He may be contacted as follows:
Worth Abbey Trust Safeguarding
Safeguarding Lead
Fr Mark Barrett
Worth Abbey
Paddockhurst Road
Turners Hill
Crawley
West Sussex
RH10 4SB
01342 710320
jmbarrett@worth.org.uk
Other safeguarding contacts
West Sussex Social Services Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
Telephone direct line: 01403 22 99 00 (9am till 5pm Monday-Friday)
Email: MASH@westsussex.gov.uk
Diocese of Arundel & Brighton Safeguarding
Independent Safeguarding Coordinator
Angela McGrory
01273 859708
angela.mcgrory@abdiocese.org.uk
Safe Spaces England and Wales
Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused by someone in the Church or as a result of their relationship with the Catholic Church in England and Wales. https://www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/
Catholic Bishops
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales https://www.cbcew.org.uk/safeguarding/