Requirements
3.1 SPRs will be commissioned and governed by the Church body that took the lead role in the case itself (e.g. the cathedral or diocese). Therefore:
3.1.1 For casework in which a diocese has taken the lead role, the diocese will commission the Review, govern the process by which the review occurs, and receive the Review at the end of this process.
3.1.2 For casework in which another Church body, such as a cathedral or Religious Community, or where a Theological Educational Institution has taken the lead role, these responsibilities will be undertaken by this body.
3.1.3 For casework in which the NST takes the lead role, the NST will be responsible for commissioning the SPRs.
3.1.4 The decision to commission a SPR must be made by the DSAP Chair following recommendation by the core group.
3.1.5 The NST must be notified of all SPRs that are commissioned.
3.2 Victims and survivors must be consulted during the deliberations about commissioning of the Review and offered the support outlined in Responding Well to Victims and Survivors of Abuse Guidance during this period.
3.3 Respondents must be consulted during the deliberations about commissioning of the Review and offered the support they need to participate.
Good Practice Advice
3.1 The role of the Core Group
Responding to, assessing and managing safeguarding concerns or allegations against church officers states that Reviews need to be conducted after the end of every managing allegations process. At this point, the core group should also consider whether the thresholds in Section 2 apply and if there is the need for a formal (independent) SPR. If the core group does not believe that this is a straight-forward decision or it is unable to reach a decision, then it should seek advice from the NST or from its local statutory partners.
It is recognised that there are many different organisational structures within the Church of England, and this means that under this Code, any person within the leadership of the Church body can suggest that a SPR should be held. In some dioceses, diocesan secretaries, directors of human resources or archdeacons may chair core groups and in this role, they can recommend that the Church body should have a SPR. Bishops (or deans, where applicable) should not be involved in the operational details of safeguarding. However, they can make a recommendation to the core group to consider a SPR, if they believe from the information they have that the SPR is needed because it will lead to improvement in practice.
The victims and survivors involved in the case may also request that a SPR is undertaken. Their request must show that the case meets the criteria set out in the Section 2 Requirements. Any such request will be assessed by the core group using the criteria in Section 2. Should the core group determine that the threshold is not met, an appeal can be made to the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) Chair, whose decision is final.
The respondent may also request an SPR is carried out.
In all of these instances, it is the responsibility of the core group to consider the issues and decide whether the threshold for a SPR has been met. If it considers that the criteria have been met, it should then make a recommendation to the DSAP Chair that a SPR be held.
For cases which the core group considers that the SPR threshold is not met, the core group should conduct another form of case reflection and identify any relevant learning. For further information on the different forms of reflection, see Appendix A.
3.2 Role of the DSAP Chair
The decision about whether to commission an SPR rests with the DSAP Chair, based on the information provided by the core group. This will include, as a minimum, a chronology of events and the reason why the core group considers this to be appropriate for an SPR.
Where the DSAP Chair decides that a case does not meet the SPR criteria, but the core group believe it does, the Chair must write1 to the core group Chair to explain their reasons. If there have been any requests from external individuals or organisations for a Review, or an expression of concern that is the equivalent to such a request, the DSAP Chair must write to those individuals or organisations with an explanation for their decision.
Where the DSAP Chair decides that a case meets the SPR criteria, they must write to the relevant lead (dean, bishop or archbishop) as well as the DSAP, the core group Chair, and the DSA2 with an explanation. Assuming the DSA is the one who will have permission to do so, the DSA will communicate the result to the Church officer(s) and the victim(s)/survivor(s). Where the referral was made by an external partner, good practice requires the DSAP Chair to inform the referrer.
3.3 Cases involving the NST
Where the NST has led the work in a particular case which meets the SPR threshold, the NST will take the lead on the Review.
In the circumstances where the NST is leading on the Review, the Archbishops’ Council is the data controller. There needs to be clarity from the beginning, particularly in cases with multiple Church bodies, what the data protection responsibilities are for each body.
If the National Director of Safeguarding believes that a case has met the threshold for a SPR, the recommendation will go to a sub-group of three members of the National Safeguarding Steering Group (NSSG), one of whom will be a lead safeguarding bishop with no prior involvement with the case or the individuals concerned. In the unlikely event that all three lead safeguarding bishops are conflicted, another bishop from the NSSG will join the group.
An appeal against the recommendation of the National Director of Safeguarding to not conduct a SPR can be made to the lead safeguarding Bishop. The lead Safeguarding Bishop will convene a sub-group of three members of the NSSG to determine the appeal.
Victims and survivors may request that an SPR is undertaken in a particular case, and the core group will use the criteria in Section 2 to determine whether the case reaches the threshold or not. Victims and survivors can appeal against this decision to the DSAP Chair, who will use the same criteria, and whose decision is final.
Victims and survivors can be assured that, even if an SPR is not going to take place, there will always be a process of reflection in all cases which reach the core group, and that the main learning points will be shared with them, but what that process looks like will differ, depending on the circumstances of each case.
3.4 Decision making Flowchart
