We have safeguarding representatives at all of our churches, so please do speak to them if you have any concerns regarding children or vulnerable adults.

The Cathedral Team

Jon Gatward

Lyn McLoughlin
(Cathedral Pastoral Assistant)
Christ the King
Marguerite Sperring is our Safeguarding Representative at Christ the King and is there to help you with any safeguarding concerns you may have.
St Joseph's
Debbie Birch is our Safeguarding Representative at St Joseph's and is there to help you with any safeguarding concerns you may have.

Safeguarding In the Diocese of Plymouth – Newsletter (Covid-19 edition)
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About Safeguarding

The Catholic Church in England and Wales is striving towards a culture of safeguarding where all are safe from harm, and where every person is encouraged and enabled to enjoy the fullness of life in Jesus Christ through the prayerful, caring, nurturing, supportive and protective endeavours of the Catholic community, both individually and collectively.

The Diocesan policy requires that staff and volunteers who work with children and vulnerable adults have a DBS check completed before they begin their ministry, and then a re-check every three years after that.  

DBS Process:
  • The process begins with you seeing one of your Parish Reps.
  • Your Parish Rep will give you a Self-Declaration Form which you complete and post it back to: Safeguarding, St Boniface House, Ashburton, Newton Abbott TQ13 7JL.
  • Your details will be input onto a special database by the Safeguarding Team at St Boniface House and you will be emailed a link so that you can go online to complete the DSB application form.
  • Once you have done this you should contact your Safeguarding Representative again so that you can complete the identification process. 
  • The identification process involves providing three forms of identification to the Safeguarding Representative.  The details of the forms of identification acceptable can be found on the form you need to fill in, which is the ID Form.  
  • If you are applying for a new post within the parish then you will need to fill in the Application Form along with the Self-Declaration Form.  We will also take up your references.
  • Your Safeguarding Representative can help you at any stage through the process.  Please contact the Parish Office who can give you their contact details or you can visit the Cathedral narthex where we have a poster which gives details of how to contact our Safeguarding Representatives; their details are also printed regularly in our newsletter.

​Safeguarding Representatives:
  • Your Safeguarding Representatives are there to help you go though the DBS procedure by advising you on the documentation you will need for your check and counter-signing to confirm your original documentation.
  • Safeguarding Representatives are also there as your point of contact if you have any safeguarding concerns within your church or parish, or elsewhere.

Should you have any concerns around safeguarding within your Church or the Church overall then you should contact the Safeguarding Office at St. Boniface House, Ashburton.  If, however, the matter requires an immediate response then contact should be made directly with the Police or Social Services.
​St Boniface House - 01364 645430
Police Emergency – 999
Police Non Emergency Number - 101