Tel 0113 353 0257.
Revd Pete Gunstone
Minor Canon for Worship and Nurture
Safeguarding Officer
Telephone: 01274 77 77 31
Ian Price
Assistant Verger
Assistant Safeguarding Officer
Adult Safeguarding Representative
Telephone: 01274 77 77 45
Bradford Cathedral is committed to safeguarding as an integral part of its ministry and mission, promoting a safer culture and the welfare of every child, young person and adult. As such, the Cathedral has robust policies, procedures and guidelines in place, to ensure good practice throughout its activities.
Bradford Cathedral will:
- Promote a safer environment and culture
- Safely recruit and support all those with any responsibility related to children and vulnerable adults within the Church
- Respond promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation
- Care pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons
- Care pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons
- Respond to those that may pose a present risk to others
On this page, you can also find information for and about:
- Victims and Survivors
- Safeguarding Procedures
- Safeguarding Policy
- Safeguarding Audit
Victims and Survivors
If you are a victim or survivor of abuse, please know that you are not alone and that Bradford Cathedral and other organisations can help you. These are detailed on the Church of England website.
In particular, Safe Spaces is a free, national support service independently run by Victim Support. It provides a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused through their relationship with either the Church of England or the Catholic Church of England and the Church of Wales.
Safe Spaces comprises a team of trained support advocates, who are Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and who have received additional specific training in how the churches respond to abuse cases, the way in which faith and church-related settings have been used to carry out abuse, and the particular issues affecting people who have had or still have, a relationship with the church.
The service provides remote support through their helpline, live chat service and website and is for anyone who feels they have experienced church related abuse of any form in relation to the Church of England, Catholic Church in England and Wales or the Church in Wales.
By ‘church related’, this may include:
- Abuse by a church officer. A church officer is any person, ordained or lay, paid or voluntary, who holds a role in the church.
- Abuse that is linked to participating in a church-led activity or group.
The service is for people 18 or over who live in England and Wales. Survivors do not have to have reported the incident to the Church authorities or the Police in order to access support, and you do not need to be a current active member of the church in order to access support.
Please refer to the Safe Spaces website for further information on the Safe Spaces service and eligibility.
You can contact the Safe Spaces team by:
Safeguarding Procedures
Children and Young People in the Cathedral – How we keep you safe
Parish Safeguarding Handbook (Church of England, 2019)
The Code of Safer Working Practice
Please see the Church of England website.
A Safe Environment and Activities
For adults present at activities where children, young people and adults who may be vulnerable are present. Bradford Cathedral, March 2024
Church of England Social Media Code of Conduct
MyConcern
Please note: Bradford Cathedral’s Safeguarding Team has a secure electronic system for retaining any safeguarding information we receive. Access to the information is restricted to those in the team who are working on the concern and complies with our privacy commitment under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). We may, on occasions, share this information with statutory organisations in order to comply with our obligations under national legislation. Where it is necessary for the safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults, we will share information with others involved in safeguarding within the church but we will inform you of our intention to do so. Further information can be obtained from the Safeguarding Team upon request.
Safeguarding policy
Promoting a Safer Church
Please familiarise yourself with the ‘Promoting a Safer Church’ document
CofE Promoting a Safer Church Policy Statement
Chapter policy adoption
National Safeguarding Standards
The Church of England has been in the process of developing a set of National Safeguarding Standards since 2020. Further information may be found on the Church of England website.
The standards, as they relate to Cathedrals, are expressed in the ‘Our Cathedral’ document.
Safeguarding Audit
Bradford Cathedral – Independent Safeguarding Audit (2021)
Download a copy, or view it below.