A safeguarding evening at Wells Cathedral and a reception afterwards at the Bishop’s Palace, hosted by Bishop Michael and his wife Lizzie, brought together the Diocesan Safeguarding team and colleagues from statutory and voluntary organisations.
Speaking afterwards Bishop Michael said, “It is a great pleasure to welcome so many colleagues involved in the important work of safeguarding here this evening. Safeguarding is at the heart of our calling to care for one another. This evening is a wonderful opportunity to get to know one another and to recognise the strength we can find in working together across our churches, organisations and communities, to ensure that everyone is safe, valued and heard.”
The evening began with everyone attending Choral Evensong at the cathedral, then together the group walked to the Bishop’s Palace for the reception. Diocesan Safeguarding Manager Ben Goodhind said, “It was a fantastic opportunity to meet people from both statutory and voluntary organisations all committed to the work of safeguarding. It was inspiring to spend time together, to build relationships and to share the work being undertaken in Bath and Wells.
“We’re committed to building strong partnerships with organisations across Somerset and beyond and I am grateful to everyone who took time in their busy schedules to join us in Wells.”
The diocesan Safeguarding team recently underwent an independent safeguarding audit. The feedback from it was positive. The team are now focused on building on that work. A three-year plan has been drawn up part of that is to focus on an area of concern each year. Throughout 2026 the focus will be tackling domestic abuse, in 2027 the focus will be on mental health and suicide prevention, and in 2028 work will be on creating dementia friendly spaces.
Speaking about that work and the plans for the next three years, Ben said, “The Diocese of Bath and Wells covers 3 local authority areas and more than 450 parish communities and a cathedral. Each parish provides services to vulnerable people in its community including dementia support, bereavement care, parents and toddler groups, youth clubs, food banks, warm hubs and spaces for addiction and recovery services. We care for people leaving prison and people who have survived abuse.”
“At the heart of every community are services provided by the church working collaboratively with others will ensure these are provided in a safe and effective way to make our churches a safer place for everyone.”