A message from The Very Revd Dr Sue Jones, Dean of Liverpool
Liverpool Cathedral is committed to being a safe cathedral. We aim to respect and honour all people recognising them as made in the image of God. We have not always lived up to this understanding and we are sorry for the harm we have caused.
Being a safe cathedral means we are committed to:
- The care, nurture of, and respectful pastoral ministry with all children, young people and adults
- The safeguarding and protection of all children, young people and adults.
- Being a safe and caring group of people that provides a compassionate environment where victims of abuse can report or disclose abuse and where they can find support and best practice that contributes to the prevention of abuse.
Liverpool Cathedral is being audited by INEQE, alongside all cathedrals and dioceses in the Church of England. The aim of the audit is simple: to assess and strengthen safeguarding across the whole Church of England.
The INEQE safeguarding audit of Liverpool Cathedral will take place in early 2026.
In ‘Promoting a Safer Church’, the Church of England’s Safeguarding policy Statement says:
“The Church of England is called to share the good news of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. The life of our communities and institutions is integral to how we address this task. The good news speaks of welcome for all, with a particular regard for those who are most at most risk, into a community where the value and dignity of every human being is affirmed and those in positions of responsibility and authority are truly trustworthy. Being faithful to our call to share the gospel therefore compels us to take with the utmost seriousness the challenge of preventing abuse from happening and responding well where it has.”
We endorse this statement wholeheartedly and we are working hard to be a safe cathedral.
If you have information about a safeguarding situation where a child or adult is in immediate danger or requires immediate medical attention, call 999.
For urgent safeguarding advice during out of office hours – between 7.00 am – 9.00 am and 5.00 pm – midnight weekdays, weekends and bank holidays, please call our partners Thirtyone:eight on 0303 003 1111 (option 1) for confidential advice, guidance, and support.
If you do not think there is a risk of immediate harm, please speak to the Safeguarding Team. Please be sure to contact them using the information shown below:
Diocesan Safeguarding Team: safeguarding.team@liverpool.anglican.org
Lauryn Dobie – Liverpool Cathedral Safeguarding Officer & Liverpool Diocese Safeguarding Adviser – email: lauryn.dobie@liverpoolcathedral.org.uk or 07904418048
Mick Murphy – Acting Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser – email: mick.murphy@liverpool.anglican.org or 07376431466
Stuart Barton Ainsworth – Deputy Diocesan Safeguarding Officer – email: stuart.bartonainsworth@liverpool.anglican.org or 07919 112979
Karen Williams – Assistant Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser – email: karen.williams@liverpool.anglican.org or 07946189061
Alternatively, if you wish to report a safeguarding concern directly to the National Safeguarding Team please email safeguarding@churchofengland.org, or you may approach your Local Safeguarding Children’s Board or Local Safeguarding adult’s board. The following link (Local safeguarding board) offers details of your Local safeguarding board and how they can be contacted. Should you choose this option, please also inform the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer.
Helplines
Here are some other telephone numbers you may find useful if you need to talk to someone:
- NSPCC – 0808 800 500
- Childline – 0800 111
- Stop It Now – 0808 1000 900
- National Association for People Abused in Childhood – 0808 801 0331
- Men’s Advice Line – 0808 8010 327
- National Careline – 0800 0699 784
The Cathedral has adopted the policies and procedures of the Diocese of Liverpool and the National Church Safeguarding Team.
You can access this through the links below:
Promoting a Safer Church PDF Download (Church of England Guidance)
Church of England Safeguarding Webpage
Support for Survivors and Victims (Diocese of Liverpool)
Safeguarding Matters (Diocese of Liverpool)
You can download our 2024 Safeguarding Policy Review here
All cathedrals in the country were independently audited by the Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE). You can access our latest Audit Report here.
You can view all of our Cathedral Policies here
All cathedrals in the country were independently audited by the Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE). You can access our latest Audit Report here.
You can view all of our Cathedral Policies here