Safeguarding at the heart: Reflecting on the very first diocesan safeguarding conference

7th November, 2025

Committed to a safer diocese

On Saturday 4 October 2025 the inaugural safeguarding conference hosted by the Diocese of Lincoln drew a crowd of nearly one hundred people. The event, which took place at the Riseholme Campus near Lincoln, saw a host of professional speakers lined up who have a track record of navigating a range of safeguarding situations and specialisms.

Speaking words of safety and wellbeing

There were fascinating presentations about Fraud Prevention by Richard Kubon of Leicestershire Police and Sharon Hall of Lincolnshire Police, and The Impact and Effect Experienced by Survivors of Domestic Abuse by Ann Canter from Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Specialist Service.

This was followed by time to hear about Disclosure and Barring Service Eligibility by Lizzie Whittington, the DBS Regional Outreach Adviser from the East Midlands, and then a presentation Diocesan Safeguarding Team from our very own Diocese of Lincoln.

Jack Redeyoff, the Diocesan Director of Safeguarding, said the event was encouraging:

We are immensely encouraged by the shared commitment we’ve seen to putting safeguarding at the core of how we live, work and worship. I thank everyone who came together as we strive towards caring for, and attending to, the vulnerable and marginalised of our communities.”

Building up a united body

The day was an opportunity to bring together everyone involved with safeguarding (yes, really, that’s all of us!), to recommit to protecting vulnerable people and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of every person in Greater Lincolnshire and beyond.

It was also an opportunistic occasion to for attendees to offer each other encouragement, advice and support for what can often be a fulfilling but challenging area of responsibility. It is commendable that so many decided to come together in this way.

A sign of things to come

This first safeguarding conference has been viewed as a very positive first event and our diocese is looking to build upon it with further conferences taking place in the future. There has been plenty of feedback for us to take on board and create even more engaging and fruitful ways of promoting safeguarding for all people.

Building a safeguarding network for the Parish of Boston

On Tuesday 21 October, the Parish of Boston also hosted the first of their Deanery Partnership safeguarding events with a face-to-face training session, led by the diocese.

The Parish Safeguarding Officer’s are aiming to meet at least twice a year to help and support one another. We think this is tremendously uplifting news!