Safeguarding

For more information, or to get in touch with our Head of Safeguarding, Cliona Devereux, please email: safeguarding@catholicassociation.co.uk

The CA Safeguarding Policy can be viewed on the policies page:

Additional Info August 2025

Safeguarding updates

Thank you for patiently preparing yourselves to give your time and energy to helping others on pilgrimage through your timely completion of vetting, referencing, DBS form filling and training completion. It is heartening to see everyone taking our safeguarding responsibilities seriously. 

There have been a number of national changes that impact our pilgrimage safeguarding procedures that I would like to bring to your attention. 

The first is already in motion in the form of the new safeguarding training within the Catholic Church. Many of you are already getting that training done in readiness for this years pilgrimage. Thank you for being prompt! The expectation from the Church is that everyone that requires a DBS check to carry out their role will have completed the online training. Some of you may already have done it if you already have a volunteer role in your local parish. 

For those of you not joining us this year but wanting to know more, please see https://training.catholicsafeguarding.org.uk/

The second change affects those of us who have our DBS certificate kept on the DBS Update Service. If you have a CA pilgrimage DBS it is likely to be on the update service, thanks to Sadie. It makes doing re-checks in subsequent years far more straightforward. Please take note even if you are not joining this years pilgrimage but may return another year.  Until recently, if you were on the update service you did not have to do anything- you were there until you removed your details. In future you are going to be asked annually if you wish to stay on the update service. For the pilgrimage checks, we would like you to be saying yes to staying on that service. When that email arrives, please don't overlook it- you can deal with it in minutes right there and then. The email tells you your unique service number. Cut and paste it, go to the link, use the number to log on, confirm your details and click the 'renew' button. Thank you! If you have any difficulties do reach out, Sadie can help, email her on: sadie@catholicassociation.co.uk

Other updates

Lanyards

For a number of years we have used lanyards to identify our helpers as distinct from our other non-helper pilgrims. Tangney Tours issue all pilgrims with a white lanyard, but the DBS clearance lanyards are an additional cost paid for by the CA pilgrimage charity. In order to be as careful as we can be with the issuing of the lanyards so that only those with the current clearances wear them, it is important we try to distribute carefully and also collect in at the end of the pilgrimage. Taking care of this process is part of the steps we take to keep our pilgrims safe. With pilgrims arriving and departing Lourdes in different ways that isn't easy. Thank you to those on the flights who both help to distribute and collect in DBS lanyards. Feel free to keep hold of your white one, that is yours to keep. 

Please can we ask you to wear your badge and lanyard, white, green or pink at all times during the week, even if you are 'off duty'. Your badge carries important emergency phone numbers, identifies you as a member of our pilgrimage so that we can recognise and greet each other and enables other pilgrims to ask for assistance from an appropriately cleared/ experienced helper. 

Our 'think pink' lanyards identify our helpers that have DBS clearance and training but are not in a position to help with all care needs.  Please ask if they are happy to help with a task rather than assume they are - and don’t be offended if they can’t; there will be a genuine reason.  It is not appropriate to question why an individual has a pink lanyard – it may be their age, they may have a disability or injury or they may just be more comfortable in certain roles!