As a firm, we operate on a No win, No fee basis. Meaning you only pay legal costs if you are awarded compensation.

We anticipate the Scheme will have provision for legal costs, therefore you will keep 100% of your compensation and we will not charge you anything. We will seek remuneration of our costs directly from the scheme.

Yes. The awards for the scheme are anticipated to reflect your time spent at Eastwood Park. We anticipate this to be in the following categories:

Period up to three months
Period over three months
Long term physical or mental injuries because of abuse sustained at Eastwood Park

Negotiations are also taking place in relation to whether awards will be available for racial abuse.

Until the scheme is published, it is difficult to advise, however we anticipate that you will make one claim, to cover the entire period of time spent at Eastwood Park.

We believe the scheme requirements will include direct application of force and therefore the scheme is unlikely to compensate those who witnessed abuse of others, or were made to live in a harsh environment. If however you sustained direct physical aggression or abuse, including sexual abuse or touching, you should be eligible for compensation.

They are worked out differently and they often land in different places. The scheme uses a fixed tariff under Schedule 1 of the Abuse Redress Rules 2025, with awards between £5,000 and £660,000. A civil claim is assessed by a court against case law and the facts of your case, so the figure is not fixed in advance and can land above or below the scheme tariff. A civil specialist is the right person to talk through likely civil values for your case.

Yes, in some situations. Section 4 of the Measure covers a dependant of someone who suffered abuse, and Section 6 covers carrying on an application where the applicant dies. The detail on who can apply, and when, lives at /deceased-relatives. The same time-limit rules apply to those applications.

Support that is independent of any claim

If reading this page has brought up difficult memories or feelings, there is independent support for you, whether or not you are thinking about a claim. The full list of independent survivor support organisations lives at /support-organisations, including:

Samaritans 116 123
NAPAC 0808 801 0331
Safe Spaces 0300 303 1056

These services are independent of Winston Solicitors and of the Church of England Redress Scheme.

Yes, in some situations. Section 4 of the Measure covers a dependant of someone who suffered abuse, and Section 6 covers carrying on an application where the applicant dies. The detail on who can apply, and when, lives at /deceased-relatives. The same time-limit rules apply to those applications.

Support that is independent of any claim

If reading this page has brought up difficult memories or feelings, there is independent support for you, whether or not you are thinking about a claim. The full list of independent survivor support organisations lives at /support-organisations, including:

Samaritans | 116 123
NAPAC | 0808 801 0331
Safe Spaces | 0300 303 1056

These services are independent of Winston Solicitors and of the Church of England Redress Scheme.

Currently the Scheme guidance suggests if a claim has been started, and a person then dies, that it can be continued by their relatives.

A sibling cannot; brothers and sisters are not in the Section 6 list. A grandchild normally cannot either, but there is one exception: if the person who died had parental responsibility for the grandchild, the grandchild counts as a dependant child. If your family’s shape does not fit the standard categories, ask before assuming the answer is no.

Yes. You can provide further material while your application is being determined, and the redress body can request more from you or from others as it goes. If significant new information comes to light after a decision, the Measure allows the application to be reconsidered, explained on our how the scheme works page.

Yes, within the scheme. Section 11(6) of the Abuse Redress Measure preserves your right of appeal under Section 12 and your right to reconsideration under Section 15 if new information comes to light. Those routes sit inside the scheme, alongside the waiver. The civil route closes when an award is made and accepted. So if you want to challenge a scheme outcome, the appeal sits within the scheme. If you want to challenge anything in the civil courts, that decision has to be made before you accept.

You can, and eligibility is assessed on the information available. Be aware that the scheme itself is not able to respond to safeguarding concerns or allegations being made for the first time, and in line with national guidance it makes sure all concerns are known to diocesan safeguarding teams, so a first disclosure will not stay with the scheme alone. If telling someone for the first time feels like too big a step, Safe Spaces, listed in the support section below, can help you think it through first, confidentially and independently.

Yes.

Many people contact us before speaking to family or friends. The first conversation is confidential, and you only share what you feel comfortable discussing.

Yes. Many survivors never told anyone for years, sometimes for decades, and the scheme is built with that in mind. You do not need a report, a witness, or a record from the time to apply. Winston Solicitors can talk you through what your own account and any surrounding evidence might look like to the scheme.

Yes. You can prepare in your own time, seek independent support now, and register your interest so we can tell you when the scheme opens. You do not need a police report or a criminal conviction, and there is no application to file until the scheme is live.

No. Once the scheme makes an award on your application, your right to bring a civil claim for the same abuse is automatically waived under Section 11(1) of the Abuse Redress Measure. You can still apply to the scheme without committing, because the waiver only bites when an award is made and accepted, not when you apply. If you want to keep the civil route open while you weigh things up, take civil advice before you accept any scheme offer.

Of course.

Many enquiries come from partners, relatives or close friends who are trying to understand the scheme before the survivor feels ready. We are happy to explain how the process works without putting anyone under pressure to make an application.

Yes. Many people read pages like this for someone they care about before that person is ready to. The scheme allows third parties to make initial enquiries. Winston Solicitors can talk you through how to support someone who may eventually want to apply, without putting any pressure on them.

Very possibly. There is no time limit on when the abuse itself took place, so historic abuse from many years ago can still fall within the scheme. There is a window for making the application itself, which we explain on our time limits page.

The Measure does not restrict a dependant application to one person. A surviving partner, a dependant child, and a dependant parent could each apply, and each would need to meet the definition and show their own injury or loss. Where an existing application is being continued after a death, two or more surviving children can act jointly. Winston Solicitors can help a family work out who is best placed to act.

A surviving child, partner or parent may be able to make a claim under the Scheme when someone who suffered abuse has since died. This will only be considered under exceptional circumstances. An example of an exceptional circumstance would be when a person has taken their own life as a result of the abuse.

The whole five-year window can be extended if the General Synod passes a resolution to do so, under Section 7(2)(b) of the Measure. If that happens, the same “first day of the final nine months” rule applies to the longer window. There is no personal extension for a late application. The deadline belongs to the scheme, not to you as an individual.

What you share in support of your own application is your choice, and your solicitor will discuss with you whether records such as counselling notes would help before anything is requested. A notice requiring anyone else, such as a health body or counselling service, to hand over material has no effect where complying would breach data protection law (Section 26(6), Abuse Redress Measure 2025).