Youth Custody Service safeguarding training
IICSA · Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report · Issued 28 February 2019 · Addressed to: Youth Custody Service
Government responseNo response yet
DeliveryNo statement from Youth Custody Service found
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, E
The Chair and Panel recommend that the Youth Custody Service takes steps to ensure that its training provides staff with an appropriate understanding of safeguarding in the context of the secure estate, and that this is regularly reviewed and updated.
IICSA, Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report · 28 Feb 2019 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The recommendation asks the Youth Custody Service to regularly review and update staff safeguarding training. In October 2022, The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recorded that the Ministry of Justice stated in May 2022 that the service was drafting guidance to complement mandatory safeguarding training for new staff, subject to targeted public consultation (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022). The department also stated in May 2022 that the service intended to publish a Safeguarding Strategy outlining longer term training plans (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022). In its October 2022 record, the inquiry noted that the service had published a national safeguarding review in October 2019 recommending localized training to address emerging sector needs (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026.
Government response
●No formal government response recorded
The Index has not yet recorded a verbatim government response to this recommendation.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Youth Custody Service has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.
What other bodies have found
●Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse · 20 Oct 2022
On 23 July 2019, the Ministry of Justice agreed that training was required. The Youth Custody Service will review the mandatory training for all its frontline staff, including at management level, alongside a review of the content and material where necessary. In October 2019, the Youth Custody Service (YCS) published its national review of safeguarding. The review recommended YCS sites develop specific and localised training that meets the emerging needs and threats of the sector. The review recommended appropriate and sufficient training in safeguarding and child protection for staff dealing with Matters of Concerns, and that the policy should be reviewed and widely communicated. On 4 May 2022, the Ministry of Justice stated that the Youth Custody Service was drafting ‘Keeping Children Safe in Secure Settings’ guidance. This aims to set out requirements for sites that hold children on remand and custodial sentences to: protect children from abuse, respond appropriately to their complaints, and set the same safeguarding expectations as all other agencies providing a service to children. The Ministry of Justice confirmed that the guidance will complement mandatory safeguarding training for all new staff, and will be subject to targeted public consultation. The Ministry of Justice also stated that the Youth Custody Service intends to publish a Safeguarding Strategy that will outline longer term plans for safeguarding training.
From: Recommendations - Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 investigation report
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.