Reports & recommendations
107 recommendations from 16 reports, each with the government response on the record. Filter by government response, report, nation or delivery status.
Reports (16)
Recommendations (2)
Expand Ofsted powers for unregistered settings
The government should introduce legislation to: change the definition of full-time education, and to bring any setting that is the pupil's primary place of education within the scope of the definition of a registered educational setting; and provide the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) with sufficient powers to examine the quality of child protection when it undertakes inspections of suspected unregistered institutions.
The UK Government has provided no direct response on the record, but in December 2023 the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse reported that the government stated on 2 March 2022 that it had considered responses to a 2020 consultation on proposals to amend registration requirements for independent education settings and would publish its response (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Dec 2023). The Inquiry also reported that the government noted a prior commitment by the Department for Education to increase the powers available to Ofsted when conducting inspections under section 97 of the 2008 Act, including in the Integrated Communities Action Plan 2019 (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Dec 2023).
Religious organisation child protection policies
All religious organisations should have a child protection policy and supporting procedures, which should include advice and guidance on responding to disclosures of abuse and the needs of victims and survivors. The policy and procedures should be updated regularly, with professional child protection advice, and all organisations should have regular compulsory training for those in leadership positions and those who work with children and young people.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse reported in December 2023 that the Muslim Council of Britain stated in June 2022 that it was producing mosque-specific safeguarding guidance and templates planned for publication by late 2022 (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Dec 2023). The Inquiry also recorded that the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses stated in February 2022 that its child protection policy was reviewed regularly and had been updated following the investigation report (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Dec 2023). In the same month, the Baptist Union of Great Britain stated that it was working to gather more safeguarding data across its churches to direct support for abuse victims and prioritise resources (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Dec 2023).