Recommendation R17: Trained panel member requirement
From The Bichard Inquiry Report, published 22 June 2004.
Recommendation
From a date to be agreed, no interview panel to appoint staff working in schools should be convened without at least one member being properly trained.
In brief (written by this site)
The Home Office reported in May 2006 that this recommendation was complete (Home Office, May 2006). In December 2004, the department stated that a steering group had been set up to oversee the development and delivery of training, bringing together officials from the Department for Education and Skills, headteacher, school governor and faith organisations, and experts in child abuse (Home Office response, Dec 2004).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
About this summary
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The record reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Government response
A steering group has been set up to oversee the development and delivery of training in response to the requirements of Recommendations 16 and 17. The steering group includes DfES and NCSL officials, representatives of headteacher, school governor and faith organisations, and professional experts in the field of child abuse.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The Government accepted all 31 recommendations collectively: the Home Secretary's written statement of 11 January 2005 records that "All 31 recommendations were accepted by the Government when the Inquiry reported in June 2004". No document states an acceptance decision for any single recommendation. The response shown against each recommendation is the Home Office's answer to it in the first progress report, sent to Sir Michael Bichard on 22 December 2004 and placed in the Library of the House on 11 January 2005. The Government then reported against the recommendations three more times, in November 2005, May 2006 and May 2007; the updates shown are taken from those reports.
Delivery
Home Office says completed (25 May 2006)
Recommendations 16–18 complete and Recommendation 18 mainstreamed.
From: Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Third Progress Report
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response, delivery statement