48 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Mandatory Catholic safeguarding training

Recommendation

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales should ensure that safeguarding training is mandatory for all staff and volunteers in roles where they work with children or victims and survivors of abuse. It should also be a requirement that regular refresher training is completed. The training should consider the impact of child sexual abuse, including the impact of trauma and the perspective of victims and survivors, and should be developed in conjunction with the Survivor Advisory Panel.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales mandated in April 2021 that all clergy, parish safeguarding representatives, and volunteers working with children or victims and survivors of abuse must undergo baseline safeguarding training, with biennial refresher training also required. This ensures that training considers the impact of child sexual abuse, including trauma (Govt response to IICSA’s Accountability and Reparations Report, 22 May 2023 update).
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
E
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
22 May 2023

On 30 April 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry stated that it had mandated that clergy and parish safeguarding representatives must undergo baseline safeguarding training, supplemented by biennial refresher training. The reach of mandatory training was extended to volunteers.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report The Roman Catholic Church Investigation Report 10 Nov 2020
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Catholic Bishops Conference Primary
Themes & Tags
Mandatory safeguarding training Roman Catholic Church Training Safeguarding
Recommendation age 5.4 yrs
Last formal update 1037 days ago