Recommendation 24: Registration of children's home care staff
From Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published 25 April 2018.
Recommendation
The Chair and Panel recommend that the Department for Education introduces arrangements for the registration of staff working in care roles in children's homes. Registration should be with an independent body charged with setting and maintaining standards of training, conduct and continuing professional development, and with the power to enforce these through fitness to practise procedures. The Chair and Panel recognise that registration may require a period of phasing in, and therefore recommend that priority be given to professional registration of children's home managers.
In brief (written by this site)
In November 2022, Claire Coutinho, Minister answering for the Department for Education, stated that the recommendation was "being closely considered" and that the department would set out its response in an implementation strategy in due course (Claire Coutinho, Nov 2022). The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recorded in October 2022 that the department had published findings from a call for evidence and literature review in July 2021, and had confirmed it would keep the recommendation under review (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022).
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.
Government response
56. The Government agrees in principle that further workforce regulation could provide an effective additional means of protecting children. We are mindful that introducing professional registration for all staff in care roles in children’s homes would represent major change for the sector. We will therefore launch an evidence-gathering exercise to understand the impact of this recommendation in order to ensure that further action is informed by the best possible evidence.
Delivery
Department for Education states no delivery position (1 November 2022)
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the Independent Review into Children’s Social Care recommended professional registration of staff working in children’s homes. This recommendation is being closely considered. The department’s response to the recommendations from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care final report will be set out in an implementation strategy in due course.
Site note: Department for Education written answer of 1 November 2022. It refers to the recommendation of both the Inquiry and the Independent Review of Children's Social Care, and states no position on it.
UK Government says in progress (22 July 2019)
The Department for Education (DfE) launched a Call for Evidence on children’s homes in June 2019. A link is provided here. This exercise will collect views from the sector, including children’s homes, providers, local authorities and members of staff, on existing approaches to regulating the workforce and establishing professional registration requirements for people in care roles. DfE worked with the sector to ensure questions are focussed on the most relevant workforce issues, including professional registration, the existing approach to registering managers of children’s homes, staff qualifications and training and professional standards. Prior to launching the Call for Evidence, DfE commissioned a literature review on these issues, to take account of existing evidence and inform questions for the Call for Evidence.
This work will develop the Department’s understanding of the potential merits and consequences of taking forward the recommendation, and sector views on the effectiveness of existing approaches to regulating the workforce.
The Call for Evidence will close on 27 August 2019, and DfE will use the findings to consider any action to be taken in response. DfE will publish a summary of this work and the government’s response in due course.
Site note: The UK Government's progress update on the Interim Report, 22 July 2019. For each recommendation it restates the "Government commitment - December 2018" and gives an "Update"; it states no new position on the recommendation. The position is in the response of 20 December 2018.
What other bodies have found
In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (6 October 2022)
On 6 June 2019, the Department for Education launched a Call for Evidence on the children’s home workforce in response to the Inquiry’s recommendation. The Call for Evidence concluded on 27 August 2019. On 8 July 2021, the Department for Education published the findings of the Call for Evidence and a literature review it conducted in response to the Inquiry’s recommendation. The Government has informed the Inquiry that it will continue to keep the recommendation for a professional register of the residential childcare sector under review.
From: Recommendations - Interim Report
Site note: These are the Inquiry's own words, from its recommendations page for the Interim Report, captured by the Internet Archive on 6 October 2022. They are the Inquiry's account of what the body told it, not the body's own words.
Site note: The government's own words are recorded on this recommendation: its response of 20 December 2018 and its progress update of 22 July 2019.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response, delivery statement - Department for Education
Delivery statement - Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Finding