Recommendation 26: Youth Custody Service safeguarding training
From Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report, published 28 February 2019.
Recommendation
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.
In brief (written by this site)
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. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
No government response to this recommendation is on the record yet.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Youth Custody Service has been found in the sources searched (last checked 2 October 2026). This is separate from the response above.
What other bodies have found
In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (20 October 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
Site note: These are the Inquiry's own words, from its recommendations page for the Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions investigation report, captured by the Internet Archive on 20 October 2022. They are the Inquiry's account of what the body told it, not the body's own words.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Finding