Bichard Inquiry into child protection measures
Following the Soham murder case, the Home Secretary asked Sir Michael Bichard to lead an independent inquiry into child protection measures, record-keeping, vetting and information-sharing.
The report of Sir Michael's inquiry was published in June 2004. He made 31 recommendations, eight of which fell to the Department to take action on. Sir Michael published the final version of his inquiry report on 15 March 2005.
Safer recruitment: online training for
headteachers, governors and local authority staff
In response to recommendation 16 of the report, which relates to training for
headteachers and school governors to ensure that interviews to appoint staff
reflect the importance of safeguarding children, the Department asked the
National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services (NCLSCS)
to design and develop an online training package.
With effect from 1 November 2009 the online training for school staff will become a Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) programme. Full details regarding the safer recruitment online training can be found on the website. The training will now be readily accessible to other staff in schools who are involved in recruitment.
The training package looks at best practice that should be adopted when recruiting and selecting adults to work with children in schools. It sets out procedures and strategies to help those involved in the recruitment process in schools deter, identify, and reject applicants who are unsuitable to work with children. It also seeks to strengthen safeguards for children in schools by helping to deter and prevent abuse; with the aim of creating an environment where concerns can be raised on poor or unsafe practice.
Safer recruitment training becomes mandatory for
the recruitment of school staff from 1 January 2010
This means that a recruitment panel (or an individual) must have at least one
member who has completed the training. It is the responsibility of schools to
comply.
Can local authority staff continue to access the
training?
Yes and in the same way as school staff via the CWDC website from 1 November 2009.
Guidance
The Department published guidance to accompany and support the online
training, Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment, in 2006.
This guidance is current. It aims to assist all staff with educational
responsibility to review and, where appropriate, modify their practise and
procedure in ways that will strengthen safeguards for children. It consolidates
the guidance in the previous document, Safeguarding Children: Safer
Recruitment and Selection in Education Settings.
Last updated: 26 October 2009
