The report covers England and Wales and sets out 20 key recommendations:
- A single set of core data relating to child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation.
- Child Protection Authorities for England and for Wales.
- A cabinet-level Minister for Children.
- A public awareness campaign.
- Prohibiting the use of pain compliance techniques.
- The amendment of the Children Act 1989.
- Registration of care staff in children’s homes.
- Registration of staff in care roles in young offender institutions and secure training centres.
- Greater use of the Disclosure and Barring Service barred list.
- Improvements to compliance with statutory duties to refer concerns to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
- Extending the disclosure regime to those working with children overseas.
- Pre-screening for illegal images of children.
- Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in certain circumstances.
- Compliance with the Victims’ Code.
- The removal of the three-year limitation period for personal injury claims brought by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.
- A national guarantee of specialist therapeutic support for child victims.
- A code of practice on access to records about child sexual abuse.
- Further changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
- A tiered redress scheme.
- Age verification in relation to online services and social media platforms.
Members can view the report in full here.
BSA CEO Robin Fletcher said of the report:
“We thank Professor Alexis Jay OBE and the IICSA team for their hard work during the inquiry and we pay tribute to the survivors of abuse for their honesty and bravery in coming forward to give evidence.
“We supported the government consultation into mandatory reporting in 2016 and in lieu of legislation the BSA introduced our Commitment to Care Charter in 2016 where members committed to the mandatory reporting of abuse.
“The BSA and our member schools look forward to working with the government and associated regulatory bodies on the implementation of the report.”
The BSA and its sister association, the Safeguarding and Child Protection Association (SACPA), are hosting their Annual Safeguarding Conference on November 17, 2022, where the full report findings will be discussed with Fiona Scolding KC and Marcus Erooga, two of the inquiry’s contributors. A full note for member schools will be released following this conference.
Categories: BSA News
