1. While no system can guarantee the eradication of child sexual abuse, there are measures that should be taken to help to create a protective environment for children.
2. This begins with institutions, organisations and settings which work with or come into contact with children. It involves recruiting the right people, vetting applicants to prevent those who have demonstrated their unsuitability to work with children, putting effective child safeguarding policies and procedures in place, and providing appropriate training and monitoring to ensure those policies are understood and implemented.
3. The Inquiry has previously made many recommendations to improve protective measures, both generally and for specific institutions. Its work has also revealed that there is patchy and incomplete regulation of occupations involving work with children in England and in Wales. Professional regulation of occupations which involve working with children can contribute to the protection of children and young people. Two important elements of an effective regime of regulation are continuing professional development or training and the power to address issues of professional misconduct.
4. The Inquiry has also identified limitations on the disclosure and barring checks available for certain roles, as well as a marked disparity in the quality of child protection and safeguarding arrangements across different institutions and different sectors.
5. To enhance the measures currently available in the workforce and in the workplace which aim to prevent abuse occurring, the Inquiry makes four specific recommendations concerning workforce registration and the vetting and barring regime.