Skills scheme lacks depth, says board

A specialist training programme for prison staff working with children and young people is “inadequate”, a senior manager in the Youth Justice Board has said.

Jon Fayle, head of policy for secure estate and remand management at the YJB, told Community Care that while the juvenile awareness programme was “a good start” in training staff in child welfare issues, it needed further development.

Fayle said the seven-day programme introduced in March 2004, which includes safeguarding, child protection and mental health, was “not long enough or deep enough”.

Terry Burton, staff training manager for women and juveniles at the prison service, said the service was “on target” to meet the YJB’s goal of training 80 per cent (about 1,600) of staff by the end of March next year.

The Youth Justice Board has commissioned a review of the programme to report next August.