Safeguarding First: Protecting Children in Contact with the Criminal Legal System
Half-day online bespoke training for professionals working with children at risk of police investigation or prosecution.
7th October 2025 1pm-4pm
Cost: £100 | £50 YJLC Members
Too often policing practices override safeguarding responsibilities towards children. Following high-profile cases such as that of Child Q, it is clear that professionals need the knowledge and confidence to challenge harmful practices and ensure that children are protected.
Why this training matters
- Recent reviews, including Hackney’s Safeguarding Review of Child Q, found that school staff deferred too readily to police authority and failed to prioritise safeguarding.
- Enquiries to YJLC show growing concern that criminal justice responses are being used where welfare protections should apply.
What you’ll gain
This interactive training equips you to:
- Use safeguarding and welfare law to protect children, even in the face of police action.
- Recognise when children’s rights are at risk — and respond with confidence.
- Apply best practice in real-life scenarios, including:
- Police requests to speak to children under the Prevent agenda
- Arrests at school or in the middle of the night
- Detention, interrogation, or strip searches of vulnerable children
- Police involvement in school-based issues
- Stop and search encounters
Who should attend
- Youth justice professionals
- Social workers
- School safeguarding leads
- Anyone working directly with children affected by the criminal legal system
Backed by expertise
This training builds on YJLC’s Safeguarding First legal guide (July 2025), funded by the Ministry of Justice and endorsed by the Law Society, which sets out the law and guidance on safeguarding children in criminal proceedings.
Give your team the tools to advocate harder for the children you work with.
