1. Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2018
“Seven-minute Safeguarding Staff Meeting”
Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2018

2. Keeping Children Safe in Education
This is statutory guidance from the Department for Education.
Schools and colleges in England must have regard to it when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
For the purposes of this guidance children includes everyone under the age of 18.

3. Keeping Children Safe in Education
Sets out safeguarding information for all staff – what school and college staff should know and do
Outlines the responsibilities of governing bodies
Explains the role of the designated safeguarding lead (DSL)

4. The content includes information about:
Safer recruitment
Allegations of abuse made against teachers and other staff
Child on child sexual violence and harassment
Links to further information about specific safeguarding concerns – Annex A
Disclosure and barring checks

5. “New” in 2018
In this guidance, there is an emphasis on thinking about children with SEN and disabilities, those who were care leavers, and those children who were previously looked after, (often) adopted children. The new guidance is also very clear about peer-on-peer abuse, and indeed on sexual violence and sexual harassment.
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018 provides clarity that schools should have their own individual safeguarding policy. This policy should meet the needs of their children in their community, with the particular kinds of issues that may be most important for them.
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018 says that schools should have at least two emergency contacts for every child in the school in case of emergencies, and in case there are welfare concerns at the home.
Following the theme of looking after children with SEN and Disabilities, the use of reasonable force is emphasised, as something that we really need to be cautious about.
Emergency Contacts for Children One aspect of safeguarding that was very clear in the consultation, was this idea that schools need to have more available emergency contacts for children. There have couple of serious events in the last 18 months, in which parents have died and their young children have been left with them. Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018 says that schools should have at least two emergency contacts for every child in the school in case of emergencies, and in case there are welfare concerns at the home.
Use of Reasonable Force Following the theme of looking after children with SEN and Disabilities, the use of reasonable force is emphasised in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018, as something that we really need to be cautious about. There are some circumstances when reasonable force might be a possibility, or it might be part of a strategy to deal with an incident of very challenging behaviour, but this guidance, along with previous comments from Ofsted, is very much about creating individual plans in order to minimise the likelihood of challenging behaviour, and when it does occur, that there is less use of physical restraint and other restrictive methods.

6. Keeping Children Safe in Education Part 1 has to be read by all members of the staff; and for everyone working directly with children, they also need to read Annex A.
Annex A now includes four key topics that were not included previously:
Children and the court system, when children are appearing as witnesses;
Children will family members in prison;
Criminal Exploitation of children (County Lines); and
Homelessness.

7. 2 minute discussion
What documents/systems which support safeguarding do all staff need to know and understand?
What should you do if you have a concern about a child?
All staff should be aware of systems within their school or college which support safeguarding and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction. This should include:
• the child protection policy;
• the behaviour policy;
• the staff behaviour policy (sometimes called a code of conduct);
• the safeguarding response to children who go missing from education; and
• the role of the designated safeguarding lead (including the identity of the designated safeguarding lead and any deputies).
Recap who the DSLs are in your school – what the procedures are, forms etc
What school and college staff should do if they have concerns about a child
23. If staff have any concerns about a child’s welfare, they should act on them immediately. See page 13 for a flow chart setting out the process for staff when they have concerns about a child.
24. If staff have a concern, they should follow their own organisation’s child protection policy and speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy).
25. Options will then include:
• managing any support for the child internally via the school or college’s own pastoral support processes;
• an early help assessment; or
• a referral for statutory services, for example as the child might be in need, is in need or suffering or likely to suffer harm.
26. The designated safeguarding lead or a deputy should always be available to discuss safeguarding concerns. If in exceptional circumstances, the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) is not available, this should not delay appropriate action being taken. Staff should consider speaking to a member of the senior leadership team and/or take advice from local children’s social care. In these circumstances, any action taken should be shared with the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) as soon as is practically possible.

8. Next steps
Ensure that you have read (and can access) these and other safeguarding documents in your school.
Complete the KCSiE 2018 quiz!
All staff should be aware of systems within their school or college which support safeguarding and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction. This should include:
• the child protection policy;
• the behaviour policy;
• the staff behaviour policy (sometimes called a code of conduct);
• the safeguarding response to children who go missing from education; and
• the role of the designated safeguarding lead (including the identity of the designated safeguarding lead and any deputies).
Recap who the DSLs are in your school – what the procedures are, forms etc

9. Additional guidance and further reading
Keeping children safe in education –statutory guidance for schools and colleges (September 2018)
What to Do If You’re Worried a Child Is Being Abused (2015)
Working Together to Safeguard Children (July 2018)
Guidance for safer working practice for those working with children and young people in education settings (October 2015)
Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex (2017)
Essex Schools Infolink safeguarding resources
Essex Effective Support for children and families - referrals and guidance
Essex Primary Headteachers’ Association