1. New Headteachers Safeguarding Briefing 2018
Dion Page-Hammond
Support and Intervention Manager: Safeguarding
Standards and Learning Effectiveness Service

2. Safeguarding Protecting children from harm or maltreatment
Preventing impairment of children’s health or development; and
Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and undertaking that role so as to enable those children to have optimum life chances.

3. Key principles Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility
Best interests of the child
It could happen here
Issues between children must not be passed off as banter or part of growing up
GDPR is not a barrier to information sharing
Think the unthinkable
What are your greatest risks?
Early Help

4. Guidance documents Keeping Children Safe in Education: September 2018
Working Together to Safeguard Children: July 2018
What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused: advice for practitioners: March 2015
Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges: May 2018
Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners: July 2018
DFE Behaviour and Discipline in schools January 2016
Ofsted: Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings September 2018
Pan Sussex Child Protection Procedures

5. Keeping Children Safe in Education: September 2018
Emphasis on care leavers, LAC, SEND and peer on peer abuse
Emphasis on online safety within DSL role
Contextual safeguarding
Children Missing from Education
Additions to Annex A
Part 5: child on child sexual violence and sexual harassment

6. Key messages for all staff
It could happen here
The best interests of the child
Act immediately
Do not assume that colleagues will report things
If the DSL is not available, they must speak with SLT or contact SPOA themselves
Early Help
Vulnerabilities

7. Headteacher responsibilities for safeguarding
National Standards of Excellence for Headteachers 2015 –
Hold all staff to account for their professional conduct and practice.
Ensure that the school’s systems, organisation and processes are well considered, efficient and fit for purpose, upholding the principles of transparency, integrity and probity.
Provide a safe, calm and well-ordered environment for all pupils and staff, focused on safeguarding pupils and developing their exemplary behaviour in school and in the wider society.
Develop effective relationships with fellow professionals and colleagues in other public services to improve academic and social outcomes for all pupils.

8. Safeguarding can involve a range of potential issues:
Bullying, including online bullying and prejudice-based bullying: racist, disability and homophobic or transphobic abuse
Gender-based violence/violence against women and girls: female genital mutilation and forced marriage
Radicalisation and/or extremist behaviour
Criminal exploitation: child sexual exploitation and County Lines
The impact of new technologies: exploitation, sexting
Peer on peer abuse within school
Domestic violence: teenage relationship abuse
Poor parenting, particularly in relation to babies and young children
Fabricated or induced illness
Early Help

9. Issues to consider as a new headteacher
DSL? Deputy DSL ? CPD for this?
Standards vs safeguarding
Policy vs practice
The voice of the child
Teaching safeguarding
Systems for recording and acting on information
Single Central Record – who does what?
Governors role, knowledge and skills
Training updates and priorities
Dealing with complaints and allegations
School culture –professional curiosity?

11. SLES Documents
Model Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy for Schools 2018
East Sussex Online safety policy 2018
Staff Code of Conduct 2018
Keeping Records of Child Protection and Welfare Concerns July 2017
Safeguarding Audit Toolkit for Schools and Colleges in East Sussex

12. Areas for development identified through the audit
Record Keeping
Analysis and review
Online Safety
Self review and informed decision making
Risk Assessment
Prevent, reasonable force/positive handling, sexual violence/harassment, risk reduction plans

13. Further support from SLES
DSL networks
Safeguarding Newsletter
Safeguarding Practice Review
Single focus visit
Group supervision for DSLs
Whole School Safeguarding Training
Safeguarding Conference 15/01/19
Czone: Support for Safeguarding in Colleges, Schools and Early Years Settings

14. Contact Details