Safeguarding in Education Service (SIES)

• The main statutory guidance document for all agencies, including schools and colleges, is Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 - Gov.uk 

• Working Together is complemented by non-statutory guidance: What to do if you are worried a child is being abuse - Gov.uk

• Information sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services (2018)

• Education specific safeguarding guidance is outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 - Gov.uk 

• When to Call the Police - guidance for schools and colleges NCPC

• Other important safeguarding national guidance to be aware of include:
  
• Prevent Duty Guidance updated April 2021 - Gov.uk 
• Mandatory Reporting of Female Genital Mutilation - Gov.uk – procedural information Updated Jan 2020

• To help keep you up to date with safeguarding and education developments you can sign up to receive alerts from the Department of Education

• Locally it is important that you take a look at and familiarise yourself with the Northamptonshire Safeguarding Children procedures. You can sign up for alerts to let you know when they are updated.

​Advice and information for schools on online safety and digital technologies.

• Online Safety Information

Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment in schools

• Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment in Schools 2021
• Ofsted Review of Sexual Abuse in Schools 2021
• Sharing Nudes and Semi Nudes Guidance
• Searching, Screening and Confiscation in School

• ​Information on the domestic abuse notification scheme

Information governance is a legal framework which is made up of a set of requirements, standards and best practices to keep compliance with the law when handling and sharing information.

• Data protection: toolkit for schools

The framework involves legislation and guidance including:

• General Data Protection Regulations
• Data Protection Act 2018
• Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000
• Environmental Information Regulations
• Implementation of government guidance
• Monitoring and improvement

Information governance is designed to deal with issues such as confidentiality, privacy, data security, consent, disclosure and access to records. It is everybody's business and responsibility to know how information governance affects their role and to put this into practice.

​Providing early help is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years.

• Early help information and guidance

• NSPCC FGM Information
• Statutory Reporting Responsibility
• FGM Schools Guidance National FGM Centre

• ​Information for Governors

• ​Home Office posters - Protecting vulnerable people from exploitation
• Preventing youth violence and gang involvement (PDF 343KB)
• Home Office County Lines guidance (PDF 225KB)
• The Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) is a multi-agency gang intervention programme designed to reduce gang violence and help those involved in gangs to live a life free of crime. Visit the CIRV website.
• Preventing youth violence and gang involvement March 2015 (PDF 343KB)

Safeguarding training requirements for staff working in education establishments are set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education (2019).

• Education Safeguarding  E Learning Training (Word 22KB) -list of free elearning courses on a range of education safeguarding topics
• The NSCP provide a range of training options including a multi-agency safeguarding training programme . Multi agency training courses are an excellent opportunity to discuss safeguarding dilemmas and issues with other professionals. Information about courses and how to request a training place via e-booking system are on the training page of the NSCP website.
• All staff, including the Designated Safeguarding Lead, should receive safeguarding and child protection updates as required and appropriate to their role at least annually. Options to support the on-going development of safeguarding knowledge and practice in your setting could include:
• Circulating safeguarding leaflets, posters, resources and briefing papers i.e. from the DSCB Safeguarding Update service or the NSPCC who have a range of resources, briefing notes and factsheets about child abuse and neglect.
• Showing film clips about key safeguarding issues from the NSPCC, NHS and YouTube e.g. FGM - NHS short films for staff, Seen and Heard (film aimed at training health professionals about the signs of child sexual abuse and exploitation), Making a Noise (film animation to help practitioners gain insight into the feelings and perspective of children affected by child sexual abuse), films and digital resource packs on self-harm and young people involved in gangs.
• Use staff meetings to share and discuss relevant safeguarding issues and topics and to regularly review issues about private fostering. The Triennial analysis of serious case reviews (2011 to 2014): practice briefing for education practitioners (one of five briefings on the findings of the Triennial analysis of serious case reviews 2011 to 2014, Sidebotham et al., 2016) is a useful document to highlight safeguarding issues which are pertinent to education providers.
• Invite external speakers to staff meetings, inset days, etc.

• ​TaHMS service

• Guidance for safe working practices from The Safer Recruitment Consortium (PDF 469KB)
• Covid 19 Addendum to Guidance to Safe working practices April 2020 (PDF 268KB)

• The NSPCC is a key source of safeguarding information and resources. Anyone can subscribe to their current awareness service for practice, policy and research CASPAR for free weekly email alerts to keep you up-to-date with all the latest safeguarding and child protection news.
• The NSPCC also have a range of services to help schools protect children from abuse and neglect. This includes a Safeguarding in Education Self-Assessment Tool, ESAT a free online tool for schools in England. Individuals will need to register to access the tool which contains a range of useful safeguarding in education resources.
• There is also a Safeguarding in Education Update where you can subscribe to receive monthly education practice, policy and research updates.
• NSPCC also have a helpline which you can ring if you're worried about a child or need advice or information about child protection, telephone 0808 800 5000.
• ICAN – this website supports school and college staff in understanding abuse and neglect from the child or young person’s point of view. It includes free training materials and resources for settings and a framework to help staff be alert to children and young people who may be experiencing abuse or neglect.

​Information on local and national serious case reviews and other learning reviews published by Safeguarding Partnerships (previously Safeguarding Boards):

• Serious case reviews published on NSCP website
• NSPCC repository of national serious case reviews
• NSPCC summary of learning from SCR's for the education sector (PDF 89KB)

November 2020 NEW

• NSCP Waltham Forest 6 step briefing 270820 pdf

This guidance is intended to help schools manage visitors in a way that ensures the safety of children and adults on the school site. The responsibility for this lies with the Headteacher, senior leadership team and the governing body.

• Updated  Sep 2021 Safer Recruitment Assurance letters for the two new Unitary authorities and Northamptonshire Childrens Trust can be found here:
• Assurance Letter re. Safe Recruitment - North Northamptonshire Council Sep 2021 (479KB pdf) 
  
• Assurance Letter re. Safe Recruitment - West Northamptonshire Council Sep 2021 (440KB pdf)    
  
• Assurance letter re Safe Recruitment - Northamptonshire Childrens Trust Sep 2021 (395KB pdf)  
  

• Guidance on Visitors to schools can be found here
  
• Hosting Speakers advice can be found here
  

• ​Information on private fostering

• Prevent Duty guidance updated April 2019
• Northamptonshire Prevent Strategy 2019-2021 (PDF 1.1KB)
• Northamptonshire Prevent Referral Pathway v1.5 (PDF 235KB)
• Prevent Myth Busting Clips (Word 14KB)
• Prevent e-learning package - To assist implementation of the duty in section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, a Prevent e-learning updated is now available. This is introductory training. It provides a foundation on which to develop further knowledge around the risks of radicalisation and the roles involved in supporting those at risk.
• Prevent awareness - This offers an introduction to the Prevent duty, and explains how it aims to safeguard vulnerable people from being radicalised to supporting terrorism or becoming terrorists themselves.
• Prevent referral - This package builds on the Prevent awareness e-learning training. It is designed to make sure that when we share a concern that a vulnerable individual may be being radicalised, that the referral is robust, informed and with good intention, and that the response to that concern is considered, and proportionate.
• Channel awareness - This training package is for anyone who may be asked to contribute to, sit on, or even run a Channel Panel. It is aimed at all levels, from a professional asked to input and attend for the first time, to a member of staff new to their role and organising a panel meeting.

The Designated Officer (formerly known as the Local Authority Designated Officer or LADO) should be informed of all cases in which it is alleged that a person who works with children has:

• Behaved in a way that has harmed, or may have harmed, a child.
• Possibly committed a criminal offence against children, or related to a child.
• Behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children, for example if their conduct falls within any of these categories of abuse:
  • physical
  • emotional
  • sexual
  • neglect

Allegations made against workers who are paid, unpaid, volunteer, agency, casual and self-employed as well as foster carers, and adoptive parents of children on Placement Orders should all be reported to the Designated Officer. This should be done within 24 hours of the incident.