Regulated activity The full legal definition of regulated activity is set out in Schedule 4 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. HM Government has produced Factual note on regulated activity in relation to children: scope. Regulated activity includes: teaching, training, instructing, caring for (see (c) below) or supervising children if the person is unsupervised, or providing advice or guidance on physical, emotional or educational well-being, or driving a vehicle only for children; work for a limited range of establishments (known as ‘specified places’, which include schools and colleges), with the opportunity for contact with children, but not including work done by supervised volunteers. Work under (a) or (b) is regulated activity only if done regularly.[59] Some activities are always regulated activities, regardless of frequency or whether they are supervised or not. This includes: relevant personal care, or health care provided by or provided under the supervision of a health care professional: o personal care includes helping a child with eating and drinking for reasons of illness or disability or in connection with toileting, washing, bathing and dressing for reasons of age, illness of disability;74 o health care means care for children provided by, or under the direction or supervision of, a regulated health care professional. Regulated activity will not be: paid work in specified places which is occasional and temporary and does not involve teaching, training; and supervised activity which is paid in non-specified settings such as youth clubs, sports clubs etc.

 

 

Types of DBS checks

237. These are the types of checks available.

• Basic DBS check – this provides details of convictions and conditional cautions considered to be ‘unspent’ under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
• Standard DBS check –this provides information about convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer (PNC), regardless or not of whether they are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The law allows for certain old and minor matters to be filtered out.
• Enhanced DBS check – this provides the same information about convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer (PNC) as a Standard DBS check, plus additional information held by the police such as interviews and allegations. Additional information will only be disclosed where a chief police officer reasonably believes it to be relevant and considers that it ought to be disclosed. The position being applied for/or activities being undertaken must be covered by an exempted question in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

(Exceptions) Order 1975 and by provisions in the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002.⁷⁵

• Enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information – where people are working or seeking to work in regulated activity relating to children, this allows an additional check, to be made, about whether the person appears on the children’s barred list, along with a check of the Police National Computer records plus additional information held by the police as above. The position being applied for or activities being undertaken must be eligible for an enhanced DBS check as above and be for a purpose listed in the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (No2) Regulations 2009 as qualifying for a barred list(s) check. In addition, this check can also include information as to whether an individual is subject to a section 128

 

 

74. It is not intended that personal care includes such activities as, for example, parent volunteers helping with costumes for school plays or helping a child lace up football boots.
75. This legislation does not provide a list of job roles that are eligible for this check – such a list does not exist. Instead, The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 sets out the ‘exempted questions’ for which a Standard DBS check can be obtained. Similarly, The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002 set out the purposes for which an Enhanced DBS check can be obtained, and The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (No 2) Regulations 2009 list the circumstances in which an application for an Enhanced DBS check can also include suitability information relating to children (a children’s barred list check and confirmation as to whether an individual is subject to a s.128 direction). It is important to note that the Regulations can also remove roles, duties or activities through the removal of an exempted question or of a particular purpose. Any individual (including an applicant for a job which does not involve working with children) can be asked to apply for a Basic criminal record check. This will show only unspent convictions and cautions. Further details can be found on gov.uk.

direction. However, they have to use specific wording in the position applied for field (see paragraph 259).

Considering which type of check is required

238. Most staff in a school and those in colleges working with children will be engaging in regulated activity relating to children, in which case an enhanced DBS check which includes children’s barred list information, will be required.
239. For all other staff (e.g. contractors) who have an opportunity for regular contact with children who are not engaging in regulated activity, an enhanced DBS certificate, which does not include a barred list check, will be appropriate.
240. Barred list information must not be requested on any person who is not engaging in or seeking to engage in regulated activity.
241. The flowchart below (page 65) provides more information on the decision making process.
242. Where a DBS certificate is required, it must be obtained from the candidate before, or as soon as practicable after, the person’s appointment, including when using the DBS update service (see paragraph 249 - 252).
243. Once the checks are complete, the DBS will send a DBS certificate to the applicant. The applicant must show the original paper DBS certificate to their potential employer before they take up post, or as soon as practicable afterwards. Schools and colleges will be able to compare any information disclosed on the certificate with any information shared by the applicant during the recruitment process. DBS guidance on how to check a DBS certificate can be found on GOV.UK.
244. Schools and colleges should assess cases fairly, on an individual basis. A decision not to appoint somebody because of their conviction(s) should be clearly documented, so if challenged the school or college can defend its decision, in line with its policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders.
245. When assessing any disclosure information on a DBS certificate, schools and colleges should take into consideration the explanation from the applicant, including for example:
     • the seriousness of any offence and relevance to the post applied for
     • how long ago the offence occurred
     • whether it was a one-off incident or a history of incidents
     • the circumstances around the incident, and,
     • whether the individual accepted responsibility for their actions.
246. The school or college should also consider the incident in the context of the Teachers' standards and Teacher misconduct guidance, if the applicant is applying for a teaching post.
247. Where a school or college allows an individual to start work in regulated activity relating to children before the DBS certificate is available, it should ensure that the individual is appropriately supervised and that they carry out all other checks, including a separate children’s barred list check^[60], see paragraph 261 -262.
248. Separate barred list checks must only be carried out in the following circumstances:
     • for newly appointed staff who are engaging in regulated activity, pending the receipt of an Enhanced Certificate with Barred List information from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (and where all other relevant checks as per paragraph  232 have been carried out), or
     • where an individual has worked in a post in a school or college that brought them into regular contact with children or young persons which ended not more than three months prior to that person’s appointment to the organisation (and where all other relevant checks as per paragraph 232 have been carried out).

 

 

 

DBS Update Service 

249. Individuals can join the DBS Update Service^[61] at the point that an application for a new DBS check is made. Subscription to the service enables future status checks to be carried out by employers to confirm that no new information has been added to the check since its issue.
250. As good practice, many schools and colleges require new staff to join the Update Service as part of their employment contract. The benefits of joining the Update Service are:
     • portability of a DBS check across employers
     • free online checks to identify whether there has been any change to the information recorded, since the initial certificate was issued and advice whether the individual should apply for a new DBS check, and,
     • that individuals will be able to see a full list of those organisations that have carried out a status check on their account.
251. Before using the Update Service, schools and colleges must:
     • obtain consent from the individual to carry out an online check to view the status of an existing standard or enhanced DBS check
     • confirm the DBS certificate matches the individual’s identity
     • examine the original certificate to ensure that it is valid for employment with the children’s workforce, and,
     • ensure that the level of the check is appropriate to the job they are applying for,

e.g. enhanced DBS check/enhanced DBS check including with barred list information.

252. Further information about the Update Service, including when updated information can be used, can be found on GOV.UK.

 

 

Prohibitions, directions, sanctions and restrictions

Secretary of State teacher prohibition, and interim prohibition orders⁷⁸

79

253. Teacher prohibition and interim prohibition orders prevent a person from carrying out teaching work as defined in the Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012 in schools, sixth form colleges, 16-19 academies, relevant youth accommodation and children’s homes in England. Further information about the duty to consider referring to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) can be found at paragraph 351. Teacher prohibition orders are made by the Secretary of State following consideration by a professional conduct panel convened by the TRA. Pending such consideration, the Secretary of State may issue an interim prohibition order if it is considered to be in the public interest to do so. The TRA’s role in making prohibition orders and the processes used to impose them are described in more detail in the publications “Teacher misconduct: disciplinary procedures for the teaching profession” and “Teacher misconduct: the prohibition of teachers: Advice on factors relating to decisions leading to the prohibition of teachers from the teaching profession”.
254. A person who is prohibited must not be appointed to a role that involves teaching work (as defined in the Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012) (see footnotes 78 and 79).

Historic General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) sanctions and restrictions

255. There are a number of individuals who are still subject to disciplinary sanctions, which were imposed by the GTCE (prior to its abolition in 2012). See paragraph 262 for login details to the TRA Secure Access system where GTCE checks can be made.

 

 

78. Prohibition orders are made by the Secretary of State under section 141B of the Education Act 2002. The Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012 apply to schools and sixth form colleges and any person that is subject to a prohibition order is prohibited from carrying out teaching work in those establishments. By virtue of their Conditions of Funding in respect of funding received from the Education and Skills Funding Agency, colleges may not employ or engage a person who is subject to a prohibition order to carry out teaching work.
79. The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015 and the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 require governing bodies or proprietors (of schools and sixth form colleges) to check that a person to be appointed is not subject to an interim prohibition order. By virtue of their Conditions of Funding in respect of funding received from the Education and Skills Funding Agency, before employing a person to carry out teaching work in relation to children, colleges must take reasonable steps to establish whether that person is subject to an interim prohibition order made under section 141B of the Education Act 2002.

Secretary of State section 128 direction

256. A section 128 direction prohibits or restricts an unsuitable individual from participating in the management of an independent school, including academies and free schools. An individual who is subject to a section 128 direction is unable to:
     • take up a management position in an independent school, academy, or in a free school as an employee
     • be a trustee of an academy or free school trust; a governor or member of a proprietor body of an independent school, or
     • be a governor on any governing body in an independent school, academy or free school that retains or has been delegated any management responsibilities.
257. There is no exhaustive list of roles that might be regarded as ‘management’ for the purpose of determining what constitutes management in an independent school. The Department’s view is that roles involving, or very likely to involve, management of a school include (but are not limited to) headteachers, principals, deputy/assistant headteachers, governors and trustees. It is important to note that the individual’s job title is not the determining factor and whether other individuals such as teachers with additional responsibilities could be considered to be ‘taking part in management’ depends on the facts of the case.^[62]
258. The grounds on which a section 128 direction may be made by the Secretary of

State are set out in The Independent Educational Provision in England (Prohibition on Participation in Management) Regulations 2014^[63] made under section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.

259. A section 128 direction will be disclosed when an enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information is requested, provided that ‘child workforce independent schools’ is specified on the application form as the position applied for. Where a person is not eligible for a children’s barred list check but will be working in a management position in an independent school, a section 128 check should be carried out using the TRA’s Employer Access service.
260. A person subject to a section 128 direction is also disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor of a maintained school.^[64]

 

 

How to check TRA, Teacher Employer Access service for prohibitions, directions, sanctions and restrictions

261. Schools and colleges^[65] can use the TRA’s Employer Access service to make prohibition, direction, restriction, and children’s barred list checks. The service is free to use and is available via the TRA’s web page. Users will require a DfE Sign-in account to log onto the service.
262. Further information about obtaining a DfE Sign-in account and using the Employer Access service to carry out a range of ‘teacher status checks’^[66] including verification of qualified teacher status (QTS) and the completion of teacher induction or teacher probation can be found on GOV.UK.

Childcare disqualification

263. Childcare disqualification is an additional requirement to the general child safeguarding arrangements provided under the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) regime, which apply to all children.
264. The childcare disqualification arrangements apply to staff working with young children in childcare settings, including primary schools, nurseries and other registered settings, such as childcare provision on college sites.
265. The arrangements predominantly apply to individuals working with children aged 5 and under, including reception classes, but also apply to those working in wraparound care for children up to the age of 8, such as breakfast clubs and after school care.
266. For staff who work in childcare provision, or who are directly concerned with the management of such provision, employers need to ensure that appropriate checks are carried out to ensure that individuals are not disqualified under the Childcare Disqualification Regulations 2018.
267. Further information on the staff to whom these Regulations apply, the checks that should be carried out, and the recording of those checks can be found in statutory guidance Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006.

 

 

Recording information

Single central record

268. Schools and colleges must⁸⁵ maintain a single central record of pre-appointment checks, referred to in the Regulations⁸⁶ as “the register” and more commonly known as “the single central record”.
269. The single central record must cover the following people:
     • for schools, all staff, including teacher trainees on salaried routes (see paragraph 296), agency and third-party supply staff, even if they work for one day, (see paragraph 286)
     • for colleges, details of staff, including agency and supply staff providing education to children under the age of 18, and,
     • for independent schools, all members of the proprietor body. In the case of academies and free schools, this means the members and trustees of the academy trust.
270. The minimum information that must be recorded in respect of staff members (including teacher trainees on salaried routes) is set out below. For agency and thirdparty supply staff, schools and colleges must include whether written confirmation has been received that the employment business supplying the member of supply staff has carried out the relevant checks and obtained the appropriate certificates, the date this confirmation was received and whether details of any enhanced DBS certificate have been provided in respect of the member of staff.⁸⁷
271. The single central record must indicate whether the following checks have been carried out or certificates obtained, and the date on which each check was completed or certificate obtained:
     • an identity check, (identification checking guidelines can be found on the GOV.UK website)

 

 

85. 16-19 Academies, Special Post-16 institutions and Independent Training Providers should maintain a single central record. Information they should record is set out at paragraphs 271. As with other schools and colleges they may record the information as set out at paragraphs 273. 
86. Regulations 12(7) and 24(7) and Schedule 2 to the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 and the School Staffing (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (applied to pupil referral units through the

Education (Pupil Referral Units) (Application of Enactments) (England) Regulations 2007);

Part 4 of the Schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014;

Regulations 20-25 and the Schedule to the Further Education (Providers of Education) (England)

Regulations 2006; and Regulation 3 and paragraph 7 of Part 1 and paragraph 18 of Part 2 of the Schedule to the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015.

87. Independent schools and non-maintained special schools should also include the date on which any certificate was obtained.
    • a standalone children’s barred list check^[67]
    • an enhanced DBS check (with children’s barred list check) requested/certificate provided
    • a prohibition from teaching check^[68]
    • further checks on people who have lived or worked outside the UK (see paragraphs 280-285)
    • a check of professional qualifications, where required, and,
    • a check to establish the person’s right to work in the United Kingdom.

In addition:

• colleges^[69] must record whether the person’s position involves ‘relevant activity’,

i.e. regularly caring for, training, supervising or being solely in charge of persons aged under 18, and

• independent schools (including academies and free schools) must record details of the section 128 checks undertaken for those in management positions.

272. The details of an individual should be removed from the single central record once they no longer work at the school or college.

Non statutory information

273. Schools and colleges are free to record any other information they deem relevant. For example:
     • whether relevant staff have been informed of their duty to disclose relevant information under the childcare disqualification arrangements
     • checks made on volunteers
     • checks made on governors
     • dates on which safeguarding and safer recruitment training was undertaken, and • the name of the person who carried out each check.

 

 

274. The single central record can be kept in paper or electronic form.

Multi Academy Trusts (MATS)

275. MATs must maintain the single central record detailing checks carried out in each academy within the MAT. Whilst there is no requirement for the MAT to maintain an individual record for each academy, the information should be recorded in such a way that allows for details for each individual academy to be provided separately, and without delay, to those entitled to inspect that information, including by inspectors.

Retention of documents

 

276. Copies of documents used to verify the successful candidate’s identity, right to work and required qualifications should be kept on their personnel file as per the advice at paragraph 232.

Copies of DBS certificates and records of criminal information disclosed by the candidate are covered by UK GDPR/DPA 2018 Article 10. To help schools and colleges comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018, when a school or college chooses to retain a copy, there should be a valid reason for doing so and it should not be kept for longer than six months. When the information is destroyed a school or college may keep a record of the fact that vetting was carried out, the result and the recruitment decision taken if they choose to.  Schools and colleges do not have to keep copies of DBS certificates, in order to fulfil the duty of maintaining the single central record. 

 

277. Further information on handling DBS information can be found on GOV.UK.

iii. Other checks that may be necessary for staff, volunteers and others, including the responsibilities on schools and colleges for children in other settings

278. This section sets out other legal requirements i.e. ‘must’ do or as appropriate ‘should’ do for individuals who have lived or worked outside the UK; agency and thirdparty staff; contractors; trainee teachers; volunteers; governors and proprietors. It also sets out responsibilities placed on schools and colleges in relation to other settings, including alternative provision, work experience and host families.

Individuals who have lived or worked outside the UK

279. Individuals who have lived or worked outside the UK must^[70] undergo the same checks as all other staff in schools or colleges (set out in paragraphs 232). This includes obtaining (via the applicant) an enhanced DBS certificate (including children’s barred list information, for those who will be engaging in regulated activity) even if the individual has never been to the UK. In addition, schools and colleges must^[71] make any further checks they think appropriate so that any relevant events that occurred outside the UK can be considered. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, schools and colleges should apply the same approach for any individuals who have lived or worked outside the UK regardless of whether or not it was in an EEA country or the rest of the world.

  These checks could include, where available:

• criminal records checks for overseas applicants - Home Office guidance can be found on GOV.UK; and for teaching positions
• obtaining a letter (via the applicant) from the professional regulating authority (this is often the Department/Ministry of Education but varies across the world) in the country (or countries) in which the applicant has worked confirming that they have not imposed any sanctions or restrictions, and or that they are aware of any reason why they may be unsuitable to teach. Applicants can find contact details of regulatory bodies in the EU/EEA and Switzerland on the Regulated Professions database. Whilst the safeguarding and qualified teacher status (QTS) processes are different it is likely that this information will be obtained from the same place, therefore applicants can also contact the UK Centre for Professional Qualifications who will signpost them to the appropriate EEA regulatory body.

280. Where available, such evidence can be considered together with information obtained through other pre-appointment checks to help assess their suitability.
281. Where this information is not available schools and colleges should seek alternative methods of checking suitability and or undertake a risk assessment that supports informed decision making on whether to proceed with the appointment.
282. Although sanctions and restrictions imposed by another regulating authority do not prevent a person from taking up teaching positions in England, schools and colleges should consider the circumstances that led to the restriction or sanction being imposed when considering a candidate’s suitability for employment. Further information can be

 

 

found in DfE Guidance: Recruit teachers from overseas.

283. Not all countries provide criminal record information, and where they do, the nature and detail of the information provided varies from country to country. Schools and colleges should also be mindful that the criteria for disclosing offences in other countries often have a different threshold than those in the UK. The Home Office provides guidance on criminal records checks for overseas applicants which can be found on GOV.UK.
284. Some overseas qualified teachers can apply to the TRA for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS) in England. More information about this is available here. It is important to note that holding a teaching qualification (wherever it was obtained) does not provide suitable assurances for safeguarding purposes that an individual has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing or misconduct, and or is suitable to work with children.

Agency and third-party staff (supply staff)

285. Schools and colleges must^[72] obtain written notification from any agency, or third party organisation, that they have carried out the same checks as the school or college would otherwise perform on any individual who will be working at the school or college (or who will be providing education on the school or college’s behalf, including through online delivery).^[73] In respect of the enhanced DBS check, schools and colleges must⁹⁵ ensure that written notification confirms the certificate has been obtained by either the employment business or another such business.
286. Where the agency or organisation has obtained an enhanced DBS certificate before the person is due to begin work at the school or college, which has disclosed any matter or information, or any information was provided to the employment business, the school or college must^[74] obtain a copy of the certificate from the agency.

 

 

287. Where the position requires a children’s barred list check, this must^[75] be obtained by the agency or third party by obtaining an enhanced DBS certificate with children’s barred list information, prior to appointing the individual.
288. The school or college should also check that the person presenting themselves for work is the same person on whom the checks have been made.

Contractors

289. Where schools and colleges use contractors to provide services, they should set out their safeguarding requirements in the contract between the organisation and the school or college.
290. Schools and colleges should ensure that any contractor, or any employee of the contractor, who is to work at the school or college, has been subject to the appropriate level of DBS check. Contractors engaging in regulated activity relating to children will require an enhanced DBS check (including children’s barred list information).
291. For all other contractors who are not engaging in regulated activity relating to children, but whose work provides them with an opportunity for regular contact with children, an enhanced DBS check (not including children’s barred list information) will be required.^[76] In considering whether the contact is regular, it is irrelevant whether the contractor works on a single site or across several sites. In cases where the contractor does not have opportunity for regular contact with children, schools and colleges should decide on whether a basic DBS disclosure would be appropriate.
292. Under no circumstances should a contractor on whom no checks have been obtained be allowed to work unsupervised or engage in regulated activity relating to children. Schools and colleges are responsible for determining the appropriate level of supervision depending on the circumstances.
293. If an individual working at a school or college is self-employed, the school or college should consider obtaining the DBS check, as self-employed people are not able to make an application directly to the DBS on their own account.
294. Schools and colleges should always check the identity of contractors on arrival at the school or college.

 

 

Trainee/student teachers

295. Where applicants for initial teacher training are salaried by the school or college, the school or college must^[77] ensure that all necessary checks are carried out. If these trainee teachers are engaging in regulated activity relating to children (which in most cases by the nature of the work, they will be), an enhanced DBS check (including children’s barred list information) must^[78] be obtained.
296. Where trainee teachers are fee-funded, it is the responsibility of the initial teacher training provider to carry out the necessary checks. Schools and colleges should obtain written confirmation from the provider that it has carried out all pre-appointment checks that the school or college would otherwise be required to perform, and that the trainee has been judged by the provider to be suitable to work with children.
297. There is no requirement for the school or college to record details of fee-funded trainees on the single central record. However, schools and colleges may wish to record this information under non statutory information, see paragraph 273.

Visitors

298. Schools and colleges have different types of visitors, those with a professional role i.e. educational psychologists, social workers etc. those connected with the building, grounds maintenance, children’s relatives or other visitors attending an activity in school such as a sports day. For visitors provided via a third party see paragraphs 286-289.
299. Schools and colleges should not request DBS checks or barred list checks, or ask to see existing DBS certificates, for visitors such as children’s relatives or other visitors attending a sports day.
300. Headteachers and principals should use their professional judgement about the need to escort or supervise such visitors.
301. For visitors who are there in a professional capacity schools and colleges should check ID and be assured that the visitor has had the appropriate DBS check (or the visitor’s employers have confirmed that their staff have appropriate checks. Schools and colleges should not ask to see the certificate in these circumstances). 
302. Whilst external organisations can provide a varied and useful range of information, resources and speakers that can help schools and colleges enrich children’s education, careful consideration should be given to the suitability of any external organisations.

 

 

303. School and college safeguarding policies should set out the arrangements for individuals coming onto their premises, which may include an assessment of the education value, the age appropriateness of what is going to be delivered and whether relevant checks will be required.

Volunteers

304. Under no circumstances should a volunteer on whom no checks have been obtained be left unsupervised or allowed to work in regulated activity.
305. Whilst volunteers play an important role and are often seen by children as being safe and trustworthy adults, the nature of voluntary roles varies, so schools and colleges should undertake a written risk assessment and use their professional judgement and experience when deciding what checks, if any, are required.
306. The risk assessment should consider:
     • the nature of the work with children, especially if it will constitute regulated activity, including the level of supervision
     • what the establishment knows about the volunteer, including formal or informal information offered by staff, parents and other volunteers
     • whether the volunteer has other employment or undertakes voluntary activities where referees can advise on their suitability, and
     • whether the role is eligible for a DBS check, and if it is, the level of the check, for volunteer roles that are not in regulated activity.
307. Details of the risk assessment should be recorded.^[79]

When should a DBS with barred list be obtained for volunteers^[80]?

308. Schools or colleges should obtain an enhanced DBS check (which should include children’s barred list information) for all volunteers who are new to working in regulated activity with children, i.e. where they are unsupervised and teach or look after children regularly or provide personal care on a one-off basis in schools and colleges. See Annex E for statutory supervision guidance. Employers are not legally permitted to request barred list information on a supervised volunteer, as they are not considered to be engaging in regulated activity.

 

 

Supervision of volunteers

309. It is for schools and colleges to determine whether a volunteer is considered to be supervised. Where an individual is supervised, to help determine the appropriate level of supervision, all schools and colleges^[81] must have regard to the statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State (replicated at Annex E).
310. For a person to be considered supervised, the supervision must be:
     • by a person who is in regulated activity relating to children¹⁰⁴
     • regular and day to day, and
     • reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure the protection of children.

Existing volunteers

311. Volunteers do not have to be re-checked if they have already had a DBS check

(which should include children’s barred list information if engaging in regulated activity). However, if the school or college have any concerns, they should consider obtaining a new DBS check at the level appropriate to the volunteering role.

Maintained school governors

312. Governors in maintained schools are required to have an enhanced DBS check.^[82] It is the responsibility of the governing body to apply for the certificate for any governors who do not already have one.
313. Governance is not a regulated activity relating to children, so governors do not need a children’s barred list check unless, in addition to their governance duties, they also engage in regulated activity.
314. Schools should also carry out a section 128 check for school governors, because a person prevented from participating in the management of an independent school by a section 128 direction, is also disqualified from being a governor of a maintained school. Using the free Employer Secure Access sign-in portal via the TRA Teacher Services web page, schools can check if a person they propose to recruit as a governor is barred as a result of being subject to a section 128 direction. There is no requirement for schools to record this information on the single central record, but they can if they chose to.

 

 

315. Associate members are appointed by the governing body to serve on one or more governing body committees. The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 which make enhanced DBS checks mandatory for maintained school governors do not apply to associate members, and so there is no requirement for them to be checked unless they also engage in regulated activity at their school.

Sixth form college governors

316. Governing bodies in sixth form colleges can request an enhanced DBS check without a children’s barred list check.
317. An enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information should only be requested if the governor will be engaging in regulated activity relating to children.

Proprietors of independent schools, including academies and free schools and proprietors of alternative provision academies^[83]

318. Before an individual becomes either the proprietor of an independent school or the chair of a body of people which is the proprietor of an independent school, the Secretary of State will:^{[84] 108}
     • carry out an enhanced DBS check; and where such a check is made, obtain an enhanced DBS certificate (either including or not including children’s barred list information as appropriate)^[85]
     • confirm the individual’s identity, and
     • if the individual lives or has lived outside of the UK, where applying for an enhanced check is insufficient, such other checks as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
319. The Secretary of State also undertakes these checks in respect of the chair of governing bodies of non-maintained special schools.^[86]
320. The requirement for an enhanced DBS check and certificate is disapplied for the

 

 

chair of an academy trust if the academy is converting from a maintained school and the person has already been subject to a check carried out by the local authority.^[87]

321. Where the proprietor is a body of people (including a governing body in an academy or free school), the chair must ensure that enhanced DBS checks are undertaken, for the other members of the body, and that where such a check has been undertaken, an enhanced DBS certificate is obtained, and the chair must ensure that identity checks are completed before, or as soon as practicable after, any individual takes up their position.
322. The chair must also ensure that other members are not subject to a section 128 direction that would prevent them from taking part in the management of an independent school (including academies and free schools).
323. Further checks, as the chair considers appropriate, should be undertaken where, by reason of the individual’s living or having lived overseas, obtaining an enhanced DBS check is not sufficient to establish an individual’s suitability to work in a school.
324. In the case of an academy trust, including those established to operate a free school, the trust must require enhanced DBS checks on all members of the academy trust, individual charity trustees, and the chair of the board of charity trustees.¹¹² Academy trusts, including those established to run a free school, have the same responsibilities as all independent schools in relation to requesting enhanced DBS checks for permanent and supply staff.^[88]
325. Where an academy trust delegates responsibilities to any delegate or committee (including a local governing body), the trust must require an enhanced DBS check on all delegates and all members of such committees.^[89] Academy trusts must also check that members are not disqualified from taking part in the management of the school as a result of a section 128 direction.

Alternative provision

326. Where a school places a pupil with an alternative provision provider, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil.
327. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the alternative provision provider

 

 

that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, i.e. those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.

Adults who supervise children on work experience

328. Schools and colleges organising work experience placements should ensure that the placement provider has policies and procedures in place to protect children from harm.^[90]
329. Children’s barred list checks via the DBS might be required on some people who supervise a child under the age of 16 on a work experience placement.^[91] The school or college should consider the specific circumstances of the work experience. Consideration must be given in particular to the nature of the supervision and the frequency of the activity being supervised, to determine what, if any, checks are necessary.
330. These considerations would include whether the person providing the teaching/training/instruction/supervision to the child on work experience will be:
     • unsupervised themselves, and
     • providing the teaching/training/instruction frequently (more than three days in a 30day period, or overnight).
331. If the person working with the child is unsupervised and the same person is in frequent contact with the child, the work is likely to be regulated activity relating to children. If so, the school or college could ask the employer providing the work experience to ensure that the person providing the instruction or training is not a barred person.
332. Schools and colleges are not able to request that an employer obtains an enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information for staff supervising children aged 16 to 17 on work experience.^[92]
333. If the activity undertaken by the child on work experience takes place in a ‘specified place^[93]’, such as a school or sixth form college, and gives the opportunity for contact with children, this may itself be considered to be regulated activity relating to

 

 

children. In these cases, and where the child doing the work experience is 16 years of age or over, the work experience provider e.g. school or sixth form college should consider whether a DBS enhanced check should be requested for the child in question. DBS checks cannot be requested for children under the age of 16.^[94]

Children staying with host families (homestay)

334. Schools and colleges quite often make arrangements for their children receiving education at their institution to have learning experiences where, for short periods, the children may be provided with care and accommodation by a host family to whom they are not related. This might happen, for example, as part of a foreign exchange visit or sports tour, often described as ‘homestay’ arrangements (see Annex D for further details).
335. In some circumstances the arrangement where children stay with UK families could amount to “private fostering” under the Children Act 1989.

Private fostering - LA notification when identified

336. Private fostering^[95] occurs when a child under the age of 16 (under 18 for children with a disability) is provided with care and accommodation by a person who is not a parent, person with parental responsibility for them or a relative in their own home.
337. A child is not privately fostered if the person caring for and accommodating them has done so for less than 28 days and does not intend to do so for longer. Such arrangements may come to the attention of school and college staff through the normal course of their interaction, and promotion of learning activities, with children.
338. Where the arrangements come to the attention of the school or college (and the school or college is not involved in the arrangements), they should then notify the local authority to allow the local authority to check the arrangement is suitable and safe for the child. Schools and colleges who are involved (whether or not directly) in arranging for a child to be fostered privately must notify local authorities of the arrangement as soon as possible after the arrangement has been made. Notifications must contain the information specified in Schedule 1 of The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005 and must be made in writing.
339. Comprehensive guidance on private fostering can be found here: Private fostering:

 

 

DBS Guidance leaflets

local authorities.

iv. How to ensure the ongoing safeguarding of children and the legal reporting duties on employers

340. This section explains the importance of safeguarding vigilance beyond the recruitment process and as part of the whole school or college approach to safeguarding.
341. Safer recruitment is not just about carrying out the right DBS checks. Similarly safeguarding should not be limited to recruitment procedures. Good safeguarding requires a continuing commitment from governing bodies, proprietors, and all staff to ensure the safety and welfare of children is embedded in all of the organisation’s processes and procedures, and consequentially enshrined in its ethos. See Parts one and two of this guidance for information about providing a coordinated whole school and college approach to safeguarding.

Ongoing vigilance for all staff

342. Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure they have processes in place for continuous vigilance, maintaining an environment that deters and prevents abuse and challenges inappropriate behaviour.
343. To support this, it is important that school and college leaders create the right culture and environment so that staff feel comfortable to discuss matters both within, and where it is appropriate, outside of the workplace (including online), which may have implications for the safeguarding of children. As set out in Part one, Part two and Part four of this guidance it is important that all staff understand the process and procedures to follow if they have a safeguarding concern about another staff member. This can assist employers to support staff, where there is a need, and help them manage children’s safety and welfare, potentially providing them with information that will help them consider whether there are further measures or changes to procedures that need to be put in place to safeguard children in their care.

Existing staff

344. There are limited circumstances where schools and colleges will need to carry out new checks on existing staff. These are when:
     • an individual working at the school or college moves from a post that was not regulated activity with children into work which is considered to be regulated activity with children. In such circumstances, the relevant checks for that regulated activity must^[96] be carried out
     • there has been a break in service of 12 weeks or more, or
     • there are concerns about an individual’s suitability to work with children.
345. For colleges, an individual moving from a position that did not involve the provision of education to one that does, must be treated as if that individual were a new member of staff and all required pre-appointment checks must^[97] be carried out (see paragraph 232).

Duty to refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service

346. When an allegation is made (see Part four), an investigation should be carried out to gather enough evidence to establish if it has foundation, and employers should ensure they have sufficient information to meet the referral duty criteria explained in the DBS referral guidance, which can be found on GOV.UK.
347. There is a legal requirement for schools and colleges^[98] to make a referral to the DBS where they remove an individual from regulated activity (or would have removed an individual had they not left), and they believe the individual has:
     • engaged in relevant conduct in relation to children and/or adults, and/or
     • satisfied the harm test in relation to children and/or vulnerable adults, and/or
     • been cautioned or convicted of a relevant (automatic barring either with or without the right to make representations) offence.
348. The DBS will consider whether to bar the person. Detailed guidance on when to refer to the DBS (including what is the harm test and relevant conduct), and what information must be provided, can be found on GOV.UK.
349. Referrals should be made as soon as possible when an individual is removed from regulated activity. This could include when an individual is suspended, redeployed to work that is not regulated activity, dismissed or when they have resigned. It is important that as much relevant information is provided to the DBS as possible, as it relies on the quality of information provided by the school or college when considering the referral.

Duty to consider referral to the Teaching Regulation Agency

350. Where a school, sixth form college or 16-19 academy teacher’s employer,

 

 

including an agency, dismisses or ceases to use the services of a teacher because of serious misconduct, or might have dismissed them or ceased to use their services had they not left first, they must consider whether to refer the case to the Secretary of State, as required by sections 141D and 141E of the Education Act 2002. 

351. The Secretary of State may investigate the case, and if there is a case to answer, must then decide whether to make a prohibition order in respect of the person.^[99] Details about how to make a referral to the TRA can be found on GOV.UK.

 

 

Part four: Safeguarding concerns or allegations made about staff, including supply teachers, volunteers and contractors

352. Schools and colleges should have their own procedures for dealing with safeguarding concerns or allegations against those working in or on behalf of schools and colleges in a paid or unpaid capacity, i.e. members of staff, including supply teachers, volunteers and contractors.
353. This part of the guidance has two sections covering the two levels of concerns and allegations:
     1. Concerns / allegations that may meet the harm threshold.
     2. Concerns / allegations that do not meet the harm threshold – referred to for the purposes of this guidance as ‘low-level concerns’.
354. These procedures should be consistent with local safeguarding procedures and practice guidance.

Section one: Concerns or allegations that may meet the harm threshold

355. This part of the guidance is about managing cases of concerns/allegations that might indicate a person would pose a risk of harm^[100] if they continue to work in their present position, or in any capacity with children in a school or college. In this part (section one) of the guidance reference is made to ‘allegation’ for ease. This part of the guidance should be followed where it is alleged that anyone working in the school or a college that provides education for children under 18 years of age, including supply teachers, volunteers and contractors has:
     • behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child and/or
     • possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child, and/or
     • behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he or she may pose a risk of harm to children, and/or
     • behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children.

 

 

356. The last bullet point above includes behaviour that may have happened outside of school or college, that might make an individual unsuitable to work with children, this is known as transferable risk.
357. Where appropriate, an assessment of transferable risk to children with whom the person works should be undertaken. If in doubt seek advice from the local authority designated officer (LADO).
358. It is important that policies and procedures make clear to whom allegations should be reported (as set out at paragraph 72) and that this should be done without delay. A “case manager” will lead any investigation. This will be either the headteacher or principal, or, where the headteacher is the subject of an allegation, the chair of governors or chair of the management committee and in an independent school it will be the proprietor.

The initial response to an allegation

359. Where the school or college identify a child has been harmed, that there may be an immediate risk of harm to a child or if the situation is an emergency, they should contact local authority children’s social care and as appropriate the police immediately as per the processes explained in Part one of this guidance.
360. There are two aspects to consider when an allegation is made:
     • Looking after the welfare of the child - the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) is responsible for ensuring that the child is not at risk and referring cases of suspected abuse to the local authority children’s social care as described in Part one of this guidance.
     • Investigating and supporting the person subject to the allegation - the case manager should discuss with the LADO, the nature, content and context of the allegation, and agree a course of action.
361. When dealing with allegations, schools and colleges should:
     • apply common sense and judgement
     • deal with allegations quickly, fairly and consistently, and
     • provide effective protection for the child and support the person subject to the allegation.
362. Schools and colleges should ensure they understand the local authority arrangements for managing allegations, including the contact details and what information the LADO will require when an allegation is made. Before contacting the LADO, schools and colleges should conduct basic enquiries in line with local procedures to establish the facts and to help them determine whether there is any foundation to the allegation, being careful not to jeopardise any future police investigation. For example:
     • was the individual in the school or college at the time of the allegations
     • did the individual, or could the individual have come into contact with the child
     • are there any witnesses, and
     • was there any CCTV footage?
363. These are just a sample of example questions. Schools and colleges should be familiar with what initial information the LADO will require. This information can be found in local policy and procedural guidance provided by the LADO service.
364. When to inform the individual of the allegation should be considered carefully on a case-by-case basis, with guidance as required from the LADO, and if appropriate local authority children’s social care and the police.
365. If there is cause to suspect a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer significant harm, a strategy discussion involving the police and/or local authority children’s social care will be convened in accordance with the statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. If the allegation is about physical contact, for example restraint, the strategy discussion^[101] or initial evaluation with the LADO should take into account that teachers and other school and college staff are entitled to use reasonable force to control or restrain children in certain circumstances, including dealing with disruptive behaviour. Further information about the use of reasonable force can be found at paragraphs 163165 in Part Two of this guidance and on GOV.UK.
366. Where the case manager is concerned about the welfare of other children in the community or the member of staff’s family, they should discuss these concerns with the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) and make a risk assessment of the situation. It may be necessary for the designated safeguarding lead to make a referral to local authority children’s social care.
367. Where it is clear that an investigation by the police or local authority children’s social care is unnecessary, or the strategy discussion or initial assessment decides that is the case, the LADO should discuss the next steps with the case manager.

No further action

368. Where the initial discussion leads to no further action, the case manager and the LADO should:

• record the decision and justification for it, and
• agree on what information should be put in writing to the individual concerned and

 

 

by whom.

Further enquiries

369. Where further enquiries are required to enable a decision about how to proceed, the LADO and case manager should discuss how and by whom the investigation will be undertaken. The LADO will provide advice and guidance to schools and colleges when considering allegations against adults working with children. The LADO’s role is not to investigate the allegation, but to ensure that an appropriate investigation is carried out, whether that is by the police, local authority children’s social care, the school or college, or a combination of these. In straightforward cases, the investigation should normally be undertaken by a senior member of the school’s or college’s staff.
370. Where there is a lack of appropriate resource within the school or college, or the nature or complexity of the allegation requires it, the allegation will require an independent investigator. Many local authorities provide for an independent investigation of allegations for schools that are maintained by the local authority, often as part of the HR/personnel services that schools and colleges can buy in from the authority. It is important that local authorities ensure that schools and colleges in that area have access to an affordable facility for independent investigation where that is appropriate. Colleges, academies and independent schools should also ensure they secure the services of a person who is independent of the school or college.
371. The case manager should monitor the progress of cases to ensure that they are dealt with as quickly as possible in a thorough and fair process. Wherever possible, the first review should take place no later than four weeks after the initial assessment. 
372. Dates for subsequent reviews, ideally at fortnightly (and no longer than monthly) intervals, should be set at the review meeting if the investigation continues. 

Supply teachers and all contracted staff

373. In some circumstances schools and colleges will have to consider an allegation against an individual not directly employed by them, where its disciplinary procedures do not fully apply because agencies will have their own policies and procedures; for example, supply teachers or contracted staff provided by an employment agency or business.
374. Whilst schools and colleges are not the employer of supply teachers, they should ensure allegations are dealt with properly. In no circumstances should a school or college decide to cease to use a supply teacher due to safeguarding concerns, without finding out the facts and liaising with the LADO to determine a suitable outcome. Governing bodies and proprietors should discuss with the supply agency or agencies where the supply teacher is working across a number of schools of colleges, whether it is appropriate to suspend the supply teacher, or redeploy them to another part of the school or college, whilst they carry out their investigation.
375. Agencies should be fully involved and co-operate with any enquiries from the LADO, police and/or local authority children’s social care. The school or college will usually take the lead because agencies do not have direct access to children or other school or college staff, so they will not be able to collect the facts when an allegation is made, nor do they have all the relevant information required by the LADO as part of the referral process. Supply teachers, whilst not employed by the school or college, are under the supervision, direction and control of the governing body or proprietor when working in the school or college. They should be advised to contact their trade union representative if they have one, or a colleague for support. The allegations management meeting, which is often arranged by the LADO, should address issues such as information sharing, to ensure that any previous concerns or allegations known to the agency or agencies are considered by the school or college during the investigation.
376. When using a supply agency, schools and colleges should inform the agency of the process for managing allegations but also take account of the agency’s policies and the duty placed on agencies to refer to the DBS as personnel suppliers. This should include inviting the agency’s human resource manager or equivalent to meetings and keeping them up to date with information about its policies.

Organisations or Individuals using school premises

377. Schools and colleges may receive an allegation relating to an incident that happened when an individual or organisation was using their school premises for the purposes of running activities for children (for example community groups, sports associations, or service providers that run extra-curricular activities). As with any safeguarding allegation, schools and colleges should follow their safeguarding policies and procedures, including informing the LADO.

Governors

378. If an allegation is made against a governor, schools and colleges should follow their own local procedures. Where an allegation is substantiated, they should follow the procedures to consider removing them from office.

Suspension

379. Suspension should not be an automatic response when an allegation is reported. All options to avoid suspension should be considered prior to taking that step. The case manager must consider carefully whether the circumstances warrant suspension from contact with children at the school or college, until the allegation is resolved. It should be considered only in cases where there is cause to suspect a child or other children at the school or college is/are at risk of harm, or the case is so serious that there might be grounds for dismissal. If in doubt, the case manager should seek views from their personnel adviser and the LADO, as well as the police and local authority children’s social care where they have been involved.
380. Where a school or sixth form college is made aware that the Secretary of State has made an interim prohibition order, in respect of an individual who works at a school or sixth form college, they should take immediate action to ensure the individual does not carry out work in contravention of the order. This means that pending the findings of the TRA investigation, the individual must not carry out teaching work. School and colleges should have clear policies on pay arrangements whilst the person is suspended or where there is an interim prohibition order in place.
381. In many cases, an inquiry can be resolved quickly and without the need for suspension. The employer will decide on whether the individual should continue to work at the school or college, based on consultation with the LADO who will provide relevant information received from the police or local authority children’s social care on whether they have any objections to the member of staff continuing to work during the investigation of the case.
382. Based on advice from the school or college’s HR provider and/or a risk analysis drawn up with the LADO, the following alternatives should be considered by the case manager before suspending a member of staff:
     • redeployment within the school or college so that the individual does not have direct contact with the child or children concerned
     • providing an assistant to be present when the individual has contact with children
     • redeploying to alternative work in the school or college so the individual does not have unsupervised access to children
     • moving the child or children to classes where they will not come into contact with the member of staff, but this decision should only be made if it is in the best interests of the child or children concerned and takes account of their views. It should be made clear that this is not a punishment and parents have been consulted, or
     • temporarily redeploying the member of staff to another role in a different location, for example to an alternative school or college or where available, work for the local authority or academy trust.
383. These alternatives allow time for an informed decision regarding the suspension, this will, however, depend upon the nature of the allegation. The case manager should consider the potential permanent professional reputational damage to employees that can result from suspension where an allegation is later found to be unfounded, unsubstantiated, malicious, or false.
384. If immediate suspension is considered necessary, the case manager should record the rationale and justification for such a course of action. This should also include what alternatives to suspension have been considered and why they were rejected.
385. Where it has been deemed appropriate to suspend the person, written confirmation should be given within one working day, giving as much detail as appropriate for the reasons for the suspension. It is not acceptable for an employer to leave a person who has been suspended without any support. The person should be informed at the point of their suspension who their named contact is within the organisation and provided with their contact details.
386. Local authority children’s social care or the police may give their view to the LADO but they cannot require the case manager to suspend a member of staff or remove a volunteer, although the case manager should give appropriate weight to their views. The power to suspend is vested in the governing body or proprietor who are the employers. However, where a strategy discussion, or initial assessment, concludes that there should be enquiries by local authority children’s social care, and/or an investigation by the police, the LADO should canvass police and local authority children’s social care for views about whether the accused member of staff should be suspended from contact with children. Police involvement does not make it mandatory to suspend a member of staff; this decision should be taken on a case-by-case basis having undertaken a risk assessment about whether the person poses a risk of harm to children.

Supporting those involved

Duty of care

387. The welfare of a child is paramount (how children should be protected and supported is set out throughout this guidance) and this will be the prime concern in terms of investigating an allegation against a person in a position of trust. However, when an allegation or safeguarding concern is being investigated it is likely to be a very stressful experience for the adult subject to the investigation, and potentially for their family members. It is important that an employer offers appropriate welfare support at such a time and recognises the sensitivity of the situation. Information is confidential and should not ordinarily be shared with other staff or with children or parents who are not directly involved in the investigation.
388. Employers have a duty of care to their employees. They should:
     • manage and minimise the stress caused by the allegation
     • inform the individual as soon as possible, explaining the likely course of action, guided by the LADO, and the police where necessary
     • advise the individual to contact their trade union representative, or a colleague for support
     • appoint a named representative to keep the person informed about the progress of

the case

• provide access to counselling or medical advice where appropriate. For staff in schools maintained by the local authority this may include support via the local authority’s occupational health arrangements, and,
• not prevent social contact with work colleagues and friends, when staff are suspended, unless there is evidence to suggest this may prejudice the gathering of evidence.

389. Parents or carers of the child or children involved should be:
     • formally told about the allegation as soon as possible.^[102]  The case manager should consult the LADO and where involved local authority children’s social care and/or the police on what information can be disclosed
     • kept informed about the progress of the case, only in relation to their child - no information can be shared regarding the staff member, and,
     • made aware of the requirement to maintain confidentiality and unwanted publicity about any allegations made against teachers in schools whilst investigations are in progress as set out in section 141F of the Education Act 2002.

Confidentiality and Information sharing 

390. In an allegations management meeting or during the initial assessment of the case, the agencies involved should share all relevant information they have about the person who is the subject of the allegation, and about the alleged victim, see paragraphs 115-123 in Part two about information sharing.
391. Where the police are involved, wherever possible the school or college should ask the police to obtain consent from the individuals involved to share their statements and evidence for use in the employer’s disciplinary process. This should be done as their investigation proceeds and will enable the police to share relevant information without delaying the conclusion of their investigation or any court case.
392. Local authority children’s social care should adopt a similar procedure when making enquiries to determine whether the child or children named in the allegation are in need of protection or services, so that any information obtained in the course of those enquiries which is relevant to a disciplinary case can be passed to the employer without delay.
393. The school and college must make every effort to maintain confidentiality and

 

 

guard against unwanted publicity while an allegation is being investigated or considered. The Education Act 2011 amended the Education Act 2002, to introduce reporting restrictions. These provisions made it an offence (except in the limited circumstance expressly permitted by the legislation), for any person to publish any material that may lead to the identification of a teacher in a school^[103] who has been accused by, or on behalf of, a child from the same school (where that identification would identify the teacher as the subject of the allegation).

394. The reporting restrictions apply until:
     • the point that the accused person is charged with a relevant offence, or
     • the Secretary of State^[104] or the General Teaching Council for Wales publishes information about an investigation or decision in a disciplinary case arising from the allegation.
395. The reporting restrictions are disapplied if the individual to whom the restrictions apply effectively waives their right to anonymity by going public themselves or by giving their written consent for another to do so or if a court lifts the reporting restrictions in response to a request to do so.
396. The legislation prevents the “publication” of material by any person that may lead to the identification of the teacher who is the subject of the allegation. “Publication” includes “any speech, writing, relevant programme or other communication in whatever form, which is addressed to the public at large or any section of the public.” This means that a parent who, for example, published details of the allegation on a social networking site would be in breach of the reporting restrictions (if what was published could lead to the identification of the teacher by members of the public). In circumstances where schools need to make parents aware about an allegation, they should make parents and others aware that there are restrictions on publishing information.
397. In accordance with the Authorised Professional Practice published by the College of Policing in May 2017, the police will not normally provide any information to the press or media that might identify an individual who is under investigation, unless and until the person is charged with a criminal offence. In exceptional cases where the police wish to depart from that rule, for example an appeal to trace a suspect, they must apply to a magistrates’ court to request that reporting restrictions be lifted.
398. The case manager should take advice from the LADO, the police and local authority children’s social care to agree the following:
     • who needs to know and exactly what information can be shared

 

 

• how to manage speculation, leaks and gossip
• what, if any, information can be reasonably given to the wider community to reduce speculation and
• how to manage press interest if, and when, it should arise.

Allegation outcomes

399. The definitions that should be used when schools and colleges determine the outcome of an allegation are set out below:
     • Substantiated: there is sufficient evidence to prove the allegation
     • Malicious: there is sufficient evidence to disprove the allegation and there has been a deliberate act to deceive or cause harm to the person subject of the allegation
     • False: there is sufficient evidence to disprove the allegation
     • Unsubstantiated: there is insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the allegation. The term, therefore, does not imply guilt or innocence, or
     • Unfounded: to reflect cases where there is no evidence or proper basis which supports the allegation being made.
400. Ultimately the options open to the school or college depend on the nature and circumstances of the allegations and the evidence and information available. This will range from taking no further action, to dismissal or a decision not to use the person’s services in future.

Following a substantiated allegation

401. If the allegation is substantiated and:
     • the person is dismissed; resigns, or otherwise ceases to provide his or her services, or
     • the employer ceases to use the person’s services.
402. In the case of a member of teaching staff at any school, sixth form college, or 1619 academy, the case manager must consider whether to refer the matter to the TRA to consider whether the individual should be prohibited from teaching (paragraph 351 for further information).^[105] 

 

 

403. There is a legal requirement for employers to make a referral^[106] to the DBS where they consider an individual has engaged in conduct that harmed (or is likely to harm) a child; or if a person otherwise poses a risk of harm to a child (paragraph 348 for further information).

Following a criminal investigation or a prosecution

404. The police should inform the LADO and the employer immediately when:
     • a criminal investigation and any subsequent trial is complete
     • it is decided to close an investigation without charge, or
     • it is decided not to continue to prosecute after the person has been charged.
405. In those circumstances, during the joint assessment meeting the LADO should discuss with the case manager whether any further action, including disciplinary action, is appropriate and, if so, how to proceed. The information provided by the police and/or local authority children’s social care should also inform that decision. The options will depend on the circumstances of the case and the consideration should take into account the result of the police investigation or the trial, as well as the different standard of proof required in disciplinary and criminal proceedings.

Unsubstantiated, unfounded, false or malicious allegations

406. If an allegation is determined to be unsubstantiated, unfounded, false or malicious, the LADO and the case manager should consider whether the child and/or the person who has made the allegation is in need of help or may have been abused by someone else and this is a cry for help. In such circumstances, a referral to local authority children’s social care may be appropriate.
407. If an allegation is shown to be deliberately invented or malicious, the school or college, should consider whether any disciplinary action is appropriate against the individual who made it as per their own behaviour policy.

Returning to work

408. Where it is decided on the conclusion of a case that a person who has been suspended can return to work, the case manager should consider how best to facilitate that. Guidance and advice are usually provided via HR or the LADO. Most people will benefit from some help and support to return to work after a stressful experience.

Depending on the individual’s circumstances, a phased return and/or the provision of a

 

 

mentor to provide assistance and support in the short term may be appropriate. The case manager should also consider how the person’s contact with the child or children who made the allegation can best be managed if they are still attending the school or college.

Managing the situation and exit arrangements

Resignations and ‘settlement agreements’

409. ‘Settlement agreements’ (sometimes referred to as compromise agreements), by which a person agrees to resign if the employer agrees not to pursue disciplinary action and both parties agree a form of words to be used in any future reference, should not be used, where there are allegations that indicate the person is a risk or poses a risk of harm to children or deemed not suitable to work with children. Such an agreement will not prevent a thorough police and/or school or college investigation where that is appropriate.
410. Schools and colleges should not cease their investigations if the person leaves, resigns or ceases to provide their services. It is important that every effort is made to reach a conclusion in all cases of allegations bearing on the safety or welfare of children, including any in which the person concerned refuses to cooperate.
411. Wherever possible, the accused should be given full opportunity to answer the allegation and make representations about it. The process of recording the allegation and any supporting evidence and reaching a judgement about whether it can be substantiated or otherwise on the basis of all the information available, should continue even if the accused does not cooperate. It may be difficult to reach a conclusion in those circumstances, and it may not be possible to apply any disciplinary sanctions if a person’s period of notice expires before the process is complete, but it is important to reach and record an outcome wherever possible. The person concerned should be notified of the conclusion of the allegations and sanctions that might be posed.
412. Other than where allegations are false, malicious, unsubstantiated, or unfounded, the outcome should be made clear when providing references to prospective employers. This is particularly important where the person moves into another position involving working with children.
413. It is not appropriate to reach a settlement/compromise agreement if the person subject to the allegation resigns or their services cease to be used. However, in limited circumstances schools and colleges sometimes use settlement agreements to end the employment relationship on agreed terms, but not where there is an allegation that the individual poses a risk to children.
414. Where a settlement/compromise agreement is used, schools and colleges should not let it prevent the employer from:
     • fulfilling their legal duty to refer cases to the DBS where the referral criteria are

met – see paragraph 348. Non-compliance of this duty is a criminal offence, or

• providing a reference to potential employers when requested, or
• considering whether to make a referral to the TRA where the criteria are met - see paragraph 351.

Record keeping 

415. Details of allegations following an investigation that are found to have been malicious or false should be removed from personnel records unless the individual gives their consent for retention of the information. However, for all other allegations, i.e.

substantiated, unfounded and unsubstantiated it is important that the following information is kept on the file of the person accused:

• a clear and comprehensive summary of the allegation
• details of how the allegation was followed up and resolved
• a note of any action taken, decisions reached and the outcome i.e. substantiated, unfounded or unsubstantiated
• a copy provided to the person concerned, where agreed by local authority children’s social care or the police, and
• a declaration on whether the information will be referred to in any future reference.

416. The purpose of the record is to enable accurate information to be given in response to any future request for a reference. It will provide clarification in cases where future DBS checks reveal information from the police about an allegation that did not result in a criminal conviction and it will help to prevent unnecessary re-investigation if, as sometimes happens, an allegation re-surfaces after a period of time.
417. All other records should be retained at least until the accused has reached normal pension age or for a period of 10 years from the date of the allegation if that is longer.
418. The Information Commissioner has published guidance on employment records in its Employment Practices Code and supplementary guidance, which provides some practical advice on record retention.

References

419. Cases in which an allegation was found to be false, unfounded, unsubstantiated or malicious should not be included in employer references. Any repeated concerns or allegations which have all been found to be false, unfounded, unsubstantiated or malicious should also not be included in any reference. See paragraph 224 for further information on references. Substantiated safeguarding allegations that meet the harm threshold should be included in references, provided that the information is factual and does not include opinions.

Learning lessons

420. Throughout the process in handling allegations and at conclusion of a case in which an allegation is substantiated, the LADO should review the circumstances of the case with the case manager to determine whether there are any improvements to be made to the school’s or college’s procedures to help prevent similar events in the future. This should include issues arising from any decision to suspend the member of staff, the duration of the suspension and whether or not suspension was justified. Lessons should also be learnt from the use of suspension when the individual is subsequently reinstated. The LADO and case manager should consider how future investigations of a similar nature could be carried out without suspending the individual.
421. For all other cases, where the allegation concluded to be either, unfounded, false, malicious or unsubstantiated the case manager (and if they have been involved the LADO) should consider the facts and determine whether any lessons can be learned and if improvements can be made.

Non recent allegations

422. Where an adult makes an allegation to a school or college that they were abused as a child, the individual should be advised to report the allegation to the police. Non recent allegations made by a child, should be reported to the LADO in line with the local authority’s procedures for dealing with non-recent allegations. The LADO will coordinate with local authority children social care and the police. Abuse can be reported no matter how long ago it happened.

Section Two: Concerns or allegations that do not meet the harm threshold

423. Governing bodies and proprietors should have policies and processes to deal with any concerns or allegations which do not meet the harm threshold, referred to in this guidance as ‘low-level’ concerns. It is important that schools and colleges have appropriate policies and processes in place to manage and record any such concerns and take appropriate action to safeguard children.

Low-level concerns

424. As part of their whole school or college approach to safeguarding, schools and colleges should ensure that they promote an open and transparent culture in which all concerns about all adults working in or on behalf of the school or college (including supply teachers, volunteers and contractors) are dealt with promptly and appropriately.
425. Creating a culture in which all concerns about adults are shared responsibly and with the right person, recorded and dealt with appropriately, is critical. If implemented correctly, this should:
     • enable schools and colleges to identify inappropriate, problematic or concerning behaviour early
     • minimise the risk of abuse, and
     • ensure that adults working in or on behalf of the school or college are clear about professional boundaries and act within these boundaries, and in accordance with the ethos and values of the institution.

What is a low-level concern? 

426. The term ‘low-level’ concern does not mean that it is insignificant. A low-level concern is any concern – no matter how small, and even if no more than causing a sense of unease or a ‘nagging doubt’ - that an adult working in or on behalf of the school or college may have acted in a way that:
     • is inconsistent with the staff code of conduct, including inappropriate conduct outside of work and
     • does not meet the harm threshold or is otherwise not serious enough to consider a referral to the LADO. 

Examples of such behaviour could include, but are not limited to:

• being over friendly with children
• having favourites
• taking photographs of children on their mobile phone, contrary to school policy
• engaging with a child on a one-to-one basis in a secluded area or behind a closed door, or
• humiliating children.

427. Such behaviour can exist on a wide spectrum, from the inadvertent or thoughtless, or behaviour that may look to be inappropriate, but might not be in specific circumstances, through to that which is ultimately intended to enable abuse.
428. Low-level concerns may arise in several ways and from a number of sources. For example: suspicion; complaint; or disclosure made by a child, parent or other adult within or outside of the organisation; or as a result of vetting checks undertaken.
429. It is crucial that all low-level concerns are shared responsibly with the right person and recorded and dealt with appropriately. Ensuring they are dealt with effectively should also protect those working in or on behalf of schools and colleges from becoming the subject of potential false low-level concerns or misunderstandings. 

Staff code of conduct and safeguarding policies

430. As good practice governing bodies and proprietors should set out their low-level concerns policy within their staff code of conduct and safeguarding and child protection policies as set out in Part two of this guidance. They should make it clear what a lowlevel concern is and the importance of sharing low-level concerns, and an explanation of what the purpose of the policy is – i.e., to create and embed a culture of openness, trust and transparency in which the school’s or college’s values and expected behaviour set out in the staff code of conduct are lived, monitored and reinforced constantly by all staff.
431. As set out in Part two of this guidance, the governing body or proprietor should ensure their staff code of conduct, behaviour policies and safeguarding policies and procedures are implemented effectively and ensure that appropriate action is taken in a timely manner to safeguard children and facilitate a whole school or college approach to dealing with any concerns.
432. Schools and colleges can achieve the purpose of their low-level concerns policy by:
     • ensuring their staff are clear about what appropriate behaviour is, and are confident in distinguishing expected and appropriate behaviour from inappropriate, problematic or concerning behaviour, in themselves and others
     • empowering staff to share any low-level safeguarding concerns (see below)
     • addressing unprofessional behaviour and supporting the individual to correct it at an early stage
     • handling and responding to such concerns sensitively and proportionately when they are raised, and
     • helping identify any weakness in the school or colleges safeguarding system.

Sharing low-level concerns

433. Schools and colleges should ensure that their low-level concerns policy contains a procedure for sharing confidentially such concerns which is clear, easy to understand and implement. Whether all low-level concerns are shared initially with the DSL (or a nominated person (such as a values champion)), or with the headteacher/principal is a matter for the school or college to decide. If the former, then the DSL should inform the headteacher/principal of all the low-level concerns and in a timely fashion according to the nature of each particular low-level concern. The headteacher/principal should be the ultimate decision maker in respect of all low-level concerns, although it is recognised that depending on the nature of some low-level concerns and/or the role of the DSL in some schools/colleges, the headteacher/principal may wish to consult with the DSL and take a more collaborative decision making approach.
434. Low-level concerns which are shared about supply staff and contractors should be notified to their employers, so that any potential patterns of inappropriate behaviour can be identified.
435. If schools and colleges are in any doubt as to whether the information which has been shared about a member of staff as a low-level concern in fact meets the harm threshold, they should consult with their LADO.
436. Schools and colleges should ensure they create an environment where staff are encouraged and feel confident to self-refer, where, for example, they have found themselves in a situation which could be misinterpreted, might appear compromising to others, and/or on reflection they believe they have behaved in such a way that they consider falls below the expected professional standards.

Recording low-level concerns

437. All low-level concerns should be recorded in writing. The record should include details of the concern, the context in which the concern arose, and action taken. The name of the individual sharing their concerns should also be noted, if the individual wishes to remain anonymous then that should be respected as far as reasonably possible.
438. Schools and colleges can decide where these records are kept, but they must be kept confidential, held securely and comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
439. Records should be reviewed so that potential patterns of inappropriate, problematic or concerning behaviour can be identified. Where a pattern of such behaviour is identified, the school or college should decide on a course of action, either through its disciplinary procedures or where a pattern of behaviour moves from a lowlevel concern to meeting the harm threshold, in which case it should be referred to the LADO (as per Part four, Section one). Consideration should also be given to whether there are wider cultural issues within the school or college that enabled the behaviour to occur and where appropriate policies could be revised, or extra training delivered to minimise the risk of it happening again.
440. It is for schools and colleges to decide how long they retain such information, but it is recommended that it is retained at least until the individual leaves their employment.

References

441. Part three of this guidance is clear that schools and colleges should only provide substantiated safeguarding concerns/allegations (including a group of low-level concerns about the same individual) that meet the harm threshold in references. Low-level concerns should not be included in references unless they relate to issues which would normally be included in a reference, for example, misconduct or poor performance. It follows that a low-level concern which relates exclusively to safeguarding (and not to misconduct or poor performance) should not be referred to in a reference. 

Responding to low-level concerns

442. The school or college low-level concerns policy should set out the procedure for responding to reports of low-level concerns. If the concern has been raised via a third party, the headteacher/principal (or a nominated deputy) should collect as much evidence as possible by speaking:
     • directly to the person who raised the concern, unless it has been raised anonymously, and
     • to the individual involved and any witnesses.
443. The information collected will help them to categorise the type of behaviour and determine what further action may need to be taken. This information needs to be recorded in writing along with the rationale for their decisions and action taken.
444. A good low-level concerns policy will simply be a reflection and extension of the school’s or college’s wider staff behaviour policy/code of conduct.
445. More detailed guidance and case studies on low-level concerns can be found in: Developing and implementing a low-level concerns policy: a guide for organisations which work with children (farrer.co.uk).

Part five: Child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment

446. This part of the statutory guidance is about how schools and colleges should respond to all signs, reports and concerns of child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment, including those that have happened outside of the school or college premises, and/or online (what to look out for and indicators of abuse are set out in Part one of this guidance). As set out in Part one of this guidance, all staff working with children are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’, and this is especially important when considering child-on-child abuse.

What schools and colleges should be aware of

447. Sexual violence and sexual harassment can occur between two or more children of any age and sex, from primary through to secondary stage and into college. It can occur also through a group of children sexually assaulting or sexually harassing a single child or group of children. Sexual violence and sexual harassment exist on a continuum and may overlap; they can occur online and face-to-face (both physically and verbally) and are never acceptable. Schools and colleges should be aware of the importance of:
     • making clear that there is a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence and sexual harassment, that it is never acceptable, and it will not be tolerated. It should never be passed off as “banter”, “just having a laugh”, “a part of growing up” or “boys being boys”. Failure to do so can lead to a culture of unacceptable behaviour, an unsafe environment and in worst case scenarios a culture that normalises abuse, leading to children accepting it as normal and not coming forward to report it
     • recognising, acknowledging, and understanding the scale of harassment and abuse and that even if there are no reports it does not mean it is not happening, it may be the case that it is just not being reported
     • challenging physical behaviour (potentially criminal in nature) such as grabbing bottoms, breasts and genitalia, pulling down trousers, flicking bras and lifting up skirts. Dismissing or tolerating such behaviours risks normalising them
448. Children who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment wherever it happens, may find the experience stressful and distressing. This will, in all likelihood, adversely affect their educational attainment and will be exacerbated if the alleged perpetrator(s) attends the same school or college.
449. Whilst any report of sexual violence or sexual harassment should be taken seriously, staff should be aware it is more likely that girls will be the victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment and more likely it will be perpetrated by boys. Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are also three times more likely to be abused than their peers.^[107]
450. Ultimately, it is essential that all victims are reassured that they are being taken seriously and that they will be supported and kept safe.

Sexual violence

451. It is important that schools and colleges are aware of sexual violence and the fact children can, and sometimes do, abuse other children in this way and that it can happen both inside and outside of school/college. When referring to sexual violence in this advice, we do so in the context of child-on-child sexual violence. 

When referring to sexual violence we are referring to sexual offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003¹³³ as described below:

Rape: A person (A) commits an offence of rape if: he intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person (B) with his penis, B does not consent to the penetration and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.

Assault by Penetration: A person (A) commits an offence if: s/he intentionally penetrates the vagina or anus of another person (B) with a part of her/his body or anything else, the penetration is sexual, B does not consent to the penetration and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.

Sexual Assault: A person (A) commits an offence of sexual assault if: s/he intentionally touches another person (B), the touching is sexual, B does not consent to the touching and A does not reasonably believe that B consents. (NOTE - Schools and colleges should be aware that sexual assault covers a very wide range of behaviour so a single act of kissing someone without consent or touching someone’s bottom/breasts/genitalia without consent, can still constitute sexual assault).

Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent: A person (A) commits an offence if: s/he intentionally causes another person (B) to engage in an activity, the activity is sexual, B does not consent to engaging in the activity, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents. (NOTE – this could include forcing someone to strip, touch themselves sexually, or to engage in sexual activity with a third party).

 

 

What is consent?^[108] Consent is about having the freedom and capacity to choose. Consent to sexual activity may be given to one sort of sexual activity but not another, e.g. to vaginal but not anal sex or penetration with conditions, such as wearing a condom. Consent can be withdrawn at any time during sexual activity and each time activity occurs. Someone consents to vaginal, anal or oral penetration only if s/he agrees by choice to that penetration and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice.^[109] 

• a child under the age of 13 can never consent to any sexual activity
• the age of consent is 16^[110]
• sexual intercourse without consent is rape.

Further information about consent can be found here: Rape Crisis England & Wales - Sexual consent

Sexual harassment

452. When referring to sexual harassment we mean ‘unwanted conduct of a sexual nature’ that can occur online and offline and both inside and outside of school/college. When we reference sexual harassment, we do so in the context of child-on-child sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is likely to: violate a child’s dignity, and/or make them feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated and/or create a hostile, offensive or sexualised environment.
453. Whilst not intended to be an exhaustive list, sexual harassment can include:
     • sexual comments, such as: telling sexual stories, making lewd comments, making sexual remarks about clothes and appearance and calling someone sexualised names
     • sexual “jokes” or taunting
     • physical behaviour, such as: deliberately brushing against someone, interfering with someone’s clothes. Schools and colleges should be considering when any of

 

 

this crosses a line into sexual violence – it is important to talk to and consider the experience of the victim.

• displaying pictures, photos or drawings of a sexual nature
• upskirting (this is a criminal offence^[111]), and
• online sexual harassment. This may be standalone, or part of a wider pattern of sexual harassment and/or sexual violence.^[112] It may include:
  • consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos.^[113]  Taking and sharing nude photographs of U18s is a criminal offence. UKCIS Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people provides detailed advice for schools and colleges. 
  • sharing of unwanted explicit content o sexualised online bullying o unwanted sexual comments and messages, including, on social media o sexual exploitation; coercion and threats, and
  • coercing others into sharing images of themselves or performing acts they’re not comfortable with online.

454. It is important that schools and colleges consider sexual harassment in broad terms. Sexual harassment (as set out above) creates a culture that, if not challenged, can normalise inappropriate behaviours and provide an environment that may lead to sexual violence.

Harmful sexual behaviour        

455. Children’s sexual behaviour exists on a wide continuum, ranging from normal and developmentally expected to inappropriate, problematic, abusive and violent.

Problematic, abusive and violent sexual behaviour is developmentally inappropriate and may cause developmental damage. A useful umbrella term is “harmful sexual behaviour” (HSB). The term has been widely adopted in child protection and is used in this advice.

HSB can occur online and/or face-to-face and can also occur simultaneously

 

 

between the two. HSB should be considered in a child protection context.

456. When considering HSB, both ages and the stages of development of the children are critical factors. Sexual behaviour between children can be considered harmful if one of the children is much older, particularly if there is more than two years’ difference or if one of the children is pre-pubescent and the other is not. However, a younger child can abuse an older child, particularly if they have power over them, for example, if the older child is disabled or smaller in stature. Confidential specialist support and advice on HSB is available from the specialist sexual violence sector and sources are listed in Annex B.
457. It is effective safeguarding practice for the designated safeguarding lead (and their deputies) to have a good understanding of HSB. This could form part of their safeguarding training. This will aid in planning preventative education, implementing preventative measures, drafting and implementing an effective child protection policy and incorporating the approach to sexual violence and sexual harassment into the whole school or college approach to safeguarding.
458. HSB can, in some cases, progress on a continuum.^[114] Addressing inappropriate behaviour can be an important intervention that helps prevent problematic, abusive and/or violent behaviour in the future. Children displaying HSB have often experienced their own abuse and trauma.^[115] It is important that they are offered appropriate support.

Preventing abuse

459. Effective safeguarding practice is demonstrated when schools and colleges are clear, in advance, about what local processes are in place and what support can be accessed when sexual violence or sexual harassment has occurred. It is important to prepare for this in advance and review this information on a regular basis to ensure it is up to date. As such:

• if required, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should discuss the local response to sexual violence and sexual harassment with police and local authority children’s social care colleagues in order to prepare the school’s or college’s policies (especially the child protection policy) and responses, and
• the designated safeguarding lead (and their deputies) should be confident as to what local specialist support is available to support all children involved (including victims and alleged perpetrators) in sexual violence and sexual harassment and be confident as to how to access this support when required. Further information

 

 

on specialist support and interventions can be found in Annex B in the additional advice and support section under sexual violence and sexual harassment.

Responding to reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment

460. Part two of this guidance is clear that systems should be in place (and they should be well promoted, easily understood and easily accessible) for children to confidently report abuse, knowing their concerns will be treated seriously.
461. Reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment are likely to be complex and require difficult professional decisions to be made, often quickly and under pressure. Preplanning, effective training and effective policies will provide schools and colleges with the foundation for a calm, considered and appropriate response to any reports.

Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that the school or college contributes to multi-agency working in line with statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (and as summarised in Part two of this guidance).

462. This part of the guidance does not attempt to provide (nor would it be possible to provide) detailed guidance on what to do in any or every case. The guidance provides effective safeguarding practice and principles for schools and colleges to consider in their decision-making process.
463. Ultimately, any decisions are for the school or college to make on a case-by-case basis, with the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) taking a leading role and using their professional judgement, supported by other agencies, such as local authority children’s social care and the police as required.
464. The guidance also provides case studies. These are not intended to offer a stepby-step guide, but to provide an indication of some of the various options that are available to respond to reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment.

Support for schools and colleges

465. Schools and colleges should not feel that they are alone in dealing with sexual violence and sexual harassment.
466. Local authority children’s social care and the police will be important partners where a crime might have been committed. Referrals to the police will often be a natural progression of making a referral to local authority children’s social care. The designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should lead the school or college response and should be aware of the local process for referrals to children’s social care and making referrals to the police (also see the section “reporting to the police” on page 120 for further information). Schools and colleges may also find the following resources helpful:
     • National Crime Agency’s CEOP Safety Centre: The CEOP Safety Centre aims to keep children and young people safe from online sexual abuse. Online sexual abuse can be reported on their website and a report made to one of its Child Protection Advisors.
     • The NSPCC provides a helpline for professionals at 0808 800 5000 and help@nspcc.org.uk. The helpline provides expert advice and support for school and college staff and will be especially useful for the designated safeguarding lead (and their deputies)
     • Support from specialist sexual violence sector organisations such as Rape Crisis  or The Survivors Trust
     • The Anti-Bullying Alliance has developed guidance for schools about Sexual and sexist bullying.

Online: Schools and colleges should recognise that sexual violence and sexual harassment occurring online (either in isolation or in connection with face-to-face incidents) can introduce a number of complex factors. Amongst other things, this can include widespread abuse or harm across a number of social media platforms that leads to repeat victimisation. Online concerns can be especially complicated and support is available from:

• The UK Safer Internet Centre provides an online safety helpline for professionals at 0344 381 4772 and helpline@saferinternet.org.uk. The helpline provides expert advice and support for school and college staff with regard to online safety issues
• Internet Watch Foundation: If the incident/report involves sexual images or videos that have been made and circulated online, the victim can be supported to get the images removed by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
• Childline/IWF Report Remove is a free tool that allows children to report nude or sexual images and/or videos of themselves that they think might have been shared online
• UKCIS Sharing nudes and semi-nudes advice: Advice for education settings working with children and young people on responding to reports of children sharing non-consensual nude and semi-nude images and/or videos (also known as sexting and youth produced sexual imagery). Please see footnote 8 for further information
• National Crime Agency’s CEOP Education Programme provides information for the children’s workforce and parents and carers on protecting children and young people from online child sexual abuse.
• LGFL 'Undressed' provided schools advice about how to teach young children about being tricked into getting undressed online in a fun way without scaring them or explaining the motives of sex offenders.

Additional sources of support are listed at the end of Annex B.

The immediate response to a report

Responding to the report

467. It is important to understand that children may not find it easy to tell staff about their abuse verbally. Children can show signs or act in ways that they hope adults will notice and react to. In some cases, the victim may not make a direct report. For example, a friend may make a report, or a member of school or college staff may overhear a conversation that suggests a child has been harmed or a child’s own behaviour might indicate that something is wrong. As per Part one of this guidance, if staff have any concerns about a child’s welfare, they should act on them immediately rather than wait to be told.
468. The initial response by a school or college to a report from a child is incredibly important. How the school or college responds to a report can encourage or undermine the confidence of future victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment to report or come forward.
469. It is essential that all victims are reassured that they are being taken seriously, regardless of how long it has taken them to come forward, and that they will be supported and kept safe. Abuse that occurs online or outside of the school or college should not be downplayed and should be treated equally seriously. A victim should never be given the impression that they are creating a problem by reporting sexual violence or sexual harassment. Nor should a victim ever be made to feel ashamed for making a report. It is important to explain that the law is in place to protect children and young people rather than criminalise them, and this should be explained in such a way that avoids alarming or distressing them.
470. As per Part one of this guidance, all staff should be trained to manage a report.

Local policies (and training) will dictate exactly how reports should be managed. However, effective safeguarding practice includes:

• if possible, managing reports with two members of staff present, (preferably one of them being the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy)
• careful management and handling of reports that include an online element. Including being aware of searching screening and confiscation advice (for schools) and UKCIS Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people. The key consideration is for staff not to view or forward illegal images of a child. The highlighted advice provides more details on what to do when viewing an image is unavoidable. In some cases, it may be more appropriate to confiscate any devices to preserve any evidence and hand them to the police for inspection
• not promising confidentiality at this initial stage as it is very likely a concern will have to be shared further (for example, with the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) or local authority children’s social care) to discuss next steps. Staff should only share the report with those people who are necessary in order to progress it. It is important that the victim understands what the next steps will be and who the report will be passed to
• recognising that a child is likely to disclose to someone they trust: this could be anyone on the school or college staff. It is important that the person to whom the child discloses recognises that the child has placed them in a position of trust. They should be supportive and respectful of the child
• recognising that an initial disclosure to a trusted adult may only be the first incident reported, rather than representative of a singular incident and that trauma can impact memory and so children may not be able to recall all details or timeline of abuse
• keeping in mind that certain children may face additional barriers to telling someone because of their vulnerability, disability, sex, ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation
• listening carefully to the child, reflecting back, using the child’s language, being non-judgemental, being clear about boundaries and how the report will be progressed, not asking leading questions and only prompting the child where necessary with open questions – where, when, what, etc. It is important to note that whilst leading questions should be avoided, staff can ask children if they have been harmed and what the nature of that harm was
• considering the best way to make a record of the report. Best practice is to wait until the end of the report and immediately write up a thorough summary. This allows the staff member to devote their full attention to the child and to listen to what they are saying. It may be appropriate to make notes during the report (especially if a second member of staff is present). However, if making notes, staff should be conscious of the need to remain engaged with the child and not appear distracted by the note taking. Either way, it is essential a written record is made
• only recording the facts as the child presents them. The notes should not reflect the personal opinion of the note taker. Schools and colleges should be aware that notes of such reports could become part of a statutory assessment by local authority children’s social care and/or part of a criminal investigation, and
• informing the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy), as soon as practically possible, if the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) is not involved in the initial report.

Considering confidentiality and anonymity

Confidentiality

471. Staff taking a report should never promise confidentiality as it is very likely that it will be in the best interests of the victim to seek advice and guidance from others in order to provide support and engage appropriate agencies.
472. The school or college should only engage staff and agencies who are required to support the children involved and/or be involved in any investigation.
473. The victim may ask the school or college not to tell anyone about the sexual violence or sexual harassment. There are no easy or definitive answers when a victim makes this request. If the victim does not give consent to share information, staff may still lawfully share it, if there is another legal basis under the UK GDPR that applies. For example, the public task basis may apply, where the overall purpose is to perform a public interest task or exercise official authority, and the task or authority has a clear basis in law. Advice should be sought from the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy), who should consider the following:
     • parents or carers should normally be informed (unless this would put the victim at greater risk)
     • the basic safeguarding principle is: if a child is at risk of harm, is in immediate danger, or has been harmed, a referral should be made to local authority children’s social care, and
     • rape, assault by penetration and sexual assaults are crimes. Where a report of rape, assault by penetration or sexual assault is made, this should be referred to the police. Whilst the age of criminal responsibility is ten, if the alleged perpetrator is under ten, the starting principle of referring to the police remains. The police will take a welfare, rather than a criminal justice approach, in these cases.
474. Ultimately, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) will have to balance the victim’s wishes against their duty to protect the victim and other children.
475. If the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) decide to go ahead and make a referral to local authority children’s social care and/or a report to the police against the victim’s wishes, this should be handled extremely carefully, the reasons should be explained to the victim and appropriate specialist support should be offered.
476. Additional information on confidentiality and information sharing is available at Safeguarding Practitioners Information Sharing Advice and NSPCC: Information sharing and confidentiality for practitioners.

Anonymity

477. Where an allegation of sexual violence or sexual harassment is progressing through the criminal justice system, schools and colleges should be aware of anonymity, witness support, and the criminal process in general so they can offer support and act appropriately. ^[116] Relevant information can be found in: CPS: Safeguarding Children as Victims and Witnesses.
478. As a matter of effective safeguarding practice, schools and colleges should do all they reasonably can to protect the anonymity of any children involved in any report of sexual violence or sexual harassment. Amongst other things, this will mean carefully considering, based on the nature of the report, which staff should know about the report and any support that will be put in place for the children involved.
479. Schools and colleges should also consider the potential impact of social media in facilitating the spreading of rumours and exposing victims’ identities. The unique challenges regarding social media are discussed at paragraph 466 along with potential support. In addition, the principles described in Childnet’s cyberbullying guidance could be helpful.

Risk assessment

480. When there has been a report of sexual violence, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should make an immediate risk and needs assessment. Where there has been a report of sexual harassment, the need for a risk assessment should be considered on a case-by-case basis. The risk and needs assessment for a report of sexual violence should consider:
     • the victim, especially their protection and support
     • whether there may have been other victims
     • the alleged perpetrator(s)
     • all the other children, (and, if appropriate, adult students and staff) at the school or college, especially any actions that are appropriate to protect them from the alleged perpetrator(s), or from future harms, and
     • The time and location of the incident, and any action required to make the location safer. 
481. Risk assessments should be recorded (paper or electronic) and should be kept under review. At all times, the school or college should be actively considering the risks posed to all their pupils and students and put adequate measures in place to protect

 

 

them and keep them safe.

482. The designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should ensure they are engaging with local authority children’s social care and specialist services as required. Where there has been a report of sexual violence, it is likely that professional risk assessments by social workers and or sexual violence specialists will be required. The above school or college risk assessment is not intended to replace the detailed assessments of expert professionals. Any such professional assessments should be used to inform the school or college approach to supporting and protecting their pupils and students and updating their own risk assessment.

Action following a report of sexual violence and/or sexual harassment

What to consider

483. As set out above, sexual violence and sexual abuse can happen anywhere, and all staff working with children are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’. Schools and colleges should be aware of and respond appropriately to all reports and concerns about sexual violence and/or sexual harassment both online and offline, including those that have happened outside of the school/college. The designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) is likely to have a complete safeguarding picture and be the most appropriate person to advise on the initial response by the school or college. Important considerations will include:
     • the wishes of the victim in terms of how they want to proceed. This is especially important in the context of sexual violence and sexual harassment. Victims should be given as much control as is reasonably possible over decisions regarding how any investigation will be progressed and any support that they will be offered. This will however need to be balanced with the school’s or college’s duty and responsibilities to protect other children
     • the nature of the alleged incident(s), including whether a crime may have been committed and/or whether HSB has been displayed
     • the ages of the children involved
     • the developmental stages of the children involved
     • any power imbalance between the children. For example, is/are the alleged perpetrator(s) significantly older, more mature, confident and well known social standing? Does the victim have a disability or learning difficulty?
     • if the alleged incident is a one-off or a sustained pattern of abuse (sexual abuse can be accompanied by other forms of abuse and a sustained pattern may not just be of a sexual nature)
     • that sexual violence and sexual harassment can take place within intimate

personal relationships between children 

• importance of understanding intra familial harms and any necessary support for siblings following incidents
• are there ongoing risks to the victim, other children, adult students or school or college staff, and
• other related issues and wider context, including any links to child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation.

484. As always when concerned about the welfare of a child, all staff should act in the best interests of the child. In all cases, schools and colleges should follow general safeguarding principles as set out throughout this guidance. Immediate consideration should be given as to how best to support and protect the victim and the alleged perpetrator(s) (and any other children involved/impacted).

Options to manage the report

485. It is important that schools and colleges consider every report on a case-by-case basis as per paragraph 483. When to inform the alleged perpetrator(s) will be a decision that should be carefully considered. Where a report is going to be made to local authority children’s social care and/or the police, then, as a general rule, the designated safeguarding lead should speak to the local authority children’s social care and the police and discuss next steps and how the alleged perpetrator(s) will be informed of the allegations. However, as per general safeguarding principles, this does not and should not stop the school or college taking immediate action to safeguard its children, where required.
486. There are four likely scenarios for schools and colleges to consider when managing any reports of sexual violence and/or sexual harassment. The four scenarios are:

1.        Manage internally

487. In some cases of sexual harassment, for example, one-off incidents, the school or college may take the view that the children concerned are not in need of early help or that referrals to statutory services are not required, and that it would be appropriate to handle the incident internally, perhaps through utilising their behaviour policy and by providing pastoral support.
488. Whatever the response, it should be underpinned by the principle that there is a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence and sexual harassment, and it is never acceptable and will not be tolerated.
489. All concerns, discussions, decisions and reasons for decisions should be recorded (written or electronic).

2.        Early help

490. In line with managing internally, the school or college may decide that the children involved do not require referral to statutory services but may benefit from early help.

Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life. Providing early help is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later. Early help can be particularly useful to address non-violent HSB and may prevent escalation of sexual violence. It is particularly important that the designated safeguarding lead (and their deputies) know what the local early help process is and how and where to access support.

491. More information on early help is set out in Part one of this guidance with full details of the early help process in Chapter one of Working Together to Safeguard Children.
492. Multi-agency early help will work best when placed alongside strong school or college policies, preventative education and engagement with parents and carers.
493. Schools and colleges, as relevant agencies, should be part of discussions with statutory safeguarding partners to agree the levels for the different types of assessment and services to be commissioned and delivered, as part of the local arrangements. Safeguarding partners should publish a local threshold document which includes the process for the local early help assessment and the type and level of early help services to be provided, and designated safeguarding leads (and their deputies) will need to familiarise themselves with this document.
494. Early help and the option to manage a report internally do not need to be mutually exclusive: a school could manage internally and seek early help for both the victim and alleged perpetrator(s).
495. Whatever the response, it should be under-pinned by the principle that there is zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence and sexual harassment and it is never acceptable and will not be tolerated.
496. All concerns, discussions, decisions and reasons for decisions should be recorded (written or electronic).

3.        Referrals to local authority children’s social care

497. Where a child has been harmed, is at risk of harm, or is in immediate danger, schools and colleges should make a referral to local authority children’s social care.
498. At the point of referral to local authority children’s social care, schools and colleges will generally inform parents or carers, unless there are compelling reasons not to (if informing a parent or carer is going to put the child at additional risk). Any such decision should be made with the support of local authority children’s social care.
499. If a referral is made, local authority children’s social care will then make enquiries to determine whether any of the children involved are in need of protection or other services.
500. Where statutory assessments are appropriate, the school or college (especially the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy)) should be working alongside, and cooperating with, the relevant lead social worker. Collaborative working will help ensure the best possible package of coordinated support is implemented for the victim and, where appropriate, the alleged perpetrator(s) and any other children that require support.
501. Schools and colleges should not wait for the outcome (or even the start) of a local authority children’s social care investigation before protecting the victim and other children in the school or college. It will be important for the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) to work closely with local authority children’s social care (and other agencies as required) to ensure any actions the school or college takes do not jeopardise a statutory investigation. The risk assessment as per paragraph 480-482 will help inform any decision. Consideration of safeguarding the victim, alleged perpetrator(s), any other children directly involved in the safeguarding report, and all children at the school or college should be immediate.
502. In some cases, local authority children’s social care will review the evidence and decide that a statutory intervention is not appropriate. The school or college (generally led by the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy)) should be prepared to refer again if they believe the child remains in immediate danger or at risk of harm or if circumstances change. If a statutory assessment is not appropriate, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should consider other support mechanisms such as early help, specialist support and pastoral support.
503. Whatever the response, it should be under-pinned by the principle that there is a zero- tolerance approach to sexual violence and sexual harassment and it is never acceptable and will not be tolerated.
504. All concerns, discussions, decisions and reasons for decisions should be recorded (written or electronic).

4.        Reporting to the Police

505. Any report to the police will generally be in parallel with a referral to local authority children’s social care (as above).
506. It is important that the designated safeguarding lead (and their deputies) are clear about the local process for referrals and follow that process.
507. Where a report of rape, assault by penetration or sexual assault is made, the starting point is that this should be passed on to the police. Whilst the age of criminal responsibility is ten, if the alleged perpetrator(s) is under ten, the starting principle of reporting to the police remains. The police will take a welfare, rather than a criminal justice, approach. The following advice may help schools and colleges decide when to engage the Police and what to expect of them when they do: When to call the police.
508. Where a report has been made to the police, the school or college should consult the police and agree what information can be disclosed to staff and others, in particular, the alleged perpetrator(s) and their parents or carers. They should also discuss the best way to protect the victim and their anonymity.
509. At this stage, schools and colleges will generally inform parents or carers unless there are compelling reasons not to, for example, if informing a parent or carer is likely to put a child at additional risk. In circumstances where parents or carers have not been informed, it will be especially important that the school or college is supporting the child in any decision they take. This should be with the support of local authority children’s social care and any appropriate specialist agencies.
510. All police forces in England have specialist units that investigate child abuse. The names and structures of these units are matters for local forces. It will be important that the designated safeguarding lead (and their deputies) are aware of their local arrangements.
511. In some cases, it may become clear very quickly that the police (for whatever reason) will not take further action. In such circumstances, it is important that the school or college continue to engage with specialist support for the victim and alleged perpetrator(s) as required.
512. Whilst protecting children and/or taking any disciplinary measures against the alleged perpetrator(s), it will be important for the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) to work closely with the police (and other agencies as required), to ensure any actions the school or college take do not jeopardise the police investigation.
513. If schools or colleges have questions about the investigation, they should ask the police. The police will help and support the school or college as much as they can (within the constraints of any legal restrictions).
514. Whatever the response, it should be underpinned by the principle that there is a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence and sexual harassment and it is never acceptable and will not be tolerated.
515. All concerns, discussions, decisions and reasons for decisions should be recorded (written or electronic).

Considering bail conditions

516. The police will consider what action to take to manage the assessed risk of harm. This could involve the use of police bail with conditions, prior to a suspect appearing in court, or court bail with or without conditions after the first appearance.
517. Alternatively, the person suspected of an offence could be ‘released under investigation’ (RUI). People released under RUI can have no conditions attached to their release from custody and it is possible for a person on bail also to have no conditions. 
518. Whatever arrangements are in place, the school or college will need to consider what additional measures may be necessary to manage any assessed risk of harm that may arise within their institution. 
519. Particular regard should be given to: the additional stress and trauma that might be caused to a victim within the institution; the potential for the suspected person to intimidate the victim or a witness; the need to ensure that any risk management measures strike a balance between management of risk and the rights of an unconvicted person (e.g. rights to privacy, family life, etc). 
520. Careful liaison with the police investigators should help to develop a balanced set of arrangements.

Managing any delays in the criminal process

521. There may be delays in any case that is being progressed through the criminal justice system. Schools and colleges should not wait for the outcome (or even the start) of a police investigation before protecting the victim, alleged perpetrator(s) and other children in the school or college. The risk assessment as per paragraph 480-482 will help inform any decision.
522. Considering any disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrator(s) whilst an investigation is ongoing is discussed below in the alleged perpetrator(s) section.
523. Whilst protecting children and/or taking any disciplinary measures against the alleged perpetrator(s), it will be important for the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) to work closely with the police (and other agencies as required), to ensure any actions the school or college take do not jeopardise the police investigation.
524. If schools or colleges have questions about the investigation, they should ask the police. The police will help and support the school or college as much as they can (within the constraints of any legal restrictions).

The end of the criminal process

525. If a child is convicted or receives a caution for a sexual offence, the school or college should update its risk assessment, ensure relevant protections are in place for all the children at the school or college and, if it has not already, consider any suitable action in line with their behaviour policy. This process should include a review of the necessary actions to keep all parties safe and meet their needs. If the perpetrator(s) remains in the same school or college as the victim, the school or college should be very clear as to their expectations regarding the perpetrator(s) now they have been convicted or cautioned. This could include expectations regarding their behaviour and any restrictions the school or college thinks are reasonable and proportionate with regard to the perpetrator(s)’ timetable.
526. Any conviction (even with legal anonymity reporting restrictions) is potentially going to generate interest among other pupils or students in the school or college. It will be important that the school or college ensure both the victim and perpetrator(s) remain protected, especially from any bullying or harassment (including online).
527. Where cases are classified as “no further action” by the police or Crown Prosecution Service, or where there is a not guilty verdict, the school or college should continue to offer support to the victim and the alleged perpetrator(s) for as long as is necessary. A not guilty verdict or a decision not to progress with their case will likely be traumatic for the victim. The fact that an allegation cannot be substantiated or was withdrawn does not necessarily mean that it was unfounded. Schools and colleges should discuss any decisions with the victim in this light and continue to offer support. The alleged perpetrator(s) is/are also likely to require ongoing support for what will have likely been a difficult experience.

Unsubstantiated, unfounded, false or malicious reports

528. As set out in paragraph 68 of Part one of this guidance, all concerns, discussions and decisions made, and the reasons for those decisions, should be recorded in writing. Records should be reviewed so that potential patterns of concerning, problematic or inappropriate behaviour can be identified, and addressed.
529. If a report is determined to be unsubstantiated, unfounded, false or malicious, the designated safeguarding lead should consider whether the child and/or the person who has made the allegation is in need of help or may have been abused by someone else and this is a cry for help. In such circumstances, a referral to local authority children’s social care may be appropriate.
530. If a report is shown to be deliberately invented or malicious, the school or college, should consider whether any disciplinary action is appropriate against the individual who made it as per their own behaviour policy.

Ongoing response

Safeguarding and supporting the victim

531. The following principles are based on effective safeguarding practice and should help shape any decisions regarding safeguarding and supporting the victim.
     • The needs and wishes of the victim should be paramount (along with protecting the child) in any response. It is important they feel in as much control of the process as is reasonably possible. Wherever possible, the victim, if they wish, should be able to continue in their normal routine. Overall, the priority should be to make the victim’s daily experience as normal as possible, so that the school or college is a safe space for them.
     • Consider the age and the developmental stage of the victim, the nature of the allegation(s) and the potential risk of further abuse. Schools and colleges should be aware that, by the very nature of sexual violence and sexual harassment, a power imbalance is likely to have been created between the victim and alleged perpetrator(s).
     • The victim should never be made to feel they are the problem for making a report or made to feel ashamed for making a report.
     • Consider the proportionality of the response. Support should be tailored on a case-by-case basis. The support required regarding a one-off incident of sexualised name-calling is likely to be vastly different from that for a report of rape.
     • Schools and colleges should be aware that sexual assault can result in a range of health needs, including physical, mental, and sexual health problems and unwanted pregnancy. Children and young people that have a health need arising from sexual assault or abuse can access specialist NHS support from a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). SARCs offer confidential and non-judgemental support to victims and survivors of sexual assault and abuse. They provide medical, practical, and emotional care and advice to all children and adults, regardless of when the incident occurred.
     • It will be important in all scenarios that decisions and actions are regularly reviewed and that relevant policies are updated to reflect lessons learnt. It is particularly important to look out for potential patterns of concerning, problematic or inappropriate behaviour. Where a pattern is identified, the school or college should decide on a course of action. Consideration should be given as to whether there are wider cultural issues within the school or college that enabled the inappropriate behaviour to occur and where appropriate extra teaching time and/or staff training could be delivered to minimise the risk of it happening again.
532. Support can include:
     • Early help and local authority children’s social care as set out in Part one of this guidance.
     • Children and Young People’s Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ChISVAs) provide emotional and practical support for victims of sexual violence. They are based within the specialist sexual violence sector and will help the victim understand what their options are and how the criminal justice process works if they have reported or are considering reporting to the police. ChISVAs will work in partnership with schools and colleges to ensure the best possible outcomes for the victim.
     • Police and social care agencies can signpost to ChISVA services (where available) or referrals can be made directly to the ChISVA service by the young person or school or college. Contact details for ChISVAs can be found at Rape Crisis and The Survivors Trust.
     • Child and young people’s mental health services (CYPMHS) is used as a term for all services that work with children who have difficulties with their emotional or behavioural wellbeing. Services vary depending on local authority. Most CYPMHS have their own website, which will have information about access, referrals and contact numbers.
     • The specialist sexual violence sector can provide therapeutic support for children who have experienced sexual violence. Contact Rape Crisis (England & Wales) or

The Survivors Trust for details of local specialist organisations. The Male Survivors Partnership can provide details of services which specialise in supporting men and boys.

• NHS - Help after rape and sexual assault - NHS (www.nhs.uk) provides a range of advice, help and support including advice about the risk of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STI), reporting to the police and forensics.
• Rape and sexual assault referral centres services can be found at: Find Rape and sexual assault referral centres. Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) offer medical, practical and emotional support. They have specially trained doctors, nurses and support workers. If children, young people, or their families are unsure which service to access, they should contact their GP or call the NHS on 111.
• Childline provides free and confidential advice for children and young people.
• Internet Watch Foundation works internationally to remove child sexual abuse online images and videos and offers a place for the public to report them anonymously.
• Childline / IWF: Remove a nude image shared online Report Remove is a free tool that allows children to report nude or sexual images and videos of themselves that they think might have been shared online, to see if they can be removed from the internet.

 

533. Victims may not disclose the whole picture immediately. They may be more comfortable providing information on a piecemeal basis. It is essential that dialogue is kept open and encouraged. When it is clear that ongoing support will be required, schools and colleges should ask the victim if they would find it helpful to have a designated trusted adult (for example, their form tutor or designated safeguarding lead) to talk to about their needs. The choice of any such adult should be the victim’s (as far as is reasonably possible). Schools and colleges should respect and support this choice.
534. Children who have experienced sexual violence display a very wide range of responses to their experience, including in some cases clear signs of trauma, physical and emotional responses, or no overt signs at all. Schools should remain alert to the possible challenges of detecting those signs and show sensitivity to the needs of the child (e.g. about attendance in lessons) irrespective of how overt the child’s distress is.
535. While schools and colleges should avoid any action that would have the effect of isolating the victim, in particular from supportive peer groups, there may be times when the victim finds it difficult to maintain a full-time timetable and may express a wish to withdraw from lessons and activities. This should be because the victim wants to, not because it makes it easier to manage the situation. If required, schools and colleges should provide a physical space for victims to withdraw to.
536. It may be necessary for schools and colleges to maintain arrangements to protect and support the victim for a long time. Schools and colleges should be prepared for this and should work with local authority children’s social care and other agencies as required.
537. It is therefore important that the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) knows how and where to seek support.
538. It is important that the school or college do everything they reasonably can to protect the victim from bullying and harassment as a result of any report they have made.
539. Whilst they should be given all the necessary support to remain in their school or college, if the trauma results in the victim being unable to do this, alternative provision or a move to another school or college should be considered to enable them to continue to receive suitable education. This should only be at the request of the victim (and following discussion with their parents or carers).
540. It is important that if the victim does move to another educational institution (for any reason), that the new educational institution is made aware of any ongoing support needs. The designated safeguarding lead should take responsibility to ensure this happens (and should discuss with the victim and, where appropriate their parents or carers as to the most suitable way of doing this) as well as transferring the child protection file. Information sharing advice referenced at paragraphs 115-123 will help support this process.

 

Ongoing Considerations: Victim and alleged perpetrator(s) sharing classes Page 111 considered the immediate response to a report. Once the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) has decided what the next steps will be in terms of progressing the report, they should carefully consider again the question of the victim and alleged perpetrator(s) sharing classes and sharing space at school or college. This will inevitably involve complex and difficult professional decisions, including considering their duty to safeguard children and their duty to educate them. It is important each report is considered on a case-by-case basis and risk assessments are updated as appropriate. As always when concerned about the welfare of a child, the best interests of the child should come first. In all cases, schools and colleges should follow general safeguarding principles as per this guidance. Where there is a criminal investigation into a rape, assault by penetration or sexual assault, the alleged perpetrator(s) should be removed from any classes they share with the victim. The school or college should also consider how best to keep the victim and alleged perpetrator(s) a reasonable distance apart on school or college premises (including during before and after school-based activities) and on transport to and from school or college where appropriate. This is in the best interests of both children and should not be perceived to be a judgement on the guilt of the alleged perpetrator(s). As per paragraph 505, close liaison with the police is essential. Where a criminal investigation into a rape or assault by penetration leads to a conviction or caution, the school or college should take suitable action, if they have not already done so. In all but the most exceptional of circumstances, the rape or assault is likely to constitute a serious breach of discipline and lead to the view that allowing the perpetrator(s) to remain in the same school or college would seriously harm the education or welfare of the victim (and potentially other pupils or students). Where a criminal investigation into sexual assault leads to a conviction or caution, the school or college should, if it has not already, consider any suitable sanctions in light of their behaviour policy, including consideration of permanent exclusion.143 Where the perpetrator(s) is going to remain at the school or college, the principle would be to continue keeping the victim and perpetrator(s) in separate classes and continue to consider the most appropriate way to manage potential contact on school and college premises and transport. The nature of the conviction or caution and wishes of the victim will be especially important in determining how to proceed in such cases. In all cases, schools and colleges should record and be able to justify their decisionmaking.

Safeguarding and supporting the alleged perpetrator(s) and children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour

541. The following principles are based on effective safeguarding practice and should help shape any decisions regarding safeguarding and supporting the alleged perpetrator(s):

• The school or college will have a difficult balancing act to consider. On one hand, they need to safeguard the victim (and the wider pupil/student body) and on the other hand provide the alleged perpetrator(s) with an education, safeguarding support as appropriate and implement any disciplinary sanctions. Taking disciplinary action and still providing appropriate support are not mutually exclusive actions. They can, and should, occur at the same time if necessary.
• Consider the age and the developmental stage of the alleged perpetrator(s), the nature of the allegations and frequency of allegations. Any child will likely experience stress as a result of being the subject of allegations and/or negative reactions by their peers to the allegations against them.
• Consider the proportionality of the response. Support (and sanctions) should be considered on a case-by-case basis. The alleged perpetrator(s) may potentially have unmet needs (in some cases these may be considerable) as well as potentially posing a risk of harm to other children. HSB in young children may be

(and often are¹⁴⁴) a symptom of either their own abuse or exposure to abusive

 

 

143. Maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units should follow the statutory guidance here.

Independent schools and colleges should consider excluding as per their own policies.

144. Hackett et al 2013 study of children and young people with harmful sexual behaviour suggests that twothirds had experienced some kind of abuse or trauma.

practices and or materials. More information on HSB can be found at paras 455458 Advice should be taken, as appropriate, from local authority children’s social care, specialist sexual violence services and the police.

• The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has developed a HSB toolkit, which amongst other things, provides support, advice and information on how to prevent it, links to organisations and helplines, resources about HSB by children, internet safety, sexual development and preventing child sexual abuse.
• The NSPCC provides free and independent advice about HSB: NSPCC Learning: Protecting children from harmful sexual behaviour and NSPCC - Harmful sexual behaviour framework.
• Contextual Safeguarding Network – Beyond Referrals (Schools) provides a school self-assessment toolkit and guidance for addressing HSB in schools.
• StopItNow – Preventing harmful sexual behaviour in children - Stop It Now provides a guide for parents, carers and professionals to help everyone do their part in keeping children safe, they also run a free confidential helpline.

542. It is important that the perpetrator(s) is/are also given the correct support to try to stop them re-offending and to address any underlying trauma that may be causing this behaviour. Addressing inappropriate behaviour can be an important intervention that helps prevent problematic, abusive and/or violent behaviour in the future. Advice on behaviour in schools is clear that teachers can sanction pupils whose conduct falls below the standard which could be reasonably expected of them. If the perpetrator(s) is to be excluded the decision must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Further information about exclusions can be found in statutory guidance for schools: Suspension and Permanent Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England. 
543. School can be a significant protective factor for children who have displayed HSB, and continued access to school, with a comprehensive safeguarding management plan in place, is an important factor to consider before final decisions are made. It is important that if an alleged perpetrator does move to another educational institution (for any reason), that the new educational institution is made aware of any ongoing support needs and where appropriate, potential risks to other children and staff. The designated safeguarding lead should take responsibility to ensure this happens as well as transferring the child protection file. Information sharing advice referenced at paragraphs 115-123 will help support this process.

Sanctions and the alleged perpetrator(s)

Schools

544. With regard to the alleged perpetrator(s), advice on behaviour in schools is clear that teachers can sanction pupils whose conduct falls below the standard which could be reasonably expected of them. Exclusions statutory guidance for maintained schools, academies and PRUs is here. Disciplinary action can be taken whilst other investigations by the police and/or local authority children’s social care are ongoing. The fact that another body is investigating or has investigated an incident does not in itself prevent a school from coming to its own conclusion, on the balance of probabilities, about what happened, and imposing a penalty accordingly. This is a matter for the school and should be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. The designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should take a leading role. The school should consider if, by taking any action, it would prejudice an investigation and/or any subsequent prosecution. Careful liaison with the police and/or local authority children’s social care should help the school make a determination. It will also be important to consider whether there are circumstances that make it unreasonable or irrational for the school to reach its own view about what happened while an independent investigation is considering the same facts.

Colleges

545. Whilst colleges are not under the same legal obligations as schools with regard to behaviour, the principles set out in paragraph 544 will still be relevant and should be applied to their decision-making process.

Discipline and support

546. Taking disciplinary action and still providing appropriate support are not mutually exclusive actions. They can, and should, occur at the same time if necessary. The school or college should be very clear as to what its approach is. On the one hand there is preventative or forward-looking action to safeguard the victim and/or the perpetrator(s), especially where there are concerns that a perpetrator themselves may have been a victim of abuse; and, on the other, there is disciplinary action to punish a perpetrator for their past conduct. The school or college should be very clear as to which category any action they are taking falls or whether it is really both and should ensure that the action complies with the law relating to each relevant category.

Working with parents and carers

547. The school or college will, in most instances, engage with both the victim’s and the alleged perpetrator’s parents or carers when there has been a report of sexual violence (this might not be necessary or proportionate in the case of sexual harassment and should be considered on a case-by-case basis). The exception to this rule is if there is a reason to believe informing a parent or carer will put a child at additional risk. Schools and colleges should carefully consider what information they provide to the respective parents or carers about the other child involved and when they do so. In some cases, local authority children’s social care and/or the police will have a very clear view and it will be important for the school or college to work with relevant agencies to ensure a consistent approach is taken to information sharing.
548. It is good practice for the school or college to meet the victim’s parents or carers with the victim present to discuss what arrangements are being put in place to safeguard the victim and understand their wishes in terms of support they may need and how the report will be progressed. 
549. It is also good practice for the school or college to meet with alleged perpetrator’s parents or carers to discuss any arrangements that are being put into place that impact an alleged perpetrator, such as, for example, moving them out of classes with the victim and what this means for their education. The reason behind any decisions should be explained. Support for the alleged perpetrator should be discussed.
550. The designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) would generally attend any such meetings. Consideration to the attendance of other agencies should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
551. Clear behaviour policies and child protection policies, especially policies that set out the principles of how reports of sexual violence will be managed and how victims and alleged perpetrators are likely to be supported, that parents and carers have access to, will, in some cases, help manage what are inevitably very difficult conversations.
552. Parents and carers may well struggle to cope with a report that their child has been the victim of a sexual assault or is alleged to have sexually assaulted another child. Details of organisations that support parents are provided in Annex B. Schools and colleges should consider signposting parents and carers to this support.

Safeguarding other children

553. Consideration should be given to supporting children (and adult students) who have witnessed sexual violence, especially rape and assault by penetration. Witnessing such an event is likely to be traumatic and support may be required.
554. Following any report of sexual violence or sexual harassment, it is likely that some children will take “sides”. The school or college should be doing all they can to ensure both the victim and alleged perpetrator(s), and any witnesses, are not being bullied or harassed.
555. Social media is very likely to play a central role in the fall out from any incident or alleged incident. There is the potential for contact between victim and alleged perpetrator(s) and a very high likelihood that friends from either side could harass the victim or alleged perpetrator(s) online and/or become victims of harassment themselves. Specialist online safety support is discussed at page 110. 
556. School transport is a potentially vulnerable place for a victim or alleged perpetrator(s) following any incident or alleged incident. The school or college, as part of its risk assessment, should consider any additional potential support needs to keep all of their children safe.
557. A whole school or college approach to safeguarding, a culture that makes clear that there is a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence and sexual harassment and that it is never acceptable, and it will not be tolerated, and a strong preventative education programme will help create an environment in which all children at the school or college are supportive and respectful of their peers when reports of sexual violence or sexual harassment are made.
558. It is important that schools and colleges keep their policies, processes, and curriculum under constant review to protect all their children. Reports of sexual violence and/or harassment (especially where there is evidence of patterns of behaviour) may point to environmental and or systemic problems that could and should be addressed by updating relevant policies, processes, or relevant parts of the curriculum. Alongside this, patterns identified in schools may also be reflective of the wider issues within a local area  and it would be good practice to share emerging trends with safeguarding partners. 

Annex A: Safeguarding information for school and college staff

The following is a condensed version of Part one of Keeping children safe in education. It can be provided (instead of Part one) to those staff who do not directly work with children, if the governing body or proprietor think it will provide a better basis for those staff to promote the welfare of and safeguard children.

The role of school and college staff

1. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children has an important role to play.
2. School and college staff are particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early, provide help for children, promote children’s welfare and prevent concerns from escalating. It is important all staff (including those who do not work directly with children) recognise the important role they play in protecting children.

What school and college staff need to know

3.        For the purposes of safeguarding, a child is anyone under the age of 18. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:

• protecting children from maltreatment
• preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care, and
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

All staff should:

• Be aware of the systems in their school or college which support safeguarding, and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction. As a minimum this Annex and the child protection policy should be shared with staff at induction
• Receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety which, amongst other things, includes an understanding of the expectations, applicable roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring) which is regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection updates (including online safety) (for example,

via emails, e-bulletins and staff meetings), as required, and at least annually, to provide them with the skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively

• Know the identity of the designated safeguarding lead (and any deputies) and how to contact them
• know what to do if a child tells them they are being abused or neglected. This includes understanding they should never promise a child that they will not tell anyone else about a report of abuse, as this is unlikely to be in the best interests of the child, and,
• should be able to reassure all victims that they are being taken seriously and that they will be supported and kept safe. A victim should never be given the impression that they are creating a problem by reporting abuse, sexual violence or sexual harassment, nor should a victim ever be made to feel ashamed for making a report.
• should be aware that technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and wellbeing issues. Children are at risk of abuse and other risks online as well as face to face. In many cases abuse and other risks will take place concurrently both online and offline. Children can also abuse other children online, this can take the form of abusive, harassing, and misogynistic/misandrist messages, the nonconsensual sharing of indecent images, especially around chat groups, and the sharing of abusive images and pornography, to those who do not want to receive such content.

What school and college staff should look out for

Abuse and neglect

4. Knowing what to look for is vital to the early identification of abuse and neglect. All staff should be aware of indicators of abuse and neglect, including exploitation, so that they are able to identify cases of children who may be in need of help or protection. Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. 
5. If staff are unsure, they should always speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy).

Forms of abuse and neglect

6. Abuse: a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused by other children or adults, in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others.
7. Physical abuse: a form of abuse that may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.
8. Emotional abuse: the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.
9. Sexual abuse: involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Females can also be abusers as can other children. The sexual abuse of children by other children is a specific safeguarding issue (also known as child-on-child abuse) in education and all staff should be aware of it and their school or colleges policy and procedures for dealing with it.
10. Neglect: the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers); or ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.
11. All staff should be aware that child sexual and child criminal exploitation are forms of child abuse.

Safeguarding issues

12.      All staff should have an awareness of safeguarding issues that can put children at risk of harm. Behaviours linked to issues such as drug taking and/or alcohol misuse, deliberately missing education, serious violence (including that linked to county lines), radicalisation and consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos^[117] (also known as youth produced sexual imagery) put children in danger.

Child-on-child abuse

13. All staff should be aware that children can abuse other children at any age (often referred to as child-on-child abuse). And that it can happen both inside and outside of school or college and online. It is important that all staff recognise the indicators and signs of abuse and know how to identify it and respond to reports.
14. All staff should be clear as to the school or college’s policy and procedures with regards to child-on-child abuse. Child-on-child abuse is most likely to include, but may not be limited to:
    • bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying)
    • abuse in intimate personal relationships between children (sometimes known as ‘teenage relationship abuse’)
    • physical abuse which can include hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm
    • sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault
    • sexual harassment, such as sexual comments, remarks, jokes and online sexual harassment

What school and college staff should do if they have concerns about a child

15. Staff working with children should maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a child, staff should always act in the best interests of the child.
16. Staff should not assume a colleague or another professional will take action and share information that might be critical in keeping children safe.
17. If staff have any concerns about a child’s welfare, they should act on them immediately. They should follow their school or college’s child protection policy and speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy). In the absence of the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) staff should speak to a member of the school or college’s senior leadership team.
18. The designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) will generally lead on next steps,

 

 

including who else, if anyone, in the school or college should be informed and whether to pass a concern to local authority children’s social care and/or the police. In some instances, staff may be expected to support the local authority children social care assessment process. If this is the case, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) will support them.

Why is all of this important?

19. It is important for children to receive the right help at the right time to address safeguarding risks and prevent issues escalating and to promote children’s welfare. Research and serious case reviews have repeatedly shown the dangers of failing to take effective and immediate action. Examples of poor practice includes failing to act on and refer the early signs of abuse and neglect.

What school and college staff should do if they have a safeguarding concern or an allegation about another staff member who may pose a risk of harm to children

20.      If staff have a safeguarding concern or an allegation is made about another member of staff (including supply staff, contractors, volunteers, and visitors) harming or posing a risk of harm to children, they should speak to the headteacher or principal (unless it relates to the headteacher or principal, in which case they should speak to the chair of governors, chair of the management committee, or the proprietor of an independent school).

What school or college staff should do if they have concerns about safeguarding practices within the school or college

21. All staff and volunteers should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and potential failures in the school’s or college’s safeguarding regime and know that such concerns will be taken seriously by the senior leadership team.
22. Appropriate whistleblowing procedures should be in place for concerns to be raised with the school’s or college’s senior leadership team.
23. Where staff feel unable to raise an issue with their employer or feel that their genuine safeguarding concerns are not being addressed NSPCC whistleblowing advice line is available. Staff can call 0800028 0285 – 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Friday and email: help@nspcc.org.uk. Alternatively, staff can write to: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Weston House, 42 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3NH.

           

Annex B: Further information 

Annex B contains important additional information about specific forms of abuse and safeguarding issues. School and college leaders and those staff who work directly with children should read this Annex.

As per Part one of this guidance, if staff have any concerns about a child’s welfare, they should act on them immediately. They should follow their own organisation’s child protection policy and speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy).

Where a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer from harm, it is important that a referral to local authority children’s social care (and if appropriate the police) is made immediately.

Table of contents

          Child abduction and community safety incidents                                 142

           Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)                                                         142

          County lines                                                                                     143

          Children and the court system                                                           144

          Children missing from education                                                        144

          Children with family members in prison                                              145

          Cybercrime                                                                                      145

          Domestic abuse                                                                               146

          Homelessness                                                                                 148

          Mental health                                                                                   148

          Modern Slavery and the National Referral Mechanism                        149

           Preventing radicalisation                                                                   149

         The Prevent duty                                                                               150

         Channel                                                                                            151

Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and 

          colleges                                                                                           152

           Serious Violence                                                                              152

So-called ‘honour’-based abuse (including Female Genital Mutilation and Forced

          Marriage)                                                                                         154

         FGM                                                                                                 154

         FGM mandatory reporting duty for teachers                                        154

         Forced marriage                                                                                155

          Additional advice and support                                                            156

Child abduction and community safety incidents

Child abduction is the unauthorised removal or retention of a minor from a parent or anyone with legal responsibility for the child. Child abduction can be committed by parents or other family members; by people known but not related to the victim (such as neighbours, friends and acquaintances); and by strangers.

Other community safety incidents in the vicinity of a school can raise concerns amongst children and parents, for example, people loitering nearby or unknown adults engaging children in conversation.

As children get older and are granted more independence (for example, as they start walking to school on their own) it is important they are given practical advice on how to keep themselves safe. Many schools provide outdoor-safety lessons run by teachers or by local police staff.

It is important that lessons focus on building children’s confidence and abilities rather than simply warning them about all strangers. Further information is available at: www.actionagainstabduction.org and www.clevernevergoes.org.

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

We know that different forms of harm often overlap, and that perpetrators may subject children and young people to multiple forms of abuse, such as criminal exploitation (including county lines) and sexual exploitation.

In some cases the exploitation or abuse will be in exchange for something the victim needs or wants (for example, money, gifts or affection), and/or will be to the financial benefit or other advantage, such as increased status, of the perpetrator or facilitator.

Children can be exploited by adult males or females, as individuals or in groups. They may also be exploited by other children, who themselves may be experiencing exploitation – where this is the case, it is important that the child perpetrator is also recognised as a victim.

Whilst the age of the child may be a contributing factor for an imbalance of power, there are a range of other factors that could make a child more vulnerable to exploitation, including, sexual identity, cognitive ability, learning difficulties, communication ability, physical strength, status, and access to economic or other resources.

Some of the following can be indicators of both child criminal and sexual exploitation where children:

• appear with unexplained gifts, money or new possessions
• associate with other children involved in exploitation
• suffer from changes in emotional well-being
• misuse alcohol and other drugs
• go missing for periods of time or regularly come home late, and
• regularly miss school or education or do not take part in education.

Children who have been exploited will need additional support to help keep them in education.

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) can be a one-off occurrence or a series of incidents over time and range from opportunistic to complex organised abuse. It can involve force and/or enticement-based methods of compliance and may, or may not, be accompanied by violence or threats of violence. 

Some additional specific indicators that may be present in CSE are children who:

• have older boyfriends or girlfriends; and
• suffer from sexually transmitted infections, display sexual behaviours beyond expected sexual development or become pregnant.

Further information on signs of a child’s involvement in sexual exploitation is available in

Home Office guidance: Child sexual exploitation: guide for practitioners

County lines

County lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of “deal line”. This activity can happen locally as well as across the UK - no specified distance of travel is required. Children and vulnerable adults are exploited to move, store and sell drugs and money. Offenders will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons to ensure compliance of victims.

Children can be targeted and recruited into county lines in a number of locations including any type of schools (including special schools), further and higher educational institutions, pupil referral units, children’s homes and care homes.

Children are also increasingly being targeted and recruited online using social media. Children can easily become trapped by this type of exploitation as county lines gangs can manufacture drug debts which need to be worked off or threaten serious violence and kidnap towards victims (and their families) if they attempt to leave the county lines network.

A number of the indicators for CSE and CCE as detailed above may be applicable to where children are involved in county lines. Some additional specific indicators that may be present where a child is criminally exploited through involvement in county lines are children who:

• go missing and are subsequently found in areas away from their home
• have been the victim or perpetrator of serious violence (e.g. knife crime)
• are involved in receiving requests for drugs via a phone line, moving drugs, handing over and collecting money for drugs
• are exposed to techniques such as ‘plugging’, where drugs are concealed internally to avoid detection
• are found in accommodation that they have no connection with, often called a ‘trap house or cuckooing’ or hotel room where there is drug activity
• owe a ‘debt bond’ to their exploiters
• have their bank accounts used to facilitate drug dealing.

Further information on the signs of a child’s involvement in county lines is available in guidance published by the Home Office and The Children’s Society County Lines Toolkit For Professionals

Children and the court system

Children are sometimes required to give evidence in criminal courts, either for crimes committed against them or for crimes they have witnessed. There are two age appropriate guides to support children 5-11-year olds and 12-17 year olds.

The guides explain each step of the process, support and special measures that are available. There are diagrams illustrating the courtroom structure and the use of video links is explained.

Making child arrangements via the family courts following separation can be stressful and entrench conflict in families. This can be stressful for children. The Ministry of Justice has launched an online child arrangements information tool with clear and concise information on the dispute resolution service. This may be useful for some parents and carers.

Children who are absent from education

All staff should be aware that children being absent from school or college, particularly repeatedly and/or for prolonged periods, and children missing education can act as a vital warning sign of a range of safeguarding possibilities. This may include abuse and neglect such as sexual abuse or exploitation and can also be a sign of child criminal exploitation including involvement in county lines. It may indicate mental health problems, risk of substance abuse, risk of travelling to conflict zones, risk of female genital mutilation, socalled ‘honour’-based abuse or risk of forced marriage. Early intervention is essential to identify the existence of any underlying safeguarding risk and to help prevent the risks of a child going missing in future. It is important that staff are aware of their school’s or college’s unauthorised absence procedures and children missing education procedures.

Children with family members in prison

Approximately 200,000 children in England and Wales have a parent sent to prison each year. These children are at risk of poor outcomes including poverty, stigma, isolation and poor mental health. The National Information Centre on Children of Offenders, NICCO provides information designed to support professionals working with offenders and their children, to help mitigate negative consequences for those children.

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is criminal activity committed using computers and/or the internet. It is broadly categorised as either ‘cyber-enabled’ (crimes that can happen off-line but are enabled at scale and at speed on-line) or ‘cyber dependent’ (crimes that can be committed only by using a computer). Cyber-dependent crimes include:

• unauthorised access to computers (illegal ‘hacking’), for example accessing a school’s computer network to look for test paper answers or change grades awarded
• ‘Denial of Service’ (Dos or DDoS) attacks or ‘booting’. These are attempts to make a computer, network or website unavailable by overwhelming it with internet traffic from multiple sources, and,
• making, supplying or obtaining malware (malicious software) such as viruses, spyware, ransomware, botnets and Remote Access Trojans with the intent to commit further offence, including those above.

Children with particular skills and interest in computing and technology may inadvertently or deliberately stray into cyber-dependent crime.

If there are concerns about a child in this area, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy), should consider referring into the Cyber Choices programme. This is a nationwide police programme supported by the Home Office and led by the National Crime Agency, working with regional and local policing. It aims to intervene where young people are at risk of committing, or being drawn into, low-level cyber-dependent offences and divert them to a more positive use of their skills and interests.

Note that Cyber Choices does not currently cover ‘cyber-enabled’ crime such as fraud, purchasing of illegal drugs on-line and child sexual abuse and exploitation, nor other areas of concern such as on-line bullying or general on-line safety.

Additional advice can be found at: Cyber Choices, ‘NPCC- When to call the Police’ and National Cyber Security Centre - NCSC.GOV.UK.

Domestic abuse

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021. The Act introduces the first ever statutory definition of domestic abuse and recognises the impact of domestic abuse on children, as victims in their own right, if they see, hear or experience the effects of abuse. The statutory definition of domestic abuse, based on the previous cross-government definition, ensures that different types of relationships are captured, including ex-partners and family members. The definition captures a range of different abusive behaviours, including physical, emotional and economic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour. Under the statutory definition, both the person who is carrying out the behaviour and the person to whom the behaviour is directed towards must be aged 16 or over and they must be “personally connected” (as defined in section 2 of the 2021 Act).

Types of domestic abuse include intimate partner violence, abuse by family members, teenage relationship abuse and child to parent abuse. Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse, regardless of sexual identity, age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexuality or background and domestic abuse can take place inside or outside of the home. The government has issued statutory guidance to provide further information for those working with domestic abuse victims and perpetrators, including the impact on children.

All children can witness and be adversely affected by domestic abuse in the context of their home life where domestic abuse occurs between family members. Experiencing domestic abuse can have a serious, long lasting emotional and psychological impact on children. In some cases, a child may blame themselves for the abuse or may have had to leave the family home as a result.

Young people can also experience domestic abuse within their own intimate relationships. This form of child-on-child abuse is sometimes referred to as ‘teenage relationship abuse’. Depending on the age of the young people, this may not be recognised in law under the statutory definition of ‘domestic abuse’ (if one or both parties are under 16). However, as with any child under 18, where there are concerns about safety or welfare, child safeguarding procedures should be followed and both young victims and young perpetrators should be offered support. 

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass operates in all police forces across England. It helps police and schools work together to provide emotional and practical help to children. The system ensures that when the police are called to an incident of domestic abuse, where there are children in the household who have experienced the domestic incident, the police will inform the key adult (usually the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy)) in school before the child or children arrive at school the following day. This ensures that the school has up to date relevant information about the child’s circumstances and can enable immediate support to be put in place, according to the child’s needs. Operation Encompass does not replace statutory safeguarding procedures. Where appropriate, the police and/or schools should make a referral to local authority children’s social care if they are concerned about a child’s welfare. More information about the scheme and how schools can become involved is available on the Operation Encompass website.

Operation Encompass provides an advice and helpline service for all staff members from educational settings who may be concerned about children who have experienced domestic abuse. The helpline is available 8AM to 1PM, Monday to Friday on 0204 513 9990 (charged at local rate).

National Domestic Abuse Helpline

Refuge runs the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which can be called free of charge and in confidence, 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247. Its website provides guidance and support for potential victims, as well as those who are worried about friends and loved ones. It also has a form through which a safe time from the team for a call can be booked.

Additional advice on identifying children who are affected by domestic abuse and how they can be helped is available at:

• NSPCC- UK domestic-abuse Signs Symptoms Effects
• Refuge what is domestic violence/effects of domestic violence on children
• Safe Young Lives: Young people and domestic abuse | Safelives
• Domestic abuse: specialist sources of support (includes information for adult victims, young people facing abuse in their own relationships and parents experiencing child to parent violence/abuse)
• Home : Operation Encompass (includes information for schools on the impact of domestic abuse on children)

Homelessness

Being homeless or being at risk of becoming homeless presents a real risk to a child’s welfare. The designated safeguarding lead (and any deputies) should be aware of contact details and referral routes into the Local Housing Authority so they can raise/progress concerns at the earliest opportunity. Indicators that a family may be at risk of homelessness include household debt, rent arrears, domestic abuse and anti-social behaviour, as well as the family being asked to leave a property. Whilst referrals and/or discussion with the Local Housing Authority should be progressed as appropriate, and in accordance with local procedures, this does not, and should not, replace a referral into local authority children’s social care where a child has been harmed or is at risk of harm.

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 places a new legal duty on English councils so that everyone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness will have access to meaningful help including an assessment of their needs and circumstances, the development of a personalised housing plan, and work to help them retain their accommodation or find a new place to live. The following factsheets usefully summarise the new duties: Homeless Reduction Act Factsheets. The new duties shift the focus to early intervention and encourages those at risk to seek support as soon as possible, before they are facing a homelessness crisis.

In most cases school and college staff will be considering homelessness in the context of children who live with their families, and intervention will be on that basis. However, it should also be recognised in some cases 16 and 17 year olds could be living independently from their parents or guardians, for example through their exclusion from the family home, and will require a different level of intervention and support. Local authority children’s social care will be the lead agency for these children and the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should ensure appropriate referrals are made based on the child’s circumstances. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have published joint statutory guidance on the provision of accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds who may be homeless and/or require accommodation: here.

Mental health

Where children have suffered abuse and neglect, or other potentially traumatic adverse childhood experiences, this can have a lasting impact throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. It is key that staff are aware of how these children’s experiences, can impact on their mental health, behaviour, attendance and progress at school.

More information can be found in the Mental health and behaviour in schools guidance, colleges may also wish to follow this guidance as best practice. Public Health England^[118] has produced a range of resources to support secondary school teachers to promote positive health, wellbeing and resilience among children. See Every Mind Matters for links to all materials and lesson plans.

Modern Slavery and the National Referral Mechanism

Modern slavery encompasses human trafficking and slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. Exploitation can take many forms, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery, servitude, forced criminality and the removal of organs.

Further information on the signs that someone may be a victim of modern slavery, the support available to victims and how to refer them to the NRM is available in Statutory Guidance. Modern slavery: how to identify and support victims - GOV.UK

Preventing radicalisation

Children may be susceptible to extremist ideology and radicalisation. Similar to protecting children from other forms of harms and abuse, protecting children from this risk should be a part of a schools or colleges safeguarding approach.

Extremism^[119] is the vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. This also includes calling for the death of members of the armed forces.

Radicalisation^[120] refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups.

Terrorism^[121] is an action that endangers or causes serious violence to a person/people; causes serious damage to property; or seriously interferes or disrupts an electronic system. The use or threat must be designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public and is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.

 

 

Although there is no single way of identifying whether a child is likely to be susceptible to an extremist ideology, there are possible indicators that should be taken into consideration alongside other factors and contexts. Background factors combined with specific influences such as family and friends may contribute to a child’s vulnerability. Similarly, radicalisation can occur through many different methods (such as social media or the internet) and settings (such as within the home).

However, it is possible to protect people from extremist ideologies and intervene to prevent those at risk of radicalisation being drawn to terrorism. As with other safeguarding risks, staff should be alert to changes in children’s behaviour, which could indicate that they may be in need of help or protection. Staff should use their judgement in identifying children who might be at risk of radicalisation and act proportionately which may include the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) making a Prevent referral.

Although not a cause for concern on their own, possible indicators when taken into consideration alongside other factors or context may be a sign of being radicalised. 

The Prevent duty

All schools and colleges are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (the CTSA 2015), in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard^[122] to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.^[123] This duty is known as the Prevent duty.

The Prevent duty should be seen as part of schools’ and colleges’ wider safeguarding obligations. Designated safeguarding leads (and deputies) and other senior leaders in schools should familiarise themselves with the revised Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales, especially paragraphs 57-76, which are specifically concerned with schools (and also covers childcare). Designated safeguarding leads (and deputies) and other senior leaders in colleges should familiar themselves with the Prevent duty guidance: for further education institutions in England and Wales. The guidance is set out in terms of four general themes: risk assessment, working in partnership, staff training, and IT policies.

The school’s or college’s designated safeguarding lead (and any deputies) should be aware of local procedures for making a Prevent referral.

 

 

Channel

Channel is a voluntary, confidential support programme which focuses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being susceptible to being drawn into terrorism. Prevent referrals are assessed and may be passed to a multiagency Channel panel, which will discuss the individual referred to determine whether they are at risk of being drawn into terrorism and consider the appropriate support required. A representative from the school or college may be asked to attend the Channel panel to help with this assessment. An individual will be required to provide their consent before any support delivered through the programme is provided.

The designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should consider if it would be appropriate to share any information with the new school or college in advance of a child leaving. For example, information that would allow the new school or college to continue supporting victims of abuse or those who are currently receiving support through the ‘Channel’ programme and have that support in place for when the child arrives.

Statutory guidance on Channel is available at: Channel guidance.

Additional support

The Department has published further advice for those working in education settings with safeguarding responsibilities on the Prevent duty. The advice is intended to complement the Prevent guidance and signposts to other sources of advice and support.

The Home Office has developed three e-learning modules:

• Prevent awareness e-learning offers an introduction to the Prevent duty.
• Prevent referrals e-learning supports staff to make Prevent referrals that are robust, informed and with good intention.
• Channel awareness e-learning is aimed at staff who may be asked to contribute to or sit on a multi-agency Channel panel.

Educate Against Hate, is a government website designed to support school and college  teachers and leaders to help them safeguard their students from radicalisation and extremism. The platform provides free information and resources to help staff identify and address the risks, as well as build resilience to radicalisation.

For advice specific to further education, the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) hosts the Prevent for FE and Training. This hosts a range of free, sector specific resources to support further education settings to comply with the Prevent duty. This includes the Prevent Awareness e-learning, which offers an introduction to the duty, and the Prevent Referral e-learning, which is designed to support staff to make robust, informed and proportionate referrals.

The ETF Online Learning environment provides online training modules for practitioners, leaders and managers, to support staff and governors/Board members in outlining their roles and responsibilities under the duty.

London Grid for Learning have also produced useful resources on Prevent (Online Safety Resource Centre - London Grid for Learning (lgfl.net).

Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools

and colleges

Sexual violence and sexual harassment can occur between two children of any age and sex from primary to secondary stage and into colleges. It can also occur online. It can also occur through a group of children sexually assaulting or sexually harassing a single child or group of children.

Children who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment will likely find the experience stressful and distressing. This will, in all likelihood, adversely affect their educational attainment and will be exacerbated if the alleged perpetrator(s) attends the same school or college. Sexual violence and sexual harassment exist on a continuum and may overlap, they can occur online and face to face (both physically and verbally) and are never acceptable.

It is essential that all victims are reassured that they are being taken seriously and that they will be supported and kept safe. A victim should never be given the impression that they are creating a problem by reporting sexual violence or sexual harassment. Nor should a victim ever be made to feel ashamed for making a report. Detailed advice is available in Part five of this guidance.

Serious Violence

There are a number of indicators, which may signal children are at risk from, or are involved with, serious violent crime. These may include:

• increased absence from school
• a change in friendships or relationships with older individuals or groups
• a significant decline in performance
• signs of self-harm or a significant change in wellbeing, or signs of assault or unexplained injuries
• unexplained gifts or new possessions could also indicate that children have been approached by, or are involved with, individuals associated with criminal networks or gangs and may be at risk of criminal exploitation.

The likelihood of involvement in serious violence may be increased by factors such as:

• being male
• having been frequently absent or permanently excluded from school
• having experienced child maltreatment and having been involved in offending, such as theft or robbery.

A fuller list of risk factors can be found in the Home Office’s Serious Violence Strategy.

Professionals should also be aware that violence can often peak in the hours just before or just after school, when pupils are travelling to and from school. These times can be particularly risky for young people involved in serious violence.

Advice for schools and colleges is provided in the Home Office’s Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines guidance. The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) Toolkit sets out the evidence for what works in preventing young people from becoming involved in violence.

Home Office funded Violence Reduction Units (VRU) operate in the 20 police force areas across England and Wales that have the highest volumes of serious violence, as measured by hospital admissions for injury with a sharp object. A list of these locations can be found here. As the strategic co-ordinators for local violence prevention, each VRU is mandated to include at least one local education representative within their Core Membership group, which is responsible for setting the direction for VRU activity. Schools and educational partners within these areas are encouraged to reach out to their local VRU, either directly or via their education Core Member, to better ingrain partnership working to tackle serious violence across local areas and ensure a joined up approach to young people across the risk spectrum.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act will introduce early in 2023 a new duty on a range of specified authorities, such as the police, local government, youth offending teams, health and probation services, to work collaboratively, share data and information, and put in place plans to prevent and reduce serious violence within their local communities. Educational authorities and prisons/youth custody authorities will be under a separate duty to co-operate with core duty holders when asked, and there will be a requirement for the partnership to consult with all such institutions in their area.

The Duty is not intended to replace or duplicate existing safeguarding duties. Local partners may choose to meet the requirements of the Duty through existing multi-agency structures, such as multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, providing the correct set of partners are involved.

So-called ‘honour’-based abuse (including Female Genital Mutilation and Forced Marriage)

So-called ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) encompasses incidents or crimes which have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or the community, including female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, and practices such as breast ironing. Abuse committed in the context of preserving ‘honour’ often involves a wider network of family or community pressure and can include multiple perpetrators. It is important to be aware of this dynamic and additional risk factors when deciding what form of safeguarding action to take. All forms of HBA are abuse (regardless of the motivation) and should be handled and escalated as such. Professionals in all agencies, and individuals and groups in relevant communities, need to be alert to the possibility of a child being at risk of HBA, or already having suffered HBA.

Actions

If staff have a concern regarding a child who might be at risk of HBA or who has suffered from HBA, they should speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy). As appropriate, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) will activate local safeguarding procedures, using existing national and local protocols for multi-agency liaison with the police and local authority children’s social care. Where FGM has taken place, since 31 October 2015 there has been a mandatory reporting duty placed on teachers^[124] that requires a different approach (see below).

FGM

FGM comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs. It is illegal in the UK and a form of child abuse with long-lasting harmful consequences.

FGM mandatory reporting duty for teachers

Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015) places a statutory duty upon teachers, along with regulated health and social care professionals in England and Wales, to report to the police where they discover (either through disclosure by the victim or visual evidence) that FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under 18. Those failing to report such cases may face disciplinary sanctions. It will be rare for teachers to see visual evidence, and they should not be examining pupils or students, but the same definition of what is meant

 

 

by “to discover that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out” is used for all professionals to whom this mandatory reporting duty applies. Information on when and how to make a report can be found at: Mandatory reporting of female genital mutilation procedural information.

Teachers must personally report to the police cases where they discover that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out.^[125] Unless the teacher has good reason not to, they should still consider and discuss any such case with the school’s or college’s designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) and involve local authority children’s social care as appropriate. The duty does not apply in relation to at risk or suspected cases (i.e. where the teacher does not discover that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out, either through disclosure by the victim or visual evidence) or in cases where the woman is 18 or over. In these cases, teachers should follow local safeguarding procedures. The following is a useful summary of the FGM mandatory reporting duty: FGM Fact Sheet.

Further information can be found in the Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation and the FGM resource pack particularly section 13.

Forced marriage

Forcing a person into a marriage is a crime in England and Wales. A forced marriage is one entered into without the full and free consent of one or both parties and where violence, threats or any other form of coercion is used to cause a person to enter into a marriage. Threats can be physical or emotional and psychological. A lack of full and free consent can be where a person does not consent or where they cannot consent (if they have learning disabilities, for example). Nevertheless, some perpetrators use perceived cultural practices to coerce a person into marriage. Schools and colleges can play an important role in safeguarding children from forced marriage.

The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has created: Multi-agency practice guidelines: handling cases of forced marriage (pages 75-80 of which focus on the role of schools and colleges) and, Multi-agency statutory guidance for dealing with forced marriage, which can both be found at The right to choose: government guidance on forced marriage - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) School and college staff can contact the Forced Marriage Unit if they need advice or information: Contact: 020 7008 0151 or email fmu@fcdo.gov.uk.

In addition, since February 2023 it has also been a crime to carry out any conduct whose purpose is to cause a child to marry before their eighteenth birthday, even if violence,

 

 

threats or another form of coercion are not used.  As with the existing forced marriage law, this applies to non-binding, unofficial ‘marriages’ as well as legal marriages.

 

Additional advice and support

There is a wealth of information available to support schools and colleges. The following list is not exhaustive but should provide a useful starting point:

Abuse

Supporting practice in tackling child sexual abuse - CSA Centre Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse has free evidence-based practice resources to help professionals working with children and young people to identify and respond appropriately to concerns of child sexual abuse.

What to do if you're worried a child is being abused – DfE advice

Domestic abuse: Various Information/Guidance - Home Office (HO)

Faith based abuse: National Action Plan - DfE advice

Forced marriage resource pack

Disrespect NoBody campaign - GOV.UK - Home Office website

Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy – Home Office policy paper

Together we can stop child sexual abuse – HM Government campaign

Bullying

Preventing bullying including cyberbullying - DfE advice

Children missing from education, home or care

Children missing education - DfE statutory guidance

Child missing from home or care - DfE statutory guidance

Children and adults missing strategy - Home Office strategy

Children with family members in prison

National Information Centre on Children of Offenders - Barnardo’s in partnership with HM

Prison and Probation Service

Child Exploitation

Trafficking: safeguarding children - DfE and Home Office guidance

Care of unaccompanied and trafficked children – DfE statutory guidance

Modern slavery: how to identify and support victims – HO statutory guidance

Child exploitation disruption toolkit -  HO statutory guidance 

County Lines Toolkit For Professionals - The Children's Society in partnership with Victim

Support and National Police Chiefs’ Council

Multi-agency practice principles for responding to child exploitation and extra-familial harm – non-statutory guidance for local areas, developed by the Tackling Child Exploitation (TCE) Support Programme, funded by the Department for Education and supported by the Home Office, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice

 

Confidentiality

Gillick competency Fraser guidelines - Guidelines to help with balancing children’s rights along with safeguarding responsibilities.

Drugs

Drug strategy 2021 - Home Office strategy

Information and advice on drugs - Talk to Frank website

Drug and Alcohol education — teacher guidance & evidence review – PSHE Association

(So-called) “Honour Based Abuse” including FGM and forced marriage

Female genital mutilation: information and resources- Home Office guidance

Female genital mutilation: multi agency statutory guidance - DfE, Department for Health, and Home Office 

Forced marriage - Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) resources

Forced marriage - Government multi-agency practice guidelines and multi-agency statutory guidance

FGM resource pack – HM Government guidance

Health and Well-being

Rise Above: Free PSHE resources on health, wellbeing and resilience - Public Health England 

Supporting pupils at schools with medical conditions - DfE statutory guidance

Mental health and behaviour in schools - DfE advice

Overview - Fabricated or induced illness - NHS advice

Homelessness

Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities – Department for Levelling Up,

Housing and Communities guidance

Information Sharing

Government information sharing advice - Guidance on information sharing for people who provide safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers.

Information Commissioner's Office: Data sharing information hub - Information to help schools and colleges comply with UK data protection legislation including UK GDPR.

Online safety-advice 

Childnet provide guidance for schools on cyberbullying

Educateagainsthate provides practical advice and support on protecting children from extremism and radicalisation

London Grid for Learning provides advice on all aspects of a school or college’s online safety arrangements

NSPCC E-safety for schools provides advice, templates, and tools on all aspects of a school or college’s online safety arrangements

Safer recruitment consortium “guidance for safe working practice”, which may help ensure staff behaviour policies are robust and effective

Searching screening and confiscation is departmental advice for schools on searching children and confiscating items such as mobile phones

South West Grid for Learning provides advice on all aspects of a school or college’s online safety arrangements

Use of social media for online radicalisation - A briefing note for schools on how social media is used to encourage travel to Syria and Iraq

Online Safety Audit Tool from UK Council for Internet Safety to help mentors of trainee teachers and newly qualified teachers induct mentees and provide ongoing support, development and monitoring

Online safety guidance if you own or manage an online platform DCMS advice

A business guide for protecting children on your online platform DCMS advice

UK Safer Internet Centre provide tips, advice, guides and other resources to help keep children safe online

Online safety- Remote education, virtual lessons and live streaming

Guidance Get help with remote education resources and support for teachers and school leaders on educating pupils and students

Departmental guidance on safeguarding and remote education including planning remote education strategies and teaching remotely

London Grid for Learning guidance, including platform specific advice

National cyber security centre guidance on choosing, configuring and deploying video conferencing 

UK Safer Internet Centre guidance on safe remote learning

Online Safety- Support for children

Childline for free and confidential advice

UK Safer Internet Centre to report and remove harmful online content

CEOP for advice on making a report about online abuse

Online safety- Parental support

Childnet offers a toolkit to support parents and carers of children of any age to start discussions about their online life, and to find out where to get more help and support

Commonsensemedia provide independent reviews, age ratings, & other information about all types of media for children and their parents

Government advice about protecting children from specific online harms such as child sexual abuse, sexting, and cyberbullying

Internet Matters provide age-specific online safety checklists, guides on how to set parental controls, and practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world How Can I Help My Child? Marie Collins Foundation – Sexual Abuse Online

Let’s Talk About It provides advice for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation 

London Grid for Learning provides support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online, including tips to keep primary aged children safe online

Stopitnow resource from The Lucy Faithfull Foundation can be used by parents and carers who are concerned about someone’s behaviour, including children who may be displaying concerning sexual behaviour (not just about online)

National Crime Agency/CEOP Thinkuknow provides support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online

Parentzone provides help for parents and carers on how to keep their children safe

online

Talking to your child about online sexual harassment: A guide for parents – This is the Children’s Commissioner’s parental guide on talking to their children about online sexual harassment 

Private fostering

Private fostering: local authorities - DfE statutory guidance

Radicalisation

Prevent duty guidance- Home Office guidance

Prevent duty: additional advice for schools and childcare providers - DfE advice

Educate Against Hate website - DfE and Home Office advice

Prevent for FE and Training - Education and Training Foundation (ETF)

Extremism and Radicalisation Safeguarding Resources – Resources by London Grid for Learning

Managing risk of radicalisation in your education setting – DfE guidance

Serious Violence

Serious violence strategy - Home Office Strategy

Factors linked to serious violence and how these factors can be used to identify individuals for intervention – Home Office

Youth Endowment Fund – Home Office

Gangs and youth violence: for schools and colleges - Home Office advice

Tackling violence against women and girls strategy- Home Office strategy

Violence against women and girls: national statement of expectations for victims - Home Office guidance

Sexual violence and sexual harassment

Specialist Organisations

Barnardo's - UK charity caring for and supporting some of the most vulnerable children and young people through their range of services.

Lucy Faithful Foundation - UK-wide child protection charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse. They work with families affected by sexual abuse and also run the confidential Stop it Now! Helpline.

Marie Collins Foundation – Charity that, amongst other things, works directly with children, young people, and families to enable their recovery following sexual abuse.

NSPCC - Children's charity specialising in child protection with statutory powers enabling them to take action and safeguard children at risk of abuse.

Rape Crisis - National charity and the umbrella body for their network of independent member Rape Crisis Centres.

UK Safer Internet Centre - Provides advice and support to children, young people, parents, carers and schools about staying safe online.

Harmful sexual behaviour

Rape Crisis (England & Wales) or The Survivors Trust for information, advice, and details of local specialist sexual violence organisations.

NICE guidance contains information on, amongst other things: developing interventions; working with families and carers; and multi-agency working.

HSB toolkit The Lucy Faithfull Foundation - designed for parents, carers, family members and professionals, to help everyone play their part in keeping children safe. It has links to useful information, resources, and support as well as practical tips to prevent harmful sexual behaviour and provide safe environments for families.

NSPCC Learning: Protecting children from harmful sexual behaviour and NSPCC - Harmful sexual behaviour framework- free and independent advice about HSB.

Contextual Safeguarding Network – Beyond Referrals (Schools) provides a school selfassessment toolkit and guidance for addressing HSB in schools.

Preventing harmful sexual behaviour in children - Stop It Now provides a guide for parents, carers and professionals to help everyone do their part in keeping children safe, they also run a free confidential helpline.  

Support for Victims

Anti-Bullying Alliance - Detailed information for anyone being bullied, along with advice for parents and schools. Signposts to various helplines and websites for further support.

Rape Crisis - Provide and signpost to a range of services to support people who have experienced rape, child abuse or any kind of sexual violence.

The Survivors Trust- UK-wide national umbrella agency with resources and support dedicated to survivors of rape, sexual violence and child sex abuse.

Victim Support - Supporting children and young people who have been affected by crime. Also provides support to parents and professionals who work with children and young people – regardless of whether a crime has been reported or how long ago it was.

Childline provides free and confidential advice for children and young people. 

Toolkits

ask AVA  - The Ask AVA prevention platform has been created to support education practitioners across the UK to develop and deliver a comprehensive programme to stop Violence Against Women and Girls.

NSPCC - Online Self-assessment tool to ensure organisations are doing everything they can to safeguard children.

NSPCC - Resources which help adults respond to children disclosing abuse.

NSPCC also provides free and independent advice about HSB: NSPCC - Harmful sexual behaviour framework

Safeguarding Unit, Farrer and Co. and Carlene Firmin, MBE, University of Bedfordshire  - Peer-on-Peer Abuse toolkit provides practical guidance for schools on how to prevent, identify early and respond appropriately to peer-on-peer abuse.

Contextual Safeguarding Network – self-assessment toolkit for schools to assess their own response to HSB.

Childnet - STAR SEND Toolkit equips, enables and empowers educators with the knowledge to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Childnet - Just a joke? provides lesson plans, activities, a quiz and teaching guide designed to explore problematic online sexual behaviour with 9-12 year olds.

Childnet - Step Up, Speak Up a practical campaign toolkit that addresses the issue of online sexual harassment amongst young people aged 13-17 years old. 

NSPCC - Harmful sexual behaviour framework an evidence-informed framework for children and young people displaying HSB.

Contextual Safeguarding Network – Beyond Referrals - Schools leavers for addressing HSB in schools.

Farrer & Co: Addressing child on child abuse: a resource for schools and colleges. This resource provides practical guidance for schools and colleges on how to prevent, identify early and respond appropriately to child-on-child abuse.

Sharing nudes and semi-nudes

London Grid for Learning-collection of advice - Various information and resources dealing with the sharing of nudes and semi-nudes.

UKCIS Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people - Advice for schools and colleges on responding to incidents of non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nudes. 

Support for parents/carers

National Crime Agency’s CEOP Education Programme provides information for parents and carers to help protect their child from online child sexual abuse, including #AskTheAwkward, guidance on how to talk to their children about online relationships

Annex C: Role of the designated safeguarding lead

Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure an appropriate senior member of staff, from the school or college leadership team, is appointed to the role of designated safeguarding lead. The designated safeguarding lead should take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety and understanding the filtering and monitoring systems and processes in place). This should be explicit in the role holder’s job description. 

The designated safeguarding lead should have the appropriate status and authority within the school or college to carry out the duties of the post. The role of the designated safeguarding lead carries a significant level of responsibility, and they should be given the additional time, funding, training, resources and support they need to carry out the role effectively. Their additional responsibilities include providing advice and support to other staff on child welfare, safeguarding and child protection matters, taking part in strategy discussions and inter-agency meetings, and/or supporting other staff to do so, and contributing to the assessment of children.

Deputy designated safeguarding leads

It is a matter for individual schools and colleges as to whether they choose to have one or more deputy designated safeguarding leads. Any deputies should be trained to the same standard as the designated safeguarding lead and the role should be explicit in their job description. Whilst the activities of the designated safeguarding lead can be delegated to appropriately trained deputies, the ultimate lead responsibility for child protection, as set out above, remains with the designated safeguarding lead, this lead responsibility should not be delegated.

Availability

During term time the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should always be available (during school or college hours) for staff in the school or college to discuss any safeguarding concerns. Whilst generally speaking the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) would be expected to be available in person, it is a matter for individual schools and colleges, working with the designated safeguarding lead, to define what “available” means and whether in exceptional circumstances availability via phone and or Skype or other such media is acceptable. It is a matter for individual schools and colleges and the designated safeguarding lead to arrange adequate and appropriate cover arrangements for any out of hours/out of term activities.

Manage referrals

The designated safeguarding lead is expected to refer cases:

• of suspected abuse and neglect to the local authority children’s social care as required and support staff who make referrals to local authority children’s social care
• to the Channel programme where there is a radicalisation concern as required and support staff who make referrals to the Channel programme
• where a person is dismissed or left due to risk/harm to a child to the Disclosure and Barring Service as required, and
• where a crime may have been committed to the Police as required. NPCC - When to call the police should help understand when to consider calling the police and what to expect when working with the police.

Working with others

The designated safeguarding lead is expected to:

• act as a source of support, advice and expertise for all staff
• act as a point of contact with the safeguarding partners
• liaise with the headteacher or principal to inform him or her of issues- especially ongoing enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 and police investigations. This should include being aware of the requirement for children to have an Appropriate Adult. Further information can be found in the Statutory guidance - PACE Code C 2019.     
• as required, liaise with the “case manager” (as per Part four) and the local authority designated officer(s) (LADO) for child protection concerns in cases which concern a staff member
• liaise with staff (especially teachers, pastoral support staff, school nurses, IT technicians, senior mental health leads and special educational needs coordinators (SENCO’s), or the named person with oversight for SEND in a college and senior mental health leads) on matters of safety and safeguarding and welfare (including online and digital safety) and when deciding whether to make a referral by liaising with relevant agencies so that children’s needs are considered holistically
• liaise with the senior mental health lead and, where available, the mental health support team, where safeguarding concerns are linked to mental health
• promote supportive engagement with parents and/or carers in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including where families may be facing challenging circumstances
• work with the headteacher and relevant strategic leads, taking lead responsibility for promoting educational outcomes by knowing the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children in need are experiencing, or have experienced, and identifying the impact that these issues might be having on children’s attendance, engagement and achievement at school or college^[126]. This includes:

o ensuring that the school or college knows who its cohort of children who have or have had a social worker are, understanding their academic progress and attainment, and maintaining a culture of high aspirations for this cohort, and o supporting teaching staff to provide additional academic support or reasonable adjustments to help children who have or have had a social worker reach their potential, recognising that even when statutory social care intervention has ended, there is still a lasting impact on children’s educational outcomes.

Information sharing and managing the child protection file

The designated safeguarding lead is responsible for ensuring that child protection files are kept up to date.

Information should be kept confidential and stored securely. It is good practice to keep concerns and referrals in a separate child protection file for each child.

Records should include:

• a clear and comprehensive summary of the concern
• details of how the concern was followed up and resolved
• a note of any action taken, decisions reached and the outcome.

 

 

They should ensure the file is only accessed by those who need to see it and where the file or content within it is shared, this happens in line with information sharing advice as set out in Part one and Part two of this guidance.

Where children leave the school or college (including in year transfers) the designated safeguarding lead should ensure their child protection file is transferred to the new school or college as soon as possible, and within 5 days for an in-year transfer or within the first 5 days of the start of a new term. This should be transferred separately from the main pupil file, ensuring secure transit, and confirmation of receipt should be obtained. Receiving schools and colleges should ensure key staff such as designated safeguarding leads and special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCO’s) or the named person with oversight for SEND in colleges, are aware as required.

Lack of information about their circumstances can impact on the child’s safety, welfare and educational outcomes. In addition to the child protection file, the designated safeguarding lead should also consider if it would be appropriate to share any additional information with the new school or college in advance of a child leaving to help them put in place the right support to safeguard this child and to help the child thrive in the school or college. For example, information that would allow the new school or college to continue supporting children who have had a social worker and been victims of abuse and have that support in place for when the child arrives.

Raising awareness

The designated safeguarding lead should:

• ensure each member of staff has access to, and understands, the school’s or college’s child protection policy and procedures, especially new and part-time staff
• ensure the school’s or college’s child protection policy is reviewed annually (as a minimum) and the procedures and implementation are updated and reviewed regularly, and work with governing bodies or proprietors regarding this
• ensure the child protection policy is available publicly and parents know that referrals about suspected abuse or neglect may be made and the role of the school or college in this
• link with the safeguarding partner arrangements to make sure staff are aware of any training opportunities and the latest local policies on local safeguarding arrangements, and
• help promote educational outcomes by sharing the information about the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children who have or have had a social worker are experiencing with teachers and school and college leadership

staff.

Training, knowledge and skills

The designated safeguarding lead (and any deputies) should undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills required to carry out the role. This training should be updated at least every two years. The designated safeguarding lead (and any deputies) should also undertake Prevent awareness training. Training should provide designated safeguarding leads with a good understanding of their own role, how to identify, understand and respond to specific needs that can increase the vulnerability of children, as well as specific harms that can put children at risk, and the processes, procedures and responsibilities of other agencies, particularly local authority children’s social care, so they:

• understand the assessment process for providing early help and statutory intervention, including local criteria for action and local authority children’s social care referral arrangements^[127]  
• have a working knowledge of how local authorities conduct a child protection case conference and a child protection review conference and be able to attend and contribute to these effectively when required to do so
• understand the importance of the role the designated safeguarding lead has in providing information and support to local authority children social care in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
• understand the lasting impact that adversity and trauma can have, including on children’s behaviour, mental health and wellbeing, and what is needed in responding to this in promoting educational outcomes
• are alert to the specific needs of children in need, those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those with relevant health conditions and young carers^[128]
• understand the importance of information sharing, both within the school and college, and with the safeguarding partners, other agencies, organisations and practitioners
• understand and support the school or college with regards to the requirements of

 

 

the Prevent duty and are able to provide advice and support to staff on protecting children from the risk of radicalisation

• are able to understand the unique risks associated with online safety and be confident that they have the relevant knowledge and up to date capability required to keep children safe whilst they are online at school or college
• can recognise the additional risks that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) face online, for example, from bullying, grooming and radicalisation and are confident they have the capability to support children with SEND to stay safe online
• obtain access to resources and attend any relevant or refresher training courses, and
• encourage a culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, among all staff, in any measures the school or college may put in place to protect them.

In addition to the formal training set out above, their knowledge and skills should be refreshed (this might be via e-bulletins, meeting other designated safeguarding leads, or simply taking time to read and digest safeguarding developments) at regular intervals, as required, and at least annually, to allow them to understand and keep up with any developments relevant to their role.

Providing support to staff

Training should support the designated safeguarding lead in developing expertise, so they can support and advise staff and help them feel confident on welfare, safeguarding and child protection matters. This includes specifically to:

• ensure that staff are supported during the referrals processes, and
• support staff to consider how safeguarding, welfare and educational outcomes are linked, including to inform the provision of academic and pastoral support.

Understanding the views of children

It is important that all children feel heard and understood. Therefore, designated safeguarding leads (and deputies) should be supported in developing knowledge and skills to:

• encourage a culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, among all staff, and in any measures the school or college may put in place to protect them, and,
• understand the difficulties that children may have in approaching staff about their circumstances and consider how to build trusted relationships which facilitate communication.

Holding and sharing information

The critical importance of recording, holding, using and sharing information effectively is set out in Parts one, two and five of this document, and therefore the designated safeguarding lead should be equipped to:

• understand the importance of information sharing, both within the school and college, and with other schools and colleges on transfer including in-year and between primary and secondary education, and with the safeguarding partners, other agencies, organisations and practitioners
• understand relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), and
• be able to keep detailed, accurate, secure written records of concerns and referrals and understand the purpose of this record-keeping.

           

Annex D: Host families - homestay during exchange visits

Schools and colleges often make arrangements for children to take part in exchange visits, either to other parts of the UK or abroad. Exchanges can benefit learning across a range of subjects. In particular, foreign visits can enrich the languages curriculum and provide exciting opportunities for pupils to develop their confidence and expertise in the use of other languages.

Schools and colleges have a duty to safeguard and promote children’s welfare, as defined at paragraph 4. This extends to considering their safety and how best to minimise risk of harm to those children during any exchange visit the school or college arranges, and when organising  the care and accommodation for a child with a host family (known as homestays) as part of the exchange.

School/college arranged homestay – suitability of adults in UK host families

When arranging a homestay, schools should consider the suitability of the adults in the respective families who will be responsible for the visiting child during the stay.

In circumstances where a school or college arrange for a visiting child to be provided with care and accommodation in the UK (including where they engage a company to make those arrangements) in the home of a family to which the child is not related^[129] the responsible adults will be engaging in regulated activity for the period of the stay.^[130] In such cases and where the school or college has the power to terminate such a homestay the school or college would be the regulated activity provider.^[131]

A regulated activity provider commits a criminal offence if it knows, or has reason to believe that an individual is barred by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) from engaging in regulated activity but allows that individual to carry out any form of regulated activity.¹⁶⁰

 

 

Where the child’s parent(s) or a student themselves arranges their own homestay, this would be a private arrangement^[132] therefore, the school or college would not be the regulated activity provider.

When a school or college arrange a homestay, it should consider what intelligence/information will best inform its assessment of the suitability of the adults in those families responsible for the visiting child during the stay. It will be for the school or college to use their professional judgement to decide what factors it considers to be relevant. However, to help inform that assessment, schools and colleges should^[133] obtain a DBS enhanced certificate with children’s barred list information. This check will not only establish whether the adults are barred from engaging in regulated activity relating to children, but where criminal record information is disclosed, it will also allow the school or college to consider, alongside all other intelligence that it has obtained, whether the adults would be suitable hosts for a child.

DBS enhanced certificates with children’s barred list information for volunteer roles^[134] can be obtained free of charge.^[135] In respect of an adult who provides UK homestay and receives no remuneration in respect of the stay or where schools reimburse families only for expenses incurred, to enable a DBS application to be considered as a volunteer role the “Position Applied For” field will need to make clear that the position is unpaid.

In addition to those engaging in regulated activity, schools and colleges are free to decide whether they consider it necessary to obtain a DBS enhanced certificate in respect of anyone aged 16 or over in the household where the child will be staying.

Homestay – suitability of adults in host families abroad

It is not possible for schools and colleges to obtain criminality information from the DBS about adults who provide homestays abroad. Schools and colleges should liaise with partner schools abroad, to establish a shared understanding of, and agreement to the arrangements in place for the visit. They should use their professional judgement to satisfy themselves that the arrangements are appropriate and sufficient to effectively

 

 

safeguard every child who will take part in the exchange. Parents should be aware of the agreed arrangement. Schools and colleges are also free to decide whether they consider it necessary to contact the relevant foreign embassy or High Commission of the country in question to discuss what checks may be possible in respect of those providing homestay outside of the UK.

During the visit

Pupils should understand who to contact during a homestay should an emergency occur, or a situation arise which makes them feel uncomfortable.

Additional action for extended homestays

Where a period of UK homestay lasts 28 days or more, for a child aged under 16 years of age (under 18 years of age if the child has disabilities), this may amount to private fostering under the Children Act 1989.^[136] In these cases, the school or college should notify the local authority of the arrangements. Private fostering legislation places a duty on local authorities to satisfy themselves that the welfare of a child who is being, or proposed to be, privately fostered in their area is being or will be satisfactorily safeguarded and promoted. By notifying the local authority, the school and college will be assisting the local authority in discharging its duty. See paragraphs 337-340 for additional information about private fostering and local authority notifications.

 

 

Annex E: Statutory guidance - Regulated activity (children) - Supervision of activity with children which is regulated activity when unsupervised

This statutory guidance on the supervision of activity with children, which is regulated activity when unsupervised, is also published separately on GOV.UK.

24. This document fulfils the duty in legislation ^i,ii that the Secretary of State must publish statutory guidance on supervision of activity by workers with children, which when unsupervised is regulated activity. This guidance applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It covers settings including but not limited to schools, childcare establishments, colleges, youth groups and sports clubs.
25. For too long child protection policy has been developed in haste and in response to individual tragedies, with the well intentioned though misguided belief that every risk could be mitigated, and every loophole closed. The pressure has been to prescribe and legislate more. This has led to public confusion, a fearful workforce and a dysfunctional culture of mistrust between children and adults. This Government is taking a different approach.
26. We start with a presumption of trust and confidence in those who work with children, and the good sense and judgement of their managers. This guidance applies when an organisation decides to supervise with the aim that the supervised work will not be regulated activity (when it would be, if not so supervised). In such a case, the law makes three main points:
    • there must be supervision by a person who is in regulated activity ⁱⁱⁱ
    • the supervision must be regular and day to day; and
    • the supervision must be “reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure the protection of children”.
27. The organisation must have regard to this guidance. This gives local managers the flexibility to determine what is reasonable for their circumstances. While the precise nature and level of supervision will vary from case to case, guidance on the main legal points above is as follows.
28. Supervision by a person in regulated activity/regular and day to day: supervisors must be in regulated activity themselves ^iv. The duty that supervision must take place “on a regular basis” means that supervision must not, for example, be concentrated during the first few weeks of an activity and then tail off thereafter, becoming the exception not the rule. It must take place on an ongoing basis, whether the worker has just started or has been doing the activity for some time.
29. Reasonable in the circumstances: within the statutory duty, the level of supervision may differ, depending on all the circumstances of a case. Organisations should consider the following factors in deciding the specific level of supervision a person will require:
    • ages of the children, including whether their ages differ widely
    • number of children that the individual is working with
    • whether or not other workers are helping to look after the children
    • the nature of the individual’s work (or, in a specified place^[137] such as a school, the individual’s opportunity for contact with children)
    • how vulnerable the children are (the more they are, the more an organisation might opt for workers to be in regulated activity), and
    • how many workers would be supervised by each supervising worker.
30. An organisation is not entitled to request a barred list check on a worker who, because they are supervised, is not in regulated activity.

Examples

Volunteer, in a specified place

Mr Jones, a new volunteer, helps children with reading at a local school for two mornings a week. Mr Jones is generally based in the classroom, in sight of the teacher. Sometimes Mr Jones takes some of the children to a separate room to listen to them reading, where Mr Jones is supervised by a paid classroom assistant, who is in that room most of the time. The teacher and classroom assistant are in regulated activity. The headteacher decides supervision is such that Mr Jones is not in regulated activity.

Volunteer, not in a specified place

Mr Wood, a new entrant volunteer, assists with the coaching of children at his local cricket club. The children are divided into small groups, with assistant coaches such as Mr Wood assigned to each group. The head coach oversees the coaching, spends time with each of the groups, and has sight of all the groups (and the assistant coaches) for most of the time. The head coach is in regulated activity. The club’s managers decide whether the coach’s supervision is such that Mr Wood is not in regulated activity.

 

 

Employee, not in a specified place

Mrs Shah starts as a paid activity assistant at a youth club. She helps to instruct a group of children and is supervised by the youth club leader who is in regulated activity. The youth club’s managers decide whether the leader’s supervision is such that Mrs Shah is not in regulated activity.

In each example, the organisation uses the following steps when deciding whether a new worker will be supervised to such a level that the new worker is not in regulated activity:

• consider whether the worker is doing work that, if unsupervised, would be regulated activity. (Note: If the worker is not engaging in regulated activity, the remaining steps are unnecessary. If the worker is engaging in regulated activity the remaining steps should be followed)
• consider whether the worker will be supervised by a person in regulated activity, and whether the supervision will be regular and day to day, bearing in mind paragraph 4 of this guidance
• consider whether the supervision will be reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure the protection of children, bearing in mind the factors set out in paragraph

4 of this guidance above; and if it is a specified place such as a school, and

• consider whether the supervised worker is a volunteer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

1. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, amended by Protection of Freedoms Act 2012: Schedule 4, paragraph 5A: guidance must be “for the purpose of assisting” organisations “in deciding whether supervision is of such a kind that” the supervisee is not in regulated activity.
2. Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007, Schedule 2, paragraph 5A, is as above on guidance on “supervision” for Northern Ireland.

If the work is in a specified place such as a school, paid workers remain in regulated activity even if supervised.

3. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 includes provisions for a statutory duty on an organisation arranging regulated activity (under the 2006 Act or 2007 Order, both as amended) to check that a person entering regulated activity is not barred from regulated activity and a standalone barring check. These are yet to be commenced.
4. A volunteer is: in England and Wales, a person who performs an activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit someone (individuals or groups) other than or in addition to close relatives. In Northern Ireland, a volunteer is: a person engaged, or to be engaged, in an activity for a non-profit organisation or person which involves spending time unpaid (except for travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses) doing something which amounts to a benefit to some third party other than, or in addition to, a close relative.

Annex F: Table of substantive changes from September 2023

This table explains where we made substantive changes.

Summary	About the guidance
Part one	Safeguarding information for all staff
Paragraph 13	Updated link to Behaviour in schools’ guidance.
Paragraph 14	New text added to raise awareness of the existing expectation for relevant staff to understand filtering and monitoring.
Part two	The management of safeguarding
Para 103	Added reference to filtering and monitoring.
Paragraph 124	New text added to make clear staff training should include understanding roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring.
Paragraph 138	Reference to child protection policies and appropriate filtering and monitoring on school devices and school networks.
Paragraph 142	Added new section referencing the new published filtering and monitoring standards. The standards are to support schools meet their duty to have appropriate/effective filtering and monitoring systems in place, this is not a new burden.
Paragraph 144	Reference to cyber security standards.
Paragraphs 167	Updated to reference Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings.
Paragraph 175	Clarification provided on the difference between children missing education and children absent from education.
Paragraph 202	Additional signpost to specialist organisations for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Part three	Safer recruitment
Footnote 221	Clarification that it is good practice for schools to inform shortlisted candidates that online searches will be carried out.

 

Paragraph 276-277	Paragraph re-ordered to flow better.
Part four	Allegations/concerns
New heading and paragraph	Organisations or individuals using school premises.
Part five	Child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment
Throughout the guidance	Revised to reflect wording in behaviour guidance.
Annex A	Safeguarding information for school and college staff
	Revised to reflect changes in Part one
Annex B	Further information
Children absent from education	Revised to reflect the difference between children absent from education and children missing education.
Forced Marriage	Reflects change in law from February 2023
Child Exploitation	New reference to multi-agency practice principles

 

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