Schools are an important part of the wider system for
safeguarding children in England and in particular are in a
position to identify concerns early and prevent them from
escalating. Under the Education Act
2002, maintained schools have a duty to carry out
their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the
welfare of their pupils. A similar requirement is placed on
independent schools (which includes academies and free schools)
by the Independent School Standards Regulations.
Statutory guidance published by the Department for
Education, Keeping children
safe in education, provides information
on what schools are required to do to meet their safeguarding
responsibilities. In large part, this briefing summarises the
guidance. It should not, however, be considered a substitute
for it, or for professional legal advice, when looking for
detailed guidance on specific cases. Related information on the
duties on schools to prevent children from extremism and to
promote British values is available in a separate Library
Briefing: Counter-extremism
policy in English schools.
Responsibilities of governing bodies and school staff
As part of their safeguarding responsibilities, the governing
bodies of maintained schools and the proprietors of independent
schools are, among other things, responsible for ensuring that:
- There are appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures
in place, including a child protection policy. Head teachers
ate responsible for ensuring that these policies are adopted
and followed by all staff.
- A senior staff member is appointed as the designated
safeguarding lead to take responsibility for safeguarding and
child protection.
- All staff undergo safeguarding and child protection
training at induction and that they receive regular updates.
For their part, school staff are expected to know about the
systems in place in their school to support safeguarding, and
to be aware of the types of abuse to look out for so that they
can identify where action, including a referral to children’s
social care, may be needed. Section two of the briefing
provides further information on the safeguarding
responsibilities of governing bodies and school staff.
Safe recruitment
Schools are additionally required to adopt recruitment
practices that help deter, reject or identify people who might
abuse children. They should act reasonably when deciding on the
suitability of new employees based on a range of information,
including criminal record checks, barred list checks and
prohibition checks, together with references and interview
information. Section three of the briefing provides more detail
on the recruitment checks that should be carried out.
Allegations against school staff
The final section of the briefing provides information on how
schools should manage allegations against a member of staff
that might indicate that they pose a risk to children. The
procedure followed will depend heavily on the circumstances of
a particular case and can range from no action being taken, to
a multi-agency strategy discussion, a criminal investigation
and/or dismissal of the staff member concerned.
