Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. School and college staff are particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children, to prevent concerns from escalating.
Schools and colleges and their staff form part of the wider safeguarding system for children. Schools and colleges should work with social care, the police, health services and other services to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Definition of safeguarding
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:
Protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment of children's 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. Children includes everyone under the age of 18.
Keeping Children Safe in Education
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Our Model Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy offers a template for schools and colleges to adopt. Please be aware that Ofsted Inspectors expect to see a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy that is setting, school or college specific so it will be important to adapt and amend the policy to reflect your particular cohort and context.
Dealing with allegations of abuse against staff and volunteers
For guidance on how to manage an allegation made against staff and volunteers within your setting, please refer to the following information:
Restrictive interventions
The Department for Education (DfE) guidance on restrictive interventions, including the use of reasonable force in schools is now in force, replacing the 2013 guidance. The updated guidance clearly outlines expectations around safeguarding, proportionality and accountability. Schools and education settings should update all relevant linked policies/procedures to reflect the new guidance, and ensure it is shared with all staff - including governors.
Following the updated DfE guidance, Hackney Education will also be revising our guidelines in relation to reasonable force and physical restraint in schools across the borough.
Children missing education
- Children Missing Education: statutory guidance for Local Authorities and schools
- Hackney children missing education - further information about CME, including the referral process
Related documents and links
Hackney Local Offer
The Hackney Local Offer is an online directory and information hub detailing services, support, and opportunities for children and young people (aged 0–25) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
Hackney Child Wellbeing Framework
The Hackney Child Wellbeing Framework focuses upon child and family needs, not thresholds for services
Keeping children safe in education
This document contains information on what schools and colleges should do and sets out the legal duties with which schools and colleges must comply in order to keep children safe
Working together to safeguard children
This guidance aims to help professionals understand what they need to do, and what they can expect of one another, to safeguard children
What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused
This advice is for anyone whose work brings them into contact with children and families, including those who work in early years, social care, health, education (including schools), the police and adult services
Information sharing
This advice is for all frontline practitioners and senior managers working with children, young people, parents and carers who have to make decisions about sharing personal information on a case by case basis
Education inspection framework
The education inspection framework sets out how Ofsted will inspect state schools, further education and skills providers, non-association independent schools and registered early years settings in England
London Safeguarding Children Procedures and Practice Guidance
The London Safeguarding Children Procedures and Practice Guidance is updated on an on-going basis with relevant changes to legislation, statutory guidance and local guidance
City of London & Hackney Safeguarding Children Board
The CHSCB aims to make a real difference to safeguard & promote the welfare of children & young people in the City of London & Hackney
Early years (under 5s) foundation stage framework (EYFS)
The standards that school and childcare providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children under five
Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation
Multi-agency guidelines on FGM for those with statutory duties to safeguard children and vulnerable adults
A Guide to Child Performance Licensing
The aim of this guidance is to address the inconsistency of practice within child performance licensing by providing an interpretation of the child performance legislation and regulations and providing information and examples of best practice
The Prevent duty: safeguarding learners vulnerable to radicalisation
The Prevent duty requires all education providers ‘to help prevent the risk of people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism’. This includes safeguarding learners from extremist ideologies and radicalisation