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<\/div>Need Safeguarding Training?<\/h3><\/div><\/div>
Our range of\u00a0Safeguarding Training Courses<\/a>\u00a0aim to provide you with the required knowledge to carry out your work whilst meeting safeguarding training requirements. Take a look at our\u00a0course library<\/a>\u00a0where you\u2019ll find everything from\u00a0Designated Safeguarding Lead<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Harmful Sexual Behaviour in Schools<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n Working Together to Safeguard Children, one of the key statutory guidance documents for schools (which we shall look at later), defines safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several pieces of important legislation that contribute to the aims above, and influence policy and procedures regarding safeguarding children and young people. In the drop downs below, we give a brief summary of each law and its implications for safeguarding in schools.<\/p>\n\n\n This was a revolutionary piece of legislation when it was implemented, as it completely reformed the law relating to children. This Act formed the basis of the current child protection system in England, and layed out the duties and responsibilities of all involved. <\/span><\/p>\n Some of the key principles that The Act established include:<\/span><\/p>\n The Act set out the duty of Local Authorities to promote and safeguard the welfare of children in their area. This included a responsibility to \u2018promote the child\u2019s educational achievement.\u2019 It also introduced the concepts of <\/span>children in need<\/b> and <\/span>children at risk of significant harm<\/b>, which are key to ensuring children are appropriately safeguarded and given the level of support relevant to their needs. <\/span><\/p>\n A child in need is defined under the Children Act 1989 as: ‘a child who is unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable level of health or development, or whose health and development is likely to be significantly or further impaired, without the provision of services; or a child who is disabled.’<\/span><\/p>\n Significant harm takes into account many different factors, including:<\/span><\/p>\n Section 17 of the Act put a duty on the local authority to provide services to children in need in their area.<\/span><\/p>\n You may have heard the term section 47 with regards to child protection concerns. This refers to circumstances where a Local Authority is required to carry out an investigation as there is \u2018reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found, in their area is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm\u2019. The aim of this is to decide whether any action needs to be taken to safeguard the child. This is covered in Section 47 of the Children Act, hence the term.<\/span><\/p>\n The Act also covered the functions of Local Authorities in relation to looked after children. This included a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their care.<\/span><\/p>\n You can access the full act, which includes updates, <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This Act is a development from and amended the Children Act 1989. It provides the legal basis for how social services and other agencies deal with issues relating to children. The principles of the Act are to allow students to be healthy, remain safe, enjoy life, succeed and make a positive contribution.<\/span><\/p>\n Following the inquiry into the murder of Victoria Climbi\u00e9 by Lord Laming, the Children Act 2004 made a number of key changes to the child protection framework. (Further changes were then made by the Children and Social Work Act 2017, which amended the 2004 Act in a number of areas).<\/span><\/p>\n The Act reinforced that safeguarding children and promoting their welfare, is<\/span> the responsibility of all people and organisations working with children<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n According to a House of Commons briefing (2020), the 2004 Act (as amended), among other things:<\/span><\/p>\n The Act also introduced the role of the Children\u2019s Commissioner for England, who is responsible for championing children\u2019s views and interests, in order to promote their welfare. The role\u2019s statutory remit includes \u2018understanding what children and young people think about things that affect them and encouraging decision makers to always take their best interests into account\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n Further information about the Children\u2019s Commissioner, and their work, can be found <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n You can access the Children Act 2004 <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This Act is concerned with provision for looked after children, other provision in relation to the welfare of children, and the regulation of social workers.<\/span><\/p>\n It had four main purposes, which were:<\/span><\/p>\n This Act includes the requirement for governing bodies in maintained schools and academies to designate a staff member of staff for previously looked after children. This designated staff member is responsible for promoting the education achievement of those previously looked after pupils within the school.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This Act covered a wide range of content relating to statutory education including, amongst other things, defining the stages of education, compulsory school age, the function of the Secretary of State, and roles and responsibilities of the Local Authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n It also detailed the requirement that parents (or those with parental responsibility) must ensure that their children of compulsory school age receive appropriate full-time education suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs. This can be by regular attendance at school, at alternative provision, or otherwise (e.g. the parent can choose to educate their child at home). <\/span><\/p>\n You can access the full Act <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This legislation sets out duties and responsibilities for schools in regards to safeguarding children. The Act requires anyone working with children and young people to share information or concerns in relation to a child\u2019s safety and wellbeing.<\/span><\/p>\n Section 175 of this Act sets out a requirement for maintained schools, including nursery, early years and further education providers, to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The roles and responsibilities of schools have also been enhanced and reinforced through publications, such as Keeping Children Safe in Education (which we will look at later in the article).<\/span><\/p>\n These provisions are equally applicable to free schools, academies and private providers under the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, and the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015. <\/span><\/p>\n The Education and Training (Welfare of Children) Act 2021 extends this welfare duty to 16-19 academies, special post-16 institutions and independent training providers.<\/span><\/p>\n You can access the full Act <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This Act raised the minimum age at which children could leave education. It contains measures to encourage more young people to participate in learning post-16 and to achieve higher levels of skill and qualification.<\/span> The Act:<\/span><\/p>\n You can access the full Act <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (SVGA) 2006 was passed to help avoid harm, or risk of harm, by preventing people who are deemed unsuitable to work with children and vulnerable adults from gaining access to them through their work. The Independent Safeguarding Authority was established as a result of this Act. <\/span><\/p>\n The Act ensures <\/span>safer recruitment<\/b> by providing a system for employers to check the suitability of potential employees or volunteers who will be working with children or vulnerable adults. It covers DBS requirements and essentially prevents unsuitable people from gaining access through work. This act clarifies what is considered regulated activity<\/a>, and therefore subject to such checks.<\/span><\/p>\n You can access the full Act <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Equality Act brought together a range of anti-discriminatory laws, and covers all of Great Britain. <\/span><\/p>\n It offers protection from discrimination, harassment and victimisation for nine specific personal characteristics. These are known as protected characteristics under the law.<\/span> The nine protected characteristics are:<\/span><\/p>\n The Act <\/span>makes it unlawful for a school to discriminate against, harass or victimise a pupil or potential pupil. This includes:<\/span><\/p>\n Schools should also carefully consider how they are supporting their pupils and students with regard to particular protected characteristics. Provisions within the Act allow schools and colleges to take proportionate, positive action, to deal with particular disadvantages affecting students with a particular protected characteristic. This includes a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children and young people (including those with long term conditions). Positive action could also include providing support for a group of students who share a protected characteristic. <\/span><\/p>\n State-funded schools and colleges are subject to The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) found in the Equality Act. <\/span><\/p>\n The PSED means that schools and colleges have a duty to <\/span><\/p>\n This applies to all protected characteristics and equality implications should be taken into account whenever significant decisions are being made or policies developed. The PSED helps schools and colleges to focus on key issues of concern and improving pupil and student outcomes, being mindful that some pupils or students may be more at risk of harm from specific issues such as sexual violence, homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying or racial discrimination (KSCIE, 2022). <\/span><\/p>\n You can access the Equality Act 2010 <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>, and DfE guidance, The Equality Act 2010 and Schools <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This Act seeks to improve services for vulnerable children and support strong families. It underpins wider reforms to ensure that all students and young people can succeed, no matter what their background. It deals with a variety of subjects, from childcare at home to special educational needs (SEN) in schools and issues around adoption.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\n\n\nKey Legislation in Schools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Children Act 1989
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The Children Act 2004
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Children and Social Work Act 2017
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The Education Act 1996
<\/h3>\nThe Education Act 2002
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The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
<\/h3>\nThe Equality Act 2010
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The Children and Families Act 2014
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