safeguarding | Schools Week

Revised safety and sexual harassment guidance: 8 things you need to know

The government has issued beefed-up guidance on tackling sexual misconduct in schools, warning downplaying it as “banter” can normalise abuse and “over-friendly” staff should be reported. The Department for Education has published a draft of revised statutory guidance on keeping children safe in education, with more than 60 updates to the previous version released only […]

Speed read: ‘Academy trust handbook’ 2021 published as DfE rebrands key guide

The DfE has rebranded the academies financial handbook as the academy trust handbook, with ministers dubbing the latest edition a “one stop shop” for academy leaders. The update has also seen financial notices to improve renamed as “notices to improve”, to reflect that the warnings issued to academies sometimes cover “broader governance issues”. Baroness Berridge, […]

Spielman: Don’t ‘chop out’ safeguarding from Ofsted, give us cash to inspect it properly

Chief inspector Amanda Spielman has rejected calls to “chop out” safeguarding from Ofsted’s remit, and said the watchdog could do more with increased funding. Spielman was questioned by the Parliamentary education committee this morning following the release last week of Ofsted’s review into school sex abuse. The review accused school leaders and teachers of “consistently […]

Urgent action demanded on home education after deaths of ‘invisible’ children

The government must pay “urgent attention” to safeguarding for pupils educated at home, an expert has warned, amid a probe into the deaths of three children. The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel revealed it had been notified of 15 incidents of “serious harm” involving home-educated children over the past year in England. Three children died, […]

DfE lifts Ampleforth College pupil recruitment ban despite continuing safeguarding concerns

A ban on recruiting new pupils at the prestigious Ampleforth College has been lifted, despite Ofsted inspectors flagging continuing safeguarding concerns. The Department for Education today withdrew an enforcement notice issued in November, which ordered the private school in North Yorkshire to “cease to admit any new students” from the end of December. The notice […]

Safeguarding failures exposed at free school where staff had ‘too many responsibilities’

Vulnerable children were put at serious risk because stretched staff had “too many responsibilities” to carry out safeguarding duties, Ofsted found, at a school where the head had resigned over “indefensible” funding cuts. Inspectors discovered “serious failings in safeguarding arrangements” at Northampton International Academy (NIA), part of the East Midlands Academy Trust (EMAT). Ofsted visited […]

CEO leaves trust 12 months after whistleblower probe

A trust chief executive who threatened to “deal with” a whistleblower has left his post, more than a year after the launch of an investigation into his comments. Victoria Academies Trust (VAT) said it had agreed to terminate the contract of Andrew Morrish as it was the “most efficient use of resources and time” that […]

Coronavirus: Schools told to review child protection policies

Schools have been told to review their child protection policies and warned they may have to rely on other schools’ safeguarding leads in response to the coronavirus outbreak. New guidance on safeguarding during COVID-19 has been issued by the Department for Education. It comes as schools are grappling with a new way of working, providing […]

Safeguarding software ‘normalises authoritarian approaches’ in schools – academics

Academics are concerned safeguarding software that allow firms to keep watch on pupils’ activity on computers is “normalising extreme authoritarian approaches” in schools – with worries parents might not know about the “snooping”. It follows tech firm Smoothwall launching a new partnership with company Safeguard Software to provide a service that scoops up data from […]