Ministers have decided that KCSIE 2024 will undergo technical changes only before final publication in September 2024, with a view to providing a more substantively updated document, encompassing wider changes, to be delivered in 2025.
The DfE are launching this 12-week call for evidence now, to take the views of schools, colleges, and other professionals on safeguarding practice development and direction, in advance of Keeping children safe in education 2025 (KCSIE). Your reflections, experience, and suggestions in this call for evidence will help us to inform future iterations of KCSIE and shape our long-term policies to support staff to keep children safe in education. For this reason – whilst we will not be publishing the results of this call for evidence, we will consult on any substantive changes we make to future iterations of KCSIE, and school and college safeguarding policy, following this exercise, in the normal way.
The Department for Education (DfE) is committed to minimising the use of reasonable force, including physical restraint and other restrictive practices in all schools in England,
including special schools and alternative provision. This work programme will include updating the ‘Use of reasonable force’ guidance (2013) to provide school staff with
advice on how to minimise the use of physical restraint and, in instances where it is absolutely necessary and lawful to use reasonable force or restrictive practices, to do so
as safely as possible.
From 19th August 2024, there will be new regulations for schools in the next stage of the government’s attendance drive. The sharing of daily school registers will form a new world-leading attendance data set that will help schools spot and support children displaying worrying trends of persistent absence or those in danger of becoming missing in education.
Key guidance setting out how schools and local authorities must take a ‘support-first’ approach to help pupils and their families to tackle barriers to attendance will be made statutory from August 2024. The working together to improve school attendance guidance sets expectations including regular meetings between schools and local authorities to agree plans for the most at-risk absent children.
Actions to consider:
We are minded that the academic year is near its end. We have requested for the first time this year separately:
Thank you to those of you have already submitted and shared a copy of the above documents. If you have yet to initiate and or have partially completed these tasks– we have made contact with your governing body, headteachers/principal and designated safeguarding leads*.
*re outstanding s.175 Audit - in line with your respective setting’s correspondence please can you complete these tasks on SharePoint by 31st July 2024. To date requests have not been mandatory and there has been a degree of flexibility of what and how you submit variants of audits. We ask that you still submit and save a copy of your audits in your setting’s allocated Share Point folder even if you haven’t completed the Local Safeguarding Partnership audit (2022-24).
Please note:
For the academic year 2024-25 – the Local Safeguarding Partnership and Local Authority will be enforcing expectations from Working Together 2023 in line with paragraph 79 - Education providers, including multi-academy trusts, have a responsibility to play their full part in local safeguarding arrangements, including where their footprint extends across several local authority areas. This includes, but should not be limited to, responding to safeguarding audits of quality and compliance, as requested by the local authority and/or local safeguarding partners. This is to ensure that policies are consistent with the local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements and relevant legislation and/or regulations. They should also provide staff and governor training that meets local and national safeguarding requirements. Education providers where required should report their audits to their governing bodies and proprietors to be shared as requested by the LSPs. Training for designated safeguarding leads and designated teachers should include shared understanding about different levels of need and how these need to be responded to. Education providers also play a vital role in sharing and contributing to key information about children, including attendance data, exclusions, concerns about abuse, neglect,
exploitation, and wider social and environmental factors including extra-familial contexts, which are a key aspect of keeping children safe.
From academic year 2024-25 all education settings will be expected to:
Non-compliance will continue to be shared with regulatory bodies (e.g, DfE/Ofsted) when they request Local Authority information about your setting.
Please ensure that any changes to contacts or contact details relating to your setting is updated via the appropriate links - Forms to notify the Local Authority of key contacts within your settings. (bristolsafeguardingineducation.org)
This ensures statutory agencies can communicate effectively with the correct person in your setting and ensures you are compliant with expectations within Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) and Bristol’s Local Safeguarding Partnership the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership.
Its that time of year where (if you haven’t already started preparing) it is important for you to start protecting and allocated resource and time for effective information for sharing or your children who are transitioning to a different education setting.
We have a dedicated webpage with:
Following the increased tensions in the Middle East over the weekend, Prevent Local Delivery & Communities will be feeding into the Home Office response to the escalation between Israel and Iran. We would be grateful if you could provide us with any insights from your areas regarding local reactions, especially any from Iranian diaspora communities, who may have been impacted by this escalation. Please send this to Prevent Areas (PreventAreas@homeoffice.gov.uk), copying your Prevent Adviser. The departmental response will be ongoing, so please provide insights as and when you receive them.
Prevent & Schools
Many young people will have a strong personal interest in these issues, and we are aware that in some schools this may lead to political activity by older pupils. Schools should ensure that political expression by pupils is done sensitively, avoiding disruption and feelings of intimidation or targeting for other pupils and staff. Schools should also make every effort to ensure that this activity does not extend to discriminatory bullying or involve the expression of antisemitic, anti-Muslim, or other discriminatory views. Where this does happen, the Department for Education expect schools to deal with these incidents with all due seriousness, in line with their behaviour policy.
Depending on the circumstances, safeguarding leads may also look to determine whether abusive and discriminatory views expressed or shared by pupils are representative a wider susceptibility, and consider the appropriateness of engaging with support through the Prevent programme. We trust teachers and other staff to exercise their professional judgment about whether a referral is appropriate, as they do for all other safeguarding risks. Further training and more discussion around radicalisation will help in addressing this, and advice and guidance is available on Educate Against Hate and GOV.UK to support safeguarding leads in making these decisions.
For further advice and guidance – please contact the safeguardingineducationteam@bristol.gov.uk
Separating better has been created by OnePlusOne, the UK’s leading relationship and innovation charity. The app, features practical tools to help with budgeting and legal arrangements. Parents can also use it to create a personalised parenting plan and make co-parenting arrangements that work in the best interests of their children.
A series of specially created videos showing typical co-parenting scenarios helps parents to improve their conflict resolution and communication skills. There are also evidence-based articles offering expert advice on separation and co-parenting.
Click here to access information that can be cascaded to your parenting community. NEW Free Separated Parents App (bristolsafeguardingineducation.org)
We are really excited to be able to launch our new Family Hubs virtual offer, including a new package of online learning for every parent and carer in Bristol for free! The courses have been developed by the Solihull Approach, alongside the NHS, health experts and parents too! Our mission in Bristol is for every parent in Bristol to complete the Solihull Approach – the learning is for everyone, not only for when you are struggling!
Free online parenting courses are available to help parents and carers understand their children's feelings better and how they can support their children through the years as they develop and grow.
The courses cover a whole range of topics to support parents and carers through all stages of a child’s development including:
There are also courses for teenagers to help them understand their mental health and feelings.
Step one: Go to the Solihull Approach
Step two: Go to inourplace tab on front page
Step three: Click on “Apply Access Code” tab
Step four: Enter code : GROWING
Step five: Answer the monitoring questions and add your Bristol post code ….. and you are good to go!!
We have been listening and taking feedback on your experiences of booking on to the current system. From September 2024 we have arranged for bookings for New DSL and Refresher DSL courses to be managed through Trading With Schools. These will still be hyperlinked to our website.
Please notes:
These networks are for DSLs, Deputy DSLs /SLT who may make up wider safeguarding teams in education settings. We encourage every setting to make representation at each round of meetings. To find out more click here
The networks fulfil duties under statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education Part 2 - the management of safeguarding:
Ygam is an award-winning charity with a mission to prevent children and young people from experiencing gaming and gambling harms through awareness raising, education and research. Through a portfolio of evidence-based programmes, we develop and deliver training and resources for a range of groups who have influence over children and young people.
Ygam also delivers free awareness workshops to parents, foster carers, and social workers. The Ygam Parent Hub (https://parents.ygam.org/) supports families with lots of practical advice, guidance, and tips to help keep children safe online and prevent harm related to gaming and gambling.
For more information, please visit www.ygam.org or email favillgill@ygam.org.
Or follow the link below to book directly onto a workshop.
Clifton College is pleased to be hosting an in-person Online Safety Conference from the Redgrave Theatre in Clifton. We will also be providing Tea/Coffee and a free Buffet Lunch.
We will have sessions from:
- Felix Lester (Cybercrime Specialist) at Avon and Somerset Police
- David Wright, CEO of South West Grid for Learning
- Favill McGill, YGAM
- Feedback from children and young people about being safe online
Details as follows:
Date: Friday 7th June 2024
Time: 9:00-13:00
Where: Redgrave Theatre Percival Road Clifton BS8 3LE
Who is it for: DSL's, DDSL's, Social Workers, Youth Workers, Pastoral Workers, E-safety/Online leads, Family Practitioners, Teachers
REGISTER FOR YOUR FREE SPACE HERE