child protection | Educationsupportuk

Just as teachers are about to embark on the Christmas holidays OFSTED have just published a few documents for implementation in January.

Safeguarding – This is a comprehensive guide for inspectors on what to look for in schools to ensure safeguarding is a priority in schools. – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspecting-safeguarding-in-maintained-schools-and-academies-briefing-for-section-5-inspections

It states in section 9 that;

Definition of safeguarding

Ofsted adopts the definition used in the Children Act 2004 and in ‘Working together to safeguard children’. This can be summarised as:

protecting children from maltreatment
preventing impairment of children’s health or development
ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Safeguarding is not just about protecting children from deliberate harm. It relates to aspects of school life including:

pupils’ health and safety
the use of reasonable force
meeting the needs of pupils with medical conditions
providing first aid
educational visits
intimate care
internet or e-safety
appropriate arrangements to ensure school security, taking into account the local context.

Safeguarding can involve a range of potential issues such as:

bullying, including cyberbullying (by text message, on social networking sites, and so on) and prejudice-based bullying
racist, disability, and homophobic or transphobic abuse
radicalisation and extremist behaviour
child sexual exploitation
sexting
substance misuse
issues that may be specific to a local area or population, for example gang activity and youth violence
particular issues affecting children including domestic violence, sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

and section 30 describes … The responsibilities placed on governing bodies and proprietors include:

their contribution to inter-agency working, which includes providing a coordinated offer of early help when additional needs of children are identified
ensuring that an effective child protection policy is in place, together with a staff behaviour policy
appointing a designated safeguarding lead who should undergo child protection training every two years
prioritising the welfare of children and young people and creating a culture where staff are confident to challenge senior leaders over any safeguarding concerns

Also new today are:

	(please tick)	Strongly agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
1	I am proud to be a member of staff at this school.
2	Children are safe at this school.
3	Behaviour is good in this school.
4	The behaviour of pupils is consistently well managed.
5	The school deals with any cases of bullying effectively (bullying includes persistent name-calling, cyber, racist and homophobic bullying).
6	Leaders do all they can to improve teaching.
7	The school makes appropriate provision for my professional development.
8	The school successfully meets the differing needs of individual pupils.
9	I know what we are trying to achieve as a school.
10	All staff consistently apply school policies.
11	The school is well led and managed.