Governor Materials Archive

Whilst you can see the scope the materials cover on this page, the actual materials are only available to members who have governor access.

While our Essentials and Enhanced Membership packages supports DSLs in their work for staff governor membership provides support for the safeguarding governor and the governing body. Keeping Children Safe in Education, Working Together and the inspection framework place significant responsibility on governors to maintain a strategic overview of safeguarding in their setting and require them to ensure that they are holding the DSL and senior leadership team to account. 

There is not a lot of guidance or support for this crucial role and many Safeguarding Governors feel less than confident in their role, so building on the success of our work with Designated Safeguarding Leads we have created a Safeguarding Governor membership to provide structure and advice for individuals in this important duty.

• Learning walks
• Suggested discussion topics with your DSL
• Ideas for conversations with young people
• A calendar with reminders around governor responsibilities
• Free governor safeguarding training pack
• Discounts on online learning
• Discounts on Safeguarding Governor training
• Advice line for Safeguarding Governors
• Briefings on key safeguarding topics

Membership is just £99+vat for a whole year of support.

If your setting is a member already and you want to add governor membership, please contact us.  If not click the button below to get started today.

How children and young people get on with one another is a vital part of their learning journey. Happy students, excited about learning, do better. As the Safeguarding Governor your role is to help set a culture where children and young people thrive and where there is awareness of their experiences and challenges. Where bullying and child on child abuse do occur leaders, staff and students themselves should have robust strategies for identification and response. Our materials provide a framework to explore this.

This half term our focus was on the safety of students at and around your setting. What is it like to walk around? – What do you perceive from the buildings and the materials on display and how might it feel for your children and young people? Is there an understanding of how young people travel to and from your setting? What plans are in place for trips away and handling emergencies?

Required to be an ‘interrelated and running theme as part of a whole school approach to safeguarding’ online safety is a key area when considering the management of safeguarding in your setting.

It might feel overwhelming to tackle this area, especially as adults we can often feel behind the times and find it hard to keep up with the most recent applications, trends and social media platforms. However, management of online safety isn’t about being a tech-whizz, its about planning a careful approach to access, monitoring, having systems to escalate concerns for an appropriate response so children can learn safely, benefitting from all the positives of technology and online spaces.

Applying the guidance to processes confidently and competently is a crucial part of safeguarding. These resources will help to give you some oversight and some starters for ten on how to scrutinise some of the data. Governors who have accessed our in-house live training sessions will have a head start, however for an in-depth assessment why not book us for a practice review? With the benefit of significant experience, our team can visit your setting to draw out strengths and areas for improvement to help provide an informed action plan. Contact us to discuss your options further.

Nationally, we think domestic abuse affects 1 in 5 children. 62% of students living in a family home with domestic abuse are likely to be suffering another form of abuse or neglect as well. As young people develop they learn about relationships, build on the models they see and experience, and set a pattern that is likely to affect them later in life.

Governance is a big job and one with little training. Over the course of the academic year to date we have provided materials to help you to understand some of the specific safeguarding areas to support you in your role of governance and the management of safeguarding in your setting.

Education settings are key opportunities to widen horizons, for students to understand themselves and their families in the context of others, and for professionals to notice concerns and take action to keep them safe. They are given key responsibilities to educate children and young people about mental health, to train their staff to identify and respond to concerns, and to work effectively with other agencies to support those experiencing mental health issues.

Over 1 in 5 students  “persistently absent”, which is defined as missing 10% or more of their lessons. In years before the pandemic, the rate was between 10 and 12%. In 22/23, it was 17.2% in primary schools and 28.3% in secondary schools.

The reasons for the decline in school attendance are complex. Some were already present prior to the coronavirus pandemic and disruption to schooling, but some have become more acute in the aftermath of school closures. Anxiety and mental health issues for young people were increasing prior to the pandemic but the impact of social isolation and lockdowns has caused an even greater number of children to become reluctant to return to the classroom.

Effective safeguarding in schools is so important for identifying the warning signs of any abuse or harm to children and young people and alerting the appropriate authorities in order to help victims of harm or abuse as soon as possible. Education staff get a unique insight into how children and young people are developing, behaving and interacting with others. They are more likely to notice signs of abuse, whether these are physical abuse or mental abuse. Staff can also use their professional skills to teach students about the dangers they face inside and outside of the setting, how to protect themselves and where and how they can get help.

Working Together 2023 tells us that sexual abuse: Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts, such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

Effective safeguarding in schools is so important for identifying the warning signs of any abuse or harm to children and young people and alerting the appropriate authorities in order to help victims of harm or abuse as soon as possible. Education staff get a unique insight into how children and young people are developing, behaving, and interacting with others. They are more likely to notice signs of abuse, whether these are physical abuse or mental abuse, in person or online.  Staff can also use their professional skills to teach students about the dangers they face inside and outside of the setting, how to protect themselves and where and how they can get help.

Effective safeguarding in schools is so important for identifying the warning signs of any abuse or harm to children and young people and alerting the appropriate authorities in order to help victims of harm or abuse as soon as possible.  Education staff get a unique insight into how children and young people are developing, behaving, and interacting with others. They are more likely to notice signs of abuse, whether these are physical abuse or mental abuse, in person or online.

What do we mean by the ‘Voice of the Child’? For all professionals, a principle of good practice is to ensure that children’s feelings, thoughts, and views are heard and recognised. Capturing the ‘voice of the child’ is more than simply seeking their views; it is about enabling them to take an active role in any decision-making concerning them and their future. It does not only refer to what children say directly but to many aspects of their presentation.

Effective safeguarding in education settings is so important for identifying the warning signs of any abuse or harm to children and young people and alerting the appropriate authorities to help victims of harm or abuse as soon as possible. Education staff get a unique insight into how children and young people are developing, behaving, and interacting with others. Those working with children in these settings are given significant responsibilities to safeguard the children in their care, and this trusted position requires personal integrity, professionalism and a clear understanding of the boundaries and expectations of the role.

Effective safeguarding in education settings is so important for identifying the warning signs of any abuse or harm to children and young people and alerting the appropriate authorities to help victims of harm or abuse as soon as possible. Education staff get a unique insight into how children and young people are developing, behaving, and interacting with others. An important strand of your setting’s work is Alternative Provision.

Considering the recruitment, vetting and ongoing monitoring of employees and volunteers is vital in fostering a safe environment for children and young people. Governors and leaders should hold the belief that “it could happen here” when assessing the risk of the workforce and continually consider ways to prevent unsuitable individuals from acquiring employment within or access to the setting. 

It is a statutory requirement that all school governors access safeguarding training. We have designed this interactive course to provide overview of safeguarding in education for the role of a school governor with opportunities to connect with colleagues and learn together about the crucial role schools play in safeguarding children and how your role supports this.