Keeping Children Safe in Education 2019

Follow our five step guide to implementing KCSiE 2019. Free downloadable briefing slideshow and policy checklist, together with links to information and members' training packs on the updated areas.

Summary of the changes

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The guidance came into force on 2nd September 2019 – there aren’t huge changes but this does mean that all staff will need to be updated.

Click EXPAND to read our summary, then read on and follow the five steps below to embed the new guidance in your school.

The significant changes are set out in Annex H. They are as follows:

Part 1 and Annex A

Part 1 – revised to improve the flow. While the content has not been changed some information on abuse and neglect has been moved to the “What school and college staff should look out for” section
Upskirting has now been included in Keeping Children Safe in Education as it is a criminal offence, and additional paragraphs have been added on serious violence
NSPCC whistleblowing helpline updated – now 0800 028 0285
Annex A has had a slight amendment to the children with family members to ensure this covers England & Wales, added Forced Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation into the so-called ‘honour’ based violence section to clarify they are included, and added information on upskirting.

Other changes

Changes to reflect the new requirements for relationships education, relationships & sex education and health education, the implementation of the new safeguarding children partnership arrangements nationally and the new Ofsted framework
Clarification that GDPR/DPA do not prohibit sharing of information about traveller children
Reference to s167A (prohibition on participation in the management of independent schools) has been removed
Direct link to overseas trained teachers guidance has been removed as this is currently being updated
s128 checks are required on maintained school governors to ensure they are not barred (via the Teaching Regulation Agency’s website)
Clarity that associate members of governing bodies are not subject to DBS checks
A link has been made to the new guidance on Teaching Online Safety in Schools

step 1 - policy amendments

You’ll need to add information on upskirting, amend contact details for the NSPCC and half a dozen other amendments. We’ve tried to make it easy with a list of all the changes required to policies and a downloadable checklist in our resources at the end of the page.

step 2 - plan a briefing for your staff

You must ensure that staff are up to date, know about the changes and can put them into practice. We suggest schools set aside time in the new school year to brief staff on the changes and deliver some in-house training on upskirting and serious violence, the two updated themes in the new guidance.

You are welcome to access our resources to prepare a presentation, or you can join Safeguarding Network and we’ve researched, updated and expertly presented these to support your delivery with quizzes, presentations and scenarios to challenge your staff at both primary and secondary levels so staff respond effectively to concerns. Membership is just £99 a term (currently running to January 2020) with no tie in. Find out more here.

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2019 update: We’ve a short PowerPoint to take your staff through each of the changes on the first day back. Please download from the resources below.

Sexual violence & Sexual Harassment: Visit our resource page for general information on upskirting, sexual violence and sexual harassment. Members have access to training materials including upskirting – simply log in once you are on the page. For immediate access to our training materials you can join Safeguarding Network. The training materials include:

a presentation and notes
a quiz and answers
a handout
scenarios for children in care, secondary/older primary children, and for younger children.

County Lines: Again please visit our detailed resource page. Our training materials for members provide a refresher for staff on the serious violence affecting many young people, following emphasis in KCSiE 2019:

a presentation and notes
a quiz and answers
a handout
primary and secondary scenarios

step 3 - DBS & s128 checks

The draft document makes it explicit that s128 checks must be in place for governors (but not for associate governors, such as those on subcommittees).

173. Governors in maintained schools are required to have an enhanced criminal records certificate from the DBS… Governance is not a regulated activity and so governors do not need a barred list check unless, in addition to their governance duties, they also engage in regulated activity. Schools should also carry out a s128 check for school governors, because a person subject to one is disqualified from being a governor.

Schools can carry out s128 checks by logging in through the “employer sign in” button on the Teacher Services webpage.

We recommend you use this as an opportunity to review all job roles across the school. We have worked with schools where particular roles have been missed… this would now affect your Leadership & Management judgement. Some potential vulnerability areas include:

governors (especially parent governors)
secondments
shared staff

An example of this last issue might be where staff in a nursery using a school site also work in the reception class. If there are two employers the DBS isn’t automatically transferable between the two – each has to undertake their own check. If you’ve other example of roles that are easy to miss, contact us and we will add them to this page.

Step 4 – ensure staff understand KCSiE 2019

The start of September and you need to compile evidence that staff have read, understood and can apply the new Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance.

Do staff have to read Part 1 (again!!)?

It’s crucial that you ensure all staff are familiar with the contents of Part 1 and, where appropriate, Annex A. How you do this is a matter for your discretion. The guidance is clear that you must “ensure that all staff in [your] school or college read at least Part one of this guidance”.

We’ve tried to make it easy…

We’ve a Keeping Children Safe in Education Knowledge Check to easily manage the process of ensuring people are familiar with KCSiE 2019 and the relevant school policies. This online tool is sent direct to all your staff and volunteers within 48 hours of the finalised guidance on 2nd September and includes:

A link to the guidance
All the changes from 2018 to 2019 relevant to staff who work with children.
FREE access to elearning on upskirting, sexual violence and sexual harassment
All staff confirm they have understand and can apply the 2019 guidance
All staff confirm they have read your child protection, behaviour, code of conduct and whistleblowing policies
A Keeping Children Safe in Education 2019 certificate if they attain a sufficient mark
Live completion tracking data, reminders and an easy process to add new users through the year
Reports for the DSL to evidence staff have understand and can apply the guidance.

No more signing a sheet to say it has been read!

The Knowledge Check is only 99p per person for members (£5 for non-members). Membership is £99 a term with no tie in and gives you access to all our materials to support the new guidance and create a structured, robust and evidenced approach to in-house safeguarding training and awareness in your school. Read more about membership, or contact us if you’ve any questions.

Step 5 - planning for the school year

Alongside Keeping Children Safe in Education 2019 there is new Ofsted guidance on inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings.

Inspectors will be looking to ensure:

There are clear and effective arrangements for staff development and training in respect of the protection and care of children and learners.

para 13 Ofsted Inspecting Safeguarding guidance

Plan your year ahead ensuring there are regular slots in staff meetings to cover safeguarding and build your staff team knowledge throughout the year. McElearney, A., Murphy, C. and Radcliffe, D. (2019) highlight seven characteristics of effective safeguarding CPD for teachers.

We have built these into our safeguarding training approach:

A focus on student outcomes
Collaboration
Reflection
Specialist expertise
Sustained over time
A supportive school culture
Incorporating models of effective practice

We suggest schools take 15-20 minutes a month for this reflective space out of their staff meetings and develop a cohesive curriculum for staff safeguarding training, rather than simply a responsive slot. We’ve a 2-year programme that covers every area required by Keeping Children Safe in Education and have created expertly designed and quality assured presentations, quizzes, handouts and true-to-life scenarios to build a strong safeguarding culture together across the school so that staff recognise potential issues and have a calm, balanced and confident approach to looking after your children and young people.

join us

Our model is working for a growing number of schools – ensuring they have a structured and comprehensive approach that builds a strong and sustainable safeguarding culture. We have kept our costs very low – £99 a term – so that the resources are accessible to all schools and provide the expertise and flexibility that saves DSLs and their teams much time.

There’s lots of additional benefits – free initial safeguarding advice, audit tools, discounted elearning and more. One of our schools was visited by an Ofsted inspector who commented Safeguarding Network was “brilliant – you must find it a game-changer”.

Join us now and ensure you have a structured approach in place – if you’re unsure you can contact us and arrange a demonstration. There’s no tie in beyond the term and if you join and you’re not happy, we are happy to discuss and have a no-quibble policy.

We’re looking forward to working with you.