Safeguarding and schools
December 2009
Over the last few months there has been a lot of discussion about safeguarding in schools, partly because of the new Ofsted school inspection framework and partly due to looking to tighten procedures and practice in our work with schools.
There is quite a lot of guidance now available as well as the important training available on both child protection and safer recruitment. We are aware of many questions from colleagues in schools so have listed some of the common questions that we have come across. We would welcome any further questions that you think it would be helpful to include. As well as sending you this information in this e-mail, it is also at www.webfronter.com/camden/ccfl (see
'Safeguarding' on the CSF TAB). In this version below there are direct links to guidance where this is referred to in an answer.
Training
Q. Can child protection training be offered in easier chunks to match the needs of schools?
A. Child protection training is required for all school staff (including auxiliary staff) and it is sometimes difficult to manage the large numbers of staff requiring training, particularly in secondary schools. Efforts have been made to cater to schools needs and training can be offered for INSET days and for twilight and weekend sessions. It is also possible to organise two trainers to attend a school on the same day so that two sessions can be delivered concurrently. In order that the training is judged to be of an acceptable quality and the required learning objectives are covered; the training must be of at least 2
½ hours duration and numbers in each session should not be excessive.
Q. Does it matter who provides the child protection training that the staff in this school attend?
A. OFSTED require that the training delivered to school staff is up to date, of high quality and enables staff to fulfil their child protection responsibilities effectively.
Currently child protection training is delivered by Camden’s safeguarding children board (CSCB) using the Government approved course - Safeguarding children, a shared responsibility- level a.
However, the training could be delivered by other training providers or the schools designated teacher. In order to ensure quality and consistency, the training needs to be of a standard approved by the CSCB and schools wishing to commission/deliver their own child protection training should send the course learning objectives for approval to jenni.spencer@camden.gov.uk. Plans are underway for the CSCB to develop a
‘training for trainers’ course for designated teachers, to enable them to deliver the
Safeguarding children a shared responsibility course to their school.
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Q. Whose responsibility is it to monitor the extent to which staff in each school are taking up child protection training?
A. Whilst full records are kept of all staff attending training courses delivered by the CSCB; it is the schools responsibility to monitor and keep their own records of staff who have received/require training. This is because OFSTED expect each school to maintain and hold training records on all staff and because the
CSCB would only have a record of the staff that had attended the training and therefore no record of staff in the school that had missed training and still required it.
Q. Are there any consequences if a school is slow in taking up Safer recruitment training?
A. From January 2010, appointments to any position in a school can only be made if at least one member of the appointing panel has attended the Safer
Recruitment training.
Q. Is it every two or three years that all school staff should have child protection training?
A. The OFSTED expectation is for whole school child protection training to be held at three yearly intervals. The CSCB expectation is that it is held at two yearly intervals to take into account staff turnover and to ensure that schools keep up to date with developments in the field.
Q. What are the training requirements for the designated teacher?
A. Designated child protection teachers have additional safeguarding/child protection training needs with a minimum expectation that they attend the multi agency level b safeguarding children a shared responsibility course ; specific training on the role of the designated teacher and additional, relevant multiagency training courses at levels b and c of the CSCB training programme for example; child protection and the internet, safeguarding Camden’s children, domestic abuse and the impact on children etc. Full details of all multi-agency child protection training can be found on the CSCB website www.cscb.org.uk under the ‘training’ tab.
Schools and social care links
Q. Can schools be kept up to date with the work by social workers with pupils at each school through regular lists of children open to safeguarding and social care?
A. Lists will be forwarded monthly to the head and designated teacher of the allocated social worker, team manager and principal officer.
Q. Who does a head contact in social care when they are concerned about how work with a child or young person is progressing?
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A. In the event where a teacher becomes concerned about the welfare and safety of a pupil within the school they should check whether the child is already allocated to a social worker within Camden. If the child already has an allocated
Social Worker, the teacher should contact the social worker. If the worker is not available and does not return your call, call their team manager. In the event where you are dissatisfied with the responses that you receive, please escalate the matter to the identified principal officer. A list of allocated workers and the management structure will be sent monthly to all primary and special school
Heads and Designated Teachers. If the child does not have an allocated social worker within Camden and the concern is new, the teacher can either refer directly to the duty and assessment team north or south, depending on where the child lives or in the first instance seek advice from the relevant duty and assessment team manager.
Q. Why are there no longer the roles that Lee Saunders and Paul Carroll used to carry out?
A. Lee Saunders and Paul Carroll were officers in the local authority who provided a link between schools and social services. Since the creation of
Children Schools and Families, the link to schools has been directly with the social work service. Feedback from schools has been there needs to be a single person who can be contacted about key child protection issues. This is now in place. Secondary schools have a social worker linked to each school. Primary schools have the service head for their area to contact if there are issues.
Information giving the names and contact details have been sent to schools.
Q. When I make referrals to neighbouring boroughs, who do I contact if I’m not happy?
A. See the list of contacts on page 6 of these notes.
Safeguarding policy
Q. Where do I find the local authority’s guidance on safeguarding?
A. A collection of the key safeguarding documents are now available under the
CSF TAB at: www.webfronter.com/camden/ccfl
The new e-safety school policy is available under the ‘materials’ TAB at: www.webfronter.com/camden/esafety
Q. What should governors do about safeguarding policy?
A. The governing body must ensure that an appropriate child protection policy is in place, is made available to parents on request and is reviewed annually. For further guidance on the responsibility of governing bodies in relation to safeguarding, please see ‘Briefing for section 5 inspectors on safeguarding children’, October 2009 ref: 090205 p. 24 (http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofstedhome/Forms-and-guidance/Browse-all-by/Education-and-
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skills/Schools/Supplementary-guidance-and-resources/(language)/eng-GB (click on ‘zip file’ then ‘safeguarding briefing’).
Ofsted expectations to be tested at inspection
Q. How should I check that the school meets Ofsted’s expectations?
A. We have developed a checklist that is designed to support schools to ensure they have all the necessary policies, practices and procedures in place to safeguard children. The checklist is closely aligned with current Ofsted guidance
(‘Briefing for section 5 inspectors on safeguarding children’, October 2009 ref:
090205, link as in previous answer). The checklist includes guidance that refers to Camden documents, all of which are available at http://webfronter.com/camden/ccfl (CSF- safeguarding).
Q.
What is a ‘school safeguarding healthcheck’? How do I ask for one to take place at this school and what happens to the outcome of the healthcheck?
A. A safeguarding healthcheck is a service offered by Camden
CSF’s school improvement service in light of the new Ofsted framework to support you in ensuring your school is compliant with current Ofsted safeguarding requirements.
It comprises a half-day monitoring visit undertaken by a trained LA or external
Ofsted inspector who will spend half a day in your school speaking to pupils and staff and checking that appropriate policies and procedures are in place
(including the single central register). Following the visit, a brief report will be sent to your school and your school improvement partner (SIP) summarising findings and recommending areas for development. SIPs will be asked to follow up on recommendations during their spring term 2010 visit to schools. This service is free of charge to schools until February half term 2010 after which it will be offered through the school improvement service SLA. Schools wishing to access this service should contact Brian Tobin on 020 7974 4272 or by email: brian.tobin@camden.gov.uk
CRB checks
Q. Agency supply staff. Is written confirmation required that all recruitment and vetting checks have been carried out on individuals?
A. Yes. Visiting staff such as educational psychologists, supply teachers, trainee teachers, nurses, sports coaches and inspectors should be CRB checked by their 'providing' organisation i.e. the supply agency, the university, PCT, LA, etc.
It is sufficient, for schools and colleges to seek written confirmation that appropriate checks, including CRB checks have been carried out and by whom
(most commonly the relevant HR department). This requirement is usually included in the contract that schools, colleges and/or LAs will have set up.
Therefore a letter or copy of a contract that states that an agency or contractor has carried out all appropriate checks, including CRB checks is sufficient. Part time staff may use the same CRB check for two or more posts as long as they
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are at a similar level and the school/college have satisfied themselves about their veracity and appropriateness. This might include, for example, a teacher employed part time for PPA or supply cover in one school and as a classroom assistant in another.
Q. If written assurance is provided for by the heads of services for cleaning, caretaking and kitchen staff, who are not directly employed by the school, should they need to be included on the single central record?
A. Yes. Contracted staff who come into regular contact with children such as cleaning, caretaking and kitchen staff should be included on the single central record but, as in the case of agency supply staff, written assurances provided by the LA (providing organisation) or copies of relevant contracts for staff who have access to children are sufficient proof that the relevant checks have been undertaken. There is no need for schools/colleges to repeat these.
Q. Do schools and colleges need to ask a social worker for a copy of their
CRB clearance?
A. No. Staff such as educational psychologists, supply teachers, social workers, nurses, sports coaches and inspectors should be CRB checked by their
'providing' organisation i.e. the supply agency, PCT, LA , etc. If the schools/colleges have been given written assurances that key LA staff such as social workers have been checked then that is enough. Proof of appropriate checks is most often provided by way of a photo - identity badge (similar to those carried by HMI and other inspectors). If schools/colleges are checking these and making a suitable register of visitors, this is sufficient.
Q. Should schools retain documents evidencing identity? Previous advice indicated that they should destroy this information.
A. No. Schools do not have to retain documents evidencing identity, once these have been verified and the single central record includes the name of the person who did so.
Q. Do schools have to include the unique reference numbers for staff appointed before 2007?
A. Schools and colleges are required to have full records on all staff including those in post on 1 January 2007. It is their responsibility to ask for unique reference numbers from staff appointed before that date.
Q. Is there a need to undertake CRB checks for staff employed before 2002 if they have not changed jobs and there are no concerns?
A. No. Those recruited before March 2002 and who have continuity of service are not required by current guidance to have CRB checks. There is however, a requirement for all these longer serving staff who work with children and young people to have been checked against List 99.
Q. Is there still a need for a three-year rolling programme of CRB checks?
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A. There was never a statutory requirement for three-yearly CRB checks, although s ome organisations and local authorities chose to do this as ‘good practice’. Further checks are not required for any staff unless the person has a break in service of more than three months, although some schools, colleges and local authorities will still operate a policy of repeating checks periodically, this is not required or indeed recommended.
Q. Who can enter the information on the single central record?
A. This information can be entered by whoever the school identifies as responsible for doing so. That person would then sign and date the record to verify that they have checked the employee (or volunteer’s) details.
Q. Does the SCR record the date when the CRB or L99 check was carried out (and who carried out check)? Is it necessary to also record the date when the CRB disclosure certificate was evidenced at the school?
A. The SCR should show the date on which each check was completed or the relevant certificate obtained, and should show who carried out the check.
Q. Whose name should appear as the person who carried out the check?
A. The name of the individual who was given the responsibility of checking ID and submitting the CRB application.
Q. How detailed should the record of qualifications be? Do we now have to record the actual qualification held i.e. Certificate in Education etc, and if so, do we have to go back and enter this information for all existing staff members?
A. It is sufficient for the SCR to record that the teacher holds qualified teacher status and the teacher reference number against staff names where appropriate, with the initials of the person who checked this.
Q. What risk assessment should I carry out when a member of staff starts work without a CRB?
A. The Ofsted guidance says: “In all-day educational establishments, new members of staff can take up their posts prior to a full CRB check as long as they work under the close supervision of a colleague who has such clearance.
” We suggest that in such cases you should record your assessment of risks and how you have addressed these. Dave Rogers (Dave.Rogers@camden.gov.uk) in
Camden HR can advise on individual cases.
Q. Can parents without a CRB check accompany school trips? Must parents and other volunteers sign a code of conduct before taking part in school activities?
A. These are matters for the school to decide. Some schools will find it easier to have a group of parents that have been CRB checked, particularly where they are responsible, e.g. for after-school activities, whilst others will ensure that
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parents are always under the supervision of someone who has been CRB checked.
Q. Who do I talk with when a CRB check does have information about an individual’s past?
A. Dave Rogers (Dave.Rogers@camden.gov.uk) in Camden HR can advise on individual cases.
Q. Do cleaners and cooks need a CRB check?
A. Where staff come into contact with children, yes they do.
Q. What about building and other contractors and CRB checks?
A. Where staff come into contact with children, yes they do.
Other
Q. What are the rules about transferring information about vulnerable children when they change schools?
A. Where a Child has a ‘protection plan’ this information must be shared with the new school and can be shared without parental consent. However, in Camden we would like to set a standard that parents are aware of from the beginning of their child’s school life and certainly during the transfer process to year seven, that all safeguarding information, old and current is shared with the new school.
Q. Should schools routinely ask visitors for ID?
A. Yes
Q. How should schools deal with known paedophiles who are parents of pupils and are have completed their prison sentence?
A. Schools should discuss this with the duty team, who will contact the LADO who will offer advice.
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Barnet
Liz Shaw
Brent
Jo Moses
Camden
Tel Fax Email
0208 359 4532 0871 911 6108 Liz.shaw@barnet.gov.uk
0208 937 4707 0208 937 4697 Jo.moses@brent.gov.uk
0207 974 6999 0207 974 6708 Bodil.mlynarska@camden.gov.uk Bodil Mlynarska
Hackney
Jane Woolley
Haringey
0208 356 5532 0208 356 4734 jane.woolley@hackney.gov.uk
Fiona Fernandes
(in place of Theresa
Walsh-Jones who is on sick leave)
Islington
0208 489 7408 0208 489 1185 Fiona.fernandes@haringhey.gov.uk
Barbara Hillier
Westminster
0207 527 8102 0207 354 9742 barbara.hillier@islington.gov.uk
Carla Acket 0207 641 7665 0207 641 7672 cacket@westminster.gov.uk
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