Health and well-being update for school leaders
Three key documents relating to health and well-being which were sent to schools during
the summer term:
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Keeping Children Safe in Education April 20014
Supporting Children with Medical Conditions April (supporting templates May 2014)
Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools June 2014
All three to take effect from September 2014
Keeping Children Safe in Education, April 2014
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education
Summary:
Replaces ‘Safeguarding Children’ and ‘Safer Recruitment in Education’ (2006).
Four main sections:
1.
What all staff should know and do
2.
The responsibilities of governing bodies and proprietors
3.
Safer recruitment
4.
Allegations of professional abuse
Reminders that any member of staff:
 can make a referral to social services
 are responsible for responding to concerns
 if not satisfied with the response, have a duty to persist until the child is safe
What school and college staff should know and do
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The guidance states that governing bodies and proprietors of schools and colleges
should ensure that all staff read part one of KCSE
DfE has produced part 1 as a stand-alone document and this has been sent to all schools and
colleges
Part 1
There must be a designated safeguarding lead & all staff:
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to provide a safe environment in which children can learn
have a role to play in identifying concerns early and taking action
induction should include information on the school or college’s arrangements and
systems for child protection, the staff behaviour policy or code of conduct and details of
the designated lead
should maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ and be of the signs and indicators
of abuse
Training
• An expectation that head teachers and all other staff attend appropriate training which is
‘regularly updated’
• Designated staff will attend training at least every two years
• An additional expectation on those with or working towards qualified teacher status, linked
specifically to the requirement in the Teachers’ Standards that teachers and head teachers
should safeguard children’s wellbeing and maintain public trust in the teaching profession.
Specific Safeguarding Issues highlighted:
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Child sexual exploitation (CSE)
bullying including cyber-bullying
domestic violence
drugs
fabricated or induced illness (FII)
faith abuse
female genital mutilation (FGM)
forced marriage
gangs and youth violence
gender-based violence/violence against women and girls (VAWG)
mental health
private fostering
radicalisation
sexting
teenage relationship abuse
trafficking
Role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
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A member of the school or college leadership team, with an explicit job description and the
authority, time, training, resources and support to fulfil the role effectively
Provide advice and guidance to colleague
Attend inter-agency meetings – or support other staff to do so – and contribute to
assessments
NB Any member of staff may make a referral if they believe a child is at risk or requires
support
Research and Serious Case Reviews have identified poor practice including:
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Failing to act on and refer the early signs of abuse and neglect
Poor record keeping
Failing to listen to children
Failing to re-assess concerns when situations do not improve
Sharing information too slowly
Lack of challenge to those who appear not to be taking action
Part 2
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The importance of teaching children to keep themselves safe through PSHE and other
curricular work
 A responsibility to take into account the views and wishes of children
 Recognition that a significant proportion of looked after children are in care as a result of
abuse (and whose needs must therefore be considered within the safeguarding
arrangements)
The need for all staff to be aware of specific issues e.g. Sexual exploitation, female genital
mutilation, teenage relationship abuse and private fostering.
Part 3: Safer recruitment
It relates to Regulated Activity and which checks should be done when; the DfE is seeking
clarification re some errors and misinterpretation
Part 4 Allegations
Part 4 says that the head teacher, proprietor or chair of governors – the case manager – is
responsible for managing allegations and liaison with the local authority designated officer
(LADO). However, in part 2 and in the appendices there are references to the responsibility of the
designated lead to refer cases to the LADO.
So what are we doing in Hampshire? A working party drawn from Education Personnel, HR,
Health and Safety, Safeguarding Team and HIAS have been working to identify the key changes
needed within Hampshire documents.
Supporting pupils with medical conditions April 2014
(NB a series of templates have been published to support the document May 2014)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medicalconditions
Contains both statutory guidance (in bold) and non-statutory advice:
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The statutory guidance applies to any “appropriate authority”:
o governing bodies in the case of maintained schools
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o proprietors in the case of academies
o management committees in the case of pupil referral units (PRUs).
Statutory guidance is set out in bold text
“appropriate authorities” must make arrangements to support pupils at school with
medical conditions
applies to activities taking place off-site as part of normal educational activities
It replaces the Managing Medicines document of 2005
The non statutory advice is provided to assist and guide:
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schools, academies and PRUs
LAs
Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)
Anyone wishing to promote well being
Parents, carers and pupils
Health service providers
Key points:
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Pupils at school at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they
have full access to education, including school trips and PE
Governing bodies MUST ensure that all arrangements are in place in schools to support
pupils with medical conditions
Governing bodies should ensure that school leaders consult health and social care
professionals, pupils and parents ensure that the needs of children with medical conditions
are effectively supported
What the Guidance says:
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23. Governing bodies should ensure that the school’s policy sets out clearly how staff
will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils with medical conditions, and
how this will be reviewed. This should specify how training needs are assessed, and how
and by whom training will be commissioned and provided.
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24. The school’s policy should be clear that any member of school staff providing
support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training. This
should have been identified during the development or review of individual healthcare
plans. Some staff may already have some knowledge of the specific support needed by a
child with a medical condition and so extensive training may not be required. Staff who
provide support to pupils with medical conditions should be included in meetings where this
is discussed.
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25. The relevant healthcare professional should normally lead on identifying and
agreeing with the school the type and level of training required, and how this can be
obtained. Schools may choose to arrange training themselves and should ensure this
remains up-to-date.
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26. Training should be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have
confidence in their ability to support pupils with medical conditions, and to fulfil the
requirements as set out in individual healthcare plans. They will need an understanding of
the specific medical conditions they are being asked to deal with, their implications and
preventative measures.
27. Staff must not give prescription medicines or undertake healthcare procedures
without appropriate training (updated to reflect any individual healthcare plans). In some
cases, written instructions from the parent or on the medication container dispensed by the
pharmacist may be considered sufficient, but ultimately this is for the school to decide,
having taken into consideration the training requirements as specified in pupils’ individual
health care plans. A first-aid certificate does not constitute appropriate training in supporting
children with medical conditions.
28. Healthcare professionals, including the school nurse, can provide confirmation of
the proficiency of staff in a medical procedure, or in providing medication
So what are we doing in Hampshire? Several people are meeting to discuss the way forward,
Health and Safety have developed an Administration of Medicines policy template, the suggested
templates to support the rest of the document are being reviewed, facilitators for relevant training
are being sought. School nurses will be able to signpost schools.
Mental Health and Behaviour in School June 2014
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/326551/Ment
al_Health_and_Behaviour_Information_and_Tools_for_Schools_final_website__2__25-0614.pdf
This is advice for Primary and secondary teachers, pastoral leaders, SEN coordinators and others
working to support children who suffer from, or are at risk of developing mental health problems.
Key points
• In order to help their pupils succeed, schools have a role to play in supporting them to be
resilient and mentally healthy. There are a variety of things that schools can do, for all their pupils
and for those with particular problems, to offer that support in an effective way.
• Where severe problems occur schools should expect the child to get support elsewhere as well,
including from medical professionals working in specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Services (CAMHS), voluntary organisations and local GPs.
• Schools should ensure that pupils and their families participate as fully as possible in decisions
and are provided with information and support. The views, wishes and feelings of the pupil and
their parents should always be considered.
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• Schools can use the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to help them judge
whether individual pupils might be suffering from a diagnosable mental health problem and involve
their parents and the pupil in considering why they behave in certain ways.
• MindEd, a free online training tool, is now available to enable school staff to learn more about
specific mental health problems. This can help to sign post staff working with children to additional
resources where mental health problems have been identified. Counselling MindEd, which is part
of MindEd, is also available to support the training and supervision of counselling work with
children and young people.
• There are things that schools can do – including for all their pupils, for those showing early signs
of problems and for families exposed to several risk factors – to intervene early and strengthen
resilience, before serious mental health problems occur.
• Schools can influence the health services that are commissioned locally through their local
Health and Wellbeing Board – Directors of Children’s Services and local Healthwatch are statutory
members.
• There are national organisations offering materials, help and advice. Schools should look at what
provision is available locally to help them promote mental health and intervene early to support
pupils experiencing difficulties. Help and information about evidence-based approaches is
available from a range of sources (see Annex B).
How schools can promote their pupils’ mental health
The culture and structures within a school can promote their pupils’ health through:
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a committed senior management team that sets a culture within the school that values all
pupils; allows them to feel a sense of belonging; and makes it possible to talk about
problems in a non-stigmatising way;
an ethos of setting high expectations of attainment for all pupils with consistently
applied support. This includes clear policies on behaviour and bullying that set out the
responsibilities of everyone in the school and the range of acceptable and unacceptable
behaviour for children. These should be available and understood clearly by all, and
consistently applied by staff
an effective strategic role for the qualified teacher who acts as the special
educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO), ensuring all adults working in the school
understand their responsibilities to children with special educational needs and disabilities
(SEND), including pupils whose persistent mental health difficulties mean they need special
educational provision. Specifically, the SENCO will ensure colleagues understand how the
school identifies and meets pupils’ needs, provide advice and support to colleagues as
needed and liaise with external SEND professionals as necessary;
working with parents and carers as well as with the pupils themselves, ensuring their
opinions and wishes are taken into account and that they are kept fully informed so they
can participate in decisions taken about them;
continuous professional development for staff that makes it clear that promoting good
mental health is the responsibility of all members of school staff and community, informs
them about the early signs of mental health problems, what is and isn’t a cause for concern,
and what to do if they think they have spotted a developing problem;
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clear systems and processes to help staff who identify children and young people
with possible mental health problems; providing routes to escalate issues with clear
referral and accountability systems. Schools should work closely with other professionals to
have a range of support services that can be put in place depending on the identified needs
(both within and beyond the school). These should be set out clearly in the school’s
published SEND policy;
working with others to provide interventions for pupils with mental health problems
that use a graduated approach to inform a clear cycle of support: an assessment to
establish a clear analysis of the pupil’s needs; a plan to set out how the pupil will be
supported; action to provide that support; and regular reviews to assess the
effectiveness of the provision and lead to changes where necessary; and
a healthy school approach to promoting the health and wellbeing of all pupils in the
school, with priorities identified and a clear process of ‘planning, doing and reviewing’ to
achieve the desired outcomes
So what are we doing in Hampshire? We have an Emotional Health Strategy which reflects this
document. We still have a Healthy Schools programme and encourage a whole school approach
to delivering EHWB. We are recommissioning the CAMHS service. This will be in place by May
2015. The Early Help Hubs will be crucial in providing the link between school and CAMHS.
The half day briefings will highlight all three of these documents and the ramifications for
schools. There will also be governor training sessions to particularly highlight the
expectations on governors which are significant.
Other key development:
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Universal Infant Free School Meals – All YR,1 and 2 to receive a free meal. DfE has sent
a letter template to be sent to all parents to still check whether they are eligible for the
school to be able to claim Pupil Premium. For every child taking a meal over and above
those eligible for a free school meal the school will receive £2.30 but will only have to pay
HC3S £2 so the school will benefit. E.g. if 100 extra pupils taking a meal it will equate to
£150 extra a week or £5,385 over the year! Hampshire has invested £3m in addition to
what the government gave to ensure all schools will be able to deliver in September. HC3S
has appointed a three day a week coordinator to support schools address some of the
issues not related to the kitchen.
o For concerns related to having the kitchens ready email
Richard.vaughan@hants.gov.uk
o For concerns regarding the school meals contact Amanda.frost@hants.gov.uk
o For support around solving the logistics of getting increased numbers through the
dining hall or managing the lunchtime then contact ian.wright@hants.gov.uk
o 11th December – half day course – Improving lunchtimes with Jenny Moseley – direct
schools to HTLC directory or email sara.rowe@hants.gov.uk
HC3S Template sent to all schools:
Dear Parents,
Your Child is eligible for the Universal Infant Free School meal from the beginning of next
term. As a school, we are working hard to ensure that we are ready to deliver high quality
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meals to all our children. This meal is for all those children whose parents do not qualify for
Free School meals according to the eligibility criteria outlined at the bottom of the page. We
expect that all children in Foundation Year, Year 1 and Year 2 will take advantage of the free
meal. If you do NOT want your child to have the free meal, please let the school know.
Pupil Premium
Pupil Premium is only payable for those children whose parents meet the eligibility criteria, but
is important for the school to be able to make use of all available resources to support your
child. For every eligible child the school will receive £1,300 per year to improve learning.
Are you, or do you think you are, eligible for Free School Meals and therefore for the Pupil
Premium (see below for criteria)?
Yes
No
Not Sure
Please contact the school if you are unsure whether you qualify.
Your help and co-operation is greatly appreciated.
Eligibility Criteria
 Income support
 Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
 Employment and Support Allowance (Income Related)
 Support under Park VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
 Families in receipt of Child Tax Credit will also qualify provided that (a) they are not entitled to
Working Tax Credit, and (b) their annual income, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and
Customs does not exceed £16,190 (subject to annual review)*
 Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
* Parents who are made redundant or start working less than 16 hours per week, may find their
children are entitled to free meals for a limited period.
Glyn Wright
County Inspector Adviser Personal Development Learning
October 2014
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