Management Information Sheet

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is illegal in England and Wales under the FGM Act 2003 ("the 2003 Act"). FGM comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons and it is a form of child abuse and violence against women.

Section 5B of the FGM Act 2003 (as amended by the Serious Crime Act 2015) introduces a mandatory reporting duty which requires regulated health and social care professionals and teachers in England and Wales to report 'known' cases of FGM in under 18s which they identify in the course of their professional work to the police. The duty applies from 31 October 2015 onwards.

The duty applies to any teacher who is employed or engaged to carry out 'teaching work', whether or not they have qualified teacher status, in maintained schools, academies, free schools, independent schools, non-maintained special schools, sixth form colleges, 16-19 academies, relevant youth accommodation or children's homes in England.

'Known' cases are defined as those where a teacher:

• is informed by a girl under 18 that an act of FGM has been carried out on her; or
• observes physical signs which appear to show that an act of FGM has been carried out on a girl under 18 and they have no reason to believe that the act was necessary for the girl's physical or mental health or for purposes connected with labour or birth

The duty does not apply in suspected cases or if a teacher identifies a child at risk of FGM but these concerns should be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead within the school in any event.

The duty is a personal duty which requires the individual professional who becomes aware of the case to make a report; the responsibility cannot be transferred. The only exception to this is if you know that another individual from your profession has already made a report; there is no requirement to make a second.

Guidance from the Home Office on this reporting requirement advises that any professional making a report to the police does this orally by calling 101, the single non-emergency number. Where there is a risk to life or likelihood of serious immediate harm, professionals should report the case immediately to police, including dialling 999 if appropriate. Full procedural information relating to the requirement including frequently asked questions is provided within the Home Office Guidance and should be read by all relevant professionals working in a school.

If a member of staff needs to report a 'known' case of FGM to the police, they should also be advised to inform the Designated Safeguarding Lead in line with the school's safeguarding policy.

What do we need to do?

• All relevant staff in school should be informed of this duty and advised to read the Home Office guidance, 'Mandatory Reporting of Female Genital Mutilation - procedural information' (October 2015)
• For those professionals who want to access further guidance on this topic, Recognising and Preventing FGM is a free e-learning tool provided by the Home Office. Further information is also available in the multi-agency guidance on FGM and via the relevant pages of the Home Office website.
• If further staff training is required on this subject, a staff briefing has been devised in order to support schools to raise awareness of this issue.

Further training:

In order to support schools to implement this new duty, two workshop sessions are being held on Friday 27th November at Norwich Professional Development Centre as follows:

9.30 - 12.30
1pm - 4pm

Learning Outcomes - by the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Recognise signs of HBA, FM and FGM and take appropriate and positive safeguarding action.
• Guidance on Serious Crime Act 2015; Mandatory FGM Reporting
• Recognise this as abuse and know the referral pathways available when reporting concerns of those they identify as victims of HBA, FM and FGM such as
  • Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
  • National and Local Support Agencies
  • Professionals will be equipped to talk to victims about the referral pathways available to help and support them

Target Staff:

This course is suitable for Headteachers, Designated Safeguarding Leads, pastoral workers and governors in primary and secondary schools.

Cost

The course is free to attend, but please note there will be a £20 per person administration fee for non-attendance or if cancelled within 10 working days of the course date.

To book a place on either or both of these events, please apply via www.s4s.norfolk.gov.uk by searching for course title or date