Management Information Sheet

Paragraph 13 provides an updated link to "Behaviour in schools" guidance.
Paragraph 14 has been amended to include all staff understanding the expectations, applicable roles, and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring.

Online safety and filtering and monitoring

Paragraph 103 describes the DSL taking lead responsibility for understanding the filtering and monitoring systems and processes in place.

Paragraph 124 has been amended to include staff being trained in understanding the expectations, applicable roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring as part of safeguarding training.

Paragraph 138 in relation to the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy should reflect the setting's approach to filtering and monitoring on school devices and school networks. The paragraph goes on to states that settings should have a clear policy on the use of mobile and smart technology, which will also reflect the fact many children have unlimited and unrestricted access to the internet via mobile phone networks (i.e. 3G, 4G and 5G). Paragraph 141, in relation to filtering and monitoring states that Governing Boards and proprietors should consider the number of and age range of their children, those who are potentially at greater risk of harm and how often they access the IT system along with the proportionality of costs versus safeguarding risks.

Paragraph 142 makes reference to the DfE filtering and monitoring standards which set out that schools and colleges should:

• identify and assign roles and responsibilities to manage filtering and monitoring systems.
• review filtering and monitoring provision at least annually
• block harmful and inappropriate content without unreasonably impacting teaching and learning.
• have effective monitoring strategies in place that meet their safeguarding needs

Governing bodies and proprietors should review the standards and discuss with IT staff and service providers what more needs to be done to support schools and colleges in meeting this standard.

Additional guidance can be found at:

UK Safer Internet Centre South West Grid for Learning Tool

Paragraph 144 states that schools and colleges should consider meeting the Cyber security standards for schools and colleges.GOV.UK.

Use of school or college premises for non-school/college activities

Paragraph 167 makes references to the guidance Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings (April 2022) which details the safeguarding arrangements that schools and colleges should expect providers/hirers to have in place.

Children who are absent from education replacing 'Children missing from education'

Paragraph 175 makes clear that being absent from education for prolonged periods and/or on repeat occasions can act as a vital warning sign to a range of safeguarding issues. It is important the school or college's response to persistently absent pupils and children missing from education supports identifying such abuse, and in the case of absent pupils, helps prevent the risk of them becoming a child missing education in the future. There is reference made to the guidance on school attendance '"Working together to improve school attendance"

Paragraph 221 makes clear that schools and colleges should inform shortlisted candidates that online searches may be done as part of due diligence checks.

Paragraph 276 clarifies that copies of documents used to verify the successful candidate's identity, right to work and required qualifications should be kept on their personnel file.

Copies of DBS certificates and records of criminal information disclosed by the candidate are covered by UK GDPR/DPA 2018 Article 10. When a school or college chooses to retain a copy, there should be a valid reason for doing so and it should not be kept for longer than six months. When the information is destroyed a school or college may keep a record of the fact that vetting was carried out, the result and the recruitment decision taken if they choose to. Schools and colleges do not have to keep copies of DBS certificates, in order to fulfil the duty of maintaining the single central record.

New heading added:

Organisations or Individuals using school premises

Paragraph 377 states schools and colleges may receive an allegation relating to an incident that happened when an individual or organisation was using their school premises for the purposes of running activities for children (for example community groups, sports associations, or service providers that run extra-curricular activities). As with any safeguarding allegation, schools and colleges should follow their safeguarding policies and procedures, including informing the LADO.

Sanctions and the alleged perpetrator(s)

Revised to reflect wording in the DfE guidance "Behaviour in schools" (October 2022). The words "teachers can discipline" have been replaced with "teachers can sanction".

Page 136:
References that staff should receive safeguarding and child protection training which should now include an understanding of the expectations, applicable roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring.

Page 144:

Children who are absent from education

All staff should be aware that children being absent from school or college, particularly repeatedly and/or for prolonged periods, and children missing education can act as a vital warning sign of a range of safeguarding possibilities.

Page 148:

Mental health

Information added that mental health can have an impact on a child's attendance and progress at school.

Page 151:

Channel Panel

Terminology change - including replacing "vulnerable" with "susceptible".

Clarifies that an individual will be required to provide their consent before any support delivered through the programme is provided.

Page 155:

Forced marriage

Amended to reflect the change in the law, since February 2023 it has also been a crime to carry out any conduct whose purpose is to cause a child to marry before their eighteenth birthday, even if violence, threats or another form of coercion are not used. As with the existing forced marriage law, this applies to non-binding, unofficial "marriages" as well as legal marriages.

The following resources have been added

Forced marriage resource pack
Multi-agency practice principles for responding to child exploitation and extra-familial harm
The Prevent duty: safeguarding learners vulnerable to radicalisation