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Keep up-to-date with the latest changes
Safeguarding Blog
Hello and welcome to our Safeguarding Blog.
Our Aim is to keep you informed and updated with all the latest changes, information and advice for safeguarding.
My name is Bethany Haswell and I am the Head of Compliance at Long-term Teachers.
I recently attended the Designated Safeguarding Lead Course hosted by Jane Bee, so here's what I learnt.
Safeguarding is such a huge part of Education and it's super important we are all working together to safeguard our children! I hope you enjoy reading this mini blog and more importantly you take something away from it.
Meet The Author
Let's start with the new changes which appeared in KCSIE 2022, as you are all aware every year a new version of KCSIE is released and each year it contains more and more relevant information. I am only going to mention certain additions during this blog, more importantly because there are so many and of course all of KCSIE is relevant and important.This year's KCSIE included a new paragraph (paragraph 19) which urges all staff to be made aware that children may not be ready or know how to tell someone they are being abused, it advises all staff to always remain professionally curious and if they have any concerns speak to the DSL. It is so important that all staff determine how to build a trusted relationship with Children and young people.
It is important that staff are aware of the indicators of abuse and neglect. Unfortunately there are different categories of abuse and it is so important we are aware of the context of each one. Children may be abused in a family, in a community or institutional setting, by those known to them or, much more rarely, by a stranger. Paragraphs 26-30 of KCSIE gives a more in depth definition on what each category means and what potential signs all staff should look out for.
Changes to KCSIE 2022
An interesting change which is currently non-compulsory and could potentially cause controversy is the introduction of online checks. KCSIE now mentions that schools and colleges should consider the use of online searches when shortlisting candidates. It would be interesting to get your views on this in the comments below as although it is another level of checking , if I search the internet for my name at least 3 other profiles / articles come up. Of course, schools and colleges should only be using online checks for the sole purpose of making sure the person they are shortlisting are safe to work with children, but could a simple search be off putting? As an applicant would you mind a school doing an online search?
Lastly, moving onto a sensitive but ever so important topic FGM also known as Female Genital Mutilation. FGM compromises all procedures involving partial or a total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs. It is Illegal in the UK and it is a form of child abuse with long-lasting harmful consequences. Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 , places a statutory duty upon teachers, along with regulated health and social care professionals in England and Wales , to instantly report to the police where they discover that FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under the age of 18. FGM is happening in and around the UK, if a girl under the age of 18 confides in you, please do you duty and report this to the police as soon as possible. We must work together in order to put a stop to this! I have inserted a link below to a FGM Mandatory Factsheet created by the Home Office: New duty for health and social care professionals and teachers to report female genital mutilation (FGM) to the police (publishing.service.gov.uk)
A free online safeguarding training course developed for the Home Office by Virtual College Is accessible to anyone and everyone, which I think is amazing! We all need to be aware of FGM as it is happening more than we think and it is up to us in edo spot the signs. I would encourage anyone and everyone to complete the free online training.https://fgmelearning.vc-enable.co.uk/Register/
“In the UK, it is estimated that: around 137,000 women have undergone FGM. some 60,000 girls under 15 years old are at risk”
As that brings us to an end of this blog, I thought it would be useful to share some additional information links which you can also find within KCSIE 2022.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-to-do-if-youre-worried-a-child-is-being-abused--2
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG89/
https://www.elearning.prevent.homeoffice.gov.uk/edu/screen1.html
I hope you have enjoyed reading this, and if you were to take anything away, I would hope it is the importance of safeguarding and how important it is for Education and Health care workers to all work together in order to help safeguard our children. If any of our candidates would like to discuss any of this information further, then please do not hesitate to contact myself.
