Keeping children safe in education 2023

In June, DfE published an update to its safeguarding statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education.

The 2023 version of the Guidance came into force on 1 September and replaces the 2022 version.

Schools are required to have regard to the Guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It includes guidance on safeguarding management, safer recruitment, allegations made against teachers and child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment.

Key changes

1. Clarification in paragraph 14 that all staff should receive training which includes an understanding of the expectations, applicable roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring.
2. A new section in paragraph 142 has been added to support schools in meeting the required filtering and monitoring standards.
3. A link to the guidance on keeping children safe in out-of-school settings has been added to paragraph 167 to remind schools of the need to apply this guidance for non-school/college activities.
4. Additional resources for specialist organisations dealing with children with special educational needs have been included in paragraph 202.
5. Clarification in paragraph 221 that shortlisted candidates should be informed that online searches may be conducted as part of the school’s due diligence process.
6. Additional paragraph 377 has been added regarding allegations relating to an incident that happened when an individual or organisation was using school premises for the purposes of running activities for children.
7. Additional information has been provided in Annex B in relation to the legislative updates to forced marriage which came into force in February 2023, making it a crime to carry out any conduct with the purpose to cause a child to marry before they are 18, regardless of whether threats or any form of coercion are used.

If you have any questions on how to apply Keeping Children Safe in Education or on the updates to the new 2023 guidance, please contact Jill Donabie on 0191 211 7933 or email [email protected]