Safeguarding in schools
The safeguarding lead is one of the most important roles in a school and will be integrated into a job description. It is their responsibility to promote a whole-school culture of safeguarding and listening to children.
Everyone working or volunteering in a school should be aware of the importance of the role of the safeguarding lead. They take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, embedding them into everything their school does. The safeguarding lead should have a clear understanding of the safeguarding challenges in your country and your local area and how they may affect children and young people.
Governing bodies and proprietors, working with their senior leadership teams and especially their safeguarding lead are key in implementing safeguarding within the school.
The safeguarding arrangements within a school should include:
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Safe and effective staff recruitment systems
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Effective policies, procedures and protocols to keep students safe
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Good record keeping and information sharing
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Competent staff working together
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Trust and openness with students, staff and parents
International schools are subject to the laws of the country where they are based. Many countries have mandatory reporting procedures so it’s important that you understand what these are and know how to act if you’re required to do so. If you work in a location in which an adult or child might suffer human rights abuses as a result of reporting an allegation, you should speak to your safeguarding lead.
Staff recruitment and induction training
Safer recruitment training should be implemented to ensure potential recruits are checked before coming into contact with children.
All staff must undergo safeguarding and child protection training at induction. You should ensure that training is regularly updated and in line with national and local requirements.
Induction training should include:
Equality and diversity training
Children's mental wellbeing training
The wellbeing of young people is a key concern for anyone entering education, and the need for children to have a happy and well-rounded experience should be at the heart of every schools’ ethos. How we approach, understand and respond to mental health can be influenced by our culture.
Different cultures have different ways of looking at mental health. Some cultures stigmatise mental health conditions and consider them an area of weakness, which makes people feel ashamed if they need support. Other cultures take a more holistic approach and believe that both physical and mental health are at the core of everyone.
To achieve positive outcomes everyone must understand and be sensitive to the factors that influence a person.
Trauma-informed practice training
Schools are unique environments with wonderful opportunities to offer trauma responsive provisions to children. Children develop their own abilities for emotional self-regulation through connections with reliable caregivers who soothe and model in a process called “co-regulation”. These relationships can be the foundation of healing and repair.
Your school will have its own induction policy with regards to health and safety training and fire safety training.
Ongoing staff training
All staff should receive regular safeguarding and child protection updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins, staff meetings) as required, and at least annually, to provide them with the relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.
When it comes to staff training, here are five key questions leaders should ask:
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Do staff have the right training, skills, knowledge and experience to do their job?
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How are learning needs identified?
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What training has been delivered to staff?
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How are staff supported and managed?
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How is the effectiveness of staff safeguarding training monitored?
Get all the staff training you need – in one package
You can provide your whole school community with unlimited access to all the training you need to remain compliant and demonstrate best practice with our online safeguarding and duty of care training package, Tes Safeguarding, powered by EduCare. Available on our training platform Develop, it also gives you access to our robust reporting suite to monitor learning and evidence training to inspectors.
To learn more about how Tes Safeguarding can benefit your school or to arrange a free trial, get in touch with us today.
