Safeguarding news & updates
On this page
Newsletters
MI Sheets
MI sheet updates from academic year 2023/2024
- MI 17/24 - DBS Checks for Norfolk Children's Services Employees
- MI 4/24 - Gender Questioning Children: Draft Guidance for Schools and Colleges from Department for Education (December 2023)
- MI 1/24 - Working Together to Safeguard Children: updated statutory guidance
- MI 167/23 - The Prevent Duty - updated guidance documents
- MI 174/23 - Launch of the Norfolk Continuum of Need Guidance
- MI 202/23 - Consultation on mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse
MI sheet updates from academic year 2022/2023
- MI 133/23 - The Launch of Family Help pilot in Norfolk Children's Services
- MI 130/23 -Department for Education Consultations on changes to "Working Together to Safeguard Children" and "Information Sharing Advice for Safeguarding Practitioners
- MI 114/23 - Safeguarding Update
- MI 106/23 - Revisions to Keeping Children Safe in Education, DfE (Guidance from 1 September 2023: For Information Only)
- MI 94/23 - Changes to Format and Content of Agency Reports to Initial Child Protection Conferences
- MI 70/23 - Norfolk Graded Care Profile Tool Training
- MI 53/23 - Updated LADO Procedures
- MI 43/23 - DSL Safeguarding Webinar - Child Exploitation: The preventative role of RSHE
- MI 7/23 - DBS Checks for Norfolk Children's Services Employees
- MI 198/22 - Private fostering awareness and reporting
- MI 177/22 - Bystander Intervention Programme: Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse
- MI 170/22 - Audit of School Safeguarding Practices 2022: Analysis and Visits
- MI 141/22 - Update to "Keeping Children Safe in Education" 2022
MI sheet updates from academic year 2021/2022
- MI 129/22 - Updated Safeguarding Policy and whole school training package
- MI 110/22 - Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE) - May 2022 revisions
- MI 241/21 - Audit of School Safeguarding Practices 2022
- MI 239/21 - Advice for schools - Safeguarding and the Incel ideology
- MI 238/21 - Further support for secondary schools and colleges to tackle sexual violence and harassment
- MI 233/21 - Amendments to the Norfolk Model Safeguarding Policy
- MI 178/21 - Early Help Assessments (letter) and Multi-Agency Support Panels
- MI 169/21 - Tackling sexual violence and harassment - support for schools and colleges
- MI 135/21 - Domestic Abuse Act 2021
- MI 124/21 - Revisions to "Keeping Children Safe in Education" DfE
- MI 91/21 - Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges, Ofsted, 10 June 2021
- MI 82/21 - Preventative Practice and Understanding of Neglect Survey, and Multi-Agency Support Panels
- MI 23/21 - Prevent in Education Update
- MI 19/21 - Audit of School Safeguarding Practices 2019-2020: Analysis
- MI 8/21 - Changes made to Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020
Updating safeguarding knowledge
In addition to regular training, both DSLs and staff should update their safeguarding knowledge. This could be through the following:
Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs)
- Reading MI sheets in the eCourier for Norfolk Schools and Learning Providers
- Accessing the Norfolk DSL twitter feed
- Attending or watching recordings of webinars
- Attending courses related to safeguarding and wellbeing
- Attending DSL networks
- Reading recently published guidance documents
- Reading serious case reviews / safeguarding practice reviews
All staff
- Reading a newsletter produced by DSLs
- Attending staff meetings / briefings with a safeguarding focus
- Reading recently published guidance documents
- Completing other training packages on specific areas of safeguarding
Revisions to 'Keeping Children Safe in Education', DfE
(Guidance from 1st September 2024: For Information Only)
Revised Statutory Guidance
On 24 May 2024, the Department for Education (DfE) published a revised version of 'Keeping Children Safe in Education'. The revised guidance for is information only at this stage so that schools and colleges can plan for the commencement of the guidance on 1 September 2024; until this time, the existing statutory guidance, 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' 2023 is still in force and schools and colleges must continue to have regard to it.
The proposed changes are minimal for this year given the Safeguarding children in schools and colleges Call for Evidence. Annex F of the draft guidance includes a Table of Substantive Changes from the 2023 document and a table of revisions can be found below.
The revisions to the document include:
Summary | No changes |
Part one | Safeguarding information for all staff |
Page 4 | Definition of 'safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children' - amended to reflect the updated 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (2023) |
Paragraph 18 | 'Early help' - amended to reflect revised 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (2023) · Missing to include education, home and care · Where students have 'experienced multiple suspensions, is at risk of being permanently excluded from schools, colleges and in Alternative Provision or a Pupil Referral Unit.' |
Paragraph 19 | 'Abuse and Neglect' - heading amended to include 'exploitation' (also throughout the document as applicable) |
Paragraph 24 | 'Indicators of Abuse and neglect' - additional text included 'including where they see, hear, or experience its effects' when referring to domestic violence. |
Paragraph 29 | 'Safeguarding Issues' - 'deliberately missing education' amended to reflect revised definition of 'unexplainable and or/persistent absences from education' in 'Working together to improve school attendance.' |
Paragraph 54 | Makes reference to the 'Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners' which was updated in May 2024. |
Part two | The management of safeguarding |
Paragraph 93 | Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR - paragraph included to comply with DPA/UKGDPR requirements. This cross references to the 'Data Protection in Schools Toolkit' updated in April 2024 |
Paragraph 171 | 'Alternative Provision' - text added to clarify school remains responsible for the pupils they place in alternative provision |
Paragraph 200 | Makes reference to the new responsibility on Virtual School Heads to champion the attendance, attainment and progress of children in kinship care which comes into force in September 2024. |
Paragraph 204 | Links added to NSPCC advice on protecting children with SEN; and deaf/disabled children and young people |
Paragraphs 205 to 209 | 'Children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning their gender' -additional text includes further clarification to comply with gender questioning children guidance terminology which the consultation closed for in December 2023. |
Part three | Safer recruitment |
| No changes |
Part four | Safeguarding concerns or allegations made against staff, including supply teachers, volunteers and contractors |
| No changes |
Part five | Child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment |
Paragraph 497 | 'Early help' - text amended from 'providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child's life' to reflect 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (2023) |
Annexes | A - E |
Annex A | No changes |
Annex B | The guidance states that 'This preventing radicalisation section remains under review, following the publication of a new definition of extremism on the 14 March 2024.' |
Annex C | The section on Holding and sharing information has been amended in terms of record keeping to include additional information 'Be able to keep detailed, accurate, secure written records of all concerns, discussions and decisions made including the rationale for those decisions. This should include instances where referrals were or were not made to another agency such as LA children's social care or the Prevent program etc.' |
Annex D | No changes |
Annex E | No changes |
Share this page
