19: Understanding and Responding to Basic Safeguarding Concerns and Processes in Schools

Promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children is everybody’s responsibility (Department for Education (DfE), 2018a). In the recent past, governing bodies of maintained schools, proprietors of independent schools, teaching staff, academies and pupil referral units have all had an obligation to understand what they ‘must’ and ‘should’ do to safeguard children in their care (DfE, 2018a). More recent guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE; DfE, 2019) reinforces the responsibilities that (all) schools and colleges have in regards to carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The KCSiE guidance is issued under Section 175 of the Education Act (2002), the Education (Independent Schools Standards) Regulations (2014) and the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations (2015) by the Department for Education. Within this guidance and the wider policy context (see below) school teaching staff are identified as being pivotal in identifying safeguarding concerns early, providing help for children and preventing concerns from escalating (Baginsky, 2008; DfE, 2019). The Teacher’s Standards (DfE, 2012) also recognises that as a minimum requirement teachers should safeguard children’s well-being as part of their professional duties. This chapter is an introductory text which explores how safeguarding concerns are understood, the duty school staff have in relation to safeguarding and the skills and knowledge needed for working with safeguarding concerns. It concludes with a short summary discussion which contains signposting to further reading and three reflective questions which have been designed to help you identify your own future needs in relation to becoming competent at identifying and responding to safeguarding concerns.