Revised Statutory Safeguarding Guidance for schools in England – Keeping Children Safe in Education

Following the consultation launched in December 2015, the Department for Education has today, published its response and revised statutory guidance; ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’.  This revised guidance is for schools (including academies, free schools special schools, PRU’s and independent schools) and colleges across England and will become active on 5^th September 2016 (until then, the existing version published in July 2015 remains in place).

The Governments response to the consultation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/keeping-children-safe-in-education-proposed-changes

The revised documentation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2

The UK Safer Internet Centre welcomes the proposed changes, in particular the aspects around the requirement to provide ‘appropriate filtering and monitoring’ systems.  Earlier this year, UK Safer Internet Centre with partners and stakeholders published definitions of what might be considered ‘appropriate filtering and monitoring’ systems – these were published at www.saferinternet.org.uk/appropriate-filtering-and-monitoring.  The purpose is to enable those subject to this guidance to better assess the ‘appropriateness’ of their existing and future filtering and monitoring provision.  The definitions are also intended to support solution providers in defining, presenting and developing their services.  It is helpful that the revised statutory guidance signposts to these definitions.

UK Safer Internet Centre intends to continue to work with providers and hopes to be in a position to collect and share ‘self certified’ responses from providers as to the array of solutions available to schools.