Links to other national guidance which may be useful for DSLs and education leaders includes:

• NSPCC: KCSIE 2023 CASPAR briefing
• Education Safeguarding Service: KCSIE 2023 Online Safety Summary
• LGFL: KCSIE  Part 1 & Annex A translations

Professional Practice

• Guidance for Safer Working Practice  provides practical advice for education staff around their own standards and professional practice to reduce the risk of allegations being made against them.
• Teachers’ Standards for school leaders, staff and governing bodies, outlines the minimum requirements and standards for teachers’ professional practice and conduct.
• 'What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused'  provides guidance to help practitioners identify the signs of child abuse and neglect and understand what action to take.

Parental Responsibility

• Understanding and dealing with issues relating to parental responsibility 
• School behaviour and attendance - parental responsibility measures

Information Sharing

• Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners

Behaviour

• Behaviour in schools
• Searching, screening and confiscation at school

• DfE - Governance handbook and competency framework
• UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) - Online Safety in Schools and Colleges: Questions from the Governing Board

Ofsted

• Education Inspection Framework Ofsted's new education inspection framework applies to maintained schools and academies, non-association independent schools, further education and skills providers and early years settings.
• Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings sets out the key points inspectors need to consider when inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings.

Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)

• ISI safeguarding content

The Education Safeguarding Service produced a number of guidance documents for schools and settings in response to Covid-19 pandemic.  Please note, schools and settings should follow the current guidance; some of these documents are now archived but copies are still accessible and should be viewed as reference only.

• Safeguarding FAQs (archived)
• Child Protection Policy Addendum - January 2021 (Archived - please use the updated core child protection 2023-24 policy template below)
• Safeguarding Toolkit for Schools - January 2021
• Online Safety: Considerations and Guidance for Remote Learning - January 2021
  • A template remote learning AUP is available within our AUP templates. AUP templates below.
• Blog: Remote Learning guidance for SLT and DSLs
• Blog: Online Safety resources during Covid 19

Our exemplar child protection policies have been developed in accordance with the key principles established in the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, related national statutory guidance and local procedures. These documents are provided as a starting point and should be adapted by DSLs and leaders/managers to meet the specific requirements for their individual school or setting.

• Exemplar Schools Child Protection Policy Template 2023-24 - to be used from 1 September 2023
• Exemplar Early Years Child Protection Policy Template 2023-24 - to be used from 1 September 2023.

2023-24 Updates

The policy template content for 2023-24 was reviewed and published initially in July 2023, ready for use from 1 September 2023. The most recent versions were updated in April 2024. Where possible, new, moved, condensed, and updated content is highlighted.

We recommend schools and settings ensure they are using the most recent template available.

Kent County Council make every effort to ensure that the information in our templates is accurate and up to date. If errors are brought to our attention, we will correct them as soon as practicable.

Keeping Children Safe in Education requires schools and colleges to have “a staff behaviour policy which should, amongst other things, include: acceptable use of technologies, staff/pupil relationships and communications, including the use of social media” and that schools and colleges "should have a clear policy on the use of mobile and smart technology." The EYFS requires early years providers to "implement a policy and procedures to safeguard children ...must... cover the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting."

As well as embedding online safety content within our child protection policy templates, the Education Safeguarding Service provides specific policy templates for education settings to adapt. These templates can be embedded within existing policies or as part of a standalone online safety policy approach according to leadership decisions. Our templates provide a basis for leaders and managers to assist them in writing an effective policy, however, they will require adaptation to ensure they reflect the settings context, technology use and individual policy decisions.

• Acceptable Use of Technology Policy Templates - 2023-24
• 'Mobile and Smart Technology' and 'Social Media' policy templates - 2023-24
  

2023-24 Updates

The policy template content for 2023-24 was reviewed and published in August 2023 following the publication of KCSIE 2023 and EYFS 2023. Where possible, new, moved, condensed, and updated content is highlighted in yellow.

The Education Safeguarding Service make every effort to ensure that the information in our templates is accurate and up to date. If errors are brought to our attention, we will correct them as soon as practicable.

AUP Posters