Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022

May 25, 2022

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Introduction

On the 20th May 2022, the Government released a new version of the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) statutory guidance for 2022. In this article, we’ll discuss the changes, section by section, including terminology changes and safeguarding focus areas. Hopefully, this will help you digest the new document and inform your response. Before the final version is published there are sometimes slight changes, in particular to paragraph numbers (so watch out if you include them in any documentation.)

Although it must be understood that these changes do not come into effect until 1 September 2022. You can find the current document on the government portal.

What is the Keeping Children Safe in Education Document?

KCSiE is statutory guidance from the Department of Education. Specifically, it details the legal requirements (the ‘must’ actions) and the best practices (the ‘should’ actions) for safeguarding in schools and colleges in England.

To this end, the document is all-encompassing covering everything from safer recruitment, types of abuse, what staff need to know to how to report concerns and allegations.

Moreover, the guidance maintains that all staff who work directly with children must read both Part One and Annex B of the document. Additionally, staff who do not work directly with children can either read Part One or Annex A, which is a condensed version of Part One with the school management deciding which suits its staff best. However, they must ensure that all staff understand their roles and responsibilities.

What are the notable changes in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022?

There are a number of changes in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022. We’ve condensed these points and listed them below for your convenience, separated by each section of the document.

Part One – Safeguarding Information for All Staff

The term ‘Peer-on-Peer’ Abuse within the document has changed to ‘Child-on-Child’ Abuse. The reasons for this are twofold:
- Primarily, it outlines that this document focuses on the welfare and protection of children and not adult peers in an Education environment.
- Secondly, the document Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges is is merging into KCSiE 2022. Formerly a document for governors, senior leadership teams and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSLs), this has now become part of the statutory guidance for all staff in Education. Accordingly, ‘Child-on-Child’ Abuse keeps the terminology consistent between the two documents.

New information added on Domestic Abuse.
Highlighting that some children may not know how or feel ready to talk about abuse.

Part Two – Management of Safeguarding

Governors and trustees are to receive an appropriate level of safeguarding and child protection training.
New guidance regarding the legal duties set out by the 1998 Human Rights Act, the 2010 Equality Act and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The importance of DSLs and how the senior leadership team should support them.
Details of the DSL role are condensed and collated in Annex C, to encourage thorough reading by all relevant parties.
Staff should refer to Clinical Commissioning Groups as Integrated Care Systems (ICSs).
Information carried over from the ‘Sexual violence and sexual harassment…’ document referring to the importance of preventive education in reducing sexual violence and harassment in context of a whole school or college approach..
LGBTQ+ information has also been incorporated from this document.
When children leave a school or college, their DSL should transfer their file to their new school or college within 5 days for an in-year transfer or within 5 days of the start of a new term.
A school-wide approach to preventative education is key in preparing students for life in modern Britain; it creates a culture of zero tolerance to various forms of prejudice.

Part Three – Safer Recruitment

More emphasis on CVs alone will not provide all the information necessary for safe recruitmentand should only be accepted alongside a full application form.
Schools should consider online searches as part of their due diligence process in recruitment.

Safer recruitment comes from thorough due diligence.

Part Four – Allegations made against/Concerns raised in relation to teachers, including supply teachers, other staff, volunteers and contractors.

Management should consider all cases whether substantiated or not as a learning opportunity. For example, if an individual is suspended due to an allegation which is unfounded and they return, how can the process be improved for next time?
The school/college should implement clear processes for ‘low level’ concerns; the school/college can decide on how and to whom reports are made.

Part Five – Child-on-Child sexual violence and sexual harassment

The information in this section comes from the ‘Sexual violence and sexual harassment…’ document.

Annex A – Safeguarding Information for School and College Staff

This section has been updated to reflect child-on-child abuse as in Part One.

Annex B – Further Information

Much of the content on Child-on-Child Abuse has been moved into Parts One, Two and Five of the document, in order to give it more prominence.
There is more information on possible indicators of radicalisation.
A number of additional resources have been included in this year’s document, including some information on victim support, a county lines toolkit, some guidance on forced marriage and more.

Annex C – Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

Details on the role of the DSL are now here, rather than in Part Two, to encourage thorough understanding of the job description.
Additional information on the requirement for children to have an Appropriate Adult present during Police investigations.