The NSPCC defines the duty of care in safeguarding as all organisations that work with or come into contact with children should have clear safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that every child has a right to equal protection from harm. However, these legal duties and specific statutory guidance about safeguarding that each organisation should follow vary between sectors, regions and home nations across the UK.
In Scotland, the safeguarding guidance that schools and local authorities must follow comes from the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland, last updated in 2023. The guidance was updated in line with legislative and policy changes. As we head into a new school year, it’s a good time to ensure that every school and organisation in Scotland that works with children is clear about the latest guidance and policies for safeguarding and protecting children, to ensure no child falls through the gaps.
These are key reminders in line with the latest version of the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland:
Collective Responsibility for Child Protection
One of the key points in the guidance highlights that there is a collective responsibility to protect children from harm across agencies, regardless of their level of involvement with each child. The guidance states:
“All agencies have a responsibility to recognise and actively consider potential risks to a child, irrespective of whether the child is the main focus of their involvement.”
This guidance firmly establishes the principle of multi-agency collaboration, a continuum of services to safeguard, support and maintain the wellbeing of children. This is a key practice that all settings and bodies that care for children should adopt. It states that rather than acting alone, schools and teachers should act as one element of a large network to support children in their care.
The Duty of Local Authority/State-funded Education Services
This section of the guidance focuses specifically on the role and responsibilities of staff within education – including teachers, assistants and all other school staff. The guidance highlights that all staff in education settings play a vital role in the protection and safeguarding of children, stating that:
“The day-to-day professional experience of, and relationship with children is a fundamental protective factor. All staff must be aware of, and must follow, child protection procedures.”
The guidance continues to state that when concerns about risk of harm to children do arise, those working with children need to be well placed to notice and respond to factors that might affect a child’s ability to voice concern, as well as any physical or emotional changes in children, cultural contexts such as family or community, risks and stresses in transitional phases (e.g., between schools) and know how to escalate support needs for children and their families.
Safeguarding Responsibilities of Scottish Independent Schools
Another area that the guidance focuses on is the role of Scottish independent schools when it comes to safeguarding children. All members of staff in independent or grant aided schools have a duty to ensure that the children in their care are protected from harm. Any member of staff with a safeguarding concern should share information appropriately and quickly in accordance with local multi-agency processes.
Importantly, the guidance states that independent schools, like other education settings, form an essential part of inter-agency planning and child protection processes. This means that following a report of abuse, neglect, or harm, independent schools must be equipped to communicate with the necessary agencies and to be able to contribute information to provide support and care to children and be involved in multi-agency processes where appropriate.
Updated Children Missing from Education (CME) Policies and Practices
The guidance also includes an update to its policy and practice around Children Missing from Education. This includes any child of compulsory school age who is not being educated in any capacity, as well as any child who has not attended school (despite being enrolled for a long period of time).
The guidance indicates that staff should be aware of the role of the CME Co-ordinator and work in line with the Children Missing from Education Service Guidance (2022), by sharing relevant information. The document also highlights the key steps independent schools should take when a child leaves a school and when there is no clear understanding of where their education will continue– highlighting the need for clear communication and information sharing between independent schools and Local Authorities:
“Where a child leaves an independent school and there is uncertainty over their onward education, it is good practice for independent schools to inform the child’s education local authority, so as to avoid any child being unaccounted for.”
This also highlights the need for clear communication and information sharing between independent schools and Local Authorities.
How Safeguarding Software Can Help
At CPOMS, we understand there are barriers and challenges when it comes to safeguarding, such as having the time and effective resources to be able to share important information, which can make it difficult to respond quickly and efficiently to any concerns that arise.
Safeguarding solutions like CPOMS StudentSafe can help to address the latest guidance set out in the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland. The software allows education settings to record even the smallest of safeguarding concerns, which can be viewed as a full chronological report of a student, allowing safeguarding teams to identify a potential issue before it escalates. CPOMS offers a powerful, customisable tool for securely logging and monitoring safeguarding concerns, where information can be recorded clearly in one place.
When combined with CPOMS Engage schools and local authorities are able to collaborate easily and securely for a holistic approach to child protection. With CPOMS Engage connecting education settings and the local authority, relevant information can be shared immediately between schools, agencies and independent schools without compromising on quality or safety. Ultimately, this enables a joined-up approach to safeguarding and reduces the risk of important information falling through the gaps.
The National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland highlights the importance of child protection, multi-agency collaboration and the need for schools and local authority organisations to invest in tools that enable them to monitor and share information more easily to prevent any child from falling through the gaps.
To find out more about how CPOMS can help you with your safeguarding needs, speak to a member of our team today.
