Proposed changes to KCSIE

The government is currently seeking views on proposed changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2021. The consultation closes on 8 March 2022. The consultation documents can be found here.

The proposed key changes are as follows:

• The DfE’s advice ‘Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges’ has now been merged into KCSIE.
• Governing boards and proprietors should ensure that all governors and trustees receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training at induction. The training should be regularly updated (para 81).
• A number of paragraphs have been added to provide schools and colleges with information regarding the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. The new sections make the link between these legal duties and safeguarding (paras 82–93).
• Governing boards and proprietors should ensure the designated safeguarding lead has the appropriate status and authority within the school or college to carry out the duties of the post. The role carries a significant level of responsibility and the post holder should be given the additional time, funding, training, resources and support needed to carry out the role effectively (para 103).
• Schools and colleges should only accept copies of a curriculum vitae alongside an application form. A curriculum vitae on its own will not provide adequate information (para 209).
• As part of the shortlisting process, schools and colleges should consider carrying out an online search (including social media) as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates. This may help identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online, which the school or college might want to explore with the applicant at interview (para 215).
• It is made clear that learning lessons applies to all cases of handling allegations and not just to those which are concluded and found to be substantiated (para 414–415).
• Schools and colleges should ensure they have a clear and easy to understand process for low-level concerns to be reported. Schools and colleges are free to decide how reports are made and who they are reported to (para 427).

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