Safeguarding

Whatever your role in school - headteacher, teacher/tutor, governor, support worker or other - you have a vital part to play in protecting and promoting the welfare of the children and young people in your care.

Working together to safeguard children 2023 sets out how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in accordance with the Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004.

Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is key government statutory guidance that is updated yearly for education staff in ensuring that children are safeguarded from harm.

If you're worried about a child and their welfare you must report your concerns. Find out what to do if you're worried about a child. You must also speak to your school/college designated safeguarding lead (DSL) for advice as soon as possible. Always make sure that they are aware of any safeguarding concerns that you have reported.

This webpage contains useful information and resources for schools and education providers, to support you to fulfil your statutory responsibilities to keep children and young people safe.

Your safeguarding duties

Safeguarding duties for education staff

Because of your day-to-day contact with children and young people, teachers and support staff are uniquely placed to be able to detect any issues at an early stage. This may be welfare concerns, signs of abuse or neglect, changes of behaviour or failure to develop. You need to refer those concerns to the appropriate organisation, usually the local authority children's social care services. To do this, It is essential that you remain professionally curious in your role. To find more information and guidance about professional curiosity, please see the following 7 minute briefing.

Schools and colleges are expected to promote children's safety and wellbeing in several ways:

  • by creating safe and secure learning environments
  • by using the curriculum to make pupils aware of how they can keep themselves safe and what behaviour towards them is not acceptable. It is important that children and young people are taught to recognise when pressure from others (including people they know) threatens their personal safety and wellbeing.

You should also have effective arrangements in place to address a range of issues such as:

  • pupils' health and safety
  • bullying
  • racist abuse
  • harassment and discrimination
  • use of physical intervention
  • meeting the needs of pupils with medical conditions
  • providing first aid
  • drug and substance misuse
  • educational visits
  • intimate care
  • internet safety
  • school security
  • issues which may be specific to a local area or population, for example gang activity

All staff should be aware of systems within their school or college which support safeguarding and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction. This should include the:

  • child protection policy, which should amongst other things also include the policy and procedures to deal with peer-on-peer abuse;
  • behaviour policy (which should include measures to prevent bullying, including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying);
  • staff behaviour policy (sometimes called a code of conduct);
  • safeguarding response to children who go missing from education; and
  • role of the designated safeguarding lead (including the identity of the designated safeguarding lead and any deputies).

What all education staff need to know

There is an expectation that every member of staff working on education premises, regardless of role, has basic safeguarding training and knowledge of the policies and procedures involved around this.

All staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety) at induction. They should be aware of the indicators of abuse and neglect and how to report safeguarding concerns. The training should be regularly updated. All staff should receive safeguarding and child protection (including online safety) updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins and staff meetings). These should be provided as required, and at least annually, to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.

All staff should be aware of their local early help process and the process for making referrals to Early Help and children’s Social Care. They should also be aware of statutory assessments under the Children Act 1989, especially section 17 (children in need) and section 47 (a child suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm) that may follow a referral. They should also understand the role they might be expected to play in such assessments.

All staff should know what to do if a child tells them they are being abused, exploited or neglected. They should know how to manage the requirement to maintain an appropriate level of confidentiality. This means only involving those who need to be involved, such as the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) and children’s social care. Staff should never promise a child that they will not tell anyone about a report of any form of abuse, as this may ultimately not be in the best interests of the child.

All staff should be able to reassure victims that they are being taken seriously and that they will be supported and kept safe.

If you believe a child is at immediate risk of serious harm you must report this to Social Care/Police. Learn more about what to do if you are worried about a child.

Find tips on how to make a good referral into the Integrated Front Door.

You can also fill in a Children's social care referral. 

You must seek advice from your school/education provider’s DSL and ensure that they are informed as soon as possible.

Designated safeguarding lead (DSL)

Role of the DSL

All schools and colleges should have a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). They are responsible for dealing with child protection issues and wider safeguarding concerns. They will provide advice and support to colleagues, liaise with the local authority, and work, where necessary, with other organisations. The designated safeguarding lead is the first point of contact for any member of education staff who has a concern about the safety and wellbeing of a pupil. Download more information about the roles and responsibilities of the DSL here. 

Education safeguarding self-assessment tool for DSL’s

Education providers can use the NSPCC's online free safeguarding and child protection self-assessment tool. It has been designed to help DSL’s assess their current safeguarding arrangements, identify standards that have been met and identify areas for development.

DSL training

BSCP also run a DSL training course. This explores the roles and responsibilities of the DSL considering the latest legislation, national guidance and policies around safeguarding in education. The Designated Safeguarding Lead Online Seminar is bookable via the council’s ‘POD’ online training system.

There is an expectation that all DSL’s across Barnsley sign up to this course when they begin their role and the course should then be attended every 2 years thereafter as a refresher.

DSL quarterly online forums

BSCP holds a quarterly DSL online forum via MS Teams which all DSL’s are expected to attend wherever possible. These meetings provide updates on the latest safeguarding and service developments, training opportunities and enable the opportunity to discuss local safeguarding issues. If you are a DSL and are not yet on the DSL distribution list, then please email the following address asking to be added: barnsleysafeguardingchildrenspartnership@barnsley.gov.uk.

Other safeguarding roles

School governing bodies are accountable for making sure that their school has effective safeguarding policies and procedures in place and for monitoring their school's compliance with them.

Headteachers and leadership teams must be clear about their statutory responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and the steps they are taking to develop good practice beyond the statutory minimum.

All staff need to be particularly sensitive to signs which may indicate possible safeguarding concerns. Any concerns about poor or irregular attendance or children missing from education for example should be reported to their DSL. If you believe a child is at immediate risk of serious harm you must report this to Social Care/Police immediately. Learn more about what to do if you are worried about a child. 

National safeguarding guidance for education

National guidance

Here you will find the latest safeguarding national government guidance for education settings:

Local safeguarding policies and procedures

Where to find local safeguarding policies and procedures

For a full list of the latest local policies and procedures across various areas of safeguarding children, please visit the BSCP policies and procedures manual.

If you are unhappy with a decision or response to a safeguarding issue then please use the BSCP Multi agency escalation process to raise your concerns.

If you have safeguarding concerns about a staff member

High-level concerns about staff

All schools and colleges should have processes and procedures in place to manage any safeguarding concerns about staff members (including supply staff, volunteers, and contractors). High level concerns include allegations that a staff member has:

  • behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child and/or;
  • possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child and/or;
  • behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he or she may pose a risk of harm to children; and/or
  • behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children.

If high-level safeguarding concerns are discovered or raised about a staff member or a serious allegation is made about a member of staff (including supply staff, volunteers, and contractors):

  • this should be referred to the headteacher or principal and immediate action taken.
  • where there are concerns/allegations about the headteacher or principal this should be referred on. In this case refer to the chair of governors, chair of the management committee or proprietor of an independent school.
  • where there are concerns/allegations about the headteacher and they are also the sole proprietor of an independent school, this should be reported directly to the Local Authority Designated Officer(s) (LADOs). This is also the case where there is a conflict of interest in reporting the matter to the headteacher. The LADOs can provide impartial and confidential advice on such matters. To contact the LADO for Barnsley, call 01226 772341.

For more information about the role of the LADO visit the BSCP LADO webpage.

Low-level concerns about staff

These are concerns that don’t meet the harms threshold for a LADO referral but that can help to pick up concerning behaviour of staff that need to be dealt with. These may include behaviours in and out of work such as:

  • being over friendly with children;
  • appearing to have ‘favourites’;
  • taking photographs of children on their personal mobile phone;
  • engaging with a child on a one-to-one basis in a secluded area or behind a closed door; or,
  • using inappropriate sexualised, intimidating or offensive language.

If low level concerns are recognised, it is important that they are reported to management and recorded in writing. Concerns should be dealt with appropriately, tracked and monitored for further patterns of behaviour.  It is important that all schools and colleges create a safeguarding culture where staff and students feel that they can raise any safeguarding concerns. For more information please see section 4 of Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE).

If you have concerns about safeguarding practices in an establishment

All staff and volunteers should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and potential failures in the school’s or college’s safeguarding regime and know that such concerns will be taken seriously by the senior leadership team. Appropriate whistleblowing procedures should be in place for such concerns to be raised with the school’s or college’s senior leadership team.

Where a staff member feels unable to raise an issue with their employer, or feels that their genuine concerns are not being addressed, other whistleblowing channels are open to them:

General guidance on whistleblowing can be found via: Government advice on whistleblowing.

The NSPCC’s whistleblowing helpline is available as an alternative route for staff who do not feel able to raise concerns regarding child protection failures internally, or have concerns about the way a concern is being handled by their school or college. Staff can call 0800 028 0285 – the line is available from 8:00AM to 8:00PM, Monday to Friday; or email: help@nspcc.org.uk.

Protect, speak up, stop harm is a free whistleblowing advice website and helpline for professionals.

Other safeguarding guidance and information

The Children’s Society website contains resources and toolkits in supporting young people at risk of abuse.

The NSPCC website provides useful additional information on abuse and neglect and what to look out for.

Safer Recruitment Consortium “guidance for safe working practice”, which may help ensure staff behaviour policies are robust and effective.

Safeguarding during COVID-19

The pandemic has been unprecedented, and all safeguarding partners, agencies and staff have worked hard through the most challenging circumstances to try to keep our most vulnerable children safe. National lockdowns and restrictions have had a huge impact on educational settings. It is important that vulnerable children that are off school with COVID continue to be tracked and seen where possible (ie visits to drop work off/check on welfare, ensure parents are supported etc). If they fail to return after a period of absence, Education Welfare processes should be followed (see Education Welfare drop-down selection below).

Below are some useful links and guidance for education settings around safeguarding during the pandemic.

Government guidance and statistics:

Local guidance:

Section 175 safeguarding audit

Read the most recent annual section 175 safeguarding audit report from the BSCP.

Toolkits and templates

Here are some useful toolkits and templates:

Inspections and research

The Ofsted guidance - inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings sets out what inspectors must consider when inspecting safeguarding. It outlines the evidence that inspectors will look for during inspections and sets out the judgements they will make.

The current Ofsted inspection framework began in September 2019. Here is a link to the Ofsted inspection page with more information: Ofsted Inspection Guidance from September 2019.

The guidance from Ofsted is listed here:

Key national safeguarding children documents that Ofsted inspections work to:

Sample questions that Ofsted can ask:

The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI)

The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved to inspect certain independent schools and will also report on safeguarding arrangements. ISI has a published framework which informs how it inspects at Independent Schools Inspectorate.

Research

Ofsted review of abuse in schools and colleges (2021)

Student physical and mental health and wellbeing

Physical health - Barnsley 0-19 Public Health Nursing Service (0-19 PHNS)

Barnsley Public Health Nursing Service (PHNS) is a universal service provided to children and young people aged 0-19 years.  The service prioritises children, young people and their families’ health and wellbeing and is structured around the National Healthy Child Programme and delivered by health visiting and school nursing teams aimed at:

  • providing parents and carers with the advice, support, and interventions they need to make sure their children have the best start in life, make progress in their development and keep healthy and stay safe;
  • promoting health and healthy lifestyles, working with other agencies and in partnership with parents, carers, and young people to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing. 

The school nursing teams work across geographical areas within Barnsley and will link to schools in that area. They offer advice, support and help throughout a child’s school years in relation to health or development, especially if this is affecting their education or school attendance. Support for children and young people can happen in the education setting or in their home. Young people can also access a member of the school nurse teams themselves to talk about their health or about any worries they may have around this. They:

  • Support specific issues around sexual health and contraception advice.
  • Help young people to access local services
  • Advise on healthy relationships.
  • Offer healthy nutrition and eating advice.
  • Offer advice about healthy activities and lifestyles
  • Offer help with low-level anxiety and emotional wellbeing.
  • Signpost or refer to specialist services where needed.

School staff can refer to the service through the completion of the PHNS referral form. Parent or young person consent must be obtained. Referrals will be screened and reviewed for appropriateness for their intervention.

For all enquiries call the Single Point of Access (SPA) number on 01226 774411, lines are open Monday to Thursday 8.45am to 4.45pm and Friday 8.45am to 4.15pm. You can also email 0-19healthteam@barnsley.gov.uk.

Please visit the PHNS 0-19 website for more details.

Sexual health

If you are concerned that a young person has suffered or is at risk of sexual abuse or exploitation, you must report your concerns – Learn more about what to do if you are worried about a child here. You must also speak to your school designated safeguarding lead (DSL) as soon as possible. Always make sure that the DSL is aware of any safeguarding concerns that you have reported.

For young people needing support and advice around sexual health, ‘Spectrum Health’ offer a Sexual Health Service in Barnsley operating from Gateway Plaza with drop-ins offering sexual health and relationship support – including STI testing and contraception. Visit the Spectrum website for more details of Barnsley’s offer.

Mental health

All staff should be aware that mental health problems can, in some cases, be an indicator that a child has suffered or is at risk of suffering abuse, neglect or exploitation. Only appropriately trained professionals should attempt to make a diagnosis of a mental health problem. Education staff, however, are well placed to observe children day-to-day and identify those whose behaviour suggests that they may be experiencing a mental health problem or be at risk of developing one.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

CAMHS is the NHS service that offers specialist support and treatment for children and young people, aged up to 18 years old, who are experiencing difficulties with their mental health and wellbeing.

Most young people that are referred into CAMHS have already received emotional and/or mental health support from another health or care professional or service. If things haven’t improved from initial support, CAMHS can help. CAMHS can also help with urgent concerns regarding a child or young person who needs immediate support from a mental health professional. This can be referred to as ‘crisis support’.

From 28 February 2022, staff at a new CYP Mental Health Contact Point (CYPMH Contact Point) will handle all requests for support, including those from professionals and partner agencies.

The CYPMH Contact Point brings together local Mental Health Support Team (MHST) and Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). These will be working in partnership to help CYP and their families / carers to get the right support at the right time, whilst providing more seamless care.

You can contact the CYPMH Contact Point by calling (01226) 107377.

You should only contact the emergency services on 999 or refer a child to A&E with mental health concerns if:

  • someone’s life is at risk – for example, if a child has seriously injured themselves or taken an overdose, and/or;
  • you do not feel you can keep the child or others safe from their actions.

In times of emergency, when a young person has presented to accident and emergency with concerns for their mental health, they will have an emergency assessment undertaken by the all-age liaison team based at the hospital. CAMHS will then be informed and will offer a follow up contact within seven days (this could be face-to-face or over the phone and could be on a weekend or bank holiday).

For full details visit the Barnsley CAMHS website.

COMPASS

The COMPASS Barnsley Mental Health Support Team (MHST) works with children, young people, and families in education settings across Barnsley and is represented within all secondary schools and a growing number of primary schools. They provide free, confidential support, help and advice for pupils, students and schools, for issues related to low-level mental health issues and emotional wellbeing.

COMPASS can offer group work, cognitive-behavioural therapy and support whole-school approaches to improving student’s mental health.

For advice, support, or to make a referral, speak to your School’s COMPASS representative, or call the CYPMH Contact Point on 01226 107377. You can also visit the COMPASS MHST website to find out more about the service.

Compass and CAMHS both feed into Early Intervention and Early Help Panels and therefore can offer support if they hear a case at one of these panels where there are mental health concerns for the child that has been referred.

Other emotional wellbeing provision for young people

Chilypep (the Children and Young People’s Empowerment Project) is a charity dedicated to raising the voice of children and young people, giving them the platform to shape their world and stay connected. They work with all young people in South Yorkshire and beyond, with the purpose of promoting the rights, wellbeing and opportunities of all young people.

They run an open-access Emotional Health and Wellbeing Hub in Barnsley Town Centre called H.O.M.E (Helping Our Mental ‘Ealth) from which they run projects, offer group work, programmes, drop-ins, etc. For more information and resources visit the Chilypep website.

Government guidance

Other useful resources

Education welfare and attendance

Improving school attendance and inclusion in education is integral to raising pupils' levels of achievement and improving their life chances. All schools have a responsibility to implement effective systems and procedures for encouraging regular school attendance and for investigating the underlying causes of poor attendance and offering an escalation of staged interventions. Schools also have an important role to play in educating pupils and parents about the impact of poor attendance on pupils' achievement and on their life chances.

The Barnsley Education Welfare Service is a specialist team of Education Welfare Officers (EWOs) who are qualified and experienced in working with schools to develop systems, procedures and interventions, working in partnership with organisations to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence of students. All schools have a link EWO who can offer advice and individual schools can buy in supplemental Education Welfare services. See the Barnsley Education Welfare Service website for more information.

Government guidance

Resources

Inclusion

Local Authorities have the responsibility to provide education to all students, including those with learning needs or behavioural problems.

School suspensions, exclusions and support

A suspension, where a pupil is temporarily removed from the school, is an essential behaviour management tool that should be set out within a school’s behaviour policy. A pupil may be suspended for one or more fixed periods (up to a maximum of 45 school days in a single academic year). A suspension does not have to be for a continuous period.

A permanent exclusion is when a pupil is no longer allowed to attend a school (unless the pupil is reinstated). The decision to exclude a pupil permanently should only be taken by the headteacher:

  • in response to a serious breach or persistent breaches of the school's behaviour policy;
  • where allowing the pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupils or staff in the school.

A child at any secondary school in Barnsley who is at risk of receiving multiple suspensions or permanent exclusion can be referred to the inclusion EWO. They will support the school to engage the child and family in education through early intervention and whole family working. Secondary schools can also refer to the ‘Early Intervention Panel’. This panel is led by school leaders and supported by the Local Authority and discussions are held regarding behaviour support and interventions. If you require any further information, please email exclusions@barnsley.gov.uk.

If a student is permanently excluded the Local Authority has responsibility to provide education from the sixth day onwards until the formal process of exclusion is followed through. Following this process students are referred to the Fair Access Panel. All Headteachers are represented on this panel and a decision made about where a child will be educated – this also applies to children that may be new to the area and difficult to place. Parents have a right to challenge any decisions made here about their child.

For more information please visit: BMBC school and education settings: Access to education guidance – Guidance to support inclusion

Government guidance

Looked after children (LAC) and the ‘virtual school’

A child who has been in the care of their local authority for more than 24 hours is known as a looked after child (LAC), or a child in care. Children in care attend various schools across the borough. ‘The virtual school’ is the name for the group of professionals who oversee the education of Barnsley's children in care. They are responsible for driving positive outcomes for looked-after children and improving their life chances, working closely with schools to make sure our children in care receive a first-class education. The virtual school support and advocate on behalf of looked after children. They provide training to schools, colleges and early years settings around attachment and trauma, LAC school systems and they have a designated teacher network.

Personal Education Planning (PEP)

A termly Personal Education Plan (TPEP) is a document that captures the attainment, progress and educational needs of a child in care. It identifies how additional funding, from the personal premium grant, will be spent to support positive outcomes for children in care and remove any barriers to their learning. The virtual school oversees these plans to ensure that looked after children are being supported appropriately in education.

Looked after children and inclusion

Any looked after children at risk of exclusion should be referred to the virtual school’s ‘looked after education panel’. This is held fortnightly and helps to identify the correct support based on the child’s individual needs to reduce the risk of exclusion. This panel also works in partnership with the admission team to identify school places for looked after children moving into the area where the general admission processes have not identified a suitable setting.

For further information please visit the virtual school website or email: virtualschool@barnsley.gov.uk.

Government guidance

Resources

Private fostering

Private fostering is when a child under the age of 16 (or 18 if they have a disability) is cared for by someone who is not their parent or a close relative for 28 days or more.

For this purpose, a ‘close relative’ is defined as a:

  • Grandparent.
  • Brother or sister.
  • Uncle or aunt.
  • Step-parent by marriage or civil partnership.

If a child is living with a close relative, they are not privately fostered.

Private fostering arrangements are diverse. However, arrangements which are private fostering include:

  • Children and young people sent from abroad to stay with another family, usually to improve their educational opportunities.
  • Teenagers who, having broken ties with their parents, are staying in short term arrangements with friends or other non-relatives.
  • Children of prisoners placed with distant relatives.
  • Language students living with host families.

Excluded from the definition are:

  • Children and young people who are considered looked after or placed in any residential home, hospital or school.

Professionals have a statutory duty in relation to private fostering. If you have become aware of a possible private fostering arrangement, you must inform our children’s social care team.

Find out more on our private fostering webpage.

Early help in family hubs

All school staff should be prepared to identify children who may benefit from early help. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges at any point in a child’s life, from 0-19 (25 with a disability).

Early help is our collective approach to providing support to potentially vulnerable children, young people and families as soon as problems start to emerge, or when there is a strong likelihood that problems will emerge in the future. It is about the way we can all work together, share information, and put the child or young person and their family at the centre providing effective support. Helping them to solve problems and find solutions at an early stage means we avoid needs becoming so great that specialist statutory interventions are required.

Early help is a key part of working together to safeguard children. It forms a significant part of thresholds, so we all have a key role in this. It may be we're coordinating a multi-agency action plan as a lead practitioner or taking part in a Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting as a contributing professional. Early help is the system in which we operate our early intervention and preventative responses.

Our universal Early Help Provision is delivered through a range of groups and activities which are available via our network of family hubs.  Our Targeted Early Help offer focuses on supporting children, parents, carers and families through specific direct packages of work and interventions.

How to assess and refer

When you identify that a child or family would benefit from early help, you must obtain the consent of the young person and parents/carers and complete a multi-agency early help assessment. As part of this initial assessment of needs, you may involve a number of other professionals to ensure a full and holistic assessment is undertaken which identifies needs on a family wide basis.  From this, agencies can develop an action plan which that can be reviewed at regular multi-agency TAF meetings. If the assessment identifies the need for a specific direct intervention or piece of work from Targeted Early Help Services a referral can be made to the ‘Early Help Panel’ (EHP) to request targeted support for the family or young person.

All Early Help documents and information can be accessed at Barnsley’s Early Help toolkit for practitioners.

For enquires you can also email earlyhelp@barnsley.gov.uk.

Government guidance

Resources

Targeted Youth Support (TYS)

Our Targeted Youth Support Service (TYS) works directly with young people aged 11-19 years (and those up to 25 with additional needs) to provide targeted support either on a one-to-one basis or as part of a group or project.

Through early help or the early identification of an issue, we can offer a range of universal and targeted support to reduce or prevent problems or issues from getting worse and bring in the right support at the right time to meet young people’s needs.

Referrals to TYS can be made using the ‘request for Early Help targeted support application form’ which is available on our Families Information Service website. Completed requests for support should be returned via earlyhelp@barnsley.gov.uk. These referrals are then discussed at Barnsley’s Early Help Panel and allocated accordingly.

TYS and support within schools

As well as providing one-to-one support for young people, TYS can provide tailored sessions with groups of students around identified issues. TYS also run various youth centres around Barnsley and provide detached youth support within local communities. They also work with young people who have been missing from home to conduct return home interviews, many of which take place in schools, as this provides a neutral environment for the young person.

Visit the TYS website for more details.

Other useful resources:

Barnsley Youth Justice Service (YJS)

Barnsley Youth Justice Service (YJS) work with children aged 10 to 18 who are at risk of offending or are already involved in the criminal justice system because of behaviour that has been determined by police to be an offence. The service work dynamically with the child, their parents or carers, and any other professional working with the family to prevent further offending.

Some youth justice interventions are voluntary (such as out of court disposals where the young person agrees to adhere to a contract of work designed to divert them from offending behaviours). Alternatively young people may be subject to a court order which is statutory and, if breached, may result in enforcement action or further sanctions. A child working with the YJS will be allocated a case manager who will develop a comprehensive plan to address the offending behaviour and manage risks in conjunction with other professionals around the young person.

Visit the Barnsley Youth Justice Service website for more details.

Police

South Yorkshire Police (SYP) have close links with schools - within Barnsley part of their role is to work in partnership with secondary schools in the Barnsley area. Where there are issues with a student’s behaviour, school police officers can be contacted for advice and they can speak to students about illegal behaviour, hate crimes and consequences. They also offer sessions for young people about youth violence and weapons and can refer young people that have got into trouble online to a cyber-diversion course. They run cadet sessions at Barnsley Police Station for young people who wish to apply.

As part of what is known as ‘Operation Encompass’, many schools/colleges will now get a notification from the Police if any incidences of domestic violence are reported at a student’s home address.

For more information and to find your local neighbourhood team, visit the SYP Neighbourhood Policing Team website.

If you, young people, or families have intelligence to submit about crime or anti-social behaviour in the local community you can do this via the following websites:

  • Fearless – Anonymous reporting of crimes for young people, professionals and the public. This also includes resources for schools on county lines and risk-taking behaviour.
  • Crimestoppers - Anonymous reporting of crimes, also offers general crime-prevention and safety advice.

To pass on information about a child to the police (that does not meet the threshold for referral to the Integrated Front Door), you can fill in the South Yorkshire Police intelligence referral form. This should only be filled in when the child is not at risk.

For more details and guidance relating to the intelligence referral form, view the PowerPoint.

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Children and young people have special educational needs (SEN) if they find it significantly more difficult to learn, or if they’ve got a disability that prevents or makes it difficult for them to use the same educational facilities as others their age. Within education there are often poorer outcomes for children with SEND and they are at higher risk of suspension or exclusion. Low-level SEN concerns should be referred for assessment via Barnsley’s Early Help service so that the child and family can be supported appropriately and appropriate measures be put into place at school to support the child.

Education, health and care plans (EHCP)

If a child/young person has higher level special educational needs or disabilities, they may need an education, health and care plan (EHCP). This is a legal document which states the support that a child/young person needs to make good progress in their education. An application must be made to the Local Authority who will then complete a needs assessment and reach a decision as to whether a plan is required and progressed.

Supporting parents/carers

Parents and carers often do not know where to turn if they believe their child requires SEND support – they need to be involved in all stages of the process and should be made aware of what support is available to them and their child. Barnsley is also adopting a ‘tell it once’ approach, where families should not have to repeat their stories repeatedly and therefore positive communication between agencies and with families is key.

Barnsley SENDIASS

Barnsley SENDIASS, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service, provide free confidential and impartial information, advice and support to all young people and parents and carers of children and young people who:

  • have; or might have; a special educational need or disability (SEND);
  • are aged 0 to 25 years old;
  • live in the borough of Barnsley.

For more information, visit the Barnsley SENDIASS website

Please ensure that the SENDIASS page and the Barnsley Council - SEND website is shared with all parents and carers where there are SEN concerns.

Barnsley’s Youth Council and SEND Youth Forum

Barnsley’s Youth Council are a group of local young people, elected by their peers to represent the views of all young people who live in Barnsley.

The SEND youth forum is a group of young people who experience Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Any young person aged between 11 and 25 with additional needs can join. The forum work on SEND specific topics as a group and also jointly with their fellow Youth Council. It's a great chance for children with SEND to make friends. They can take part in fun activities, learn important life skills and have the opportunity to have their say and make positive changes to services that affect them. This is all with support from the Youth Voice and Participation team.

For more information please visit the Barnsley Youth Council and the Barnsley SEND Youth Forum webpages.

Safeguarding allegations and concerns against staff

Sometimes children with SEND may have severe communication difficulties, they may need one-to-one personal care, or restraining for their own/others safety. This, in turn, means that they are vulnerable and can lead to allegations and complaints being made about staff or adults that care for them. If you have a safeguarding concern about a young person with SEN you must report it. Learn more about what to do if you are worried about a child here. In the instance of someone making a safeguarding allegation about a member of staff the Local Authority Officer (LADO) can be contacted for impartial advice. See the ‘safeguarding concerns about a staff member’ section above for more information.

Government guidance

Other resources

Contextual safeguarding (CS) for schools

Contextual Safeguarding (CS) is an approach that aims to identify and respond to various harms and abuse posed to children and young people from outside their home. These risks may occur from peers, at school, in their community, neighbourhood or even online.

As education staff you may become aware of CS issues for children and young people that you work with. All staff should be aware that safeguarding incidents and/or behaviours can be associated with factors outside the school or college and/or can occur between children outside of these environments. All staff, but especially the DSL (and deputies) should consider whether children are at risk of abuse or exploitation in situations outside their families. You should consider how as a school you can intervene, share information and work alongside other partners who can further intervene directly within various contexts of risk. As mentioned in Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE), CS risks may include (but are not limited to):

  • Criminal and sexual exploitation.
  • Online abuse.
  • Peer-on-peer abuse.
  • Sexual harmful behaviour.
  • Gang involvement.
  • Female genital mutilation.
  • Radicalisation.
  • Trafficking and modern slavery.

You can read more about each of these different forms of abuse below.

Referring CS concerns

If you believe a child is at immediate risk of serious harm you must report this to Social Care/Police. Learn more about what to do if you are worried about a child here. You must seek advice from your school’s DSL and ensure that they are informed as soon as possible.

For those children where CS concerns are suspected to be putting a child at risk of significant harm, contact your DSL for advice and refer concerns to Social Care through our Integrated Front Door (IFD) on 01226 772423. When making a referral be sure to Include a completed child exploitation screening tool document which can be found on the contextual safeguarding page. This will ensure that you have included as much information as possible about the contexts of the risks to the child and will aid the IFD to screen the referral. Anyone can request a consultation/discussion with the contextual safeguarding social work team by emailing contextualsafeguarding@barnsley.gov.uk.

CS mapping and school consultations

Within the Integrated Front Door (IFD) we have a specialist CS team of social workers and a Police Officer who share intelligence and map concerns across areas of Barnsley. If CS concerns are identified in your school’s area, the team will be in touch with you to gather information and invite you to mapping meeting where places of concern, peer associations and other contextual concerns will be mapped out. You will also be offered a specialist consultation session to discuss issues and potential interventions. You can request a consultation session if any CS concerns occur within your school/college that you are concerned about. The CS team can also offer ideas for assemblies and offer drop-in/popup stalls for events etc please contact MASH for more information on (01226) 772423.

Daily briefing

The council holds online daily briefings with partner agencies about any CS concerns occurring in different areas. If a CS concern arises within your school area, an agency from daily briefing would be identified to contact you.

Barnsley ‘Safe Places’ scheme

The council have developed a scheme called ‘Safe Places’, in partnership with the police and local businesses. Anyone can use the scheme to get help if they feel unsafe whilst out and about in Barnsley. You can go to a safe place if you’re lost, being harassed, or followed, or feeling worried for another reason.

The safe places window sticker is displayed in public buildings, shops and businesses that are signed up to the scheme.

If someone needs help, they can go into any of these places and tell staff they need a safe place. Staff can contact their family or carer to come and help, or they can stay there for a while until they feel better. This scheme is excellent to promote for student safety and wellbeing.

Visit the our safe places website for more information or view the Safe Places Barnsley member scheme website for a map and list of businesses involved in the scheme. There is also a downloadable safe places app for mobile phones.

Safe places - person hugging another person cartoon image

Young people and missing episodes

Young people who go missing from home or school are at a higher risk of experiencing abuse and CS risks. If a child is failing to attend school on a regular basis contact the Education Welfare Team (see above section) for advice.

Where a child has been excluded and/or walked out of school, the school should attempt to call parents/carers to inform them that their child is not in school and that the child’s whereabouts are not known. They should have a conversation regarding the circumstances and determine with the parent if it is necessary to report the child missing, and if so, the parent should do this.

If a parent or carer refuses to report a child missing but the school feel this is necessary to do, school should contact the police.

If the school is unable to contact a parent/carer they need to reconsider the circumstances and risks (for example they should consider whether to visit the child’s home and see if the child is there). If they believe the child’s whereabouts are not known and/or the child is at risk of harm, they should contact the Police and report the child as missing.

Any young person that has gone missing is offered a ‘return home’ interview by a member of our Targeted Youth Support Team which should be undertaken within 72 hours of them returning home.

You can also read South Yorkshire children missing from home and care protocol 2021, currently under review - June 2023.  To pass on information about contextual safeguarding to the police you can fill in the South Yorkshire Police intelligence referral form.  This should only be filled in when not meeting the threshold for a referral to social care and the child is not at risk. For more details and guidance relating to the intelligence referral form, view the PowerPoint.

Contextual safeguarding training

We offer an online e-learning course via the BMBC training platform called ‘Understanding Contextual Safeguarding’. This is suitable for all staff working with children, young people and families. It is split into modules and should take around 50 minutes to complete.

We also run an online seminar on ‘Awareness Raising of Contextual Safeguarding’. This is suitable for all staff working with children, young people and families.

We also offer a 20 minute online webinar around the basics of contextual safeguarding, this can be found at Contextual Safeguarding: A Short Briefing Webinar (2022).

Contextual safeguarding resources and further information

Download a printable version of the BSCP contextual safeguarding 7 minute briefing.

See the BSCP contextual safeguarding webpage for more information on contextual safeguarding in Barnsley.

Visit the Contextual Safeguarding Network for more information and resources for schools around contextual safeguarding.

Also, you can access the Contextual Safeguarding Network secondary school assessment toolkit.

Peer-on-peer abuse, bullying and harmful sexual behaviour (HSB)

All schools in England must have appropriate, clear and well-communicated school-wide policies in place, including measures in relation to protecting children from abuse, bullying and sexual harassment, whether from staff members or their peers. Staff and students should be encouraged to report all safeguarding concerns and should be supported to do so.

Peer-on-peer abuse

Peer-on-peer abuse (also known as child-on-child abuse) occurs when a young person is exploited, bullied and/or harmed by their peers who are the same or similar age; everyone directly involved in peer-on-peer abuse is under the age of 18. ‘Peer-on-peer’ abuse can relate to various forms of abuse such as physical and sexual abuse; sexual harassment and violence; emotional harm; on and offline bullying and teenage relationship abuse.

Bullying and cyberbullying

Bullying is repeated aggressive behaviour that can be physical, verbal, or relational. Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, or pushing the victim (or threatening to do so), as well as stealing, hiding, or ruining their things, and harassment, degradation, or humiliation. Verbal bullying includes name-calling, teasing, taunting, insulting, or otherwise verbally abusing the victim. Relationship bullying includes refusing to talk to the victim, excluding them from groups or activities, spreading lies or rumours, or making them do things they don’t want to do.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place online. Unlike bullying offline, online bullying can follow the child wherever they go, at school, at home, via smartphones, emails, texts, and social media, 24 hours a day.

Anti-bullying resources

Every child, young person and adult has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.  Our Anti Bullying Strategy 2022-2025 helps to support this.

Bullying is a key issue in schools and how schools recognise and respond to bullying is a key judgement for Ofsted.

There are a number of statutory obligations on schools with regard to behaviour which establish clear responsibilities to respond to bullying.  Every school must have measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils.

You may find the following government resources useful:

In June 2023, the Partnership re-launched their anti-bullying commitment, with the view that schools re-launch or refresh their pledge in 2023/24.

Barnsley's youth groups (The Youth Council, Inclusive Youth Voice and Care4Us) have created an anti-bullying video to use alongside the commitment.

We've also created two toolkits for staff training on online harms and anti-bullying, along with surveys for primary and secondary schools to self-audit bullying in their schools. If you'd like a copy of these materials, please email barnsleysafeguardingchildrenspartnership@barnsley.gov.uk.

Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB)

Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB) can defined as any sexual behaviour(s) expressed by children and young people under the age of 18 years that are developmentally inappropriate, may be harmful towards self or others and/or be abusive towards another child or young person. These behaviours can occur in person or online and may include a range of behaviours such as sexual name-calling; sexual harassment; online sexual bullying; sexual image sharing; sexual assault or rape. When HSB occurs between peers this this is often referred to as peer-on-peer (sexual) abuse.

Technology-Assisted Harmful Sexual Behaviour (TA-HSB)

Technology-Assisted Harmful Sexual Behaviour (TA-HSB) occurs when children and young people use the internet or other technology to engage in sexual activity that may be harmful to themselves or others. TA-HSB covers a range of behaviours, including the developmentally inappropriate use of pornography, online sexual abuse, grooming and sharing self-generated sexual imagery.

E-safety resources

The NSPCC has teamed up with O2 to produce free resources for schools and teachers that can be used in the classroom to help children to stay safe online.

Ofsted

During inspections of educational establishments, Ofsted will look at how a school/colleges’ culture addresses peer-on-peer abuse and harmful sexual behaviour. Inspectors will expect schools to assume that sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence are happening in the community, and potentially in the school, even when there are no specific reports, and put in place a whole-school/college approach to address them. All education establishments should have appropriate, clear and well-communicated school/college-wide policies in place that make it clear that bullying, sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence (including sexualised language) are unacceptable.

Any child or young person displaying any of the above behaviours that are deemed to be putting a child/other at risk of serious harm should be referred to MASH on 01226 772423

Independent Domestic Abuse Services (IDAS)

IDAS is the largest specialist charity in Yorkshire supporting anyone experiencing or affected by domestic abuse or sexual violence. Their services include refuge accommodation, community-based support, peer mentoring, group work and access to a free, confidential out of hours’ helpline and online webchat.

For children and young people within Barnsley, IDAS have a specialist worker offering one-to-one support for young people aged 13+ who are in an unhealthy or abusive relationship. These sessions are voluntary and include safety and scenarios as well as looking at healthy vs unhealthy relationships.

Referrals can be made online via the IDAS website, you can email info@idas.org.uk for more information.

The IDAS team deliver a dedicated Live Web Chat session for Professionals from 10 am - 12 noon and an extended Live Chat from 3 pm - 6 pm on the IDAS website for anyone who is worried about their relationship or for someone they know.

Anybody can call the IDAS North Yorkshire & Barnsley Helpline on 03000 110 110 between 8am – 8pm (Mon – Fri); or 11am – 8pm on weekends and bank holidays – you should leave a voicemail if it is safe to do so and somebody from the team will call back.

Barnsley Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Service (BSARCS)

BSARCS are a therapeutic service that offer support to victims of sexual abuse. The support offered includes one-to-one therapeutic wellbeing support, group work, therapy, one-to-one parenting support, trauma informed parenting groups and support to key professionals.

For more information about how to refer a young person please visit the BSARCS website.

Government guidance and information

Other resources

Anti-Bullying Alliance – advice and resources to use with young people to prevent bullying and raise awareness of the consequences of bullying.

Child Exploitation Online Protection Command (CEOP) – a site where young people, parents or professionals can report online child sexual abuse.

Childline for free and confidential advice for young people around mental health support, worries, bullying, harassment etc.

Everyone’s Invited - a safe place for survivors of sexual abuse to share their stories completely anonymously.

Thinkuknow - National Crime Agency's CEOP education programme for young people, organised by age group and with advice sections for parents/carers and professionals.

Stopitnow! – Website and confidential helpline preventing online child sexual abuse. (Call 0808 1000 900).

SWGfL Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support Service – Website and telephone support service for professionals in tackling harmful sexual behaviours (call 0344 2250623 8am-8pm Monday-Friday).

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation - UK-wide child protection charity dedicated solely to preventing child sexual abuse.

UK Safer Internet Centre: Report Harmful Content – a UK site where online harms can be reported, including bullying, abuse and sexual harassment.

Child exploitation, trafficking and serious youth violence

Both Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) are forms of abuse. These occur where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance in power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into taking part in sexual or criminal activity. This may be:

  • In exchange for something the victim needs or wants.
  • For the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator.
  • Through violence or the threat of violence.

CSE and CCE can affect children, both male and female and can include children who have been moved (commonly referred to as trafficking) for the purpose of exploitation.

Child sexual exploitation

CSE is a form of child sexual abuse. Sexual abuse may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside clothing. It may also include non-contact activities. Things such as:

  • Involving children in the production of sexual images.
  • Forcing children to look at sexual images or watch sexual activities.
  • Encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
  • Grooming a child in preparation for abuse including via the internet.

Child criminal exploitation, ‘county lines’ and serious youth violence

Child criminal exploitation (CCE) is a form of child abuse that occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 in to committing crimes. Some specific forms of CCE can include children being forced or manipulated into transporting drugs or money through ‘county lines’, working in cannabis factories, shoplifting or pickpocketing. They can also be forced or manipulated into committing vehicle crime or threatening/committing serious violence to others.

‘County lines’ is where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries (although not exclusively), usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs. The ‘county line’ is the mobile phone line used to take the orders of drugs. Importing areas (areas where the drugs are taken to) are reporting increased levels of violence and weapons-related crimes as a result of this trend.

Children can become trapped by this type of exploitation as perpetrators can threaten victims (and their families) with violence, or entrap and coerce them into debt. They may be coerced into carrying weapons such as knives or begin to carry a knife for a sense of protection from harm from others. They may still have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears to be something they have agreed or consented to. As children involved in criminal exploitation often commit crimes themselves, their vulnerability as victims is sometimes not always recognised by adults and professionals, (particularly for older children). They are then not treated as victims despite the harm they have experienced. All children being exploited or abused should always be treated as victims.

Referring all child exploitation concerns within Barnsley

If you believe that a child in Barnsley is being exploited, you must make a referral to the Integrated Front Door (IFD) team on 01226 772423. Ensure that you gather and pass on as much information about your concerns as possible, including a completed child exploitation screening tool document, which can be found on the contextual safeguarding page.

After screening by the IFD (using information from the completed child exploitation screening tool document), the young person may then be referred to the Multi-Agency Child Exploitation meeting (MACE). Where possible, consent should be obtained from the child/young person’s parents beforehand.

Additionally, if you have any intelligence for the police that does not warrant a referral, please complete the third-party referral form and send this directly to South Yorkshire Police.

Anyone can request a consultation/discussion with the contextual safeguarding social work team by emailing contextualsafeguarding@barnsley.gov.uk

MACE meetings

The purpose of MACE is to provide a clear and consistent identification and assessment of children at risk of exploitation. The meeting promotes information sharing across a variety of agencies across the local area to highlight vulnerabilities, threats, and to establish and reduce risk by increasing safety around a child/young person.

Young people are discussed, assessed and scored on a vulnerability tracker with an action plan developed which builds upon resilience and protective factors and addresses risks. Depending on their level of risk young people are reviewed at MACE on a regular basis – with the highest vulnerability cases being reviewed monthly. 

Further support for schools

Barnsley TYS can offer group support sessions for young people around specific issues such as CSE or CCE and harmful relationships. Email earlyhelp@barnsley.gov.uk for the latest details.

The CS team within MASH can offer consultations to schools about contextual safeguarding concerns and interventions and they can attend awareness-raising events. Contact MASH on 01226 772423 for more details and ask to speak to the Contextual Safeguarding Team Manager.

Spectrum Sexual Health service is commissioned to provide specifically designed educational group sessions to support young people in the Wakefield and Barnsley areas.  The sessions are designed to support young people who are at potential risk of child sexual exploitation. Group sessions are ideally for groups of up to 6 young people, mixed or single gender, on a weekly basis, ideally for 6 consecutive weeks. Sessions can take place at schools, youth clubs, pupil referral units or other community settings. Each session presents RESPECT values developed to support young people through topics; Relationships, Empowerment, Sexual Health, Positivity, Exploitation, Consent and Trust. For more information please see Spectrum RSE programmes.

IDAS can offer one-to-one support for young people aged 13+ who are in an unhealthy or abusive relationship. You can email info@idas.org.uk for more information.

Government guidance

Other resources

Barnardos – ‘Protecting Children’ website.

BSARCS – website for Barnsley’s Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Service who work with those that have suffered sexual abuse.

Child Exploitation Online Protection Command (CEOP) – A site where young people, parents or professionals can report online child sexual abuse for investigation.

Childline for free and confidential advice for young people around mental health support, worries, bullying, harassment etc.

Fearless - information and advice about crime and criminality for young people and professionals.

Parents Against Child Exploitation - support for parents and carers whose children are being exploited by offenders outside of the family.

Parents Protect – support for parents and carers protect children from online sexual abuse and exploitation by providing child safety resources.

The Childrens Society - national charity working to transform the hopes and happiness of young people facing abuse, exploitation and neglect.

The NWG Network – UK network of professionals disseminating information about child protection to practitioners.

UK Safer Internet Centre: Report Harmful Content – a UK site where online abuse can be reported, including bullying, abuse and sexual harassment.

Online harms

Online harms can be described as “Online content or activity that harms individual users, particularly children, or threatens our way of life in the UK, either by undermining national security, or by reducing trust and undermining our shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities to foster integration” (HM Government – Online Harms White Paper, 2020).

Online harms commonly include child exploitation and abuse; grooming; trafficking; pornography; downloading, sharing or making illegal content; harassment and cyberbullying; incitement of violence or hate and sales of illegal goods and services.

All schools and colleges have a duty to keep children safe online. They must have appropriate, clear and well-communicated school-wide policies in place that make it clear that sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence (including sexualised language) are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Online safety should be embedded within all aspects of school/college life. This includes:

  • Reflecting online safety principles within your establishments policies and procedures where appropriate, and communicating these to staff, pupils and parents.
  • Proactively engaging staff, pupils, and parents in the activities that promote your online safety principles.
  • Reviewing and maintaining online safety principles. For example, making sure staff have access to up-to-date and appropriate CPD and resources, and referring to the latest guidance and research to help you review your practice.
  • Embedding online safety principles when teaching all curriculum subjects and reinforcing what is taught in lessons by taking appropriate and consistent action when responding to reports of online safety concerns from pupils.

Government guidance

Useful resources

360 safe – a free online safety self-review tool for schools.

Child Exploitation Online Protection Command (CEOP) – a site where young people, parents or professionals can report online child sexual abuse.

Childline for free and confidential advice for young people around mental health support, worries, bullying, harassment etc.

Childnet – help, advice and resources for teachers and professionals about online safety.

Common Sense Media – an age-based media/games review website including risks and positive factors.

Full Fact – fact checking website around various conspiracies and information sharing.

Internet Matters – one of the best websites for parents/carers around safety settings for devices and online safety tips. Also includes resources for schools.

Internet Matters for parents of young people with SEND – information hub for parents of young people with SEND.

National Online Safety – online safety education for the education community.

NSPCC – NSPCC e-safety for schools website.

Parents Protect - helps parents and carers protect children from online sexual abuse and exploitation by providing child safety resources.

South West Grid for Learning - provides advice on all aspects of a school or college’s online safety arrangements.

Stopitnow! – Website and confidential helpline preventing online child sexual abuse. (Call 0808 1000 900).

Thinkuknow - National Crime Agency's CEOP education programme for young people, organised by age group and also with advice sections for parents/carers and professionals.

UK Safer Internet Centre: Report Harmful Content – a UK site where online harms can be reported, including bullying, abuse and sexual harassment.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a form of child abuse where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there is no medical reason for this to be done. This is usually carried out on young girls between infancy and the age of 15, most commonly before puberty starts.

FGM is carried out for various cultural, religious and social reasons within families and communities in the mistaken belief that it'll benefit the girl in some way (for example, as a preparation for marriage or to preserve her virginity).

Disclosures or concerns about female genital mutilation (FGM)

Whilst all staff should speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) about any concerns about female genital mutilation (FGM), there is a specific legal duty on teachers to report concerns. If a teacher, in the course of their work in the profession, discovers that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under the age of 18, the teacher must report this to the police themselves. You should also always inform the school DSL.

Forced marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not or cannot consent to the marriage, and pressure or abuse is used to force them into marriage. Forced marriage is illegal in the UK. It is a form of domestic abuse and a serious abuse of human rights.

For a marriage to be consensual, it must be entered into freely by both people getting married and both should feel that they have a choice. Legally, people with certain learning disabilities or severe mental health conditions are not able to consent to marriage, even if they feel the marriage is what they want.

Government guidance

Resources

Action Aid – FGM teaching resources for schools.

Childline for free and confidential advice for young people around mental health support, abuse, bullying, harassment etc.

Forced Marriage Safeguarding Network – Information, signs and advice over reporting forced marriage.

Forced Marriage Unit – Contact the FMU if you are trying to stop a forced marriage from going ahead, or if a young person is a victim, they can contact them directly.

Home Office website for FGM – contains all related guidance, policies and resources.

National FGM Centre – Includes information, advice and resources in relation to FGM, including a map of communities in which FGM is practiced.

NSPCC - FGM guidance and telephone helpline (call 0808 800 5000).

PSHE Association – explores what schools and children need to know about FGM.

Radicalisation and extremism

Children can be exposed to different views and receive information from various sources. Some of these views may be considered radical or extreme. Radicalisation is the process through which a person comes to support or be involved in extremist ideologies. It can result in a person becoming drawn into terrorism and is a form of harm.

Extremism is defined by the government as ‘vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.’ It includes calls for the death of members of the British armed forces.

Challenging and tackling extremism needs to be a shared effort. For this reason, the Government has given some types of organisations in England, Scotland and Wales a duty to identify vulnerable children and young people and prevent them from being drawn into terrorism. This is called the ‘Prevent Duty’ and applies within education settings.

Schools and childcare providers are expected to assess the risk of children being drawn into terrorism, including support for extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology. They should have clear procedures in place for protecting children at risk of radicalisation that can be set out in existing safeguarding policies. Education staff should understand when it is appropriate to make a referral to the Channel programme, which focuses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. It provides a mechanism for schools to make referrals if they are concerned that an individual might be vulnerable to radicalisation. An individual’s engagement with the programme is entirely voluntary at all stages.

Read the full Channel and Prevent Multi-Agency Panel (PMAP) guidance here.

Government guidance

Resources

Action Counters Terrorism – website enabling online reporting of extremism and terrorism concerns.

Educate Against Hate - provides practical advice and support on protecting children from extremism and radicalisation.

Full Fact – fact checking website around various conspiracies and information sharing.

True Vision – this is a tool enabling anyone to report a hate crime online.

Other resources

Government Blog – The Education Hub - a site for parents, pupils, education professionals and the media that captures all you need to know about the education system.

NSPCC Safeguarding and child protection in schools – NSPCC safeguarding website for schools.

The National Grid for Learning - Safeguarding - various resources for teachers on all aspects of safeguarding and personal safety, also includes policy templates, safety advice around monitoring and filtering and online training events.

Trusted Education Solutions Resources – website with resources, lesson plans etc for all ages and topics.

Acronym buster

  • BMBC – Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
  • BSARCS – Barnsley Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Service
  • BSCP – Barnsley Safeguarding Children’s Partnership
  • CAMHS – Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
  • CAFCASS – Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
  • CCE – Child Criminal Exploitation
  • CIC – Child in Care
  • CIN – Child in Need
  • CME – Child Missing Education
  • CPP – Child Protection Plan
  • CQC – Quality Care Commission
  • CS – Contextual Safeguarding
  • CSA – Child Sexual Abuse
  • CSE – Child Sexual Exploitation
  • CYPMH – Children and Young People’s Mental Health
  • DA – Domestic Abuse
  • DBS – Disclosure and Barring Service
  • DfE – Department for Education
  • DHSC – Department of Health and Social Care
  • DSL – Designated Safeguarding Lead
  • DV – Domestic Violence
  • EH – Early Help
  • EHE – Elective Home Education
  • EHCP – Education and Health Care Plan
  • EPO – Emergency Protection Order
  • EWO – Education Welfare Officer
  • EYFS – Early Years Foundation Stage
  • FGM – Female Genital Mutilation
  • FMU – Forced Marriage Unit
  • FTE – Fixed Term Exclusion
  • GCP – Graded Care Profile
  • HBA – Honour Based Abuse
  • HBV – Honour Based Violence
  • HMYOI - Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution
  • HO – Home Office
  • HSB – Harmful Sexual Behaviour
  • IDAS – Independent Domestic Abuse Services
  • IPSEA - Independent Provider of Special Educational Advice
  • ISI – Independent Schools Inspectorate
  • KCSIE -Keeping Children Safe in Education
  • LA – Local Authority
  • LAC – Looked After Child
  • LADO – Local Authority Designated Officer
  • LCSB – Local Safeguarding Children’s Board
  • MACE – Multi-Agency Child Exploitation Meeting
  • MAPPA – Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement
  • MASH – Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub
  • MHST – Mental Health Support Team
  • MVCA – Multiple Vulnerabilities Contextual Abuse Panel
  • NEET – Not in Education, Employment or Training
  • NHS – National Health Service
  • NRM – National Referral Mechanism
  • Ofsted - Office for Standards in Education
  • PEP – Personal Education Plan
  • PEX – Permanent Exclusions
  • PHE – Public Health England
  • PHNS – Public Health Nursing Service
  • PPG – Pupil Premium Grant
  • PPRC – Persons Posing a Risk to Children
  • PRU – Pupil Referral Unit
  • SENCO – Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
  • SEN - Special Educational Needs
  • SEND – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
  • SENDIASS - Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service
  • SPA – Single Point of Access
  • SYP – South Yorkshire Police
  • TAC – Team Around the Child
  • TAF – Team Around the Family
  • TA-HSB – Technology-Assisted Harmful Sexual Behaviour
  • TPEP – Termly Personal Education Plan
  • TRA – Teaching Regulation Agency
  • TYS – Targeted Youth Support
  • YJB – Youth Justice Board
  • YJS – Youth Justice Service

Neglect

For information on different types of neglect, please see Barnsley Local Safeguarding
Children Partnership’s Neglect Strategy.

Schools are advised to make sure that at least one member of staff has been trained in Graded Care Profile(GCP) 2 Tool use to assess cases of child neglect. The tool can't be used unless training has been undertaken, and is extremely beneficial when submitting referrals to the Integrated Front Door (Children’s Social Care).

For more information, please see the following documents:

To book on free training to get use of the GCP2 Tool, visit our multiagency training calendar.

What to do if you're worried about a child

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