Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) 2022
The new version of KCSiE came into force on 1 September
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) has been updated for the academic year 2022/23 and came into force on 1 September. Find out what's changed and what your governing board needs to do here.
Do Governors Need to Read All of KCSiE?
Yes. It is recommended that all governors read all of KCSiE. The whole board is responsible for safeguarding and ensuring school policies, procedures and training are fully compliant. Therefore, governors must be familiar with KCSiE so that they can monitor the school effectively.
Staff who work directly with pupils must read the whole of Part 1 of KCSiE. However, staff who do not work directly with children have the option to read Annex A, which is a condensed version of Part 1.
Part 1: Safeguarding Information For All Staff
The main changes to Part 1 are:
New information about domestic abuse has been added:
- Children who witness domestic abuse are also victims;
- Witnessing domestic abuse can have a lasting impact on children;
- Children can be victims, and perpetrators, in their own relationships too. This abuse can be physical, sexual, financial, psychological or emotional; and
- The definition of abuse includes ill-treatment that is not physical as well as being witness to ill-treatment of others e.g. witnessing domestic abuse.
More detail about child-on-child abuse:
- 'Peer-on-peer' abuse is now called 'child-on-child' abuse; and
- Outlines that sexual harassment and domestic abuse can happen in children's own intimate relationships, sometimes known as 'teenage relationship abuse.'
Other updates:
- Explains that children may not feel ready or know how to tell someone they are being abused, or may not even recognise their experience as harmful;
- Children may feel embarrassed, humiliated or threatened due to their vulnerability, disability, sexual orientation and/or language barriers. This should not stop staff from having a 'professional curiosity' and speaking to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) about any concerns; and
- If staff have a safeguarding concern/allegation about another staff member that doesn’t meet the harm threshold, then they should still share it in accordance with their low-level concerns policy.
Part 3: Safer Recruitment
Points have been added about safer recruitment:
- Schools should consider carrying out an online search on shortlisted interview candidates in order to identify issues that are publicly available online, if any; and
- Schools should not include any repeated concerns or allegations that have previously been found to be false or unsubstantiated in a reference.
Part 4: Safeguarding Concerns and Allegations Made About Staff
Part 4 has been renamed ‘safeguarding concerns and allegations made about staff, including supply teachers, volunteers and contractors’.
Additional clarification has been added regarding low-level concerns:
- Schools’ low-level concerns policies should contain the procedure for sharing low-level safeguarding concerns confidentially;
- Staff should feel confident to report concerns they may have for themselves and others, no matter how small; and
- If schools are unsure as to whether the low-level concern shared about a staff member actually meets the harm threshold, they should consult with their local authority designated officer (or LADO).
Part 5: Child-on-child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment
The DfE’s standalone guidance on sexual violence and sexual harassment has been absorbed fully within KCSiE.
Updates to this section include:
- A link has been added to LGFL guidance ‘Undressed’, which gives advice on how schools can teach young children about being tricked into getting undressed online in a way that won’t scare them and without explaining the motives of sex offenders
- Added information on the importance of ensuring children understand that the law on child-on-child abuse is there to protect them, not criminalise them
- The importance of understanding intra-familial harms is emphasised as well as any necessary support for siblings following incidents
- Emphasis is added in explaining that the need for schools and colleges, as relevant agencies, should be part of discussions with statutory safeguarding partners
Annex B and Annex C
In Annex B:
- A link to ‘The right to choose: government guidance on forced marriage’ has been added
- A link to the ‘County Lines Toolkit For Professionals - The Children's Society in partnership with Victim Support and National Police Chiefs’ Council’ has been added
- Contact details have been added about Operation Encompass
- A link to ‘CSA Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse’ has been added
In Annex C:
- A reference and link have been added to the Statutory guidance PACE Code C 2019
Key Changes
There have been no major changes, but all updates are outlined in this article.
The summary of KCSIE specifies the definitions of ‘victim’, ‘perpetrator’ and ‘alleged perpetrator’:
- Whilst ‘victim’ is a widely recognised and understood term, it is important that organisations recognise that not everyone who has been subjected to abuse considers themselves a victim or would want to be described in this way. Schools and colleges should be conscious of this when managing incidents and be prepared to use terms that the child is the most comfortable with.
- ‘Alleged perpetrator(s)’ and ‘perpetrator(s)’ are widely used and recognised terms. However, organisations should think very carefully about terminology, especially when speaking in front of children, not least because in some cases the abusive behaviour will have been harmful to the perpetrator as well. The use of appropriate terminology will be for schools and colleges to determine on a case-by-case basis.
Part 2: The Management of Safeguarding
This section outlines the responsibilities of governing bodies, proprietors and management committees. New sections and greater detail has been added about:
- Human Rights Act 1998 in that any kind of harassment, violence and abuse may breach the rights which apply to schools under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR);
- Equality Act 2010 in that the way in which you support your pupils should be carefully considered regarding protected characteristics, such as disability, sex, sexual orientation, race and gender reassignment;
- Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in that certain disadvantages should be met with positive action in order to make them proportionate e.g. making reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils, or to support girls where there is evidence they are being disproportionately exposed to sexual violence or harassment; and
- Under the PSED schools must also have due regard to eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation. For example, some pupils may be more at risk of harm from sexual violence, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia or racial discrimination.
The staff code of conduct should include low-level concerns, allegations against staff and whistleblowing.
KCSiE underpins the cruciality of creating a culture of zero-tolerance towards discrimination of any kind. This should be reflected in:
- Behaviour policies;
- Pastoral support systems;
- Your relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum, which should address issues such as:
- Healthy and respectful relationships;
- Consent;
- Stereotyping and prejudice;
- Self-esteem;
- Recognising an abusive relationship (gaslighting, controlling behaviour, etc.);
- Recognising concepts and laws about sexual consent, abuse, grooming, harassment, rape, domestic abuse, honour-based violence, and how to access support; and
- What constitutes sexual harassment and sexual violence and why they are always unacceptable.
Handsam Resources
Handsam e-training courses:
- Safeguarding Children
- Forms of Abuse
- Honour Violence
- Online Safety
- Peer-on-Peer Abuse
- The Prevent Duty
- KCSiE - Confirmation of Reading for All Staff
- KCSiE - Confirmation of Reading for Governors
CP05 Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) Guidance
CP09 The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
Example Safeguarding Children Policy
GM22 Health and Safety and Safeguarding Staff Briefing Document
GOV09 Example Job Description for the Nominated Governor(s) for Health and Safety and Safeguarding