Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023 – implementing the key changes

Legal Update

Protecting children and their data in the online environment

Legal Update

Top three training topics 2022-23

As well as providing day-to-day support to help you focus on managing your settings, we also provide training and professional development on a range of topics to keep you and your staff up-to-date.

Press Release

Law firm picks up record breaking sixth Education Investor Award

Browne Jacobson’s education team has been named as winner of the ‘Legal Advisors to Education Institutions’ category at the Education Investor Awards 2022 for a record sixth time.

Press Release

Thousands take part in virtual careers event to help increase diversity in the legal profession

Over 3000 young people from across the UK and Ireland took part in a virtual legal careers insight event, aimed at making the legal profession more diverse.

Legal Update

Browne Jacobson’s market leading Education expertise recognised again in latest Legal 500 rankings

The new set of Legal 500 directory rankings have been published and we are proud to once again be recognised as one of the country’s leading firms advising the Education sector.

Guide

How to carry out the KCSiE online checks FAQs

There is (understandably) some confusion about the steps schools and trusts need to take to discharge the new online check duty set out in paragraph 220 of KCSIE. I can’t completely clarify all of it for you, but I can help you find a sensible route through. These FAQs are a good place to start.

Legal Update

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022: updated Governor and Trustee training requirement

The two biggest changes in the new safeguarding guidance revolve around sourcing high quality governor and trustee training and the new requirement to carry out online searches for shortlisted candidates.

Legal Update

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022: Online searches for shortlisted candidates

The two biggest changes in the new safeguarding guidance revolve around sourcing high quality governor and trustee training and the new requirement to carry out online searches for shortlisted candidates. This article focuses on how and when to carry out online searches. In the coming week we will follow up with everything you need to consider when sourcing high quality governor or trustee training.

Published Article

Complex safeguarding allegations

Whilst Schools and Academies exist to educate and inspire young people, their primary obligation is their protection. Keeping Children Safe in Education (“KCSIE”) is at the heart of everything that educational institutions do and impacts on every decision, however big or small.

Press Release

Browne Jacobson’s C-suite exec level coaching team appoints two new education specialists

National law firm Browne Jacobson has grown its team behind its dedicated Space + Time executive coaching programme with the addition of two more qualified coaches who will work with clients in the education sector.

On-Demand

Complex allegations and safeguarding terminations: How to limit cost, risk and delay

Be empowered to take a realistic approach to risk by understanding the likely outcomes of a dismissal. And, learn how timely, strategic decision-making can limit costs associated with removing unsuitable employees.

Published Article

KCSIE: How to research applicants' online profiles

The Department for Education published the draft 2022 version of Keeping Children Safe in Education. A few changes caught the eye and the one that most of us in education are discussing relates to a new set of text that suggested checking the online presence of job applicants.

Published Article

Schools and Covid vaccinations - the legal landscape

The Government has decided that healthy 12 – 15 year olds can receive the Covid-19 vaccine and this autumn the first dose is being offered as part of the school based vaccination programme.

Press Release

New benchmarking service now available to guide the remuneration of school trust executive teams

The Confederation of School Trusts (CST), as the sector body for School Trusts, today releases a salary benchmarking service for executive roles in School Trusts, in conjunction with partners XpertHR, Cendex and Browne Jacobson.

On-Demand

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021

The Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 guidance includes a number of updates, the most significant of which is the creation of Section Two of Part Five. This introduces the concept of low-level concerns raised about staff, supply staff, volunteers and contractors.

Legal Update

Mandatory directing off-site

On 17 September 2021, the High Court handed down judgment in the case that covers some important points in relation to directing pupils off-site and is one of the few cases that covers the powers of schools to do so.

Legal Update

Updated guidance on Covid-19 vaccination: 12 to 15 year olds

On 13 September the Department of Health and Social Care announced that young people aged 12 to 15 are to be offered a Covid-19 vaccine. People aged 12 to 15 in England will be offered one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, following advice from the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs).

Opinion

Does the move into Step 4 mean the ending of Covid-19 restrictions within schools?

With the Prime Ministers announcement that he intends for Step 4 to begin on 19 July, this will also bring an end to the restrictions currently in place on education settings.

On-Demand

Grades without exams webinar: explore practical challenges when preparing for grade appeals

In the final of our three-part ‘Grades without Exams’ webinar series, we explored practical challenges when preparing for grade appeals and managing data requests.

Opinion

Advocacy in Action: Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders (FGMPO)

Opinion

Teachers report inadequate training on peer-on-peer abuse

Despite the increased media and regulatory focus on peer-on-peer abuse within schools, teachers are still reporting that they feel undertrained and ill-equipped to recognise and respond to allegations and incidents.

Legal Update

Future-proofing your Centre Policy

Exams centres, including schools, have between 12 and 30 April 2021 to develop and submit their Centre Policy. This policy will set out the centre’s approach to assessment and quality assurance during this summer’s teacher assessed grading (TAGs) process.

Legal Update

Preparing to award teacher assessed grades

Schools will now be tasked with reading a vast amount of information to get themselves ready to provide teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) for students following the recent publication of the suite of Joint Council Qualifications (JCQ).

Legal Update

Everyone’s Invited – Ofsted to review safeguarding policies

Ofsted has announced that it will begin an immediate review of school safeguarding policies. It is now time that you take steps to ensure your policies and procedures are up to date.

Legal Update

Grades without exams - FAQs

In the absence of exams, the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual have confirmed that the 2021 GCSE, AS and A level and vocational and technical qualification grades will be determined by centre assessment.

Opinion

Allegations of abuse in schools, colleges and universities

The website “Everyone’s Invited” is a movement which is “committed to eradicating rape culture” and describes “rape culture” as “all the ways that different forms of aggressive and violent sexual behaviour are normalised, encouraged and even admired by society”. Find out more.