Child protection and safeguarding in schools
The issue of safeguarding in education remains extremely prominent. Whether you are facing an allegation made against a member of staff, handling a disclosure of abuse from a pupil, discharging your legal duty to refer conduct to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or managing press interest in safeguarding stories, the importance of ensuring your pupils are safe and are seen to be safe cannot be underestimated.
Keeping children safe in education (KCSiE)
The issue of KCSiE remains extremely prominent. Whether you are facing an allegation made against a member of staff; handling a disclosure of abuse from a pupil; discharging your legal duty to refer conduct to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or managing press interest in safeguarding stories; the importance of ensuring your pupils are safe and are seen to be safe cannot be underestimated.
Everyone who comes into contact with children has a role to play in the safeguarding of them. As an academy or school, you are in a crucial position and play a key part in providing help for children and preventing any issues from escalating. From teachers and teaching assistants, to playground attendants and afterschool activity staff, each person should have children’s wellbeing at the forefront of everything they do.
How Browne Jacobson can help with safeguarding in schools
Our expert education lawyers can provide you with support on all aspects of safeguarding in schools to help ensure you are discharging your safeguarding duties. As well as providing urgent advice and support when child protection and safeguarding issues occur, we can also help you draft your safeguarding policy, train your staff, prepare for inspection and deal with non-urgent safeguarding issues such as parental requests for disclosure of safeguarding files.
As recognised experts in the field, we can also keep you up-to-date with new legal duties and help you deal with growing areas of safeguarding concern, such as radicalisation and extremism, child sexual exploitation, forced marriage and FGM.
Let our experts help and guide you through the ins and outs of keeping children safe in education and support your academy or school through any child protection issues or concerns you may have.
How can we help?
For expert legal advice on any child protection and safeguarding issues, please contact Dai Durbridge.
Did you know?
We offer a range of legal advice products for academies and schools that are fixed-fee, annual support services which provide you with immediate access to specialist advice when you need it most. For more information please visit our quickcall product and our MAT partner plus product.
"Browne Jacobson has an extremely capable team of education lawyers with strength in depth, coupled with pragmatism and empathy."
Our resources
Bespoke advice: Immediate safeguarding support
Quickcall offers up to 30 minutes support on absolutely any issue including safeguarding, which means you get access to our safeguarding experts whenever you need them. Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) can get up to 60 minutes of support with MAT PartnerPlus.
Resources: Need to update your policies?
Our suite of 30 education and HR polices – including Child Protection, Allegations Against Staff and Low Level Concerns, Safer Recruitment and Staff Code of Conduct – have all been updated ready for September. The full suite is available now.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (the Inquiry) was established in March 2015 and we now have its report which, as you would expect with such a broad scope, is long and makes a number of far-reaching recommendations.
In this guide, we highlight seven of the 20 recommendations, set out how they could impact on schools and suggest what steps schools should take.
Training: Safeguarding for governors and trustees
We offer safeguarding training for governors and trustees and additional training for your Lead Safeguarding governor/trustee.
Both courses are delivered remotely and provide your board and lead governor/trustee with high quality training so that they can provide strategic challenge to ensure safeguarding is effective in your setting.
Briefing: Unpicking the new requirement
In this briefing, Dai Durbridge unpicks expectations, sets out pitfalls and builds a framework to help you understand how to deliver on this new requirement.
FAQ: Online searches
In these FAQs, Dai Durbridge answers your questions about online searches and helps you avoid some of the pitfalls.
Training: Safer Recruitment – an interactive update
Given the 2021 changes around references and now the new online search requirement, is it time to refresh your safer recruitment training? Join other delegates on one of our interactive courses where we cover the requirements of Part 3 though the use of case studies, break-outs and plenty of Q&A.
Resources: Safer Recruitment Support Pack
Everything from offer letters to interview questions, FAQs on references to managing positive disclosures and risk assessing online search results to application forms, this toolkit gives you everything you need help you meet all the requirements of Part Three of KCSIE.
Briefing: what is expected of DSLs
Read our short briefing to understand what is required of DSLs and how to ensure your school or trust is ready for next term.
Bespoke advice: Immediate safeguarding support
Quickcall offers up to 30 minutes support on absolutely any issue including safeguarding, which means you get access to our safeguarding experts whenever you need them. Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) can get up to 60 minutes of support with MAT PartnerPlus.
Resources: Need to update your policies?
Our suite of 30 education and HR polices – including Child Protection, Allegations Against Staff and Low Level Concerns, Safer Recruitment and Staff Code of Conduct – have all been updated ready for September. The full suite is available now.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (the Inquiry) was established in March 2015 and we now have its report which, as you would expect with such a broad scope, is long and makes a number of far-reaching recommendations.
In this guide, we highlight seven of the 20 recommendations, set out how they could impact on schools and suggest what steps schools should take.
Training: Safeguarding for governors and trustees
We offer safeguarding training for governors and trustees and additional training for your Lead Safeguarding governor/trustee.
Both courses are delivered remotely and provide your board and lead governor/trustee with high quality training so that they can provide strategic challenge to ensure safeguarding is effective in your setting.
Briefing: Unpicking the new requirement
In this briefing, Dai Durbridge unpicks expectations, sets out pitfalls and builds a framework to help you understand how to deliver on this new requirement.
FAQ: Online searches
In these FAQs, Dai Durbridge answers your questions about online searches and helps you avoid some of the pitfalls.
Training: Safer Recruitment – an interactive update
Given the 2021 changes around references and now the new online search requirement, is it time to refresh your safer recruitment training? Join other delegates on one of our interactive courses where we cover the requirements of Part 3 though the use of case studies, break-outs and plenty of Q&A.
Resources: Safer Recruitment Support Pack
Everything from offer letters to interview questions, FAQs on references to managing positive disclosures and risk assessing online search results to application forms, this toolkit gives you everything you need help you meet all the requirements of Part Three of KCSIE.
Briefing: what is expected of DSLs
Read our short briefing to understand what is required of DSLs and how to ensure your school or trust is ready for next term.
Featured experience
Allegation against staff member
Supporting a school where an allegation had been made against a member of staff. Advising on dismissal, obtaining disclosure from the police, dealing with the press and referring to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Primary schools
Advising primary schools on their legal duty to ensure staff are not disqualified from working in early years or later years settings.
Pupil risk
Helping a school manage the risk of a pupil with a history of abusing other children attending an overnight school trip.
Frequently asked questions
Child protection and safeguarding in schools are often used interchangeably, but in fact child protection is one aspect of safeguarding. Safeguarding is defined as the protecting of children from maltreatment, ensuring children grow up in an environment consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and taking appropriate action to enable children to have the best outcomes. Child protection focuses on protecting children who are suffering from, or are at danger of suffering from significant harm.
Safeguarding in schools works most effectively when all aspects are integrated and used together. High quality training for your staff is paramount to ensure everyone knows what to do and to do it consistently across the establishment.
Every trust or school should have at least one designated safeguarding lead who will provide support to other staff members to ensure they can carry out their child protection and safeguarding duties effectively, and who can liaise closely with other services such as social care, health and the police.
Other key aspects of child protection and safeguarding include online safety and cyber bullying and how to manage this.
Cyberbullying is any form of bullying that is carried out through the use of an electronic device such as a computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet or games console. This means that bullying is now far more widespread and reaches further than the playground.
Unfortunately with the 24/7 nature of this form of bullying it can be more difficult to manage and react to; and with 7% of children aged 10 to 15 reported to have experienced cyberbullying in a recent survey by the Department for Education, it’s important to put preventative measures in place and ensure your teachers are trained and advised appropriately.
While there is no legal definition of cyberbullying within UK law, there are a number of existing laws that can be applied to cases of cyberbullying in schools, such as the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Defamation Act 2013.
Course options
Safeguarding for Governors and Trustees
Training
"Designed specifically for governors and trustees, this course steers away from operational safeguarding matters and instead focuses on strategic safeguarding and good safeguarding governanc."Find out more
Lead Safeguarding Governors and Trustees
Training
"Building on our course for all governors and trustees, this course focuses on the role of the Lead Safeguarding Governor/Trustee and the relationship with the DSL."Find out more
MAT DSL CPD course
Training
"This course provides Lead DSLs at MATs with the opportunity to engage in high-quality, interactive training over the course of four months to support their ongoing development."Find out more
Trust Directors of Safeguarding CPD course
Training
"This programme is for Directors of Safeguarding (and equivalent) in trusts and provides delegates with everything they need to continue developing excellence in trust safeguarding governance."Find out more
Testimonials
"Browne Jacobson has an extremely capable team of education lawyers with strength in depth, coupled with pragmatism and empathy."
Key contacts
Dai Durbridge
Partner
Katie Michelon
Partner
Hayley O'Sullivan
Principal Associate
Victoria Hatton
Partner
Related expertise
You may be interested in...
Guide
KCSiE 2025 guidance: What schools need to know
Legal Update
Analysis: National audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse (June 2025)
Legal Update
Unpacking the new guidelines for alternative provision: Practical steps for education institutions and providers
Legal Update
Safeguarding children: Effective strategies for prevention and response
Published Article
Five key considerations for effective safeguarding leadership
Legal Update
Exclusion appeal outcome aids clarity for schools
Legal Update
New alternative provision guidance: What it means for local authorities and schools
Legal Update
Mitigating the impact of school data breaches
On-Demand
EdCon 2025: Top five takeaways
Legal Update
Reinvigorating data protection in schools
Legal Update
New case has implications for school exclusions and legal aid
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s School Leaders Survey illustrates how teachers are adopting AI in the classroom
Legal Update
Limitation in claims for Child Sexual abuse (CSA)
On-Demand
Handling parent complaints against staff: Panel discussion
Legal Update
School governance: Driving change through diverse leadership
Guide
School admission arrangements, applications and requests
Press Release
New reforms affecting child sexual abuse claims: Legal comment
Legal Update - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Establishing new schools under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Legal Update - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
How will the new Schools Bill address teacher misconduct?
Press Release
Government's announcement on child grooming inquiries: What local authorities need to know
Legal Update - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
What does the new schools Bill mean for independent schools?
Legal Update - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
New duties proposed for school breakfast clubs
Legal Update - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Attendance and children not in school
Press Release
Education predictions: What does 2025 have in store for schools, trusts and universities?
Legal Update
Legal views on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
Legal Update
Calls for public inquiry into child sexual exploitation intensify amidst political pressure
Press Release
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Comments from education lawyers
Legal Update
Stark increase in rates of school suspensions and exclusions
On-Demand
Embracing AI in schools: Ensuring accountability, compliance and good governance
On-Demand
Managing safeguarding allegations against staff
Legal Update - School leaders survey
School Leaders Survey Autumn 2024: The results are in
On-Demand
Shaping a culture of respect and safety: Preventing sexual harassment in our schools
Legal Update
Martyn's Law: A closer look at the UK's new proposed anti-terror measures
Legal Update
New High Court case on exclusion reconsiderations
Guide
New guidance for intervention in schools
Legal Update
Silence persists on gender questioning guidance for schools
Legal Update
Attendance management checklist for schools
On-Demand
School attendance: Getting to grips with the new regulations
Legal Update
Ofsted and intervention changes
