Effective Pupil Safeguarding for Governors

Getting the governance of safeguarding right in your school has never been so important, or so challenging:

• Independent school regulatory standards require governors to show how school leaders are actively promoting the well-being of pupils and carrying out risk assessments for pupil welfare.
• The education sector will come under increasing scrutiny as the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse starts work ‘to consider the extent to which State and non-State institutions have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse’.
• Regulators from the Charity Commission to Local Safeguarding Children Boards have identified weaknesses likely to be prevalent across the sector around how independent schools promote and safeguard the welfare of pupils.
• Prevent duties emphasise that protecting children from radicalisation is a safeguarding matter, with those in school leadership positions specifically tasked to establish mechanisms for understanding the risk of radicalisation.
• Confusion or lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities for safeguarding in schools is now seen as a failure of governance.
• The governors’ annual review of safeguarding will come under the spotlight as inspectors seek evidence of a rigorous process, independent corroboration and proper challenge.

Why attend?

Our training, specifically aimed at governors, will provide essential information about current best practice expectations, including:

• An introduction to the legal and regulatory framework, including governors as proprietors and as charity trustees and an overview of key Government guidance in this area
• The role of the Chair and the nominated safeguarding governor
• Safer recruitment for governors, including effective interrogation of the Single Central Register
• The proper role of governors in complaints, allegations and incidents, including relationships with local agencies/police
• Conducting the annual review of safeguarding
• Preparing governors for inspection
• Adopting a best practice approach to safeguarding governance

Speakers

• Durell Barnes - Head of Governance & Compliance - RSAcademics formerly Deputy Director at ISI
• Simon Bevan - Partner - VWV
• Matthew Burgess - Partner - VWV
• Richard Hewitt - Senior Associate - VWV

Agenda

• An introduction to the legal and regulatory framework, including governors as proprietors and as charity trustees and an overview of key Government guidance in this area
• The role of the Chair and the nominated safeguarding governor
• Safer recruitment for governors, including effective interrogation of the Single Central Register
• The proper role of governors in complaints, allegations and incidents, including relationships with local agencies/police
• Conducting the annual review of safeguarding
• Preparing governors for inspection
• Adopting a best practice approach to safeguarding governance

For additional information, please email our Events team or call 020 7665 0855.