Safeguarding Newsletter March 2021 Dear colleagues Welcome to this half term’s Safeguarding Newsletter. Providing quality safeguarding takes whole school and individual commitment and is integral to all our schools and settings. The combination of robust school safeguarding practice supported by high quality training means that education staff remain professionally curious and have safeguarding in the forefront of their minds. This provides assurance that concerns will be identified and information will be shared to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare promoted. To support this work, the Safeguarding Newsletter covers a variety of topics every half term with local and national updates, not only to refresh your knowledge but also to ensure you are up to date and compliant in your statutory safeguarding duty. This half term our local updates focus on elective home education, the Islington Safeguarding Children Board updated Home Tutor leaflet, allegations against staff, alternative education provision, domestic violence and abuse and Operation Encompass and our standing item on professional development opportunities. We have one national update regarding the updated statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children, specifically where it is relevant for schools. Local News and Updates

Designated Safeguarding Lead Forum - 23 March 2021 4.00 – 5.30 pm We had a fantastic turnout at our last DSL Forum so thank you all for the great collaboration and working relationships that we have, it is so important that we continue to work closely together so that we can do the best we can to safeguard children. On Wednesday 23 March between 4.00 – 5.30 pm I will be presenting the next DSL Forum focusing on staff wellbeing, Domestic Violence and Abuse and the role of the Islington Safeguarding Children Board. Our special guests will be:

 Elisabeth Mavin, Police Constable from the Public Protection Team.  Wynand McDonald, Islington Safeguarding Children Board Manager and Principal Social Worker All DSLs/Headteachers and members of SLT and safeguarding governors are welcome. Please book via https://islingtoncs.org to secure your place. Click here How to log in and follow ‘Schools Training’, ‘Pupil Services’, ‘DSL’. The event code is SCH/21/202. Contact me if you have any difficulties. The Zoom link will be sent nearer the date to all those booking a place.

Elective Home Education

I have recently been notified of Patriotic Alternative’s Home Education Campaign. Patriotic Alternative (PA) was created in 2019 by former publicity director as a primarily online and social media-based organisation.

 They aim to combat what they see as the “replacement and displacement” of white Britons by other people who “have no right to these lands”.  They support the far-right of rebranding white nationalist ideology as a defence of ‘indigenous’ Europeans against their ‘Great Replacement’ from non-Europeans.  They have produced education resources for parents which focus on celebrating the achievements of ‘white’ people and have produced letter templates to assist parents in withdrawing their children from school and elect for home education.

The numbers of children being electively home educated (EHE) have escalated during the pandemic. Locally we currently have over 300 children recorded as EHE which represents a huge increase in the last year. By the time this newsletter is published, this figure is likely to have changed.

Our Prevent Education Lead, Saira Kamaly, is keen to understand to what extent schools have experienced parents submitting these PA templates to them.

As all letters come to the local authority’s Access & Engagement Service, we will be vigilant in checking to see whether any of these are similar to the PA templates (although there is no mention of PA or their beliefs in the letters).

If you are aware of any parents in your school or setting being supporters of PA and seeking to electively home educate their children, or if PA have been engaged in any sticker or leafleting campaigns in your areas, please let Saira Kamaly know [email protected] telephone 07825 098235. See ‘EHE and Local Authority Duty’ under National Updates below for a summary of Elective Home Education. Home Tutor Leaflet The Home Tutor leaflet here available on the Islington Safeguarding Children Board website under ‘Parent and Carer Information’ has now been updated and includes:

 Criminal record checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service  Parents can specify any checks or qualifications they would like their potential tutor to have  Two references should be requested (one from their most recent work with children)  References should be verified and questions can be asked at interview to clarify any discrepancies  Parents should check ID  Parents should ask for an explanation of gaps in work  The action to take if there is an allegation against the tutor  The contact number of LBI Local Authority Designated Officer Allegations against Staff The online Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) referral form has been disabled permanently. There may be an online alternative eventually, but in the meantime we have reverted back to using the Word form, which you can find here. As always, schools can email [email protected] for advice or contact me or the LADO, Tim Djavit directly [email protected] telephone 020 7527 8101. Alternative Provision The serious case review regarding Child P has recently been completed. It is due to be published by the Islington Safeguarding Children Board on 1 March 2021. Some of the recommendations relate to alternative provision and therefore I have been: 1. Raising awareness of the importance of parents being agreeable to alternative provision arrangements made by the school including where their first language is not English, that governors are aware of the arrangements made, that schools are systematically tracking pupils to their final destination or off-site provision and that governors have oversight of this. 2. Working with New River College to write a one page briefing on the quality assurance service they can provide to our schools to ensure that any alternative education provision that is commissioned, is of satisfactory quality and that good standards are maintained in:

 Safeguarding  Teaching and Learning  Health and Safety  Behaviour management  Attendance A copy of the one page briefing on alternative provision is available here. Elective Home Education (EHE)  We have been looking at the recommendations and learning from a recent serious case review of an EHE child in Brighton. One of the learning points refers to developing online resources for EHE children and the

inclusion of a help button on the home page to enable them to gain advice, report abuse or easily link to other online sources eg Childline or advice on online safety.  We have drafted the children’s EHE webpage and are in communication with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency (CEOP) who will be assisting us to install the button. Once this is up and running we will let you know. Here is a link to the current EHE page for parents EHE Islington Council which has recently been updated. Domestic Violence & Abuse: Operation Encompass Helpline - 0204 513 9990 I recently contacted all designated safeguarding leads on behalf of the Director of Safeguarding, following a query from the DfE about Operation Encompass and schools. I thought you might like to know the responses I received, they fall into three clear categories:  All secondary schools were aware of the Operation Encompass helpline  Only four primary schools knew about the Operation Encompass helpline  Most schools raised concerns that they had signed up for Operation Encompass notifications a while ago, but that no notifications had been received, even though they were aware that there had been domestic violence and/or abuse within a family.

I have been discussing your concerns with Elisabeth Mavin, Police Constable from the Public Protection Team. She has very kindly agreed to come along to the next DSL Forum on 23 March to talk about Operation Encompass and hopefully resolve all the queries you have. In the meantime, I have prepared a one page briefing on Operation Encompass and the Helpline which you can find here. National Updates On 9 December 2020 the government issued an updated Working Together to Safeguard Children and although it is still headed as the July 2018 version, there are significant updates. The changes particularly relevant to schools (with relevant page numbers) are:

 P7: An emphasis on mental health throughout and the definition of safeguarding reflects the definition introduced in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020 and includes mental and physical health. Clarity that school staff should not attempt to make a diagnosis of mental health problems, but to make observations and share information  P14: The section on Early Help includes the importance of school staff being 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’ and an emphasis on the long term impact of mental health issues.  P14: information about children who may benefit from Early Help and those with a parent/carer in custody.  P18: if parents do not agree to Early Help, we must consider how to meet the needs of the child and explain that data will still be recorded and shared. Where a child is admitted to a mental health facility, practitioners should consider whether a referral to children’s social care is necessary  P19: it is not necessary to seek consent to share information for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of a child provided there is a lawful basis to process any personal information required  P23: a new section on the Homelessness Duty emphasising the role of agencies to prevent homelessness and the importance of early intervention to prevent children becoming homeless – the risks for 16 and 17 year olds are highlighted.  P25: the term Contextual Safeguarding has been removed and is replaced with a focus on the assessment of risks outside the home and extra familial abuse, including teenage relationship abuse  P38 and 56: the importance of transitions. That these need to be planned as children move to adult services.  P60: an important addition regarding transferable risk reflecting the changes in KCSIE 2020 to include ‘where it is alleged that the member of staff has behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children’ - this should already be reflected in school policies and practice and it is extended to all those working with children.

 P65 includes the role of the police in domestic violence and abuse, with the issues of domestic abuse in teenage relationships highlighted. It emphasises that harm may be non-direct and non-physical eg coercive and controlling behaviour and economic abuse.  P65: increased clarity on child criminal exploitation and county lines and inclusion in the Glossary in Appendix A and a reminder that a child in possession of Class A drugs may be a victim.  P78: The recognition of the pivotal role of schools in safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare and the need for full engagement of schools as relevant agencies  P81: A focus on information sharing between agencies and clarity about the need for safeguarding arrangements to be published including information on the role of education settings, training arrangements, the processes for local child safeguarding practice reviews and a threshold document.  Chapters 4 and 5: the review processes for child protection and safeguarding practice and the child death panel. Designated Safeguarding Leads should be clear about the role of these reviews and keep up to date with their findings and the implications for safeguarding practice in schools. Recommended actions for schools 1. Update your policies, procedures and practices to reflect the emphasis on mental health and coercive and controlling behaviours in domestic abuse (this should have already been done in line with KCSIE 2020) 2. Review your safeguarding policy regarding reporting concerns about those at risk of homelessness and how you engage with other agencies to support these children and families. 3. Check that you are considering the use of Early Help to support children with a parent or carer in prison.

Wynand McDonald the ISCB Manager will be a special guest at our next DSL Forum to explain the review process and the child death review panel. EHE and Local Authority duty The Local Authority (LA) has a duty to ensure that all children receive education that is:

 efficient  full time  suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude

Although Section 436A of the Education Act 1996, places a specific duty on LAs to establish (as far as it is possible) the identities of children who are neither registered at a school nor in receipt of suitable full-time education, our powers to do so are somewhat limited because parents can refuse to engage with us or provide information about the education parents are providing. In addition, if a child has never been to school, they may never come to our attention. Locally, as part of this legal duty, we have monitoring and tracking procedures and we work and share information with partner agencies where necessary.

Where the education is ‘unsuitable’ We will attempt to work with parents for a reasonable amount of time and advise them in their efforts to improve the education. If after this period of time of seeking to resolve the situation the education is still deemed unsatisfactory, we have a duty to act under s437 (1) of the Education Act 1996 and will begin the process of issuing a School Attendance Order which involves naming schools and court action if parents do not ensure attendance.

Allegations against Staff All allegations of abuse of children by those who work with children whether staff or volunteers, must be taken seriously. These can cover a wide range of circumstances. In the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance published in September 2020, there was an addition made to the procedure that should be applied when an allegation is made. This is the fourth criterion regarding transferable risk. Where there is an allegation or concern that a person who works with children, has: 1. Behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child; 2. Possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child;

3. Behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he or she may pose a risk of harm to children; 4. Behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children.

This fourth criterion can relate to the behaviour of a person during their private life, where no child is involved eg a perpetrator of domestic violence and abuse. All concerns should be considered within the context of the four categories of abuse (i.e. physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect). These will include concerns relating to inappropriate relationships between members of staff and children or young people, for example:  Having a sexual relationship with a child under 18 if in a position of trust in respect of that child, even if consensual (see ss16-19 Sexual Offences Act 2003);  'Grooming', i.e. meeting a child under 16 with intent to commit a relevant offence (see s15 Sexual Offences Act 2003);  Other 'grooming' behaviour giving rise to concerns of a broader child protection nature (e.g. inappropriate text, email messages or images, gifts, socialising etc.);  Possession of indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of children.

If concerns arise about the person's behaviour in relation to their own children, the Police and/or Children's Social Care must inform the employer in order to assess whether there may be implications for children with whom the person has contact at work, in which case this procedure will apply. Training & Development There are still spaces on the following courses this term all of which are being delivered online: (1) Child Protection Refresher 26 April 2021 9.30 – 13.00 Event Code ISCB/21/047 18 May 2021 13.30 – 17.00 Event Code ISCB/21/048 (2) ISCB Safeguarding and Information Sharing 15 & 16 April 2021 9.30 – 13.00 4 Modules Event Code ISCB/20/513 25 & 26 May 2021 13.30 – 17.00 4 Modules Event Code ISCB/20/512 (3) Designated Safeguarding Lead Role & Responsibilities Check this flowchart to check your eligibility to attend a DSL course: flowchart 19 & 20 April 2021 09.30 – 13.00 4 Modules Event Code ISCB/21/197 (4) Accredited Safer Recruitment 24 & 25 June 2021 09.30 – 13.00 4 Modules Event Code SCH/20/518 (5) Whole School Safeguarding and Child Protection - please contact me to book your bespoke whole school training at a mutually convenient date and time. Please keep in touch and if you have any queries or need support, please do contact me. Soola

Anastasia Soola Georgiou, Principal Officer Safeguarding in Education (interim)

Pupil Services, Islington Council, 222 Upper Street, N1 1XR Tel: 020 7527 5845 Email: [email protected]