Governance Today Summer 2021

• Have there been physical changes to the school site including how site security has been adapted and developed? This would be an opportune time to look at these changes to see how they may have improved previous practice • Recruitment will have been ongoing in the past year. Expectations for pre-employment checks, induction and training for newly appointed staff (within the past year) are the same as pre-pandemic. Now would be a good chance to discuss how this has been maintained and to see evidence of this - including information held within personnel files and through talking to staff about the induction process they received and staff access to safeguarding training • When talking with DSL’s, how have they maintained and developed staff training during the last 12 months, including measuring or assessing the impact of this training on those who receive it? Have, for example, DSLs ensured that training has reflected both the national and local context when schools were partially closed, and again as they reopened? • When speaking with members of staff do they support the view that training enables them to have a good knowledge of what they are looking for as possible signs of concern and how to report any concerns, including concerns about a colleague’s inappropriate behaviour? Do any such conversations confirm that the staff (and any volunteers) know who to share such information with and how it can be shared, especially in the case of volunteers where they are unlikely to be able to access the school’s electronic recording system? • Is there now an opportunity to talk with groups of children about their views on feeling safe at school? Do children share that they feel confident in being able to talk to an adult in school should they have a concern, including if this is something that another child (a peer or sibling) is doing or saying that is unkind or makes them feel unsafe? School Visitors and Site Security Since schools reopened to all children, many have seen a slow, but steady return of more visitors including those professionals who are now coming back into school to work with children and staff. It's therefore a good time to ensure that once well practiced and adhered to visitor welcome procedures are in place and consistently applied: • Do all entrance points of the school clearly direct visitors to reception. Is signage effective in achieving this? • Are all visitors ID checked - there is no requirement to take copies of ID. Do front of house staff who might not know 'regular visitors' have the confidence to ask for this ID? Do staff who work at 'front of house' have the confidence to ask visitors to return to their car to get their ID if they do not have it on them? • Key messages about safeguarding processes are clarified including who to speak with in the event of having any concerns - often accompanied by a brief leaflet. If the leaflet is not being handed out due to COVID-19 precautions is this information displayed clearly within the reception area, is it up to date and are visitors directed to read it? • Lanyards identifying visitors (possibly with different colours of lanyard for governors/trustees) are issued and worn where they can be seen at all times by staff and children • Clarity around use of mobile devices is explained at sign-in • Are all staff confident to challenge adults where lanyards are not worn (or are not visible) or devices are being used? As we hope for warmer weather and with ongoing COVID-19 risk assessments requiring classroom ventilation, it's also essential to ensure that fire-doors or similar that are left open don't cause a risk of adults being able to enter the school without going through the process summarised above at visitor sign in. 9 Summer 2021 • How has the curriculum enabled children to understand the world around them, including their on-line world and how to stay safe, or how and where to report any concerns they might have, for example when using social media? Do children understand, at an age appropriate level, the risks of taking and/or sharing inappropriate images of themselves or others? • Finally, how have any previous or current school development / action plans, (using aspects such as the s175 safeguarding audit return), progressed or been adapted to reflect the past 12 months? What are the current priorities (including for curriculum development and catch-up)? How are these going to be monitored and by whom as we move forward? Many schools will have a number of other aspects they might wish to add to such a list, but I hope that for some this will offer food for thought. As a Safeguarding Team, we have continued to send information to schools through our newsletter and via our website page and hope that those in a safeguarding governor or trustee role have this forwarded to them from the school. We also hope as school visits develop this offers a chance for governors and trustees working with safeguarding leads and their deputies to ask about their own welfare and if, and how, they have been able to seek support during what has been a period like no other for all who work in school. Jonathan Galling - Senior Education Safeguarding Officer Do children share that they feel confident in being able to talk to an adult in school should they have a concern? “