Changes to Working Together to Safeguard Children
Following a consultation over the summer, the government have now published a revised version of Working Together to Safeguard Children.
Changes impacting education colleagues are minimal, including the addition of the words ‘help’ and ‘protect’ to the subheading on the front cover, a new chapter entitled ‘A Shared Responsibility’ which strengthens the principles of working with caregivers, the child’s voice and harms outside the home.
There is helpful clarification of the roles and responsibilities of safeguarding partners, emphasising the role of education in safeguarding arrangements. Early help reinforces the role of education in supporting children and keeping them safe, although some people think this is what schools are doing already. The list of children who may benefit from early help has been increased to include those involved in knife crime, at risk of sexual and/or criminal exploitation, viewing problematic and/or inappropriate online content, missing education or persistently absent and have experienced multiple suspensions and at risk of permanent exclusion.
In addition, there is a stronger emphasis on working with families and family networks, as well as an aim for more strategic thinking between education and other agencies.
Also, new national multi-agency standards are included, together with resources to support practitioners’ understanding of the response to online harm.
A summary of the changes to Working Together to Safeguard Children can be found here.
