management of safeguarding
Please find attached the updated safeguarding checks letter. This includes new information from Property Services and their partners and sub-contractors.
The revised Keeping Children Safe in Education (2018) is statutory from 3rd September 2018. Please see Link 1 below.
We have revised the child protection policy, safeguarding policy and behaviour policy to reflect the changes; these will be uploaded onto the new safeguarding website which is currently being developed by the IT team. They should be available by the end of the week at the link below (Link 2). The slide attached below presents a site map of the new website.
The managing allegations policy and the safer recruitment policy have been updated and will be presented to the union policy group during September; they will then be made available. The whistleblowing and code of conduct policies remain unchanged.
The education safeguarding strategy has now been finalised and will be uploaded to the safeguarding website. This sets out how we will work with all Solihull schools on safeguarding in education.
Children who are cared for on a full-time basis by people who are not direct relatives are in a private fostering arrangement.
A private fostering arrangement is essentially one that is made, without the involvement of a local authority, for the care of a child under the age of 16 (under 18 if disabled) by someone other than a parent or close relative for 28 days or more.
Private foster carers may be from the extended family, such as a cousin or great aunt. However, a person who is a relative such as a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full or half blood or by marriage) or step-parent will not be a private foster carer.
If you know of a child in this situation, the law says you must notify the local authority so they can make sure the person caring for the child can receive information, support and advice and that the child is safe. Please call us if you are caring for, or you know anyone who is caring for someone else’s child on 0121 788 4300 or visit https://bit.ly/2krupeZ for more information.
A3 checklist for the management of safeguarding in education provision.
Dear Colleagues
We are delighted to announce the launch of Solihull’s quality assurance framework for alternative provision. It is designed to support schools, and other commissioners, in monitoring consistency and quality in off-site alternative provision for school-age pupils. It sets out the high expectations that Solihull has in relation to the quality of education that we seek and expect for our children and young people in alternative provision.
Schools, as the commissioners, are responsible for the pupils on their roll that they place in any alternative provision. It is, therefore, their responsibility to undertake the initial and subsequent regular checks to ensure that the provision is safe and suitable – including for each individual pupil.
Where the local authority (LA) is the commissioner and is responsible for the pupil, the LA will undertake the initial checks and continuous monitoring.
We expect any provider offering placements for Solihull pupils to meet the quality assurance expectations within this document. Providers, therefore, should expect regular monitoring, including visits.
This framework provides us all with a consistent approach to ensuring that our pupils in AP are safe, learning well, making good progress and having their needs met.
Please do contact us with any feedback about the framework: alternativeprovision@solihull.gov.uk
We will review the document regularly in light of your observations and comments so that the framework is consistently robust and helpful.
Thank you.
