The statutory safeguarding guidance Keeping children safe in education has been updated ahead of September. Dawn Jotham takes us through this year’s update which includes some new recommendations and clarifications that schools need to be aware of


As many of you will know, the latest update to the Keeping children safe in education statutory safeguarding guidance now published by the Department for Education, outlining some new changes and requirements for schools as part of their safeguarding duties (DfE, 2023).

Though there was no consultation process this year and so changes were not as substantial as last year, there are some new recommendations and expectations that schools and colleges should be aware of before the guidance comes into force this September. I hope to help by outlining the key ones below.


Job applicants and online searches

Last year, a notable update to KCSIE was the recommendation that schools should consider doing online searches on shortlisted job candidates. The guidance stated that in addition to other checks, as part of the shortlisting process schools and colleges should consider carrying out an online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates.

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