Strengthening Education's role in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements

In the latest guidance published by the DfE, the government notes that 'Education and childcare settings will often have the strongest relationships with children, young people and their families and be the first to identify when help or protection is needed. These settings should have a clearly defined and integrated role within multi-agency safeguarding arrangements (MASAs) giving them a stronger voice in Safeguarding Partnerships and ensuring that they are strategic partners in local decision making and safeguarding responses.

In order to strengthen our arrangements in Haringey, we have set up the Education Safeguarding Forum. The Forum has members from across the Education sector and these representatives will feedback issues raised and discussed through school networks and existing channels.

The role of Haringey Education Safeguarding Forum is to:

• Promote and influence effective safeguarding practice in all educational settings from Early Years to post 16.
• Promote effective inter-agency working that keeps the child or young person at the centre of everything we do
• Be responsive to local and/or national emerging needs and patterns (multi-agency)

The Forum held its second meeting on 1 June and one of the main items discussed was strengthening the links between education settings and neighbourhood teams. Colleagues were invited to read ‘When to contact the police – a Guide for Schools’ and bring current examples of uncertainty and gaps. Members of the group recognised that, in the absence of dedicated officers for schools, it was important to make sure that the links are effective and work well to safeguard our children.