Key safeguarding legislation and guidance for schools

In England, the Department for Education (DfE) provides the key guidance for schools and colleges Keeping children safe in education.¹

It sets out the legal duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and colleges.

Part 1 of the guidance should be read by all school staff.

> Read our briefing on Keeping children safe in education

The safeguarding duty of schools and colleges is set out in section 175 of the Education Act 2002, the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015 and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

The DfE has also provided guidance for independent schools, which includes information about safeguarding.²

In Northern Ireland, the key guidance is Safeguarding and child protection in schools - a guide for schools.¹

The Department of Education (DE) has also published guidance for schools and other education settings on how to identify and manage harmful sexual behaviour displayed by children and young people.²

Articles 17, 18 and 19 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 place a statutory duty on Boards of Governors (BoGs) to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils and to determine the measures to be taken at their schools to protect pupils from abuse.

Key safeguarding information for schools sits within broader National guidance for child protection in Scotland¹ and the Getting it right for every child framework.²

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act places a duty on schools and local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.

Specific guidance for independent schools includes Registration of independent schools: guidance for proprietors overseeing child protection and safeguarding arrangements³ and Guidance on effective safeguarding for boards of governors in independent schools (PDF).⁴

The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 sets out the responsibility of independent schools to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils. Further safeguarding requirements are set out in the Registration of Independent Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

In Wales, schools must follow Keeping learners safe: the role of local authorities, governing bodies and proprietors of independent schools under the Education Act 2002.¹

The safeguarding duty of schools and colleges is set out under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 or, for independent schools, under section 157 of the Act.

> Find out more about how people who work or volunteer in schools should respond to concerns about abuse