In light of recent events, attention has come to incidents of sexual abuse in schools. After scores of allegations received by Everyone’s Invited, pupils have shared with Ofsted Inspectors that such incidents of harassment and abuse are very common. Children have shared that they still feel unsafe in schools and that there’s a 'toxic rape culture' prevailing.

An alarming finding from the report concludes that such incidents have been normalised as a part of growing up, as pointed out by Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector of Schools in England. The report itself mentions, “It is concerning that for some children, incidents are so commonplace that they see no point in reporting them.” Such gross normalisation of such incidents has prevented children, particularly girls, from reporting these incidents. Other reasons they may not report this could be shame, denial, minimisation, fear of consequences, low self-esteem, and more. Sometimes they feel unsafe reporting to the school, at other times, it’s been pointed out that action in the aftermath of reporting hasn't always been robust.

At the same time, the allegations have prompted a serious dialogue about creating a culture of psychological safety in schools. This means creating and cultivating an environment of safety where children feel empowered to report any incidents that jeopardise their wellbeing or safety.

This article will consider the idea of psychological safety in schools and how it can help create a conducive environment for victims of harassment and abuse. We also talk to child and educational psychologists whose inputs enrich the discussion on understanding children better & providing them with a safe space to grow, which is what schools are intended for.

Psychological safety exists when children can express themselves — all their ideas, questions, concerns and mistakes — without the fear of judgement, humiliation or punishment. In the school setting, this includes being able to ask any questions pertaining to studies but extends well beyond the academic. Research has demonstrated the importance of creating a psychologically safe environment in ensuring student well-being.

If we are to ensure a robust mechanism for concern reporting, it must go beyond structural provisions: we also need to create the right, psychologically safe environment where children can harmoniously develop as individuals, where they know they'll be understood, and not judged if they come forward with their experience(s). 

Understanding in the aftermath of an incident

In order to ensure psychologically safe environments, it's imperative to understand the emotions children go through when they experience abuse or bullying or any negative encounter for that matter. 

Angela Karanja, an adolescent psychologist and parenting teenagers expert whose work revolves around helping parents raise highly effective teenagers, shares how children process such incidents in the immediate aftermath, 

"Even if children don't understand what’s happening, they will still have a negative feeling towards such incidents, and in particular their bodies will. When something’s not aligned, our bodies know. But then the children might construe this as follows: this bad thing happened to them because they’re unworthy or wrong. They will tell themselves this narrative that something bad happened to them — and because the understanding is that bad things happen to bad people — so they must have done something to deserve this. These feelings of discomfort then morph into feelings of low self-esteem.”  

So while children might understand that something adverse has happened, they might blame themselves or feel like either something is wrong with them or that they did something to deserve this. Dr Oliver Sindall, Clinical Psychologist specialising in child and adolescent mental health, shares similar concerns regarding the negative emotional impact of bullying and similar incidents on young people, 

“The extent of that impact will often depend on the child’s development and whether they have experienced other forms of rejection from families and friends in the past, or other situations that have impacted their confidence and self-esteem. This means the impact can range from frustration and sadness to suffering severe social anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. All of this can have a significant effect on a child’s academic achievement, which further increases feelings of inadequacy and low mood.”

It’s no surprise then that children are often reluctant to report incidents. The emotional impact of such can sometimes leave the children too shaken or traumatised and that can result in a freeze response. As corroborated by the Ofsted report, victims often feel that their experience will be trivialised and/or not taken seriously. Sindall shares,

“Not reporting incidents is usually based on the belief that nothing will change or that the bullying will get worse. For many children I have worked with, there is also the fear that they will not be believed or that their experience will be minimised by teaching staff. That fear of further rejection and being invalidated is often a real block to reporting incidents of bullying.”

How can we develop psychological safety for our children to thrive?

To properly safeguard pupils, it’s important to cultivate psychological safety in school spaces, whether virtual or physical. The question is: how?

First and foremost, the establishment of a psychologically safe environment in schools involves giving children a safe space for expression. Going back to the definition of psychological safety, children should feel comfortable expressing, sharing, and asking. Teachers and school authorities need to encourage self-expression as well as asking for help. Karanja shares instances where the “permissive” nature of the child-teacher relationship can stifle such expression. She shares, 

“When a kid does something wrong at school or even talks during class, the teacher immediately orders them to stop. When someone keeps hearing ‘no’ every time they’re trying to express, it impacts them — instead, teachers should give them a platform or outlet to speak. Ask them if they’d like to share what they’re talking about with the whole class or with the teacher separately after class.” 

“if we keep opening those channels of communication, what happens? Our young people begin to feel confident. They feel hard. They begin to feel seen. And they begin to feel listened to. And with that confidence, they know that this teacher is a safe person. The same goes for children’s toilet breaks. If they have to ask permission for performing a basic bodily function, it tells them they don’t have full bodily autonomy. So they should be allowed to inform — rather than request — for a toilet break.”

A culture of psychological safety means not just having uncomfortable conversations, but just any conversation at all. The aim is to normalise conversation because if we expect our children to share happening to or around them, we should first help them practice such self-expression and communication in routine conversations. 

How can we help students feel comfortable to report concerns?

Following from the above idea of normalising conversations, it’s safe to say that asking for permission can be uncomfortable especially when it comes to reporting concerns. The first step in making children comfortable with reporting concerns is relinquishing the power dynamics, Karanja suggests. 

“Most of the time, they don't even have the language to express themselves. So, as teachers and as adults, we have to abandon the idea of power. We should aim to be in a place where a student can tell their teacher and/or parents anything.”

Essentially, the immediate reaction to any report should be one of support, validation, and reassurance. One way to ensure that is by creating a validating response for all conversations, not just serious incidents. It is also recommended that a behavioural approach be implemented to reinforce a culture where sexual harassment, abuse, and bullying are not tolerated. 

Sindall also dives deeper into the psyche of children when they’re contemplating reporting an incident, “When young people are struggling with whether to report bullying their two main concerns are one, what will happen to the bully (and will this make it worse?) and two, whether teachers will believe and support them.” It’s imperative that all staff members are well trained in this kind of first-responder situations. The Ofsted report recommends that schools, colleges and multi-agency partners act as though sexual harassment and online sexual abuse are happening, even when there are no specific reports. Thus, all staff should be trained to understand the definitions of harassment and sexual violence, including abuse and bullying, to identify early signs of peer-on-peer abuse, and to consistently uphold standards in their responses to such incidents.

The bottom line, according to Sindall, is that “if a school can demonstrate that all young people who have experienced bullying or abuse will be listened to, supported emotionally and provided a robust safety plan, more children may begin to report incidents.”

When schools work to cultivate a culture of psychological safety, children will come forward not only in times of crisis when they seek help, but also flourish academically because they’ll feel comfortable asking questions. Children thrive in an environment where they are allowed to learn without judgements. If such incidents do occur, they will then feel comfortable taking it up with staff, who can then report the same to a superior or a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). In cases where the child is deemed to be at severe risk, immediate action can also be taken. 

NSPCC, working with the Department of Education, has launched a bespoke helpline for children and young people who've experienced abuse at school, and for worried adults and professionals that need support and guidance. If you are concerned about something, you can contact the NSPCC helpline Report Abuse in Education on 0800 136 663 or email help@nspcc.org.uk.

Cultivating a culture of psychological safety in schools

Is your safeguarding response to the pandemic, the lockdown, and online teaching disability-inclusive? 

Child safeguarding means a set of policies, procedures and practices to ensure that the learning experience is safe for children and that the school proactively prevents doing harm. Keeping children safe in education is an ongoing exercise and the work doesn’t stop even in remote learning set-ups. On the contrary, the work of securing children’s welfare gets more challenging when our primary communication with them happens through screens. 

According to The Department for Education, safeguarding children and promoting their welfare includes protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment of children’s health or development, ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care, and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes. A major part of safeguarding is said to be supporting vulnerable children and children with disabilities. 

In order to support them, first, it's important to understand who would identify with these categories. A child with disabilities is defined as someone who has ‘long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.’ It has been widely discussed that remote learning can present unique challenges for children with disabilities. 

One, remote learning can feel alien — or alienating — for children with disabilities if accommodations are not made to help them feel included. (This may not be wilful — it’s understandable that schools often operate on limited resources themselves). Secondly, for many children with disabilities, schools aren’t just places of education. They’re also places where they receive additional support or therapy as a part of their learning program. Thirdly, going back to what we reported last year, children on the autism spectrum fundamentally thrive and survive on structure and routine, both of which have been severely disturbed. Neurodivergent children draw immense benefit from being around peers their age and get a chance to develop their proclivities. Online learning can barely be a one-size-fits-all even for neurotypical children; neurodivergent children can get robbed of developmental progress.

Therefore, it is important to think of our collective safeguarding response with a disability-inclusive perspective. 

What does an inclusive online classroom look like?

How can we begin the designing of a disability-inclusive safeguarding remote-learning response? Start from the source. Nothing will bring more accurate insights into your design than the lived experience of the very children you’re trying to include. Mahima Bhalla, a High School Learning Support Teacher who runs ValuEd, shares, “If you know the needs of your learners, you can accordingly design for them.” In every class, students with different needs should be identified and provided for. Even within people on the spectrum, each student will behave or react differently to different modes of learning. It is imperative to have an understanding of their individual needs. 

In order to be inclusive of people with disabilities, the remote learning experience needs to be designed with different abilities in mind. “This,” shares Nina Baliga, VP, Client Engagement and Equitable Strategies at interviewIA, “includes thinking beyond WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards and thinking through how people are using technology today. Some examples of things you should think through include software accessibility for people who are blind or visually impaired, the Deaf community or Hard of Hearing, people with mobility impairments, and people who are neurodiverse.”

We’ve to incorporate more sophisticated technologies within the remote classroom, those that make it a safe space for children with disabilities. For example, apps like Tap Tap See, Seeing AI, Vision make use of artificial intelligence, device's camera and VoiceOver function to convert real-time footage or photos from a cell phone camera into words that are played through the phone’s speaker. This enables visually impaired people to “hear” their surroundings. There are a plethora of such assistive technologies to choose from, and the designs are increasingly becoming more inclusive with time. 

This is a good place to mention that that inclusion should be inherent in the very design of the curriculum & teaching modules. 

Think of accessibility as a standard, not an exception

Safeguarding children with disabilities should be understood as a fundamental aspect of setting classes, not as an optional add-on to be introduced “if there are children with disabilities in the classroom.” Operating on the assumption that all children are neurotypical is harmful because a lot of disabilities are invisible, get aggravated in uncomfortable environments, and many don’t get diagnosed until quite later in life. 

Bhalla offers a nuanced perspective she’s developed in her teaching, “If you know what hinders a students' learning, or physical or emotional/psychological safety, you will work to minimise those factors in the class. Examples could include, too many visual inputs on the screen (quite common during online learning), or the requirement of keeping videos on (could cause anxiety or distraction to some), or discussing topics that may be triggering for some (for instance death, or depression or sexual assault etc.). However, as a general practice, it is helpful to follow a few things routinely so that it benefits everyone, those whose needs may not be visible or known to you. For example, something as basic as giving breaks during the class. Especially in high school or college, where classes are longer, content-heavy and may not involve as much movement. Breaks are essential for neurodiverse learners and benefit all. Or, practising wait time, that is, after you have asked a question, you give everyone some time to think then respond.”

For many educational institutions, resource- or capacity-constraints are often cited as reasons they aren’t able to attend to the special needs of children with disabilities. These changes can be implemented without incurring massive expenses, and there are more strategies that can help deliver disability-inclusive child safeguarding for resource-pressed schools. 

Outside of lessons too, all designated safeguarding staff should make their work disability-inclusive. And if there are staff in charge of disability inclusion, they should work with the safeguarding staff to help improve child safeguarding practices. Such inter-departmental cohesion can help cover any erroneous omission. Ask your vendors & contractors to provide accessibility-first features in their products/services. There should be a culture where all tools, systems, and softwares used across the school have accessibility features by default. SCR Tracker, for example, is accessible across all devices and browsers, so the usage isn’t device-restricted. It also works with accessibility features such as VoiceOver, or screen readers.

Make content availability & lesson structures equitable

It’s a good start to contemplate what equity looks like in a classroom. First of all, any gatekeeping of the contents of the lesson, either on the basis of time, mode of access, or performance is inequitable. All reading material should be made available in a readable format, easily picked up by the most basic accessibility softwares. Content should also not be restricted to a particular kind of browser or device. Other forms of gatekeeping that can seem innocuous — like performance-based access to materials, or compulsory attendance for live lessons — should also be avoided. For example, teachers should make the lessons available both live as well as recorded, for children who may not follow — or feel overwhelmed by — the live versions. Secondly, it has been recommended that during remote learning, videos can be tools for equity and access for students with learning and thinking differences. Children often find it easier to understand instructions on the video. The video medium also helps provide accommodations in the form of subtitles & transcripts to support the main media, and can also help build personalised messages, which get lost in a more formal, written handout-style lesson.

Bhalla also suggests facilitating routines and protocols in class such that all students are included. Often, working together in groups can ease anxiety for many children and in order to make it even more effective, teachers can consider strategic grouping (that is, intentionally grouping certain students together) to create a supportive environment for those with disabilities.

Work collaboratively & make soft changes in lesson plans

As mentioned before, this exercise is an ongoing one. Therefore, changes need to be incorporated to accommodate the needs as & when they come to notice. Bhalla recommends keeping a loop of students’ feedback, “Ask them what helps them, what does not, what bothers them, what one could do to make the class more accessible and inclusive for them. How might the assignment requirements be different? For younger students, talk to their parents (since many are supporting their kids during remote learning).”

If you’re recording lessons for asynchronous viewing & wearing a mask when doing so, make sure it’s a transparent mask to help with lip-reading. Before uploading the lesson, double-check the transcripts for accuracy. Provide supporting material: a glossary for complex vocabulary, repeat complex concepts, and share instructions both verbally and in chat. When sharing a screen, keep minimal tabs on display (this is for children with attention sensitivity).

Beyond the classroom: Identify other risk factors

Schools do a lot more than teach. That shouldn’t change in a remote set-up. Engage with learners beyond formal teaching. According to the World Health Organization, stigma, discrimination, and lack of knowledge about disability, as well as a lack of social support for those who care for or support children with disabilities cna be risk factors. Children with disabilities are also more vulnerable to abuse and violence. On top of it, communication impairments also hamper the ability to disclose any abusive or traumatic exepriences. Regular, free-flowing one-on-one meetings with teachers can provide students additional support. 

Bhalla shares the importance of recreational elements, “Outside of the classroom, having a homeroom period or a social-emotional class, or some fun activities can be other ways to ensure that students with disabilities or those normally left out of the social circle too remain socially connected with their peers and adults at school.”

In order for the safeguarding plan to have optimum impact, the three key elements: a clear safeguarding ethos, a policy that sets out clear expectations and processes, and high-quality training, are required to function cohesively. This means that the incorporation of above points in the policy, their implementation in the lessons, and training of all stakeholders are all equally important. So, the staff responsible for informing, preventing, reporting and responding to safeguarding concerns should be made aware of disability-inclusive protocols and good practices. Similarly, very often, children with disabilities themselves should be made aware of their right to be safe from harm and redressal mechanism should be available in an accessible format.

Designing a disability-inclusive safeguarding plan for online learning

In this guest blog Sarah-Jane, Robert and Gerard, Partners at Keystone Law, explore the steps schools could take to address the recent allegations raised by Everyone's Invited. 

Everyone’s Invited, the website on which victims of sexual harassment, abuse and misogynistic behaviour perpetrated by their peers from schools and universities can anonymously submit their experiences, has now received and shared over 14,000 testimonies. The movement has since sparked a significant debate about a culture of sexual abuse within schools. 

While several high-profile independent schools have been named in the testimonies and exposed in the press, the testimonies come from both state and independent school pupils, ex-pupils and university students. This is clearly a complex and pervasive problem facing educational establishments across society. 

Following Everyone’s Invited going viral, Robert Halfon, chairman of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, called for an independent inquiry. The government has asked the regulator, Ofsted, to undertake an immediate review of safeguarding policies in state and independent schools. Ofsted will work to ensure there are appropriate systems in place for reporting concerns and will look at whether the guidance for schools on dealing with these types of allegation are sufficient and whether the current inspection regimes are strong enough to address concerns and promote the welfare of children. The review will conclude by end of May 2021. 

Ofsted has also announced that it will visit “a sample of schools and colleges where cases have been highlighted” and will assess how well schools respond to concerns and support their pupils. The NSPCC has also launched a helpline, the Report Abuse in Education helpline, to offer support and advice to the victims of sexual abuse in schools, including how to contact the police and report crimes, if they wish. 

This article will consider the responsibilities of schools to tackle a culture of sexual harassment and abuse and wider misogyny by peers, as raised in the recent Everyone’s Invited movement, as well as the additional responsibilities that independent schools have as charities to protect students, and outline how schools can protect their reputation whilst responding to serious allegations.

What can and should schools be doing to address the issues raised?

The difficulty for schools in investigating these allegations is that all have been raised on an anonymous basis. Some of the individuals who have submitted testimonies on Everyone’s Invited allege that they did report incidents to their school but that their complaints were not adequately addressed due to fears of reputation damage, or were passed off as ‘banter’ or as ‘part of growing up’. Other individuals did not raise concerns with their school at the time due to a fear of not being believed and/or being stigmatised by their peers for raising a complaint. 

However, given the movement’s impact and the widespread call for things to change as a priority, victims may be feeling more empowered to speak up. Schools should now be actively encouraging victims to come forward with specific allegations. Schools should communicate a zero-tolerance approach to peer-on-peer abuse by committing to formally investigate all reports and refer cases to external authorities, where appropriate. 

Victims should be reassured that they will be taken seriously and supported by their school. By talking about these issues more openly, students will hopefully feel more able to disclose their experiences. Clearly, however, schools cannot promise confidentiality in dealing with such reports. If a child is at risk of harm, is in immediate danger, or has been harmed, a referral should be made to children’s social care. 

Allegations of rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault constitute criminal offences which must be referred to the police. Parents or carers should also normally be informed unless there are compelling reasons not to. Many of the testimonies from victims refer to behaviour perpetrated outside of school premises, such as in social settings like at house parties. 

Furthermore, multiple testimonies raise allegations against pupils from different schools to those of the victims, such as neighbouring single-sex schools. The Department for Education’s advice on sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges makes it clear that in these circumstances the safeguarding principles and individual schools’ duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils remain the same and that appropriate information sharing and effective multi-agency working will be especially important in dealing with such allegations.

Whilst Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) requires schools to refer to peer-on-peer abuse in their safeguarding policy, schools should consider whether now would be an appropriate time to implement a separate peer-on-peer abuse policy given the prevalence of this issue. It would be advisable for schools to consult the student body, staff, the governing body or proprietor, as well as parents and carers when drawing up a peer-on-peer abuse policy. 

Policies should be transparent, clear and easy to understand by all. Clearly all staff need to be trained on the school’s policy and procedures with regard to peer-on-peer abuse (this is required by KCSIE) but students and parents should also receive training on the policy in order to understand what constitutes peer-on-peer abuse and to be able to detect when a child might be the victim of peer-on-peer abuse or, conversely, might be displaying inappropriate behaviours. Pupils should be made aware of the process to follow to raise a concern and how any reports will be handled by the school.

Schools should also review their behaviour policy and ensure that it clearly states the values and standards of conduct expected from its students. This should be recommunicated to students and they should receive training on acceptable and unacceptable conduct and behaviour. 

Safeguarding and child protection should be a recurrent theme running through schools’ policies and procedures and schools should ensure that the behaviour policy, safeguarding policy and peeron-peer abuse policy all appropriately cross-refer to each other.

In addition to having regard to the statutory guidance in KCSIE and Working Together to Safeguard Children, schools should also be mindful of their wider legal responsibilities, including their obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA”) and the Equality Act 2010. 

Being subjected to sexual violence or sexual harassment may breach Article 3 HRA (the right to freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment), Article 8 HRA (the right to respect for private and family life, which includes a duty to protect individuals’ physical and psychological integrity) and Protocol 1, Article 2 HRA (the right to an effective education). 

Schools should also have regard to their obligations under the Equality Act to ensure that pupils are not discriminated against because of their sex or sexual orientation.

Schools should also review their provision of Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) and Personal Social Health and Economic education (PSHE) to ensure that it sufficiently covers and deals with all of the issues raised by this debate. 

RSE and PSHE programmes should encourage healthy and respectful relationships and challenge attitudes that can grow into disrespect and sexual violence in open discussion forums. They should cover issues of consent, coercion, pornography and stereotyping, as well as misogynistic behaviour.

Schools could also provide active bystander training for pupils to give them the confidence to call out inappropriate behaviour that they witness from their peers. The Active Bystander Training Company runs training programmes for 11- to 18-year-olds at independent and state schools. 

The training is highly user-friendly and covers techniques on how to keep a cool head in a challenging situation and assertive language to use to challenge or respond to poor behaviours when they occur. Each student who attends the training receives an Active Bystander toolkit which sits on their mobile phone as a quick and easy reference if they need an on-the-spot reminder of the techniques they learned in the session.

What additional responsibilities do Independent Schools have as charities?

In the event of allegations of wrongdoing or a serious incident, it is possible that the Charity Commission could open a class inquiry under the Charities Act 2011, so it is important that schools take this issue extremely seriously. There are some steps that schools can take to, in effect, self-regulate from a charity law and regulation perspective and thereby prevent the Charity Commission opening a potentially very damaging class inquiry. 

These self-regulation measures include reporting issues to the Charity Commission with a view to receiving their advice. Self-reporting is a development in charity regulation by the Charity Commission in recent years which transfers regulation and reporting onto charity trustees. This has, not surprisingly, coincided with cutbacks at the Charity Commission, at a time when the role of charities has been expanding.

The key to imposing these extra burdens on charity trustees is the Charity Commission’s use of section 60 of the Charities Act 2011 to ask questions. This statutory provision makes it a criminal offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly provide the Charity Commission with information which is false or misleading. The offence is wide enough to cover withholding information. The offence could potentially lead to a maximum fine or two years’ imprisonment. It is a sobering thought. 

When the charity trustees complete their annual return, they will see that section 60 is cited and they are warned that a failure to properly answer the questions set could lead to a prosecution under that section. At the same time, the annual return has been expanded to ask more questions, such as whether there have been any serious incidents and questions about overseas funding, staff salaries, safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, grant funding from government, whether trustees have resigned and then been appointed as staff, and whether any charity trustees are directors of a trading subsidiary. 

All these questions have potential regulatory consequences depending on how they are answered. Although serious incident reporting is not a legal requirement, it becomes one when charity trustees complete the annual return and have to answer the question about whether there have been any serious incidents during the year which have not been reported under the obligation imposed by section 60. 

What is classified as a serious incident?

According to the Commission, a serious incident is an adverse event, whether actual or alleged, which results in, or risks, one or more of the following:

significant harm to a charity’s beneficiaries, staff, volunteers or others who come into contact with the charity through its work;

harm to a charity’s work or reputation. 

Prompt, full and frank disclosure of an alleged serious incident and how the charity’s trustees are dealing with it must be reported. Harm to a charity’s work or reputation is extremely wide and captures most situations, including the issues discussed in this article. It is better to err on the side of reporting to be on the safe side and avoid the risk of failing to report. 

Also, the Charity Commission has told practitioners that when considering potential liability, it will consider whether trustees have filed a serious incident report. Reports that indicate individuals are at risk or there is risk of serious harm to a charity’s work will be prioritised by the Commission, as well as situations where trustees require advice and guidance on how to deal with the incident.

The duty for Auditors and Independent Examiners to report incidents to the Charity Commission

Auditors and independent examiners acting for charities are also under a duty to report such incidents to the Charity Commission under section 156 of the Charities Act 2011, where they become aware of a matter of material significance to the Commission or have reasonable cause to believe an incident is likely to be relevant to the Commission. 

In a review of audit reporting under the section 156 duty in February 2018, it was found that only 28 reports were submitted out of 114 audit opinions containing information that should have been reported. In April 2020, the Charity Commission released updated guidance to independent examiners and auditors on this reporting requirement and announced that it will be carrying out an ongoing review of all independent examination reports or audit opinions signed after May 2020 which contain a qualification, modified opinion or other reporting paragraph to confirm that a report of a matter of material significance has been promptly filed at the Charity Commission.

There is obviously an overlap between serious incidents and matters of material significance and both reporting obligations should be considered together. The Charity Commission’s increased focus on this area and published statistics suggests there has been under-reporting which will no longer be tolerated by the Charity Commission.

The need for a Charity Governance Code for Schools

In addition to self-reporting, Everyone’s Invited highlights the need for there to be a Charity Governance Code for sub-sectors of the charity sector, such as schools. At the moment, the guidance within the Code is too generic and the only allowance that is made for different charities is for larger and smaller charities. 

Given that the Code’s purpose is to improve governance and prevent problems from happening, this is an important area where the Charity Commission could help to support this part of the charity sector. Although the Code is not mandatory, there is an expectation that reference should be made to it in the charity’s annual report. 

If a code could be agreed by the education sector, then this could lead to members of various umbrella groups such as the Independent Bursars Association providing a kitemark for adopting such a code and encouraging a prevention culture amongst schools.

How can schools protect their reputation whilst responding to serious allegations?

Several high-profile independent schools were named in the testimonies submitted to the Everyone’s Invited website, attracting significant media attention for those institutions. However serious allegations concerning a school may be, it is vital for the school to be prepared to respond to media enquiries, whether local or national. 

A failure to respond or a response of “no comment” in the present circumstances is likely to be extremely harmful to a school’s reputation. A non-response may suggest that the allegations are true, alternatively, that the school has a problem which it is unable to deal with. 

Schools recently in the public spotlight have generally responded in a suitable manner by issuing a statement recognising the seriousness of the allegations being made, committing to investigating them and taking all necessary actions to deal with the allegations and achieve the necessary culture change. 

A pre-prepared statement of this kind is probably the best that can be given in the circumstances, but it does give the school the opportunity to be seen to be taking the matter with sufficient seriousness and being committed to taking the necessary steps. The media will likely publish the allegations that it intends to publish but a short, well-constructed response is also likely to be published in the same article or broadcast and may redress the balance to some extent. 

All media enquiries should, as far as possible, be referred to a nominated spokesperson. That person should be prepared to issue the agreed-upon statement on behalf of the school and deal with non-controversial questions. Approaches from the media can come either over the telephone or in writing. 

If a media approach is made by phone, it is recommended that the journalist is told that questions will not be responded to over the telephone but he or she should put their enquiries in writing so that they can be considered in good time and properly responded to. It is possible that this may then lead to non-follow-up. If not, a deadline to respond will inevitably be given but there is no absolute necessity for that deadline to be adhered to. 

All media, whether broadcast or published, act in accordance with a code of conduct which requires that where serious allegations are made, the party against whom the allegations are made must be given a fair opportunity to respond and that response should be published. 

Dependent on the circumstances, and perhaps unlikely at present, named individuals, governors, teachers and other such persons within the education system can threaten to sue and, if necessary, can sue for defamation in respect of any allegations which may be or are published or broadcast which are false and cause serious harm to that individual’s reputation. 

In the case of most independent schools, a claim in defamation may be brought in respect of false and seriously harmful allegations which cause or are likely to cause financial loss to the school. Even if allegations published do not meet the necessary “serious harm to reputation test” for defamation, any untrue or misleading allegation or statement published or broadcast can form part of the school’s permanent record, in particular on the internet, and so should be corrected as far as possible through approaching the media concerned. 

The relevant code of conduct for broadcast and published media again requires that care is taken not to publish inaccurate or misleading information and a significant inaccuracy or misleading statement should be corrected promptly.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. It should not be used as a substitute for legal advice relating to your particular circumstances. Please note that the law may have changed since the date of this article. © Keystone Law Ltd. April 2021. For more information visit Keystone Law.

The above article was written and released by the team at Keystone Law on the 16th of April 2021 at this source and we thank them for allowing us to share this as a guest blog article with our readership. 

Should your school or trust be interested in hearing more about SCR Tracker, the leading market solution for online single central record management, please do contact us today at sales@scrtracker.com or 020 3743 8843, to hear how we can assist you with your SCR processes and any challenges that you're currently facing in your recruitment processes.

What steps should schools be taking to address the recent allegations raised by Everyone's Invited?

The Department for Education published two case studies on flexible working solutions in trusts and schools on the 12th of May 2021. Below are the findings from two case studies: the first from United Learning with insights from High Hazels Academy, Shoreham Academy and Guildford High School, and a second case study from Reach2 Academy Trust's White Meadows Primary School.

Schools group United Learning has taken a trust-wide approach to designing and delivering innovative flexible working solutions.

United Learning is a large group of schools with over 80 primary and secondary schools across the UK, predominately academy schools and a smaller number of independent schools.

Part-time rates for teachers across the trust are similar to national averages, but vary greatly from school to school, with some schools taking a more proactive approach than others.

United Learning’s leadership sees a role for their trust in addressing recruitment and retention challenges. They are specifically working to attract and keep high quality teachers, as well as increase numbers of teachers in subjects where graduates are in high demand.

Additionally, the trust is keen to ensure that it is an inclusive employer with a diverse employee body, a minimal gender pay gap and a set of working practices which work for all.

In 2018, the trust’s leaders carried out a strategic planning exercise which identified that flexible working could address both these issues. As a result, they sought to improve the understanding and implementation of flexible working across the trust, through a 2-stage project.

From the end of 2018 to spring 2019, the trust carried out a review of policies and guidance related to flexible working across the group. This included:

rewriting the trust’s flexible working policy, highlighting the role of informal dialogue and proactive leadership to inform decisions and move away from a request-response model

new tools and guidance for leaders and staff on how to plan and discuss flexible working options

training for the HR team, carried out by Timewise, providing the skills needed to support and drive conversations about flexible working

sharing of best practice across the trust, including video case studies from headteachers with a good record for enabling flexible working, and a discussion led by a school with a high proportion of flexibly-employed staff

Starting in October 2019, United Learning launched a research project with 7 volunteer schools which demonstrated positive attitudes towards flexible working. This included:

an introductory meeting to bring the schools’ leaders and HR teams together, encouraging inter-school dialogue and sharing of best practice

training and workshops for headteachers, delivered by Timewise, including a focus on the role of job design and how to use it successfully

in-depth training on adapting the timetabling process to incorporate flexible working, including a practical ‘how to’ session delivered by a school which excels in this area

Progress was then reviewed and priorities set for the next steps in January 2020. Areas for further exploration included:

building flexible working into recruitment plans

creating a more systematic approach to staff consultation

exploring how to consolidate planning, preparation and assessment time to allow remote working

scheduling of meetings and pastoral time to support staggered start and finish times.

The COVID-19 pandemic began midway through stage 2. The unexpected challenge of providing distanced teaching and learning for pupils put some of United Learning’s plans on hold.

However, the move to remote education for many pupils also created an opportunity for schools to explore the techniques and technology required to make remote schooling – and remote working – work. The experience also removed some of the perceived barriers, and highlighted other possibilities, such as using IT to allow remote access to team meetings.

United Learning and its member schools will be incorporating what they have learned into their post-COVID-19 strategic planning.

Examples of good practice in United Learning schools

High Hazels Academy, a primary school in Sheffield, has undergone a transformation as a result of implementing flexible working. With staff turnover above trust and national averages, the school’s leadership team undertook a programme of initiatives, including mentoring, continuing professional development (CPD), succession planning and flexible working.

Having actively engaged with United Learning’s guidance on flexible working, and taken part in the training and support they were offered, the school’s leaders have been able to increase opportunities for flexible working across all staff groups.

They are now taking an even more proactive step by recruiting new staff on a flexible basis. This, in turn, has increased the school’s diversity and improved the inclusion and well-being of staff.

The school’s headteacher, Asma Maqsood-Shah, believes that strong communication has been central to the success of their new flexible working strategy. She has built in a system for 2-way feedback around every aspect of the school, so that the senior leadership team can be clear about the impact on staff.

Following the new approach, part-time teacher rates are now higher than the national average and, according to the annual staff survey, engagement has increased from 68% in 2017 to 89% in 2019. Voluntary staff turnover rates have reduced significantly in the same timeframe, dropping from 12.2% to 2.5% in 2019 for Key Stage 1, and from 10.9% to 4.9% for Key Stage 2, and recruitment costs have reduced accordingly.

Only 2 years ago, the school needed to recruit between 6 and 8 teachers a year. in 2020 just 2 new teachers have been needed.

Faced with a high proportion of teaching staff who were approaching retirement, the senior leadership team at Shoreham Academy have taken a proactive approach. They have actively encouraged those who were considering stepping down to opt for phased retirement, which allows them to continue working in a part-time role and draw part of their pension. This has helped the school to retain these teachers’ experience and skills, and support their wellbeing, whilst simultaneously reducing budget costs.

Flexible working is now available to all staff, at every level, and the school’s leaders are rarely unable to meet a staff member’s needs. Part-time teacher rates are above the national average, and informal flexibility is also treated positively, with staff members willing and able to cover for each other when needed.

From September 2020, the school’s vice principal will be working 3 days per week, passing on some responsibilities to the assistant principal. This will in turn support the assistant principal’s CPD and the school’s succession planning.

Guildford High School’s approach is driven by the headteacher’s belief that outstanding schools are built on outstanding teachers, and that retaining them is a clear priority. Under her leadership, the timetabling process is not based on part-timers working a specific number of days, but instead on the days they wish to be in school. Their contracts are built around timetabling software. Teachers are given clear expectations about what is possible, so that everyone knows where they stand.

For example, it is understood that part-time core subject teachers will have to be in school across 4 days each week. Teachers in other subjects may be able to consolidate their teaching time together and so have fewer days on site. Additionally, if they are willing to teach a limited number of year groups, they may be able to reduce their role even further. For example, a science teacher was able to create a one-day-per-week pattern by opting to teach only biology to pupils in years 7 to 9.

As a result of this experience in implementing flexible working, as well as a proactive approach to technology, the impact of COVID-19 was less disruptive than it might otherwise have been. The school used Microsoft Teams to deliver remote lessons during lockdown, and was able to support other schools with their virtual provision.

The experience has reaffirmed the headteacher’s view that flexibility enables rather than hinders outstanding teaching. She also believes it has opened up more opportunities for flexible working.

In addition to the case studies noted above, and despite the impact of COVID-19, United Learning is already seeing a range of benefits from their flexible working project, at a trust-wide level.

Schools with high rates of part-time staff are reporting improved retention of talent and more efficient staffing costs, and the teacher turnover rate is declining across the trust as a whole. The trust’s HR business partners also report that the new policy is facilitating more positive and constructive outcomes for flexible working requests across all schools.

High Hazels Academy headteacher Asma Maqsood-Shah says,

"Despite previously being anti-flexible working, I am now a passionate advocate. It has made such a difference to retention and morale and, ultimately, to the children."

Additionally, the gender pay gap for United Learning Academy schools is reducing, and analysis by the trust suggests that greater flexible working for school leaders and teachers is a factor. Data from United Learning’s Gender Pay Gap Report 2019 suggests that there is a correlation between the reduction in the pay gap and an increase in flexible working in the workforce overall, for teachers and for women in senior roles.

The trust has put in place a range of mechanisms to continue sharing learnings and good practice, including case studies, a dedicated information area on the intranet, and training for HR business partners and school HR staff. A new recruitment and retention best practice handbook is currently in development.

Case study 2: White Meadows Primary School

White Meadows has used flexible working to recruit and keep high-calibre staff, supporting their path from special measures to a good Ofsted rating.

White Meadows is a 3-form entry community primary school based in Littlehampton, in one of the most deprived parts of West Sussex. The infant and junior schools were amalgamated in 2011, at which point they were both in special measures. It currently has just under 100 teaching and support staff.

While the shortage of teaching staff has been a national issue for many years, recruitment and retention is more difficult for schools in deprived areas. Additionally, a legacy of being in special measures makes the situation more difficult, even when a school is starting to improve. This is a challenge which the leaders at White Meadows have sought to tackle through their flexible working strategy.

Over the last 8 years, leaders at White Meadows have used flexible working to attract and keep a group of passionate, resilient teachers who relish the challenges of their roles and are prepared to go the extra mile to support their pupils.

The drive for flexible working was initially led by the school’s headteacher (now its executive head), who set out to create a culture in which people’s lives did not take second place to their jobs. In practice, this meant taking the approach that they would try to accommodate flexible working requests, for whatever reason.

The school’s leadership team openly champions flexible working, the current headteacher worked a 4-day week in her previous role as the school’s deputy headteacher. As a result, staff are confident that they can be honest about their need for flexible working.

Staff who are due to take maternity leave are asked about their return plans before they go, giving the school time to work out the best way to accommodate their wishes. Flexible staff are celebrated, not tolerated. Candidates are told about the flexible approach during their tours of the school.

Leaders work hard to match part-time roles and partnerships with staff needs and personalities, as well as the needs of pupils.

Leaders are open about how the school benefits from flexible working. For example, they are positive with staff and parents about how job shares provide a ‘fresh’ teacher part-way through the week, as well as providing some pupils with a mid-week chance to start again. As a result, parents are generally supportive.

Making the most of staff members’ outside interests

One part-time teacher runs the education unit in a local museum for the rest of her working week. The school has built strong links with the museum as a result and asked the teacher to use her experience to write the school’s history curriculum.

Leaders are careful not to assume that staff will work outside of their part-time arrangements, for example, if staff attend inset days on their scheduled day off, they are given the time back. Staff are allocated 3 days personal leave to allow them to attend their own children’s school events or take care of other personal priorities.

Leaders have noted a number of ways in which COVID-19 has changed working practices for the better.

As the school is part of a national academy trust (Reach2), leaders and staff were previously required to travel around the country for trust-wide meetings. These have been moved online, which benefits both staff and budgets, and will hopefully continue to some degree.

The school has embraced technology during lockdown, using a platform called SeeSaw to set work and engage with pupils (for example, posting videos of the nursery teacher reading stories online). They will continue to use SeeSaw to set homework and believe this technology could also support teachers’ ability to work remotely in the future.

The school’s positive approach to flexible working means that it is no longer seen as something just for staff members who are parents, and has resulted in a number of interesting developments. For example:

there are currently 3 job share partnerships, including the year 1 team leaders

a number of staff work part-time in a role designed to cover colleagues’ planning, preparation and assessment time

2 year 6 teachers don’t have a class of their own, but instead work a 0.6 contract spread across 5 mornings, taking smaller groups, set by ability, for further stretch and challenge

2 higher-level teaching assistants are working part-time while they study for university degrees

Staff retention has increased, with the number of leavers dropping from 16 in 2015 to 8 in 2018 and just 3 in 2019. Anecdotally, the improved well-being of the staff body has also been noted.

"Teachers and school support staff tend to be caring, family-oriented, values-driven people, they wouldn’t choose this profession otherwise. So it’s important that school leaders allow them to provide the same care and attention for their own families and personal lives as they do for their pupils. Flexible working allows our brilliant staff to balance the challenges of their role with the rest of their lives, and we benefit from this as much as they do. It’s simple, really, if you keep your staff happy, they will stay."

The above article was written and released by The Department for Education on the 12th of May 2021, on the following sources: Case study one, Case study two. 

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Department for Education: Case studies in flexible working solutions

The pandemic has drastically changed the way education is being delivered worldwide. For a large part of the last year, through various lockdowns, we have inhabited a world where being safe equates with being socially distant, quarantined, and connected only virtually. 

In the process, we have embraced newer models of education dissemination, battled major safeguarding risks, and accounted for the psychological as well as the overall long-term impact of the pandemic on children. 

The bottom line is that this transition to either a hybrid or a remote learning model has come with a fair share of challenges. As a result, the school authorities have to stay vigilant, constantly. 

As we enter the next phase, we want to be ready for, and ahead of, any challenges that might arise. When we first made the transition, it was done in haste, so we worked with imperfect systems, where a plethora of safeguarding concerns raised alarm. 

Now, all school authorities and other education stakeholders wish to implement a system that is well-thought-out and tested for any safeguarding loopholes. In tandem with this goal, the Department of Education (DfE) has mandated the implementation of a secure remote learning plan by September this year. 

This plan would take into account challenges faced in educational settings related to cybersecurity best practices, equity and access, and psychological concerns. This brings the issue of cyber safety to the centre stage. As EdTech is developing exponentially, it is more important than ever to liaise with National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and develop a foolproof structure where 

b) mitigation directives are in place if such attacks occur despite these guardrails present.

New Learning Models, New Cybersecurity Challenges

In order to fully appreciate the need for a remote learning plan and implement a safeguarding infrastructure around it, it is important to understand the challenges posed by the remote model in nuanced depth. 

The NSCS has issued warnings as well advisories in regards to the increased ransomware attacks in the education sector. In a fairly recent ransomware attack, 37000 children were unable to access their email. Since we moved to the remote mode of learning and working, hacking incidents have been on the rise: the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2020 found a total of 54% identified breaches or attacks at least once a week for secondary schools. 

In addition to the traditional forms of cyber attacks, we also witnessed novel security breaches in the form of “zoom bombing” whereby an uninvited user accesses a private video call. In an educational setting, zoom bombing has posed several threats: 

Invasion of privacy of everyone in the video chatroom/call,

Distraction from or disruption in the lessons, and 

Exposure to inappropriate materials or sights.

Phishing — the fraudulent practice of masquerading as a person/company of repute in order to acquire sensitive information — was rampant too. 

When we first implemented a remote learning structure, it was out of urgency and uncertainty. We knew very little about the virus and how it would impact our lives. Going forward, however, we can predict with a certain degree of certainty, what precautions and safeguards we need in place to ensure a safe remote learning environment. The Chief Information Security Officer of XYPRO and Cybersecurity Expert Steve Tcherchian shares, 

“Cybersecurity awareness needs to be part of any remote learning plan. This needs to start with teachers and administrators. There is usually a huge tradeoff between security and functionality. Unfortunately, with the rush to implement this, security may have been an afterthought.” 

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