Catch up with the latest in safeguarding for schools: best practice, thought leadership, and all the latest insights within single central record management.

SCR Tracker Blog

During this webinar, Rachael Bishop from RLB Safeguarding Ltd. discusses the following topics:-

Guidance and Legal Responsibilities for Schools

Understanding Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment

Harmful Sexual Behaviours and Extra-Familial Harms

Contextual Safeguarding and Child Sexual Exploitation

Rachael Bishop has over 18 years of experience, paired with an extensive training record within the safeguarding field. Rachael has worked in a variety of sectors, including Child Protection in the Social Care sector, Charity organisations, Schools, Apprenticeships and Employability, The NHS, Mental Health Inpatient and Community Services, The Police, Substance Misuse, and Youth Offending Teams. Her true passion in life is for promoting well-being and mental health and helping to keep children and adults safe so they can thrive in life.

To find out more about SCR Tracker, safeguarding development,  or our webinar host please click here.

Watch the recording of our Sexual Harassment webinar. If you work in the education sector, it's imperative that you know how to keep your staff and pupils safe and well by knowing how to recognise and deal with key issues around sexual harassment.

Safeguarding Development: Sexual Harassment in Schools

SCR Tracker Blog | Sexual Harassment in Schools Webinar

Sexual Harassment in Schools.pptx.pdf

Sexual Harassment in Schools Webinar Slides

On Friday 27th May, we completed a 15k circular route of the Jurassic Coast starting and finishing at Kimmeridge Bay, in association with 'National Walking Month'.

It was a challenging but great day and we were incredibly lucky with the weather! Overall we managed to achieve 110% of the target, raising a fantastic £1,105 for Save the Children UK. 

Save the Children, which currently operates in 117 countries and provides much-needed care to children all over the world, including urgent aid for children and their families in Ukraine. Right now, their teams are working hard to reach families in these devastating circumstances and all fundraising will help them to scale up their response in Ukraine to: 

provide cash and vouchers to help families pay for food, rent and medicines

offer mental health and psychological support to children whose lives have been torn apart 

support children’s learning through high-quality, inclusive education

provide warm clothes and blankets as temperatures plunge below freezing.

As well as supporting their local partners in Ukraine to:

provide essential food, blankets, and hygiene items for women and babies

help families on the move to stay safe – one partner has already helped 1072 people.

provide psychological first aid for schools and support remote learning

help more than 120 people access drinking water.

Save the Children have been working with staff to prepare resources in neighbouring countries such as Romania, Poland and Lithuania to help address the growing regional refugee crisis as more Ukrainian families flee. In Romania, they've already supported refugees at five reception centres and at nine border crossing points. So far, they've helped 15,176 people fleeing from Ukraine, of which 8,325 are children and 6,851 are adults. They have provided essential items like food, vouchers, nappies, hygiene products, blankets, socks and warm clothing. They also provide  phone cards to families and children that have fled the conflict, as well as  toys and setting up safe spaces where children can play, learn and cope with grief and loss.

Save the Children are also monitoring the needs of unaccompanied children and is in contact with the Romanian child protection system to help keep children safe from trafficking and providing advice and information (about the asylum process, means of travel and services like hospitals) as well as emotional support and translation services so all families can access the information they need to decide their next steps. 

They couldn’t do this vital lifesaving work without the fantastic fundraising support they receive. We are absolutely delighted to have achieved this amount for such a great cause and we are so extremely grateful to all of our supporters and everyone that has very kindly donated!

The average adult spends approximately 30-40 hours of their week in the workplace, or working for their employer and whilst this is already a considerable amount of time spent per week, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about increased staff pressures and responsibilities, a range of social and emotional issues, and has resulted in heightened recruitment and retention issues, particularly for the education sector.

The pandemic has significantly impacted the way people have had to adapt and change including working from home arrangements, returning back and forth to their organisational settings, and supporting learners with additional and heightened support needs. According to MIND Charity “Every year, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem but hundreds of thousands of people are still struggling.” 

Mental Health First Aid England report that “mental ill-health is responsible for 72 million working days lost and costs £34.9 billion each year.”

When we consider the term ‘well-being’, this can include our physical, mental, emotional, and social health. Mental well-being describes how an individual is feeling at the time and how well they can cope with daily life, which can fluctuate from moment to moment, day to day, or month to month. 

The World Health Organisation states that “Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual realises their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and are able to contribute to their community.” 

Feeling relatively confident in yourself and having positive self-esteem

Feeling and expressing a range of emotions

Building and maintaining good relationships with others

Feeling engaged with the world around you

Adapting and managing in times of change and uncertainty

The charter was published in November 2021 by the Department for Education. You can download a copy here.

“This charter sets out commitments from this department, from Ofsted and employers working in education on actions to protect and promote the well-being of education staff. As signatories, we are accountable for those commitments. Everyone working in education has an important role to play in supporting their well-being and that of their colleagues. I encourage all schools and colleges to put well-being at the centre of everything you do and sign up to the charter.” Nadhim Zahawi Secretary of State for Education November 2021

Work-related stress can be a significant factor that can impact a staff member’s well-being. The Health and Safety Executive has reported that the 6 main causes of work-related stress are:

Staff are not able to cope with the demands of their job

Staff are unable to control the way they do their work

Staff do not receive enough information and support

Staff are having trouble with relationships at work or are being bullied

Staff do not fully understand their role and responsibilities

Staff are not engaged when a business is undergoing change

For more information and tool kits on how to manage work-related stress please click here:

The Education Hub also provides some excellent guidance around building a culture of psychological safety, for more info click here.

If you are feeling signs of stress within your workplace, it is important you tell someone. If you talk to a manager at the earliest opportunity, it will allow them to intervene and hopefully stop the situation from escalating.

Other staff issues that can affect well-being and mental health

Organisations, leaders and managers should always try to adopt a holistic approach to well-being, based on the physical and psychological health risks and needs of the workforce. This can include offering support to those who may experience health challenges at various stages of life, such as pregnancy loss, chronic health conditions, caring responsibilities, and menopause.

The NHS states that menopause is when your periods stop due to lower hormone levels. This usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55. The condition can cause symptoms like anxiety, brain fog, hot flushes, and irregular periods. These symptoms can start ten years before periods stop and continue afterwards and can have a significant impact on a person’s life, including relationships and work.

Organisations that offer support for menopause:

Menopause Matters:    https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/ 

Menopause Cafe:         https://www.menopausecafe.net/ 

Queer Menopause:      https://www.queermenopause.com/resources 

A whole-school approach is required to ensure that all employees and learners are truly accepting and understanding of well-being and mental health issues and how building inner resilience and accessing early intervention is essential.

It is fundamental that we do not stigmatise or label mental health issues as we all experience the reality of having normal emotional reactions to new or difficult experiences. Schools and educational organisations should always recognise that some employees may commence their employment with pre-existing psychological issues or diagnoses, either declared or undeclared.

Provide a supportive and healthy workplace environment

Enrich the experiences of all employees through the promotion of a supportive culture of well-being and emotional resilience

Ensure that there is a clear process of reporting issues or concerns or seeking support for employees

Increase awareness and understanding of well-being, physical health, mental health, and common mental health issues

Be responsive to the early warning signs of mental ill-health with a preventative approach

Provide education, guidance, and support to employees working with those with well-being or mental health issues.

Be responsive to anyone affected directly and indirectly by mental ill-health.

Provide support to individuals experiencing well-being, physical, or mental ill-health issues and conditions.

It is important to note that confidentiality does not apply when a person becomes a danger to themselves, or others and staff should escalate any high-risk concerns immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Officer as per the organisation’s Safeguarding Reporting Procedure. It is always a safeguarding issue if a person discloses suicidal ideation. Mental health emergencies are serious. By speaking up, everyone should know that you are not wasting anyone’s time.

Mental health first aid style initiatives 

Mental health first aid style initiatives are fundamental to creating a safe and healthy workplace and are trained employees that can identify, understand, and support individuals who may be experiencing a mental health issue. They will listen, reassure, and respond, even in a crisis and even potentially prevent a crisis from occurring and are trained to recognise some of the warning signs of mental ill-health and help to empower people to access support for recovery or management of symptoms.

Organisations should recognise that Mental Health First Aiders/ Advocates or Champions require support given the nature of the role. These employees have volunteered to complete the training and to be available to support others as an addition to their primary job role, so it is essential that they have access to regular supervision, appropriate training, peer-to-peer support and be regularly checked in on by someone who oversees the initiative.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Conversations around well-being and mental health should always have a clear emphasis on enabling individuals to develop their knowledge, understanding, skills, language, and confidence to seek help for themselves and their colleagues.

Be open about your situation wherever possible and prioritise your own self-care and well-being. When we take responsibility for ourselves and build inner resilience and positive thinking it can help us find solutions. If we feel unable to do so on our own, then it is important to speak up and ask for support. 

Protect your physical and psychological health

If you work in the education sector, it's imperative that you know how to keep your staff and pupils safe by knowing how to recognise and deal with key mental health issues. During this webinar recording the topics covered are:- 

If this webinar inspired you and you would like to find out more about Rachael's Safeguarding Consultancy Services, or you would like more information on the next webinar, please visit our safeguarding development page.

Watch our Safeguarding Webinar recording with Specialist Rachael Bishop, as she provides essential safeguarding updates and awareness around mental health.

Safeguarding Development: Mental Health Matters

Join us and our host, Safeguarding Specialist Rachael Bishop, as she provides essential safeguarding information around mental health.

Safeguarding Development Webinar: Mental Health Matters

SCR Tracker | Safeguarding Development Webinar: Mental Health Matters

Mental Health Matters.pdf

Mental Health Matters Webinar Slides

Learning does not stop in the classroom. Children often attend after-school activities, referred to as out-of-school settings (OOSS), where they absorb new skills and knowledge. More specifically, OOSS are defined as organisations or individuals that act as providers of tuition, training, instruction, or similar activities in settings that aren’t formal schools or colleges or academies, but where parents or carers are not present to supervise.

These activities usually happen outside normal school hours. So, if you’re a parent sending your child for piano lessons over the weekends or on evenings or school holidays, that’s an example of an OOSS. It’s clear by the definition that OOSS are not a substitute for schools, but these settings and extra-curricular engagement can be incredibly helpful in your child’s holistic development. From social skills, initiative, leadership skills, time management, and exploration of interests, children learn a lot more than just the hard skills in such settings. 

OOSS can be both commercial, donation-based, or free, and can range from community youth centres and sports clubs to places of worship. These include learning centres built to supplement mainstream or home education, extracurricular skill classes like dance or sports clubs, instrumental or gymnastics training classes, centres for preparation of competitive examinations, uniformed youth organisations such as Scouts or Guides, or religious centres for faith-based learning, or faith groups or just a place of worship. 

Children often enjoy the time they spend in such settings because these activities allow them the space to explore their interests, get out of their comfort zone, get rich experiences, reinforce learning, and most importantly, help them build a social circle outside of their school. Many activities start with a hard skill in mind, for example, learning to play the piano, or learning gymnastics, but soft skills development constitutes a big part of these activities. Out-of-school activities follow the principle of learning by doing, called Experiential Learning. 

Angela Karanja, founder of Raising Remarkable Teenagers and an adolescent psychologist and parenting teenagers expert, points out the experiential advantage of after-school activities in developing crucial life skills in children by giving them a taste of the real world, “Schools are institutions with mainly routines and structure and young people can be caught up in the rote performance. Out of school activities allow for diverse engagement and brain and body activation, involvement in different perspectives, active and conscious thinking, evaluation and decision making. For example, if a young person wants to use the toilet at school, they know exactly where it is, the route and even how long it takes to get there, where the toilet paper is etc. Doing so at a different venue will require them to ask for directions, and travel a different route and distance from what they are used to. This simple activity in itself requires conscious thinking and it, therefore, expands their mind. They learn something new about their space, they practise asking for help and support, and it solidifies a renewed belief and confidence within them with respect to their flexibility and adaptability.”

For spaces that hold so much power for the future of children, it is imperative to keep children safe. Just like schools and academies, these OOSS venues should also be vetted for their safeguarding policies and provisions. 

Here are a few broad categories of safeguarding measures that can help ensure safety in after-school activities:-

Parents must check that the OOSS venues have fire safety and an evacuation plan. That goes for all buildings in the venue. The providers should also ensure that their employees have first aid training and that first aid kits are readily available and accessible in case of emergencies. They should also be equipped to act in such situations, like knowing where to call for medical emergencies, having a register of emergency contacts for the children attending the training or tuition.  If possible, providers can go a step further and maintain a directory of medical concerns or allergies that students attending their establishment have. It would also be a good idea to have a medical practitioner or volunteer in attendance or on-call for major events or crucial days, like a competitive event or a performance day when the venue is likely to host many people.

Most after-school activity venues will be unregulated, but that does not mean that your child should be endangered. Mostly, after-school activity venues are also fun and safe places for children. There are still guidelines that can help fortify the spaces further.   

Some district councils have certification programmes that help such venues and community associations establish credibility in their safeguarding policies and procedures. What exactly can these policies entail? 

Below we discuss the provisions and policy elements, which are not very unlike the ones implemented in schools.

First and foremost, the OOSS should have a safeguarding and child protection policy. This policy ordinarily contains procedures and guidelines for dealing with safeguarding incidents. This policy should also be part of the staff training modules so that everyone who interacts with children is fully equipped to take care of their safety. 

The policy or the training will also apprise the staff members of the issues related to children at risk of harm, and help them identify signs of abuse/neglect/extremism/bullying. There should also be clear procedures if concerns are raised about misconduct by a staff member or volunteer. 

Apart from laying down policies and procedures, it is very crucial to appoint someone to take care of the safeguarding elements. This is usually a trained person called a designated safeguarding lead (DSL), whose details are also shared with parents, carers or guardians, should there be safety concerns. 

If parents want to escalate any issue or report any provider or serious incident, they can approach the NSPCC at 0808 800 5000, a Local authority designated officer (LADO) or the police.

Drawing from the previous point, it is also important that all the staff and volunteers working at the OOSS undergo a pre-employment check, like the DBS check, identity verification and so on. Sometimes, volunteers come and go and organisations fail to check up on each one, but DBS checks can ensure the safety of everyone attending the space.  

Training on safety procedures should form a part of their induction or onboarding process. For more formal spaces, regular performance reviews, anonymous feedback boxes, etc can also help make it a safer space for children.

To emphasise one specific part of the safeguarding policy, governance measures should help to strengthen the safeguarding response for children in OOSS spaces. There should be a clear complaints procedure and an effective whistleblowing policy that protects everyone involved. 

Everything that has been promised in the safeguarding policy should be backed up with sufficient resources. If incidents occur, children should have a clear idea of how they can report the same to a superior or a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Providers should ensure that a robust complaint and redressal mechanism is in place and communicated to everyone.

Finally, parents can always exercise their right to ask about these provisions: official first aiders, DSL, health and safety protocols, child-protection policy, complaints committee or procedure, etc. If the providers at the OOSS are not able to answer with conviction, it’s a sign they aren’t taking accountability for your child. We suggest parents use this list of questions before choosing any out-of-school setting for their children.

An important element of children’s safety is their psychological safety or their ability to be able to express themselves without the fear of judgement, humiliation or punishment. Adolescent psychologist and parenting teenagers expert Karanja shares what these internal factors look like in practice, “Internal factors include empowering confidence and competence and belief in young people. Encouraging them to ask questions about the things around them, encouraging them to listen to their intuition, empowering them with choices, extending empathy when they are learning at a different pace than others. Young people should be empowered to speak about their discomforts or things that don't feel right to them. They need to know they’ll be listened to and heard and believed.”

As mentioned in a previous blog, children need to feel comfortable to be able to report incidents and receive support, validation, and reassurance. 

Last, but not least, if your child is using the internet or digital devices in any form for their after-school exercises or activities, we need to ensure proper checks are in place for their safety. Firewall settings, child-lock, use of VPN, and discouraging use of public networks are some tangible measures. Beyond these, you should strive to keep an open channel of communication with children. If they come across anything unwanted or uncomfortable online, they should feel safe coming to you with their concern.

Children pick up some of the most crucial life skills in out-of-school settings, so we should make sure they are able to make mistakes, learn from them, and express themselves openly in these spaces. As well as a safeguarding toolkit, their mental health should also be cared for. 

We are delighted to have reached a huge milestone for SCR Tracker - we have just signed our 1000th school!

The team here at SCR Tracker are having a mini celebration as we have just reached our 1000th school to subscribe to our software. We are also thrilled to have signed over 100 Trusts as well!

Over the past three years, our team has more than doubled with the introduction of a dedicated customer support team, partnerships with recognised safeguarding experts, and more recently the creation of a sales and marketing department.  During this time we have also been working hard to improve our software by adding new features, such as fully customisable templates and custom profile types, to our customisable reports and dashboard. Not to mention our most recent feature, which allows fully integrated DBS checks directly in the portal.

All of these improvements have significantly improved our customer satisfaction by ensuring the use of our software can reduce the amount of time spent on any safeguarding task and decrease the number of different applications needed to do the same job. Whether our users previously used Excel, an MIS, or another solution to capture their Single Central Record, we ensure they are up and running in no time. We want to take as much of the time-consuming manual checks and data entry away as much as possible and ensure it's a fully streamlined, efficient and enjoyable experience.

"The SCR Tracker software is excellent and very easy to use, I would recommend it without hesitation! It's quick and easy to get set up too." Sally Vickers SCR Administrator, St Edmund's Catholic School

We always listen to our customers to find out what we can further develop or any additional features that will help to improve the user experience. All of the positive feedback from our customers has certainly helped us reach this milestone. A vast amount of business comes from referrals and word-of-mouth, so we couldn't have achieved this growth so quickly without our loyal advocates, especially throughout a 2-year pandemic. 

"Migrating the information over was very straightforward ... The support from SCR Tracker has been invaluable. They are quick to respond to queries, giving sound and easy to follow advice, and are open to suggestions to enhance the system further." Jennifer Jarvis Primary Schools HR Officer, Wickersley Partnership Trust

We are hugely thankful to all of our fantastic customers - we hope they continue to enjoy our software and we can't wait to share all the exciting new plans coming up later this year!

If you are interested in finding out more information about our software, or you would like to book a system demonstration, please click here. 