Diocese of Chichester Education

The Diocese takes Safeguarding seriously.

“Defend the weak, the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed...”  Psalm 83.4

Safeguarding is a key priority for all schools. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families, and is involved in any way with a school, has a part to play.Governors need to have training, monitor, and receive regular reports on how the school is meeting their safeguarding responsibility.However, governors do not get involved in detail, except that the nominated Safeguarding Governor will be kept aware of each and any incidents.

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 (KCSIE)

Updated annually this guidance informs School policy and practice as well as training.

DBS Checks for all Governors

KCSIE requires:
All governors in maintained schools are required to have the relevant and up to date Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks, including Section 128 (Secretary of State prohibition or restriction on an individual) in line with statutory requirements. It is the Governing Boards’ responsibility to ensure that these are carried out by the school.

DBS Checks for Academy Trusts

Before an individual becomes the Chair of a Trust the Secretary of State will:

• carry out an enhanced DBS check;
• confirm the individual’s identity, and
• if the individual lives or has lived outside of the UK, where applying for an enhanced check is insufficient, such other checks as the Secretary of State considers appropriate. 

Where an Academy Trust delegates responsibilities to any delegate or committee (including a Local Governing Body), the trust must require an enhanced DBS check on all delegates and all members of such committees.

Safeguarding Training

KCSIE 2022 requires Governing Boards to ensure that all governors and trustees receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection (including online) training at induction level. This will usually be updated annually either: 

• At the start of the academic year training provided for all school staff, which governors can attend.
• Undertaking a specific 'in person' or online course.

Both the Diocese and the Local Authorities provide Safeguarding courses. The Diocesan course puts safeguarding in the context of the Church of England and being a Church School (See training courses for further details).

Foundation Governors sign their nomination promising to attend Diocesan training in the first year of their appointment; the Diocesan Board of Education expectation is that this includes both Safeguarding and ‘Making Sense of Church School Governance’ as a minimum.