Safeguarding Pupils with SEND

This blog is based on Judicium’s Safeguarding ‘Sofa Session’ from the 17th of November, with our resident expert James Simoniti. This session focused on how SEND intersects with safeguarding in schools, building a whole school approach inclusive of SEND, and specific accommodations and considerations.

The number of children on Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has grown every year since 2010, and this pattern is likely to continue. Mainstream settings can expect a growing number of children on EHCPs in future intakes which is why learning how to safeguard these pupils is so valuable.  In addition, the landscape continues to develop, especially with the recent SEND white paper publication.

 Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) is the main statutory guidance around safeguarding pupils. However, this is a generic document that is designed to apply to all schools – meaning certain sections may not specifically consider safeguarding pupils with SEND.  Although it is 179 pages long, KCSIE only mentions SEND 20 times in the entire document, despite these pupils often being more vulnerable!

How SEND Intersects with Safeguarding in Schools and Trusts

What is SEND?

A child has SEND if they:

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others the same age.

OR

• Have a disability that prevents or hinders them making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream educational settings.

There are four broad areas of SEND need (children can fit into several of these areas):

4. Communication and Interaction

5. Cognition and Learning

6. Social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH)

7. Sensory and/or physical needs

What are the key roles in school related to SEND and safeguarding?

The DSL

The DSL is responsible for leading safeguarding in the school and should have oversight of children on multi-agency plans. They should know what support is being put in place for them, ensure their safeguarding records are accurately kept and work closely with other professionals to ensure they are safe.

SENCO

The SENCO is responsible for co-ordinating provision for children with SEND, liaising with health and social care professionals and ensuring that the school keeps SEND records up to date. The SENCO must be a qualified teacher working at the school. A newly appointed SENCO must be a qualified teacher and, where they have not previously been the SENCO at that or any other relevant school for a total period of more than twelve months, they must achieve a National Award in Special Educational Needs Coordination within three years of appointment. These responsibilities are taken from the SEND code of practice.

 NB: Both roles are expected to be points of contact for external agencies and both are expected to oversee some form of record keeping

The key difference is that the SENCO only focuses on pupils with SEND and do not necessarily lead the safeguarding response for these pupils.

How can these roles work together effectively?

Sometimes the same person holds both roles. It’s not unusual for the DSL to also be the SENCO, although it is worth remembering that both are vital roles in a school that can be time intensive.

 If the roles are held by two separate individuals, some things to consider are:

•  Invite the SENCO to safeguarding meetings

Best practice would see the SENCO attending these meetings to ensure that relevant information is provided on children with SEND.

• Obtain Advanced Safeguarding Training for the SENCO (sometimes called DSL training, previously known as ‘level 3’)

Even if the SENCO does not officially act as a DSL or Deputy, it will be beneficial for them to be DSL trained. This level of training will help them to identify safeguarding concerns, understand how to act upon them and allow them to participate effectively in safeguarding meetings, such as Child Protection Conferences.

The Safeguarding Service provides CPD accredited open training courses, including Advanced Training for DSLs, ALL staff and Governors. For more information on the courses please see: https://www.judiciumeducation.co.uk/training or for eLearning course packages visit: https://www.judiciumeducation.co.uk/elearning

• Share relevant safeguarding records with the SENCO

If your school/Trust is using a digital record keeping system for your safeguarding records, ensure the SENCO has the appropriate privileges to access it.

• Discuss who will lead the safeguarding response when there are safeguarding concerns around a child with SEND

It is likely that the SENCO is well placed to lead this if they have a good understanding of the child and their needs, with support and direction from the DSL.

• Consider the position of the Senior Mental Health Lead

The Senior Mental Health Lead oversees the school’s implementation of a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. Guidance suggests that the SENCO or DSL could be well placed to perform this role, but if they do not perform this role, consider how this person can support the SENCO and DSL. 

Building a Whole-School Approach Inclusive of SEND

Curriculum

This is one of the occasions where KCSIE specifically mentions SEND. When referring specifically to the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) programmes in schools, KCSIE states, “Such a programme should be fully inclusive and developed to be age and stage of development appropriate (especially when considering the needs of children with SEND)”

We often find schools don’t actively evaluate their curriculum or look at whether the pupils in said lessons are taking key messages on board, which becomes apparent during our audits.

Consider holding such focus groups yourselves with pupils with SEND, evidence these meetings and take action if you have concerns.

Record Keeping

Strong record keeping is vital in safeguarding pupils, and it is the area most commonly highlighted when Ofsted label a school’s safeguarding ‘not effective’.

 Do your school/Trust’s records show pupils with SEND are more vulnerable to, for example, child-on-child abuse? If so, what actions are being taken? Special schools may wish to consider filtering the records on different types of SEND in your setting - e.g., are there more reports of child-on-child abuse against visually impaired pupils?

 If using a digital record keeping provider, it should be quite straightforward. If you’re unsure how, reach out to them and ask as providers tend to be very responsive and helpful. Again, this is an opportunity for you to take action and evidence

Alternative Provision (AP)

Alternative Provision can be an excellent way in which pupils can be supported to learn in different ways, and barriers to attainment can be broken down. Often, it is pupils with SEND who attend such provision, due to their specific needs.

It’s important to remember that when a pupil attends AP you maintain responsibility for safeguarding them. We did a Sofa Session on this in the last academic year, but in summary you should –

1. Obtain written confirmation that checks have been carried out on individuals working at the provider (don’t rely solely on the Local Authority’s ‘Approved List’)
2. Visit the provider and conduct your own safeguarding quality assurance (including physical hazards – are these considered and mitigated?)
3. Agree an attendance policy – how do you know if they don’t turn up?
4. Establish a contact plan – keeping in touch with the provider and visiting the pupil when they are attending. Ensuring that there is agreement about how concerns will be shared and how records will be kept.

Part-time timetables

Some SEND pupils are placed on part-time timetables. The use of these is strongly discouraged aside from ‘very exceptional circumstances.’

These should be constantly reassessed to consider the possibility of re-integration back into your setting full time with a reintegration plan in place. They should not be a long-term arrangement and you should consult other professionals if using one for a pupil with SEND to ensure that they are not disadvantaged as a result.

Risk assessments should be put in place for pupils on part-time timetables – you should consider safeguarding risks to that pupil and mitigate these where possible.

Trusted Adults

Some pupils with SEND might have difficulties in identifying trusted adults they can talk to with concerns, while others might struggle to communicate their worries altogether.

Ensure pupils understand the concept of trusted adults and consider what’s in place to direct pupils to these adults within school.

Consider how pupils can be supported to communicate their worries. Some schools have alternative ways pupils can speak to adults rather than face to face. Other schools have specific areas, ‘safe spaces,’ where pupils with SEND are able to drop in during breaktimes.

Positive handling/Use of reasonable force

There are times where it may be appropriate to use force within your setting – usually to control or restrain pupils. Some pupils with SEND may be more prone to behaviour that will require control or restraint within an educational setting.

Ofsted’s document ‘Positive environments where children can flourish’ explains their approach to inspecting the use of physical restraint. The document specifically states that inspectors will focus on:

• the impact on children
• how managers or staff monitor, understand and review the practice
• what the risks were and why restraint was the least restrictive option
• how practice then evolves
• whether that leads to fewer incidents over time

Following any restraint, consideration should be given to making a LADO referral. NB: You should make a LADO referral if a child has been harmed. This should be done within 24 hours. If in any doubt, err on the side of caution and report to the LADO.

Specific Accommodations and Considerations 

When Ofsted judges safeguarding 'not effective'

One of our Sofa Sessions last year looked at the reasons why Ofsted labelled safeguarding ‘not effective’. When looking at all schools, we found poor record keeping was the number one reason.

 Although we are working from a small base and could not generalise from the numbers available, we can see that record keeping remains the most common reason why special schools are found to have ‘not effective’ safeguarding.

 This consistency emphasises the importance of robust record keeping. Good record keeping includes a summary, action, and outcome for each concern raised.

 The second most common reason for ‘not effective’ safeguarding in special schools is down to pupils being unsafe in the setting. 

Reasons for this included:

• poor (and dangerous) behaviour in school
• poor staffing and supervision levels and the site itself being unsafe (e.g., pupils easily climbing onto the roof)
• Behaviour (dangerous behaviour within your setting can be a safeguarding issue).

Partnership Working

There tends to be more professionals involved with pupils with SEND, making partnership working particularly challenging at times. However, this can also be a positive – you are supported with these pupils by a wider team who have oversight of these pupils’ progress.

 In some cases, other professionals may not have a clear understanding of SEND so explaining the child’s SEND and their specific needs would provide valuable input.

 You are likely to find yourselves working very closely with the parents/carers of pupils with SEND and thus developing positive working relationships with them. However, sometimes you must take a step back and ask the difficult questions as you have a duty to safeguard the child.

Specific safeguarding risks

Non-verbal pupils:

• Pupils can make disclosures in non-verbal ways.
• Question whether ‘bad behaviour’ could be an indicator of abuse and consider if injuries appear to be consistent with explanations given by parents and carers.
• Understand common areas of non-accidental injuries such as the sole of the foot, the back of the thigh, inner arm, etc.

 Criminal exploitation:

• Some pupils with SEND will find it difficult to comprehend the risks involved in certain behaviours.
• They may be targeted by exploiters as they can be easier to manipulate and control.
• Pupils may be asked to hold illegal substances and weapons on behalf of exploiters, even if they are not being made to run drugs via county lines.
• Older children may even be at risk of ‘cuckooing’ if they are living semi-independently.

 Child-on-child abuse:

• This is a huge concern in schools, including special schools, across the country.
• Pupils with SEND may find it difficult to understand social boundaries such as personal space.
• Regardless of the intent of the ‘perpetrator’, this may still be child-on-child abuse if it is a non-consensual act. It is important to remember in some circumstances, pupils with SEND may be unable to give free and informed consent.

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