Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025: Secondary and Post-16 Settings

Safeguarding and Child Protection  

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025: Secondary and Post-16 Settings

Aligned with KCSIE 2025 and key UK laws, this safeguarding course builds practical expertise for secondary and post‑16 staff to identify, respond, and report concerns confidently, promoting a prevention‑focused safeguarding culture.

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Course Details

This enhanced KCSIE 2025 Safeguarding Course is fully aligned with England’s statutory safeguarding framework. It maps directly to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)Working Together to Safeguard Children, the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, the Education Acts, the Equality Act 2010, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Data Protection Act 2018/UK GDPR, and key Department for Education guidance on attendance, online safety, RSHE, and safer recruitment.

Designed for secondary and post‑16 staff, the course develops a deep, practice‑focused understanding of legal duties and everyday responsibilities for keeping young people safe. It explicitly links each section to these core documents, helping participants see how statutory expectations translate into daily practice.

Through evidence‑informed content, realistic scenarios, and guided reflection, the course examines how adolescent safeguarding, online and AI‑related harms, attendance, alternative provision, care‑experienced pupils, RSHE, and safer recruitment intersect in real‑world education settings. Participants learn how to recognise concerns early, respond safely, record and report effectively, and contribute to a confident, prevention‑focused safeguarding culture within their school or college.

Course Aims

  • To strengthen staff understanding of KCSIE 2025 and related statutory frameworks as they apply in secondary and post‑16 settings.
  • To shift safeguarding practice from reactive crisis response to proactive prevention, early intervention, and safe culture‑building.
  • To build staff confidence in recognising adolescent vulnerability (including digital and contextual harms) and acting in the best interests of pupils.
  • To support DSLs and leaders to embed the 2025 updates through clear systems, data use, curriculum planning, and multi‑agency working.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the key changes in KCSIE 2025 and explain what they mean for their day‑to‑day role.
  • Distinguish clearly between safeguarding and child protection, and between the roles of classroom staff, pastoral staff, senior leaders and the DSL.
  • Apply the 5 R’s (Recognise, Respond, Report, Record, Refer) consistently to a range of safeguarding scenarios, including online and attendance‑related concerns.
  • Identify how attendance, alternative provision and digital behaviour function as safeguarding indicators.
  • Explain how RSHE, curriculum design and whole‑school culture can be used as proactive safeguarding tools.
  • Identify when and how to share information with the DSL and other agencies lawfully and effectively.
  • Reflect on their own practice and agree concrete next steps to strengthen safeguarding in their team or setting.

Course Curriculum

  • The role of educators
  • The role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
  • Reflection and key takeaway

  • Safeguarding: The role and responsibilities within education 2 Assessments

  • What is safeguarding?
  • The distinction between safeguarding and child protection
  • Who needs safeguarding?
  • Why safeguarding is essential for educators
  • Your Duty of Care
  • Statutory framework: Key legislation
  • Safer recruitment and DBS: keeping unsafe adults out
  • Reflection and key takeaway

  • Foundations of safeguarding 4 Assessments

  • How abuse manifests differently in adolescents
  • KCSIE 2025 updates at a glance
  • Physical abuse
  • Emotional abuse
  • Sexual abuse and exploitation
  • Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB)
  • Peer‑on‑peer (child‑on‑child) abuse
  • Grooming: The predatory process
  • Online grooming specific concerns (NEW 2025 Focus)
  • Neglect
  • NEW 2025 - Attendance as neglect indicator
  • Bullying and cyberbullying
  • Criminal exploitation, gang activity, and county lines
  • Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
  • Domestic abuse and exposure to violence
  • Child trafficking
  • Honour based violence
  • Prevent and radicalisation
  • Understanding the impact of trauma and abuse
  • Reflection and key takeaways

  • Recognising abuse and harm in secondary and post 16 settings 4 Assessments

  • Allegations and concerns about staff and adults
  • Private fostering
  • Children missing from education (CME)
  • Elective Home Education (EHE)
  • Looked‑after, previously looked‑after and care‑experienced children
  • Key takeaways

  • Specific safeguarding contexts 2 Assessments

  • The 5 R's framework: Your action structure
  • Recognise
  • Respond
  • Report
  • Record
  • Refer
  • Key reminders
  • Information sharing and confidentiality: Getting it right
  • Supporting children after a disclosure
  • Key takeaways

  • The 5Rs Framework 2 Assessments

  • Safeguarding partnerships and multi-agency
  • Information sharing and confidentiality
  • Reflective learning

  • Safeguarding partnerships, multi-agency and confidentiality 2 Assessments

  • Safeguarding policies and procedures
  • Core safeguarding documents
  • Training, refreshers, and team learning
  • Children’s safeguarding curriculum
  • Record‑keeping and learning from significant events
  • Bringing it all together: building a safeguarding culture
  • Final thoughts

  • Safeguarding in practice: Systems, culture and learning 5 Assessments

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Related Organisations

NSPCC
Barnardo's
The Children's Society
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