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Corporation of London
Adult Skills and Education Service (ASES)
Safeguarding/Prevent Policy and Staff Handbook
Designated ASES safeguarding leads
Tracie Rowe
Elizabeth Goldman
Joint Lead
Joint Lead
020 7322-3918
020 7332-1211
[email protected]
[email protected]
020 7332 1755
[email protected]
ASES’ Head of Service
Barbara Hamilton
Head of Service
Corporation of London safeguarding leads
Pat Dixon
Marion
Willicome Lang
Children’s Social Care 020 7332 1215
Manager
Service Manager
020 7332 1216
(Adults)
[email protected]
[email protected]
Corporation of London Community Safety Team Manager (PREVENT)
David MackIntosh
0207-332-3484 [email protected]
City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Board (CHSCB)
Rory McCallum
020 8356 4042
City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board
Jim Gamble
020 8356 5782
[email protected]
www.chscb.org.uk
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.hackney.gov.uk/safeguardingadults-board
Police and Prevent contacts
Community policing
Sadik Miah
City of London Police
Confidential antiterrorist hotline
Counter-terrorism
security advisers
020 7601 2222
07903 305 166
or dial 999
0800 789 321
1
Channel in place
[email protected]
Department for Education contact to raise concerns about extremism:
Helpline
020-7340-7264
[email protected]
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1 ASES’ role in safeguarding
This document sets out the Corporation of London’s Adult Skills and Education Service (ASES)
policy and processes on safeguarding, bringing it in line with the latest 2015 guidance produced by
Ofsted, DfE etc 2.
Safeguarding the welfare of children and adults is the responsibility of all organisations which engage in
education and training. It is important that we3, staff and tutors working for ASES, get safeguarding
right. This is for two reasons. ASES has a statutory duty for safeguarding its learners. During Ofsted
inspections, inspectors will make a key judgement on whether the organisation, its senior managers and
tutors, have implemented appropriate measures to ensure that all learners are reasonably safeguarded.
The safeguarding judgement will inform the overall judgement on ASES provision. But safeguarding is
not just a matter of inspection grades and following due process. It is important to ASES as a teaching
and learning community to make sure that our learners thrive as they learn and develop. This means
that we are alert to the welfare of our learners, exercise our professional judgement and take timely
and appropriate steps to support those who may be suffering significant harm. In addition to ensuring
that learners are safeguarded while learning with us, we also have a role to play in managing risks that
learners face in the wider community. This includes the recently introduced Prevent agenda which
deals with radicalisation.
The impact of the safeguarding/prevent agenda is a shift in focus from what we might have done in the
past. We now pay greater attention to and engage with what our students do and say. We contact the
safeguarding officer if there are concerns, seek advice and share information.
2 The aim of this document
This document sets out what safeguarding means in practice for ASES staff. It covers the different roles
in the organisation and the implications for staff across the organisation. It also sets out how ASES will
work with its subcontractors and employers to make sure that learners and apprentices are safe. But
most importantly, this document is about our focus on the learners. It is about how we use our
experience of working with them and the observation of their behaviour to promote welfare and safety.
Aspects covered:
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Safeguarding indicators for children, young learners and adults
The prevent agenda
Staff roles and responsibilities for safeguarding
The evidence requirements that show that ASES carries out safeguarding to the required standard
Management and reporting structures when working with subcontractors
Training opportunities and requirements for safeguarding and prevent
Pre-employment checks including referral to the Disclosure and Barring Checks Service (DBS)
Contact details within the service and links to other organisations such as the safeguarding adults
board
2
Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years, Education and Skills Settings Ref No 150067, OFSTED, June 2015
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspecting-safeguarding-in-early-years-education-and-skills-fromseptember-2015
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Where ‘we’ is used in the document, it refers to the ASES community: staff, managers, tutors and assessors.
Where ‘you’ is used, it refers to people in their specific roles and their duties and responsibilities.
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You will also find in the text case studies and examples which raise safeguarding and/or prevent
issues and which bring the ASES strategy to life. Please use the case studies to think what you
would do if you encountered this situation?’ These and other parts of the document can also be
used for particular staff roles and training.
3 Definition of safeguarding
By the term safeguarding we mean the statutory requirement to promote the welfare of children and
vulnerable adults and to protect them from harm.
3.1 Safeguarding indicators
OFSTED and DfE use three sets of indicators to identify and protect vulnerable learners and where
safeguarding action may be needed to protect from deliberate harm, neglect and failure to act. You will
find these in section 3.1-3. Section 4 looks at the implications of these criteria for learners attending
ASES provision.
3.2 Children and vulnerable adults
The age of 18 is a watershed in safeguarding practice. The Children Act 1989 defines a child as a person
under 18. The status of being a child brings with it more extensive criteria set out in 3.1. If the person is
over 18, they are considered to be an adult.
The Protection of Vulnerable Adults Scheme (PoVA 2004) defines a vulnerable adult as a person aged 18
or older who has:
•
•
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a substantial learning or physical disability
a physical or mental illness or mental disorder, chronic or otherwise, including addiction to alcohol
or drugs
a significant reduction in physical or mental capacity
Within the adult category, vulnerable adults need special consideration as set out in 3.2-3.
3.3 Safeguarding indicators for children/young learners
This set of indicators applies specifically to children, by which we mean children and young people
under 18. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as4:
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protecting children from maltreatment
preventing impairment of children’s health or development
ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and
effective care
taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
3.4 Safeguarding indicators for adults and children/young learners
The criteria below apply to children and young learners as well as adults, in particular vulnerable adults:
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neglect
physical abuse
sexual abuse
emotional abuse
bullying, including online bullying and prejudice-based bullying
Definition taken from ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ as quoted in Inspecting Safeguarding $8, p5.
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racist, disability and homophobic or transphobic abuse
gender-based violence/violence against women and girls
radicalisation and/or extremist behaviour
child sexual exploitation and trafficking
the impact of new technologies on sexual behaviour, for example sexting
teenage relationship abuse
substance misuse
issues that may be specific to a local area or population, for example gang activity and youth
violence
domestic violence
female genital mutilation
forced marriage
fabricated or induced illness
poor parenting, particularly in relation to babies and young children
other issues not listed here but that pose a risk to children, young people and vulnerable adults5.
You are the tutor of an adult community class. One day you talk to Priya, one of your students,
about her poor attendance. She agrees that her attendance has not been good and suddenly tells
you the reason why: she is in an unhappy marriage, she knows her husband is having an affair and
he is mistreating her emotionally and physically. Sometimes he stops her from coming to class.
What do you do?
3.5 Safeguarding indicators in the wider context
The third set of safeguarding criteria applies to both adults and children and relates to broader aspects
of care and education:
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learners’ health and safety and well-being
the use of reasonable force
meeting the needs of learners with medical conditions
providing first aid
educational visits
intimate care and emotional well-being
online safety6 and associated issues
appropriate arrangements to ensure learners’ security, taking into account the local context.
It is important for all members of staff employed by ASES to familiarise yourselves with the safeguarding
indicators in 3.1-3.
5
Inspecting Safeguarding, $10, p6. OFSTED 2015
The term ‘online safety’ reflects a widening range of issues associated with technology and a user’s access to
content, contact with others and behavioural issues.
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4 ASES learners and their backgrounds
In this section we look at the sets of indicators presented in section 3 and consider what the
implications for safeguarding are in the context of ASES provision.
4.1 Adult learners
The first and largest group of ASES learners consists of adults, ie people of 18 and older. Within this
adult group, we need to prioritise learners who have been identified as vulnerable. This may include
people who have a declared medical condition, mental health problems and who have suffered violence
or abuse. We may know because learners self-declare that they are vulnerable or that other services
such as the GP or social workers report that they are. ASES has a clear duty to ensure that the service
collectively has a positive impact on the safety and welfare of this type of vulnerable learner. But our
responsibility goes wider than that. We should be alert to pick up signs of distress or anxiety among the
whole adult learning population. This duty applies esp to tutors, who often get to know their learners
well and in whom learners may confide. In addition, tutors may notice behaviour or changes in
behaviour that cause concern. Tutors’ observations and action may be crucial for the welfare of the
learner.
Staff should also be aware that ASES has identified wellbeing as a priority for the service. In that
context, ASES runs a community-based programme of classes and workshops to promote and enhance
health recovery and wellbeing. This includes physical, mental and social wellbeing. Learners may have
been referred to this provision because they have been or are in danger of being vulnerable. These
courses form part of the Learning Well initiative for which the co-ordinator is Anna Lee White:
[email protected]. You can find up-to-date information on LW courses on the ASES
website. Courses have a special Learning Well logo
and icon
to identify them.
John is 84 and has been coming to a history class for over five years. You have noticed that he has
become withdrawn in the last three months or so. You know that he lives in a residential home. Last
week he mentioned that the home has new care workers. He indicated that life is not as it was
before. Sometimes care workers lose patience and shout at him. What should you do?
4.2 Children and young learners
Two categories of children participate in ASES provision. Children may join in family learning where they
accompany their parents or carers in lessons. As all family learning is delivered in children’s centres and
the children are with their parents or carers, any children present are safeguarded under the children’s
centre policy. By contrast, it is the responsibility of ASES or its subcontractor to make sure that the
adult skills tutor has been checked appropriately. This includes enhanced DBS-status.
The second category concerns children who are under 18 and who participate in ASES provision as
learners in their own right. In the case of ASES this applies to young learners who participate in the
apprenticeship scheme7. We need to pay particular attention to the needs of this type of young learner,
taking into account all three sets of indicators in section 3, inc 3.1 which sets out the criteria for children
and young learners.
7
Please note that ASES does not have a contract to enrol young learners below 18 on adult learning provision.
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Emma, one of your apprentices, causes you concern. She is 17, is very quiet and does not look well.
Emma is really thin and one day you notice that she has been in the toilet for a long time. When you
ask her if she is OK, she says she is alright. But then suddenly she says that she is very unhappy and
that she has turned to self-harming. That is when you realise that she has been wearing longsleeved clothes even in Summer when it has been hot. What do you do?
5 Responsibilities of leaders, managers and staff8
This section sets out how ASES ensures that learners feel and are safe and responsibilities for staff,
tutors, safeguarding officers and leaders and managers. It sets out what you need to do if you have a
concern about a learner. The front sheet of this document lists the names and details of people that
safeguarding officers may contact. If you are a tutor, always get advice from your safeguarding officer
first.
5.1 Responsibilities of ASES tutors and assessors
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You are familiar with the safeguarding indicators for vulnerable adults in section 3.2-3; and if you
teach or train young learners up to 18, you know the indicators for children in section 3.1, too.
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You know who the ASES lead safeguarding officer is and the name(s) of the safeguarding officer
attached to your area of work.
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You read the safeguarding guidance pp 6-11 in Keeping Children Safe in Education, DfE July 2015
and notify your safeguarding lead that you have done so.
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You make sure that learners treat each other with respect.
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You pay attention to your learners’ welfare and make sure that they are listened to. You are alert to
signs that they may be harmed or at risk of being harmed. You use the safeguarding criteria to guide
you.
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Where a child, young learner or adult discloses a safeguarding matter, you listen and take notes if
you can and if it is appropriate. You do not promise that the matter will remain confidential. Please
beware that it is not your role to investigate concerns or incidents.
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You alert your safeguarding officer immediately and seek advice if you pick up signs that there is or
may be a safeguarding issue, including radicalisation. If you cannot raise your allocated or lead
safeguarding officer and the matter is urgent, you contact one of the other ASES safeguarding
officers.
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If you have a concern about another staff member, you notify the Head of Service. If you have a
concern about the Head of Service, you contact the Corporation of London’s Chair of the Adults’ and
Children’s Committee and your Safeguarding Officer (see page 1 for contact details).
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This section reflects $13, pp 7-8 in the Inspecting Safeguarding 2015 document.
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You record your concern on the ASES on-line safeguarding form as soon as you are able to.
Evidence: completed entry in the safeguarding book
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The safeguarding officer may involve you in documenting action taken and outcomes.
Evidence: documentation on action taken and outcomes
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You use the induction to tell all learners that their welfare and being safe are a priority for ASES.
Learners should talk to you in the first instance if they have a concern or complaint or if they need
help. If learners feel unable to talk to you, they know that they can talk to a named person,
normally the centre manager. You reassure students that you and ASES take complaints seriously.
Evidence: induction and feedback from learners
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You attend ASES safeguarding training, face-to-face and/or on-line
Evidence: staff training records
Safeguarding is simple really, it’s ORR:
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Observe
Record
Report
Some of your students are bantering with each other outside class. You hear one of your students
say: ‘You are so gay’ to one of the other students. What do you do?
Two of your learners have not been attending lessons. One of them is in care. What do you do?
A recent survey by YouGov of more than 4,700 teenagers from across the world showed that many
teenagers experience cyberbullying http://gu.com/p/4ctj5/sbl. A fifth of those who had experienced
cyberbullying said it had made them consider suicide, and more than half said being taunted online
was worse than being bullied in person. A quarter of those bullied closed down social media
accounts and more than a fifth skipped school, the survey found. Of those who were bullied, almost
40% did not tell their parents, citing feelings of shame or fear.
Last year, research at the London School of Economics found cyberbullying was now more common
than face-to-face bullying, and almost a third of those surveyed said they had seen negative or
abusive online content, including hate messages and self-harm sites.
You are the tutor of a group of mostly young learners. What is your role in safeguarding your
students when it comes to cyber-bullying? What can you do to counteract its impact?
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5.2 Responsibilities for ASES leaders and managers
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We have put in place a strong, robust and proactive ASES response to safeguarding and
prevent.
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We have put in place effective safeguarding and staff behaviour policies that are well understood by
everyone in the setting.
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We have appointed a named and designated lead who is enabled to play an effective role in
pursuing concerns and protecting adult and young learners9. The designated professional role is
explicitly defined in the job description and the designated safeguarding lead has been given
sufficient time, funding, training, supervision and support to fulfil their welfare and safeguarding
responsibilities effectively.
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We monitor the effectiveness of safeguarding, inc health & safety and prevent, and any
safeguarding issues that have arisen; and take action to keep policies and implementation up-todate.
Evidence: minutes of meetings and action taken by ASES leaders and
managers
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We arrange for support to ASES staff members who has been distressed by a safeguarding case. For
example, the person may find it helpful to talk to a safeguarding officer.
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For young people under 18, we have put in place arrangements which set out clearly the processes
for sharing information with other professionals and with the Local Safeguarding Children Board.
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For adults, we have put in place arrangements which set out clearly the processes for sharing
information, with other professionals and with the Local Safeguarding Adults Board.
Miriam teaches part-time and has been very distressed by a safeguarding case in one of her groups.
What access does she have to support?
5.3 Responsibility of designated safeguarding officers
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we collect evidence that all ASES learners know:
o how to raise safeguarding issues and understand the process for doing so
o that they will be listened to and that their concerns will be taken seriously
Evidence: induction records and feedback from learners
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we encourage all staff to read the safeguarding guidance pp 6-11 in Keeping Children Safe in
Education, DfE July 2015.
Evidence: staff training records
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Keeping children safe in education, paragraphs 36 and 37, sets out who the designated safeguarding lead should
be and what they should do; www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.
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Make sure that all staff have had appropriate safeguarding training and that you maintain
records of training and attendance
Evidence: staff training records
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Make sure that the single central record of DBS and pre-appointment checks is up-to-date and
accurate for all ASES staff working with learners10.
Evidence: the ASES single central staff record
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Monitor the effectiveness of subcontractors’ safeguarding practice, records of safeguarding
concerns and action taken; as well as DBS checks and staff training attended.
Evidence: Annual cross-check of subcontractor’s safeguarding policy
and implementation; going check on in-year safeguarding changes, DBS
and staff training.
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Keep a record of all learners who are below 18 and adults who have been identified as vulnerable
and share this information with tutors where appropriate.
Evidence: Central register of young learners and vulnerable adults
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Advise and support members of ASES staff with the identification and recording of safeguarding
concerns and provide subsequent support on action taken to protect the learner from (further)
harm. You seek advice and inform as needed, eg the Corporation of London HR department, the
City & Hackney Children Safeguarding Board and the City & Hackney Safeguarding Adults
Partnership Board.
Evidence: records of support and advice given to ASES staff and of
advice received from other bodies
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Deal with any allegation of abuse made against a tutor or other member of staff or volunteer
quickly, in a fair and consistent way that provides effective protection for the learner and at the
same time supports the person who is the subject of the allegation.
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Make sure that written records of concerns about learners’ safety or welfare are made in a timely
way and held securely. Records are shared appropriately and, where possible, with consent of the
learner or parent/carer concerned.
Evidence: records kept in the electronic logbook
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Make sure that any agreed action following a referral is taken promptly to protect the child or
learner from further harm.
Evidence: record of action taken and time scales.
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Where learners have been or are at risk, ensure that a trusted adult takes responsibility for keeping
them informed and, where appropriate, helping them to be safe in accordance with agreed local
procedures.
Evidence: the name of the contact person is recorded on the vulnerable
adult and young learner register
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Make sure that parents are made aware of concerns and that their consent is sought unless doing
so would increase the risk of or actual harm to a child.
Evidence: Record of disclosure to parents/carers or stated reason why
this has not taken place.
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See also Section 7 for an overview of pre-employment checks.
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Where a vulnerable adult or child is concerned, share any safeguarding concerns immediately
with the local authority and other relevant agencies.
Evidence: correspondence with agencies and notification of the
adult/children’s safeguarding board.
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Make sure that tutors understand the risks posed by the internet to bully, groom, radicalise or
abuse children or learners and put in place well-developed strategies to keep children and learners
safe and to support them to develop their own understanding of these risks and in learning how to
keep themselves and others safe.
Evidence: learners demonstrate that they are able to keep themselves
safe on the internet
You notice that one of your students, Mohamed, is getting picked on by some of the other learners.
What do you do?
One of the tutors has been accused of trying radicalising a group of learners. What will happen to
him or her?
6 Safeguarding training
The level 3 training will be delivered by the ASES Safeguarding Lead. The training will be undertaken by
all ASES team members.
7 Prevent
Prevent has been in existence since 2011 and became operational in early 2015, with as its aim to
protect children and adults from radicalisation11. The requirements for prevent are exactly the same as
for safeguarding. If you pick up information that makes you concerned for the safety of a learner and/or
society at large, you must contact your safeguarding officer and follow the steps set out in section 5.1.
The rationale is that, if you raise a genuine concern about a person, you simply carry out your duty as a
member of society. You may help prevent serious harm.
It is important to note that prevent is not about criminalizing people who have not committed a crime.
The authorities will work towards safeguarding the person as a victim of radicalisation. A key strategy
for providers is to build learners’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting British values. These include
democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and
beliefs
In the classroom situation prevent is not about preventing learners from having political and religious
views. It is rather the opposite: to encourage learners to reflect, debate and where necessary promote
critical thinking. ASES aims to create an open environment where learners are able to discuss their
11
This is taken from the Prevent Duty: Departmental Advice for Schools and Childcare Providers June 2015 and
adapted to the context of young learners and adults.
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views and opinions. Tutors and learners debate and if necessary challenge views that go against
the British values expressed above. For example, tutors can encourage learners to think critically
and to evaluate the accuracy of evidence.
The prevent strategy may require a shift in focus for some tutors. In the past the teaching
profession has tended to shy away from engaging with learners’ personal views. The aim of prevent is
to build learners’ resilience by providing a safe environment for debating controversial issues and
promoting universal/British values. You may find it useful to use citizenship materials and to have a look
at the new category of personal development, behaviour and welfare in the 2015 common inspection
framework.
One of your students gets into an argument about ethnic minorities. In his opinion all Muslims
should be made to leave the country. He then adds in the heat of the argument that he is part of a
group that is planning violence against Asians. What do you do?
There is no single way of identifying who is likely to be vulnerable. Factors may include:
 Isolation including feeling socially excluded
 Out-of-character changes in behaviour
 Lack of self-esteem
 Victim of bullying
 Family tensions
 Searching for personal identity
 Influence/exploitation from other people in the person’s environment or over the internet
 Extrovert behaviour glorifying violence
 Race and hate crime
 Personal grievances
 Political grievances12
You notice during a debate on discrimination in the workplace that some of the learners in the group
hold opinions on the role of women and gays that do not conform with British concepts of tolerance
and equality of opportunity. What do you do?
7.1 Multi-media and the internet
It is important to know that terrorist groups, eg ISIL/ISIS/Daesh, use social media and the internet to
radicalise people. ASES has taken steps to make sure that suitable filtering of terrorist and extremist
materials is in place. Tutors should promote learners’ being safe on-line, both while on ASES premises
and outside the classroom. As with other safeguarding risks, you should inform your safeguarding
officer if you observe behaviour that concerns you.
12
This has been taken from Corporation of London Safer Cities information.
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You teach an adult class and touch on the use of social media during a session on citizenship. One
of your students mentions that she is very worried about her son. He is being targeted by fellow
Muslims who want him to support the war effort in Syria. He is only 16 and impressionable. You
are surprised to find that some of the other students have had similar experiences.
What do you do?
7.2 The Channel initiative
As with safeguarding, prevent builds on existing local partnerships to share information and to coordinate any action to be taken. The local authority or police may suggest that a learner should be
referred to the ‘Channel’ programme. This is a voluntary government-funded programme which aims to
safeguard children and adults from being drawn into terrorist activity. Channel works with the person to
develop a plan that prevents grooming and radicalisation. This may include for example, mentoring
support. You find details of the prevent City of London Safer City Partnership and Metropolitan police
contacts at the front of this document.
7.3 Prevent training
The designated safeguarding lead should do prevent awareness training and use this knowledge and
skills to support other members of staff on protecting learners from radicalisation.
There are several new packages on the market to promote the prevent agenda, four of which are set
out below. Prevent is still being embedded into the provision, so you can expect changes and updates
as we go along.
7.3.1 City of London
The City of London offers a DVD training session for front-line staff. It is called WRAP (workshop raising
awareness of prevent) and offers an overview of prevent and ways of identifying vulnerable people as
well as those who intend to radicalise them. For information contact: [email protected]
Also useful are safeguarding/prevent seminars organised by the City & Hackney Children Safeguarding
Board. Details of these are sent by email to Corporation of London and ASES staff.
7.3.2 Education and Training Foundation
The Education and Training Foundation offers two prevent training modules with sections aimed at
practitioners, support staff, leaders and managers, and governors and board members:
www.preventforfeandtraining.org.uk. The modules should not take more than 50 minutes to complete
and result in a certificate of achievement.
7.3.3 Active change Foundation
The Active Change Foundation offers e-learning resources to support governors, tutors and students to
promote respect, cohesion and harmony within the local community. All projects are designed to
confront and prevent violent extremism in all its forms: http://www.activechangefoundation.org/
7.3.4 Association of Employment and Learning Providers
The 157 Group and AELP toolkit is aimed at training providers and FE colleges. It sets out the principles
of prevent as well as case studies and has a useful questions and answers section on prevent at the end
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of the document. http://www.aelp.org.uk/news/general/details/a-new-toolkit-for-fe-providerson-prevent-duty/?styleSheetName=normal
7.3.5 ATL leaflet
ATL, the Education Union has published a useful leaflet which summarises key information on Prevent:
www.atl.org.uk/Images/adv84-understanding-prevent-duty.pdf
8 Safeguarding with subcontractors and employers
8.1 Subcontractors
ASES works with a range of subcontractors. Where subcontractors receive public funding, have the
same requirements for safeguarding as ASES and are inspected by Ofsted, subcontractors are in a
position to arrange their own safeguarding arrangements. Subcontractors share their policies and
documentation at the start of the academic year and inform ASES of any subsequent changes that affect
safeguarding procedures, roles and responsibilities. Where a discrepancy arises between ASES’ and the
subcontractor’s safeguarding practices, both parties work together to bring them into line. If the
discrepancy cannot be resolved, ASES safeguarding practice prevails.
Subcontractors supply the names of tutors and their DBS status to ASES on a regular basis, esp when
new staff are recruited and after the renewal of certificates has taken place.
Safeguarding is a standing item for any contract meetings and reviews.
Subcontractors share immediately with ASES any concerns, whether substantiated or not, about the
welfare and safeguarding of learners and provide information on action taken. Subcontractors also
inform ASES if they have shared safeguarding, prevent and/or child protection concerns with other
agencies.
Subcontractors inform learners during induction that in the first instance they should take up concerns
about safeguarding, health & safety etc with the subcontractor and provided a named contact.
Learners should also be told that, if the matter is not resolved satisfactorily, the learner should make
contact with ASES so that it can investigate the matter further. The ASES induction leaflet gives detail
on who to contact.
The subcontractor collects information on the learners’ perceptions on whether they are and feel safe
through focus groups, learner voice questionnaires etc and shares findings with ASES.
8.2 Safeguarding and health & safety on employers’ premises13
ASES staff must:
 ensure that employers know that they are responsible for health and safety while apprentices
are on the employer’s premises
 take reasonable steps to check that the employer manages risks effectively
 provide employers with a safeguarding briefing when new trainees arrive
 inform employers that they must alert ASES if any safeguarding and/or health & safety
concerns arise
 provide guidance, either through the assessor or through the safeguarding officer
13
This section reflects Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years, Education and Skills Settings v2 August 2015 p28-9
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provide the employer with a safeguarding report form, ask the person responsible to
complete it or support him/or her with the process
advise on any steps to be taken to safeguard the young person
If assessors notice safeguarding or health and safety issues, you must pass your concern to the
employer. If you feel the situation is serious, contact your safeguarding officer and decide if you should
remove the apprentice until the environment is safe.
You are the tutor of a group of apprentices who are on placement with an employer. You have a
routine slot on safeguarding and health & safety during your monthly tutorial with them. During the
latest tutorial your trainees mention that there was a near accident when one of the trainees was
fooling around while the others were using equipment. He slipped, knocked into another trainee
who very nearly got hurt on the machine he was using. What do you do?
9 Pre-employment checks
9.1 The single central record for new appointments
ASES keeps a single central Corporation of London record which records which of the following checks
have been carried out and/or certificates obtained and the date on which the checks were completed:





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an identity check
a barred list check
an enhanced DBS check/certificate
a prohibition from teaching check
further checks on people living or working outside the UK
a check of professional qualifications
a check to establish the person’s right to work in the UK.
If ASES has concerns about an existing staff member’s suitability to work with children or learners, it
carries out all relevant checks as if the person were a new member of staff. Similarly, if a person
working moves from a non-regulated post into a teaching or assessment post which is classified as
regulated activity, ASES carries out relevant checks.
9.1.1 Further information on DBS and pre-appointment checks14
An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred list information is appropriate for
appointments where the job applicant will be engaging in regulated activity as defined in the
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, schedule 4, part 1. In addition a prohibition check may be
required, depending on the role and duties of the applicant. An ASES offer of appointment to a
successful candidate, including one who has lived or worked abroad, is conditional on satisfactory
completion of pre-employment checks. More information about how to conduct these checks is in the
DfE guidance.
If ASES allows an individual to start work in regulated activity before the DBS certificate is available, it
ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised and that all other checks have been completed.
14
For more information see Inspecting safeguarding June15 document, Annex 2 on p 22-3 the DBS website: and
www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service.
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When the DBS has completed its check, a DBS certificate is sent to the applicant. The applicant
must show the certificate to their potential employer before they take up post or as soon as
practicable afterwards. Alternatively, if the applicant has subscribed to DBS and gives permission,
ASES may undertake an online update check through the DBS Update Service.
9.2 Supply staff
Where ASES employs supply staff through another agency, it will ensure that the employment business
supplying the member of supply staff has carried out the relevant checks and obtained the appropriate
certificates. This includes the submission of an enhanced DBS check certificate.
9.3 Volunteers
ASES makes use of volunteers at times, eg a person may address a group of learners as a one-of activity
on a subject of interest, eg employment or housing. Or a volunteer may support a tutor as part of a
volunteer training course. During assignments such as these, the tutor in charge will supervise activity
at all times and not leave the volunteer alone with learners. If at any time the need for unsupervised
work arises, eg when a group of learners will be split into two and some will work with the volunteer in
a separate room, the tutor alerts the safeguarding officer. The safeguarding officer will put steps in
place to carry out a DBS check on the volunteer. The DfE has published separate statutory guidance on
supervision and regulated activity that schools and colleges should have regard to when considering
which checks should be undertaken. ASES consults this guidance if it engages with volunteers who act in
a different capacity.
10 Bibliography
Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years, Education and Skills Settings Reference No 150067, OFSTED, June
2015
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspecting-safeguarding-in-early-years-education-andskills-from-september-2015 Last accessed Sept 2015.
Keeping children safe in education DfE 22 July 2015.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2. Last accessed Sept 2015.
Further Education and Skills Inspection Handbook. OFSTED June 2015.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-inspection-framework-education-skills-andearly-years-from-september-2015 Last accessed Sept 2015.
ASES Supplement to City of London Corporation Safeguarding Policy. Corporation of London. May 2015.
Prevent Radicalisation Safer City Partnership City of London date unknown.
The Prevent Duty, Departmental Advice for Schools and Childcare Providers. DfE June 2015.
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11 Annex 1: Safeguarding/Prevent Report Form
Please complete as much of this form as you can but don’t worry if you do not have all
details to hand. They can be sorted out later. The most important is to record the
learner’s name, the reason why you are raising a safeguarding issue, and your details.
1
Learner details
Learner
name
Date of birth | age
|
Learner address
Learner contact number mobile/home
If you know, please give details of
name(s) of household members and
relationship(s) to the learner
2
Information relating to the safeguarding/prevent incident or allegation
Date, time and context of
disclosure
What did the learner tell you and/or what did you observe?
(Continue on reverse or use separate sheet as necessary)
Is the learner aware that this referral is being made?
In your opinion, is the learner at risk of
harm or abuse? [to tick boxes double click on
Yes / No
Low
Medium
High
box and select checked]
3
Staff member details
Staff name
Email
Contact number
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ACL/Apprenticeship area
4
To be completed by a member of the safeguarding team
Name
Date & time of referral to you
Initial outcome of the referral and any
action taken
Details of any onward internal ASES
referral
Name of person taking internal referral
Date & time of internal ASES referral
Details of any onward external referral
Name of person taking referral
Date & time of external referral
Any communication requirements, eg
interpreting needs
Has consent been sought from parents/
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carers before making this referral?
7. HAS THERE BEEN PREVIOUS STATUTORY OR SPECIALIST INVOLVEMENT?
[to tick boxes double click on box and select checked]
Children’s Social Care
No
Yes
Not Known
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
CAMHS
No
Yes
Not Known
Special Educational Needs or Disability
No
Yes
Not Known
Borough School Attendance Service / Education
Welfare Service
No
Yes
Not Known
Specialist Health
No
Yes
Not Known
Prevent
No
Yes
Not Known
Adult Services – (Mental Health /Drug or Alcohol
Abuse /Disability /DV / Housing)
No
Yes
Not Known
Youth Justice Service
No
Yes
Not Known
Police/Probation/
No
Yes
Not Known
New to Borough
No
Yes
Not Known
Other
No
Yes
Not Known
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Please note: 1) Consent should be sought from the parent/carer unless obtaining this consent will place the child
at further risk of significant harm. 2) Obtaining consent should not delay a referral being made.
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