Rotherham Safeguarding Children Partnership

The Rotherham Safeguarding Children Partnership are required to ensure Rotherham schools and colleges meet their key statutory safeguarding obligations in protecting and keeping safe our children and young people.

To meet such assurance obligations the Rotherham Safeguarding Children Partnership will provide an annual s175/s157 Safeguarding Self-Assessment Audit.

Underpinning such safeguarding assurance is ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022’ - statutory guidance for schools and colleges which comes into force on 1 September 2022

Section 175 of the 2002 Education Act requires local education authorities and the governing bodies of maintained schools and colleges to make arrangements to ensure that their functions are carried out with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Section 157 of the 2002 Education Act and the Independent School Regulations 2003 convey the same responsibilities on all other non Council -maintained settings. Other Guidance - these sit alongside statutory guidance: Working Together (2018) Guidance to Safeguard Children

'Keeping Children Safe in Education’ specifies the terms “must” and “should” throughout the guidance.

Its use of the term “must” is when the setting is legally required to do something and “should” when the advice set out should be followed unless there is good reason not to.

The cycle for completing of School Safeguarding Self-Assessment:

• July: the s175/s157 Safeguarding Self Assessment Audit is available for completion on the Council Virtual College Website
• December: The s175/s157 Safeguarding Self Assessment Audit will closed
• February: Summary Report of key findings will be completed for the Rotherham Safeguarding Children Partnership
• March: Education Safeguarding Forum will receive feedback on the main key themes from the s175/s157 Safeguarding Self Assessment Audit