Safeguarding Update
Bolton secondary school leaders recently received a comprehensive safeguarding update, highlighting major national reforms, emerging risks, and local priorities shaping practice across education.
A key focus is the newly published Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 framework, which strengthens expectations around shared responsibility, multi-agency collaboration, and inclusive, anti-discriminatory practice. The guidance introduces a more joined-up “Family Help” approach, combining early help and statutory support into a single, coordinated plan. It also expands safeguarding definitions to include online harms, group exploitation, and a wider range of abuse types, while reinforcing the importance of direct, child-centred work.
Proposed updates to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) signal significant changes for schools. These include clearer guidance on supporting gender-questioning children, stronger expectations around parental involvement, and mandatory recording of biological sex.
Safeguarding responsibilities are also evolving in response to technology, with AI-generated abuse (such as deepfakes) now explicitly recognised. Schools must carry out annual reviews of filtering and monitoring systems, while cybersecurity is increasingly viewed as a core safeguarding duty. In addition schools should consider there is adequate cover in the absence of the DSL and it is recommended that schools consider a shared confidential mailbox or equivalent system to ensure safeguarding concerns are received, monitored and acted upon without delay.
Other notable updates include heightened attention to serious violence, with staff expected to report any concerns about weapon-carrying, and a stronger emphasis on mental health as a safeguarding issue. Guidance also addresses misogyny, sexual harassment, and the importance of capturing the child’s voice in multi-agency responses.
Headteachers are advised to ensure that DSL’s and SENCO’s are using the safeguarding information shared from primary schools on the Six into Seven Portal to ensure no relevant safeguarding information is lost at transition.
Locally, Ofsted complaint data shows a slight reduction compared to last year. Schools are reminded of the role of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) in managing allegations against staff, and the importance of timely referrals. Headteachers were reminded that there is now a new LADO in Bolton – Lauren Labbett. The contact details remain the same.
The Section 175 deadline was the 17th April, school leaders should now have a full action plan in place in response to the audit that has been completed.
With statutory deadlines approaching, leaders are encouraged to ensure safeguarding processes are fully embedded, regularly reviewed, and clearly understood across their settings.
