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Safeguarding and support for pupils

 
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NAHT members are at the forefront of safeguarding children. School leaders are committed to keeping children safe, so they can learn well. NAHT believes that all pupils should receive the support they need to maintain their well-being and achieve their potential, both within school and from wider services including health and social care.

NAHT is campaigning to:

Enable schools to play their part in supporting pupils' well-being

  • Lobby for pupils and schools to get the support they need from wider services including health, social care, police and youth services
  • Influence the implementation of the proposals from the mental health green paper, including the senior lead for mental health and mental health support teams
  • Support schools to access relevant, high-quality training and resources to enable pupils to exercise their right to support for their mental well-being.

 

Support schools to safeguard and protect pupils

  • Engage with the DfE over proposed changes to the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
  • Influence changes to Keeping Children Safe In Education, Working Together and Sexual Violence and harassment guidance
  • Campaign to improve online safety for children and young people
  • Press the government to ensure home educated children are adequately safeguarded
  • Promote guidance and resources to support schools to protect children at risk of harm including involvement with violence and other crime.

 

Enable schools to support vulnerable groups of pupils

  • Campaign to ensure pupils with SEND can receive the support they need from schools and wider services
  • Press for improved alternative provision and collaborative approaches across communities to support pupils excluded from school
  • Provide information to schools to help them to support disadvantaged children
  • Enable schools to make informed decisions regarding parental requests to home educate
  • Ensure reforms to behaviour guidance and networks is evidence-based and appropriate for all schools and a diverse pupil population. 
 

Department for Education behaviour hubs programme: updates

The Department for Education (DfE) had planned to commence a new behaviour hubs programme in September 2020, to run for three years. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the timeline has now been revised. Further details on this can be found below.

The behaviour hubs programme will aim to support at least 500 identified partner schools currently facing challenges. The partnership programme aims to look at contextually appropriate ways of improving behaviour culture and management, including setting high standards for all pupils, de-escalating conflict and considering a range of other options. The hub approach is intended to be bespoke and should recognise that different schools require different approaches. Schools that have been judged 'requires improvement' will be referred onto the programme through the department's school improvement offer and, where appropriate, will be assessed based on need. This will be a voluntary process.

The DfE is looking for 20 schools from across primary, secondary, special and alternative provision sectors and three or four multi-academy trusts (MATs) with positive behaviour cultures and practices to partake in the programme as lead schools. Lead schools and MATs will work in partnership with those settings that volunteer to improve their behaviour culture. Details about the application process for becoming a lead schools can be found here. 

The initial application round was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the DfE have made the following decisions:

  • The behaviour hubs programme timeline has been revised and the appointment of lead schools and MATs is now expected to take place in Spring 2021.
  • The Department for Education has now opened a second application window to allow schools and MATs who were unable to submit an application in the previous window (February to March 2020) to apply.
  • Schools and MATs can apply by submitting this application form by midday, Friday 30 October 2020. The DfE advises schools and MATs to read their application guidance here, before applying. 
  • Schools that applied in the previous round will have their applications reviewed alongside new applications received in this second window. They will also have an opportunity to resubmit if they wish.

NAHT continues to engage with the DfE around their work on behaviour and will keep this webpage updated with any new information.

First published 24 June 2020

First published 15 September 2020
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