Staying safe in education

If you feel that a child is at immediate risk of harm please call the police on 999 who will be able to provide an immediate response. Alternatively, you can contact your local police on 01582 401212 at any time.

If you don’t believe the risk requires immediate action, contact the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 01582 547653. The number to call for out of normal working hours emergencies is 0300 300 8123.

Information for education providers 

DfE safeguarding guidance

The Department for Education (DfE) has published updated safeguarding guidance for all schools. Keeping children safe in education outlines the processes which all schools, in the maintained, non-maintained or independent sector, must follow to safeguard their pupils. It replaces ‘Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in education 2006/7.

Luton’s Safeguarding in Education service

The Safeguarding in Education service provides advice, support and training in matters of child protection for designated safeguarding leads, with the responsibility for child protection across the education sector. This service will:

• advise schools and other education providers of their responsibilities and the standards that are expected in order to protect children
• provide support and training on a range of safeguarding matters, and liaise with other professionals supporting safeguarding to ensure that the required training and support is available
• disseminate information to education providers regarding safeguarding  issues
• respond to all enquiries about child protection issues and advise on the required action 
• liaise with agencies and seek to resolve  issues following appropriate procedures
• provide reports to the Luton Safeguarding Children Board and contribute to the delivery of their objectives 

Luton Safeguarding in Education manager

Kathy Sears is appointed as Safeguarding in Education manager. The role has been created to ensure that, in conjunction with a range of other professionals in the council, education providers in Luton have access to high quality safeguarding information, advice and guidance. This work will build upon the successful work undertaken with the early years sector in recent years.

Kathy works with a range of providers including non-maintained early years settings, children centres, schools and further education settings. Over the coming months Kathy will focus work on developing processes to support safeguarding across the education sector, working closely with schools to develop best practice models.

Luton Safeguarding Children Board

The Luton Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) is the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how relevant organisations in Luton co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do. The LSCB drive the interagency procedures across Luton which form the basis of all single agency policy and procedures.

• maintained early years
• children centres
• private, voluntary and independent early years providers
• all schools and further education providers

This document will set out a best practice safeguarding strategy for the Luton LSCB. The strategy has been designed to promote evidence and monitor best safeguarding practice for all children in education provisions across Luton.
For the purpose of this strategy ‘education provision’ includes maintained and non-maintained schools, children centres, faith schools, sixth form provisions, further education colleges and private, voluntary and independent early year’s providers.  

Early Help Assessment (EHA)

Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years. Early help can also prevent further problems arising, for example, if it is provided as part of a support plan where a child has returned home to their family from care.

For more information and to download forms and guidance, visit the EHA page.

Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)

• criminal justice agencies
• health
• child protection
• housing practitioners
• IDVAs (Independent Domestic Violence Advisers)
• other specialists from the statutory and voluntary sectors

Designated safeguarding officer groups

Important Safeguarding in Education contacts