We hope you find this useful! We have been through both the 2022 and the 2023 version of KCSIE and compared them to find where the changes are. The important changes are listed below, each with the wording from KCSIE 2023 and the actions it implies.

What staff need to know

‘All staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety which, amongst other things, includes an understanding of the expectations, applicable roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring – see para 141 for further information) at induction. The training should be regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection (including online safety) updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins, and staff meetings), as required, and at least annually, to continue to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.’

1. Filtering and monitoring (paragraphs 138, 141 and 142)

Filtering and monitoring is a recurring theme in KCSIE 2023. The approach belongs in the child protection policy:

‘Online safety and the school or college’s approach to it should be reflected in the child protection policy which, amongst other things, should include appropriate filtering and monitoring on school devices and school networks. …. The school or college should have a clear policy on the use of mobile and smart technology, which will also reflect the fact many children have unlimited and unrestricted access to the internet via mobile phone networks (i.e. 3G, 4G and 5G).’ (Paragraph 138).

The DSL leads on this area. Governing bodies and proprietors are responsible for the systems:

‘Whilst considering their responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and provide them with a safe environment in which to learn, governing bodies and proprietors should be doing all that they reasonably can to limit children’s exposure to the above risks from the school’s or college’s IT system. As part of this process, governing bodies and proprietors should ensure their school or college has appropriate filtering and monitoring systems in place and regularly review their effectiveness. They should ensure that the leadership team and relevant staff have an awareness and understanding of the provisions in place and manage them effectively and know how to escalate concerns when identified. Governing bodies and proprietors should consider the number of and age range of their children, those who are potentially at greater risk of harm and how often they access the IT system along with the proportionality of costs versus safeguarding risks.’ (Paragraph 141)

Paragraph 142 points to the Department for Education's filtering and monitoring standards: roles and responsibilities should be established, provision reviewed annually, harmful content blocked without interfering with teaching, and monitoring matched to the school's safeguarding needs. Governing bodies and proprietors should review the standards with their IT staff and service providers. Further guidance comes from the UK Safer Internet Centre and its toolkit, and KCSIE 2023 also stresses meeting cyber security standards.

Action points

  1. Review filtering and monitoring procedures and define who is responsible for what.
  2. Give the DSL the lead for online safety, with clear procedures for concerns and the Prevent duty.
  3. Cover online safety, filtering and monitoring at induction and in the annual staff update.
  4. Check cyber security measures against the standards.
  5. Make sure the child protection policy describes the approach to online safety, including filtering and monitoring on school devices and networks.

2. Retaining documents (paragraph 276)

‘Copies of documents used to verify the successful candidate’s identity, right to work and required qualifications should be kept on their personnel file as per the advice at paragraph 232. Copies of DBS certificates and records of criminal information disclosed by the candidate are covered by UK GDPR/DPA 2018 Article 10. To help schools and colleges comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018, when a school or college chooses to retain a copy, there should be a valid reason for doing so and it should not be kept for longer than six months. When the information is destroyed a school or college may keep a record of the fact that vetting was carried out, the result and the recruitment decision taken if they choose to. Schools and colleges do not have to keep copies of DBS certificates, in order to fulfil the duty of maintaining the single central record.’

Action points

  1. Update the retention and disposal policy for identity, right-to-work and qualification documents.
  2. If you keep a copy of a DBS certificate, record the reason and destroy it securely within six months, keeping only the record of the check, the result and the recruitment decision.

3. Outside organisations' use of school sites (paragraph 377)

KCSIE 2023 adds a new heading, "Use of school sites by outside organisations", under concerns and allegations:

‘Schools and colleges may receive an allegation relating to an incident that happened when an individual or organisation was using their school premises for the purposes of running activities for children (for example community groups, sports associations, or service providers that run extra-curricular activities). As with any safeguarding allegation, schools and colleges should follow their safeguarding policies and procedures, including informing the LADO.’ (Paragraph 377)

Action points

  1. Add allegations involving outside organisations on school premises to safeguarding policies and procedures.
  2. Write the same procedure into lettings policies and contracts with outside organisations.
  3. Train staff and administrators on what to do if such an allegation arises.

4. Safer recruitment: online searches

‘In addition, as part of the shortlisting process schools and colleges should consider carrying out an online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates. This may help identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online, which the school or college might want to explore with the applicant at interview. Schools and colleges should inform shortlisted candidates that online searches may be done as part of due diligence checks. See Part two - Legislation and the Law for information on data protection and UK GDPR.’

Possible steps

  1. Add an online search of shortlisted candidates (publicly accessible social media, blogs and professional networks) to the recruitment process.
  2. Use a standard protocol so the check is consistent and fair for every candidate.
  3. Tell shortlisted candidates that online searches may be done, in the recruitment materials or the shortlisting notification.