How to review your procedures for dealing with allegations against staff

Last reviewed on 8 November 2021
Statutory/mandatory for: Maintained schools Academies Free schools Independent schools Sixth-form colleges Further education Pupil referral units Non-maintained special schools

Be confident when reviewing your procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse against staff. Know what they should include and get suggestions of questions to ask to make sure they're compliant and robust.

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Contents

  1. Key facts
  2. What this policy needs to do 
  3. 3 key questions to challenge the policy 
  4. Model policy 

What this policy needs to do 

When reading your school’s procedures, make sure they reflect Part 4 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), the Department for Education’s (DfE) statutory safeguarding guidance.

Your procedures should explain:

  • The steps to follow when managing:
    • Allegations that may meet the harms threshold
    • Concerns that don’t meet the harms threshold ('low-level concerns')
  • Who allegations should be reported to and that this should be done without delay
  • Any additional steps for dealing with allegations against supply teachers, volunteers and contractors

3 key questions to challenge the policy 

1. What’s changed in this most recent update, and why?

The procedures should be based on the latest version of KCSIE. The new version of KCSIE now distinguishes between low-level concerns and allegations that may meet the harms threshold.

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