Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a national safeguarding framework for all educational institutions including academies.

The department already has an established and robust safeguarding framework in place for educational institutions in the form of ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE). This is statutory safeguarding guidance which sets out the legal duties and responsibilities that schools and colleges, including academies, must follow to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

KCSIE is regularly reviewed to see where it needs strengthening and to ensure it is reflective of emerging risks in safeguarding.