Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what safeguarding systems have been used in football and other sports academies for 16 to 19 year olds which have received funding from the public purse in the last three years; who has responsibility for such systems at (a) local, (b) regional and (c) national level; and how much funding such academies have received from the public purse in the last three years.

Safeguarding and child protection duties and powers sit with the education provider and the local authority or authorities where the student resides and studies, the police and other agencies. The Secretary of State for Education has the general duty to promote the wellbeing of children in England under section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008.

We cannot comment on the precise safeguarding systems used by individual providers. We do, however, require all funded providers for 16-18 to be compliant with legislation and regulation in respect of students’ health and safety. Colleges are explicitly referenced in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, the statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding children and safer recruitment. Our Contract for Services with Charitable and Commercial Providers requires them to be compliant with the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and to have regard to guidance from the Secretary of State on safeguarding practice. We can take action in cases of non-compliance.

Where provision is delivered through a subcontracting arrangement with a third party, the Education Funding Agency is clear that safeguarding arrangements remain the responsibility of the directly funded provider. This is set out in the subcontracting control regulations that form part of our funding guidance, with which all directly funded providers are required to comply.