Three quarters of staff see rise in safeguarding concerns

New research from Tes reveals almost three-quarters of UK school staff feel that there are more safeguarding concerns raised now than this time last year.

When it comes to school staff, the data shows that more than a third of staff don’t feel they are getting the right guidance on how to deal with allegations of sexual harassment and violence.  However, the good news is that compared with last year, an increased number of staff said they do feel confident handling reports of disclosures from pupils (83% up from 76% last year).
Key findings of the new research of UK school staff are:

Almost three quarters (73%) of school staff surveyed feel that there are more safeguarding concerns raised now than this time last year.

One in five (20%) of school staff surveyed do not think pupils feel confident in reporting concerns they have to a member of school staff.

39% of school staff surveyed do not feel that there is sufficient guidance for schools overall on how to deal with allegations of sexual harassment and violence.

One in four (25%) of school staff surveyed reported that they do not think pupils feel safe at their school.

What's more, almost 20% pupils still don’t feel confident reporting concerns.

The annual Tes Safeguarding Awareness Week will examine how both pupils and staff can be equipped to tackle safeguarding in schools.

Taking place from the 22nd – 28th May, the second annual Tes Safeguarding Awareness Week is a chance to shine a light on the critical issue of safeguarding in schools and acknowledge the role school staff play in keeping students safe, all while educating young people.

During Tes Safeguarding Awareness Week, Tes will be partnering with children’s charity, the NSPCC, to deliver an exclusive Live Lesson. The lesson, aimed at Key Stage 2 classrooms (children aged between 7 and 11) will include a series of activities through which pupils will learn about the rights they have, think about who the safe adults are in their life and where they can go for support. Pupils will then explore how to develop healthy relationships by responding to different scenarios, followed by pupils on screen sharing their thoughts and ideas.