Last month the government opened a consultation on the non-statutory advice document Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners.
The current document and the proposed updated version are intended to support those working with children in their information-sharing duties and responsibilities. The proposed document and the consultation questions can be found here.
The current document has been in place since 2018. Since then there has been significant learning in relation to sharing information to keep children safe. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care recommended better guidance for practitioners to address confusion, poor practice and anxieties around the legalities of information sharing, in order to prevent failures and protect children.
The revisions have been put forward to ensure that practitioners are provided with the most useful information to support lawful information sharing to protect children.
Proposed safeguarding guidance: what would it mean for schools?
With these new changes being proposed, schools might be wondering what these updates will mean in practice. Given that there are many pages of text to read in the document, we’ve summarised it here for you with all the essential information you need to know:
Change one: Emphasis on sharing information to keep children safe
The document’s tone has significantly shifted to ensure that it is clear that practitioners have a mandate to share information in order to keep children safe.
The “seven golden rules for sharing information” are more focused on what schools can and should do in relation to sharing data, and emphasise that practitioners must take action to protect children and shouldn’t fail to do so because of concerns about information sharing.
There is more clarity around the fact that information can and should be shared without consent if a child may be suffering harm.
For example, the current version states:
”Where possible, share information with consent, and where possible, respect the wishes of those who do not consent to having their information shared.”
Whereas the proposed changes make it clear that consent isn’t necessary:
“You do not need consent to share personal information about a child or young person and/or members of their family if a child or young person is at risk or perceived risk of harm.”
The legislation behind this is the same, but the emphasis is different, empowering practitioners to take action.
Change two: Alignment with other guidance documents
The aim of the updated document is to create a shared language for practitioners to use, which is intended to promote better joined-up working.
As such, the proposed revisions align more closely with other key pieces of guidance.
For example, the revisions better reflect the adaptations made to Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) in December 2020, which amended the focus on consent as the primary legal basis for sharing information.
Change three: A focus on “your responsibilities”
The updated document contains a full section outlining “your responsibilities”, with a range of frequently asked questions.
The current version makes it clear that information should be passed on and we shouldn’t make assumptions that someone else will share information, but the new version is much more explicit about this, enabling schools to feel confident that they are doing the right thing if they need to act to keep a child safe.
The proposed guidance is underpinned by the same legislation as the previous iteration and it does not promote information sharing without reason or justification. But the updated guidance does provide a helpful, direct guide to ensure that practitioners feel able to share information where necessary and is written with the best interests of children at its heart.
Actions for schools
Fortunately, what the above means is that although the proposed changes are very important, they don’t signal a significant overhaul of what already exists.
Once the new version has been finalised (which is expected to happen in the autumn term), schools should take the following steps:
- Ensure that your data and child protection policies reflect the language and emphasis within the new guidance (as appropriate).
- Revisit the sections relating to consent in Working Together to Safeguard Children and the new information sharing document to check that there is a good understanding of what this means in a safeguarding and data protection context.
- Train staff so that they understand that information can and should be shared if it is in the interests of keeping children safe.
- Ensure that reasons for data sharing without consent are recorded.
The consultation will remain open until 6 September and anyone working with children is invited to respond.
Once the consultation has closed there will be revisions, as required, before the final version is published, which it is hoped will further support you in keeping children safe.
Elizabeth Rose has 15 years of experience working in secondary schools as a designated safeguarding officer, and as the safeguarding education officer in children’s services at Coventry City Council
