The MDS Schools Safeguarding Agreement

The MDS Schools

Safeguarding

Agreement

Responding to

The IICSA Report 2022

November 2022

The eight Department for Education Music and

Dance Scheme (MDS) Schools are:

Chetham’s School of Music

The Purcell School for Young Musicians

Wells Cathedral School

Yehudi Menuhin School

Elmhurst Ballet School

The Hammond School

The Royal Ballet School

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

St Mary’s Music School is an associate school

funded by the Scottish Government.

These schools offer students brilliant

experiences with dance and music intrinsic to

the school curriculum. The MDS award enables

them to nurture exceptional talent, providing the

finest training regardless of a student’s financial

circumstances or background. Exceptionally

talented young musicians and dancers are

provided with sector leading training preparing

them for a career in the performing arts. These

purposeful communities provide strong

academics, outstanding pastoral support and

inspiring environments.

The MDS Safeguarding Network was

established in 2018 as a way of bringing

together expertise from across the group

to share best practice and strive to ensure

excellence in provision. We focus on the unique

characteristics of our learning environments

which has included collaboration on privileged

relationships, mental health and low-level

reporting amongst others. The group meets

twice a year in the Autumn and Spring terms.

MDS Headteachers also discuss safeguarding

matters at each of their termly meetings.

The March 2022 Independent Inquiry into Child

Sexual Abuse in Residential and Music Schools

(IICSA) left us, as a group of schools, distressed

and appalled at the experiences of children

who had been in our trust in the past. Whilst

acknowledging that the abuse described is

non-recent and that safeguarding provision has

changed dramatically, we recognise that all of

our organisations can learn from this report as

the following extracts illustrate:

“Boarding schools could be said to provide

‘the ideal environment for grooming’. Certain

characteristics unique to the boarding

environment heighten the risks of sexual abuse

of pupils by staff.”

“There is often a higher incidence of individual

tuition at boarding schools, in music or sports

coaching or for additional academic tuition.

This can lead to unique and close relationships

developing between pupils and staff.”

The 222-page report concluded with a total

of six recommendations pertinent to our

schools; we are committed to meeting all of

them. In response to this report the Network

met and agreed on the principles outlined

in this document. This is our Safeguarding

Agreement to ensure that our organisations

are safe places for students and staff alike. It

is a current response to the non-recent abuse

and a renewed commitment that effective

safeguarding will be consistent across the

group. We will challenge any behaviour which

falls below the highest of standards and do all

we can to prevent any recurrence of the horrific

non-recent abuse outlined in the report.

As a group we have adopted these principles

and reflected them in the systems and

procedures within our schools. The group

supports all recommendations in the final report

published in October 2022.

This is a live document and will be reviewed

annually by the MDS Heads and DSLs.

1Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Introduction

Introduction

Having read the report in its entirety and looking

carefully at the implications for our sector, we

decided that a more holistic response was

necessary to address the issues identified.

We must establish a culture of safeguarding

with ambitions beyond the six identified

recommendations. The schematic below

identifies the five guiding principles which

form the bedrock of secure safeguarding.

2Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Five Guiding Principles

MDS Safeguarding Network:

Five Guiding Principles

Report findings:

—

“Culture cannot be imposed or created by edict.”

“In a dysfunctional organisation the introduction

of neutral notification is unlikely to improve

matters, and indeed could potentially add

further dysfunctionality by causing, or adding to,

an atmosphere of blame and mistrust.”

“As the leader of the school the Headteacher

has to be a role model to staff and students and

must embody the values of the school.”

“Openness and transparency are key to a

protective environment.”

“Where safeguarding is part of the stated aims

and objectives of the school, this helps to

create a positive culture in which the welfare of

children is prioritised throughout the school.”

The issue of an effective ethos and culture with

safeguarding at the heart of decision-making

runs throughout the report. Although there is

not a specific recommendation regarding ethos,

each recommendation needs such a culture to

work.

To achieve our strategic goal:

—

Ultimate responsibility for safeguarding rests

with the headteacher.

All DSLs will work with the senior team to

ensure that safeguarding is a part of any

decision-making processes or strategic

planning.

Safeguarding training of all stakeholders goes

beyond statutory requirements and instead

reflects best practice recognising the unique

challenges of our settings.

The DSL teams will have time to work together

and participate in Network activities.

We will respond in a timely, multifaceted way

to emerging issues.

Within our schools, students receive

regular messages regarding all aspects of

safeguarding and feel safe and confident to

report using a variety of available routes.

Strategic goal:

—

Open, honest and transparent, our unique

organisations work, learn and lead together

to ensure the highest standards

in safeguarding.

The Network values the mutual support and

challenge provided by its meetings. In creating

our group ethos, we have identified attributes to

be transferred into individual schools within the

group.

3Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Ethos

Five Guiding Principles:

Ethos

Report findings:

—

The report looks critically either at the current

system or previous case studies. It concludes:

“Leadership matters.”

“Many of the schools examined responded

inadequately to allegations against their staff.

Some school leaders were unaware or ill-

informed about the national guidance that was

in place at the time and so did not implement it.

In some schools, staff were aware of allegations

or concerns about colleagues but did not

report these concerns. There was widespread

reluctance to believe that colleagues could

be sexually abusing children and, in some

cases, there was a culture which discouraged

reporting.”

“There were examples of poor leadership

in schools, where headteachers did not

understand their safeguarding roles and

responsibilities, particularly in relation to taking

the lead role in referring allegations against

staff. Headteachers who were autocratic or

unapproachable discouraged staff, parents or

pupils from reporting concerns, and deterred or

deflected challenge from governors.”

“Governors should have relevant knowledge and

skills to enable them to identify safeguarding

risks and how to manage them. Governors must

understand their responsibility to put the child

first, before the institution.”

“The relationship between leadership and

governors was a cornerstone because ‘it

sets the tone for effective leadership, mutual

respect and recognition of shared values while

recognising their different roles and lines of

accountability.”

4Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Leadership & Governance

Five Guiding Principles:

Leadership & Governance

Strategic goal:

—

To provide strong leadership of safeguarding

across our schools and deliver effective

governance frameworks.

Governance should be a protective factor in the

way it scrutinises safeguarding arrangements

and holds leaders to account.

This means having informed leaders, boards

and committees who receive baseline

and refresher training, as well as regular

safeguarding reports to update them on

progress and demonstrate the impact of our

safeguarding interventions. We need to be able

to answer the ‘How do we know?’ question.

We will seek and listen to the voice of the young

people in our care, their parents and our staff,

ensuring that both current and past voices and

experiences are heard and influencing how we

build an ever safer culture.

⟶

5Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Leadership & Governance

Five Guiding Principles:

Leadership & Governance

To achieve our strategic goal:

—

The Safeguarding Governor will have a level

of expertise in education and safeguarding

which goes beyond that of the normal

layperson.

The DSL will be on the Leadership Team and

given a voice within that team.

We will continue to deliver safeguarding

training and ongoing professional

development.

School leaders and Governors will

engage with and support the Designated

Safeguarding Leads.

DSLs, working with the Leadership Team,

will continue improving the ways in which

we measure the impact of the safeguarding

measures that have been implemented.

Headteachers will undertake regular and

specific safeguarding training.

Governors will undertake regular safeguarding

training and the Governor with responsibility

for safeguarding will undertake additional

specific training.

Appropriate staff will undertake training on

investigating allegations.

The DSL will be given sufficient, protected time,

resources and authority to undertake their

role.

The Headteacher will not also be the DSL, this

is to add in an additional level of protection.

The DSL will receive regular supervision.

The DSL and Safeguarding Governor will meet

regularly, in our schools this will mean at least

three times a year.

Review the makeup and skill set of the

safeguarding team and aim to ensure that

teams have artistic representation.

6Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Standards

Five Guiding Principles:

Standards

Report findings:

—

“The extent to which the school promotes

and safeguards the welfare of all boarders

rather than its compliance with structures and

systems.”

“Despite the additional risks to children at

boarding schools… there are no additional

safeguarding requirements or advice for

boarding school set out in the statutory

guidance KCSIE.”

“Schools are required to have appropriate

policies and processes in place to manage

and record any low-level concerns and take

appropriate action to safeguard children, as part

of their whole-school approach to safeguarding.

Governors and proprietors should set out the

low-level concerns policy within the staff code

of conduct, together with an explanation of

its purpose, which is: to create and embed a

culture of openness, trust and transparency

in which the school’s or college’s values and

expected behaviour which are set out in the

staff code of conduct are constantly lived,

monitored and reinforced by all staff.”

⟶

“KCSIE 2021 now requires schools to have a

Staff Code of Conduct, so that the boundaries

of acceptable behaviour with children are made

clear. A low-level concerns/neutral notification

policy relies on the existence of a Staff Code of

Conduct to set out acceptable behaviour.”

“Guidance from 2007, Safeguarding Children

and Safer Recruitment in Education, set out that

schools should have appropriate whistleblowing

procedures in place.”

“The Inspectorate considered that the obligation

arose from paragraph 7 of the Independent

School Standards which required the school to

have regard to KCSIE, which in turn required a

school to report an allegation of abuse where

the threshold was met to either the LADO or the

police unless it had a good reason not to report.

The Inspectorate stated that ‘it is difficult to think

of an example of a reason which inspectors

would accept as a ‘good reason’ not to report

an allegation of abuse’.”

7Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Standards

Five Guiding Principles:

Standards

Strategic goal:

—

To clearly communicate our expected

standards, policies and procedures

and to support our Designated

Safeguarding Leads to drive and monitor

safeguarding practice and culture

Governance should be a protective factor in the

way it scrutinises safeguarding arrangements

and holds leaders to account.

This means having informed leaders, boards

and committees who receive baseline

and refresher training, as well as regular

safeguarding reports to update them on

progress and demonstrate the impact of our

safeguarding interventions. We need to be able

to answer the ‘How do we know?’ question.

To achieve our strategic goal:

—

Policies, procedures and guidance promote

wellbeing and secure the safety of all students

There is an expectation that the DSL will

undertake additional, advanced training

specific to meet the needs of the school and

the role; this is in addition to the statutory

training and updates

Staff training goes beyond statutory

requirements and staff are familiar with

policies as living documents

The school’s low level/neutral notification

reporting processes should be clear and staff

prompted on a regular basis to encourage

reporting

It is the Headteacher’s duty to respond to

any concern regarding a member of staff

and to report on to regulatory authorities, for

example, DBS and TRA

All documents should be readily available to

stakeholders

There is a clear code of conduct which is

concise, free of ambiguity and linked to the

ethos of the school and this document

Monitoring systems must be fit for purpose,

allowing the DSL not just to record information

but also to identify trends in reporting and

potentially recognise future staff training

needs

8Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Prevention

Five Guiding Principles:

Prevention

Report findings:

—

“The ISI considered that the relationship

between leadership and governors was

a “cornerstone” because “it sets the tone

for effective leadership, mutual respect and

recognition of shared values, while recognising

their different roles and lines of accountability”.”

“The Inquiry heard that at many of the schools

examined, governors did not monitor the

effective implementation of safeguarding

arrangements through the scrutiny of

safeguarding incidents which arose at the

school.”

“There are no national standards or minimum

content for the safeguarding component of the

initial teacher training curriculum, which leads to

considerable differences of approach.”

“Other than requiring staff to have read the

relevant parts of KCSIE, the Statutory Guidance

does not set out a minimum level of training or

specify any requirements as to the content of

safeguarding training that teachers and other

school staff should undertake.”

“At some of the schools examined, however,

safeguarding training was not so extensive or

effective.”

“Despite this level of responsibility and the

requirement for specific knowledge and skills,

there is no DSL qualification. This contrasts with

the requirement for all state-funded schools to

have a Special Educational Needs Coordinator

with a specific postgraduate qualification for the

role.”

Strategic goal:

—

To create ever safer schools through robust

recruitment processes, safer working

practices and culture. Utilising our skills,

knowledge and experience

To achieve our strategic goal:

—

The Single Central Register and all safer

recruitment procedures should be regularly

checked and challenged by appropriate

members of SLT and Governors.

Safeguarding is a standing item on all

appropriate agendas including: Governors,

Senior Leadership and Student Support

meetings.

Initial training at induction must be robust and

understanding tested. Ongoing training should

be varied, relevant, frequent and involve the

whole staff.

Logs of all training given must be maintained

and monitored.

The MDS Heads and DSL Network will

continue to meet to share best practice, offer

support, guidance and, where appropriate,

lobby for change and development on a local

and national basis.

Five Guiding Principles:

Protection

Report findings:

—

“Concerns about being seen as ‘difficult’ may

dissuade children from making complaints

about their teachers, who can have significant

influence over their future education and career.”

“In several of the schools examined,

headteachers said that they were confused

about when an allegation met the threshold for

referral and they were unaware that they could

contact the LADO for informal advice.”

“We would rather over report than under report.”

“There was an attempt to stifle the reporting of

concerns internally and to characterise them

to external bodies as malicious attempts to

undermine the headteacher, who was making

changes to the school which were unpopular

with some staff.”

“Triangle [an abuse survivors support charity]

set out that much of the available guidance is

largely prohibitive, telling staff what they should

not do (investigate, ask leading questions,

extend the child’s account) but not helping them

to help the child without contaminating the

evidence.”

9Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Protection

⟶

Strategic goal:

—

Ensuring that reporting concerns is a key

priority and is made as easy as possible

for all. Continue to build strong relationships

with statutory agencies, provide guidance

on without blame concerns and ensure

robust case management

We can only deal with issues if we are made

aware of them. As such, reporting systems and

our response to them need to be efficient and

effective. We also need to acknowledge that

our funding model may make some students

and parents reluctant to report for fear of losing

their financial support. It is imperative that we all

engage in educating our families that they can

alert us to concerns without any fear of reprisal.

The only way to achieve this strategic goal is

to ensure that our children and young people

are placed at the heart of all we do. We will

consistently go above and beyond to ensure

that children are given an authentic voice,

allowing the intrinsically unique identities and

life experiences of all children to be heard.

Safeguarding concerns are acted upon quickly

and appropriately whilst records are well

maintained.

Five Guiding Principles:

Protection

To achieve our strategic goal:

—

School will identify and advertise a range of

reporting routes, including anonymous ones.

There is a Whistleblowing Policy in place which

also includes avenues to access advice.

Schools should log serious incidents, including:

a. Low-level concern about staff

b. Bullying

c. Sexual Harassment

This list is not exhaustive and should reflect

individual schools and emerging situations.

Internal case reviews of serious incidents

should be held and include oversight from

the Safeguarding Governor. Lessons learned

should be logged and action points identified.

DSLs should develop good working

relationships with external agencies, examples

include:

a. LADO

b. Children’s Services

c. CAMHS

d. Police

DSLs and Headteachers will exhibit

tenacity and professional curiosity allowing

professional conversations with external

agencies should further advice be needed.

10Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Protection

Conclusion

The IICSA report has afforded us the opportunity

to pause and reflect, to acknowledge the past

and look to our systems and approaches

to make sure such events cannot ever be

repeated.

We have taken the six recommendations

identified in the report and integrated them into

the strategic goals we identified as a Network.

We must be transparent. Our students and their

parents need to know that within our schools

there is a safeguarding culture supported by

systems and procedures which mean students

are safe.

They furthermore need to have confidence

in a structure of governance which will

guarantee any victim a rigorous investigation, a

demonstrable understanding of what it takes to

disclose and a recognition of the support and

guidance they need to engage with the process.

Whilst each MDS school has its own unique

challenges, characteristics and strengths, we

believe that by adopting this Safeguarding

Agreement and embedding it within each

school we will achieve sector leading

safeguarding provision across the group.

Safeguarding in each of our schools is reflective

of individual contexts but guided by a single

principle – excellence.

11Responding to The IICSA Report 2022—Conclusion

Report prepared by Sara Wells and

Annelli Peavot, Elmhurst Ballet School,

with support and input from:

Martin Ashton,

Wells Cathedral School

Anselm Barker,

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Ziggy Szafranski,

The Purcell School for Young Musicians

Robert Searle,

The Hammond School

Lesley-Anne Tulley,

Elmhurst Ballet School

Melanie Bloor-Black,

Yehudi Menuhin School

Rebekah Westgate,

English National Ballet School

Barbara Owen,

Chetham’s School of Music

Will Rowsley,

Elmhurst Ballet School

Greg Murray,

St Mary’s Music School

Huw Goodwin,

The Royal Ballet School