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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to review (a) guidance and training for teachers and school staff and (b) guidelines on child safeguarding in relation to strip and intimate searches undertaken by police officers on school grounds.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to review (a) guidance and training for teachers and school staff and (b) guidelines on child safeguarding in relation to strip and intimate searches undertaken by police officers on school grounds.
The department is currently reviewing the ‘searching, screening and confiscation at school’ guidance. As part of this review, officials are engaging with teaching unions, the third sector and other government departments, including the Home Office, to gather views on changes for consideration, including the roles of parents, the police and teachers in these challenging situations.
The department will aim to publish revised guidance in the summer, alongside the recently consulted on ‘behaviour in schools’ guidance, and the ‘keeping children safe in education’ guidance. This will ensure that all schools are clear on their duties relating to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of all pupils. This co-ordinated approach will enable the department to take a comprehensive view of what improvements can be made across our school safeguarding advice and guidance, and whether changes are needed to the ‘working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to introduce a legal requirement for schools to inform the parents or guardians of children before a police officer initiates a strip search or intimate search of a child.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to introduce a legal requirement for schools to inform the parents or guardians of children before a police officer initiates a strip search or intimate search of a child.
The department is clear that any use of strip searching must be carried out in accordance with the law and with full regard for the dignity and welfare of the individual being searched, particularly if the individual being searched is a child.
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code C, Annex A, paragraph 11 (c) is clear in stating that an ‘appropriate adult’ must be present in circumstances where a child is to be strip searched. Code C, paragraph 1.7 (a) (i) of the act is equally clear that in the case of a juvenile, an ‘appropriate adult’ means the parent or guardian of the child in the first instance. Other options are available if attendance by the parent or guardian is not possible.
The department is urgently reviewing the ‘searching, screening and confiscation at school’ guidance. This will include consideration of when it is appropriate to inform parents before a search takes place. The review is taking place alongside the ongoing consultation on the ‘behaviour in schools’ guidance. The department will decide its next steps based on the results of this review and the consultation.