Safeguarding, Safe Network and NRCSE

Dowload this case study about Safeguarding, Safe Network and NRCSE

Read all about our partnership with Safe Network, Children England and NSPCC

Background
The National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education (NRCSE) provides advice and guidance to improve the quality of supplementary school provision. Supplementary schools offer out-of-school-hours educational opportunities for children and young people, many of whom come from minority ethnic and migrant communities. They are largely non-regulated, and often lack support and guidance, in part because many are run by volunteers who are themselves members of recently arrived migrant communities and are therefore not always well networked or connected to sources of support in their local area.

After developing and piloting a quality standards framework, the Quality Framework for Supplementary Schools, NRCSE found that the areas that schools most struggled with were not teaching and learning so much as governance and management. They found that many did not have basic policies and procedures in place and even lacked awareness that policies and procedures were needed. NRCSE therefore created a stand-alone bronze level standard focused on minimum standards in relation to policies and procedures – including a safeguarding standard. The organisation’s goal is that all supplementary schools should be supported to achieve at least a Bronze Quality Framework Award within their first year of operation.

NRCSE developed a working relationship with Safe Network chiefly because of an awareness that many schools would struggle to meet the safeguarding standard at the Bronze level. They identified a lack of awareness; a lack of policies; and many schools struggling to find practical solutions to safeguarding challenges such as managing behaviour and discipline (particularly in schools with young or under-qualified teachers and/or very large class sizes); and/or a number not addressing safeguarding simply because they found the subject too daunting.

Outcomes

The collaborative working between Safe Network and NRCSE has contributed to a number of significant changes.  These include:

Increased safeguarding awareness and knowledge

The initial phase one training and support helped raise awareness of safeguarding for the majority of those who attended.  The NRC collected post-course evaluation forms from 228 participants on 20 courses and all rated the training useful (with 81% rating it very useful); all saying they had learnt something from the day and that they had learnt useful skills.

‘It was very engaging and interactive. It was actually one of the best courses that I have attended. It certainly met its objective as far as I am concerned. I am certainly more knowledgeable about issues surrounding safeguarding.’ [course participant]

More information about how to book NRCSE training either as a participant in one of our open training sessions at Resource for London, or as a full course booking in your own setting:

Open training dates

Full course booking