Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of levels of consistency of safeguarding protocols in multi-academy trusts in relation to unauthorised adult access to school premises.

The safety and wellbeing of children in our schools is the department’s highest priority. We recognise the importance of robust safeguarding measures and take concerns about unauthorised adult access to school premises very seriously. The produced non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges in respect of developing a security policy. The department expects security in schools to be considered alongside statutory safeguarding responsibilities and the legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. The department also issues the statutory ‘Keeping children safe in education’ guidance, including guidance on the use of school premises for non-school activities.

When the department has concerns regarding the safeguarding policies of any MATs, they can then enforce compliance through the MAT’s funding agreement, in line with our published statutory guidance.