Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to create an independent stage of complaint for parents in safeguarding cases where a school or governing body has already determined its own conduct in relation to child on child sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse in any form is abhorrent and protecting children from this is an absolute priority for this government.

‘Working together to safeguard children’ is the statutory guidance which sets out the collaborative duties and responsibilities placed on agencies to safeguard and protect children.

‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) is the statutory safeguarding guidance that all schools and colleges must have regard to, when safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. It includes clear and detailed guidance on managing reports of child-on-child sexual violence and harassment, and on recording concerns, discussions and decisions made

Local authorities, schools and colleges are held to account for safeguarding children through a number of routes, including statutory guidance, legislation, child safeguarding practice review panels and inspection.

All schools are assessed on safeguarding as part of their routine inspections. If a state-funded school is not fulfilling its responsibilities in relation to child-on-child sexual abuse, the school is likely to be placed in a category of concern. Similarly, an independent school would likely be judged to not meet the Independent School Standards. This would then lead to robust action to address the concerns

Any concerns about a school’s procedures should be raised directly with the school in question in the first instance, as they will be best placed to offer information and advice regarding their decisions

Where individuals are not satisfied with the outcome of any concerns raised, they are able to make a formal complaint via the school’s complaints procedure. All schools must have a complaint procedure, and it should explain how a complaint can be progressed if a parent remains dissatisfied with the school’s response. When a parent or other relevant body raises a safeguarding concern about pupil safety, including child-on-child sexual abuse, this could trigger an unannounced or focused inspection by Ofsted to assess whether the school is meeting its safeguarding responsibilities. Ofsted expects schools to demonstrate that they have thoroughly investigated safeguarding concerns from parents. This is part of the school’s statutory safeguarding duty under ‘Keeping children safe in education’.

Parents are also able to escalate concerns directly to the local council where they believe a child is at risk of immediate harm. More information about school complaints can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-school.

In relation to training for headteachers, Designated Safeguarding Leads and school governors, KCSIE makes clear that all staff should undergo safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety, which should be regularly updated and should be in line with any advice from local safeguarding partners.

The department already publishes analysis on children affected by sexual abuse or exploitation, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-in-need-a-focus-on-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation/2025.