QTS Safeguarding and Child Protection 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which document is the primary statutory guidance on safeguarding in schools in England?
- Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) (Correct answer)
- Working Together to Safeguard Children
- The Children Act 1989
- The Education Act 2002
Correct answer: Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) is the statutory guidance issued by the DfE that all schools and colleges in England must have regard to for safeguarding.
Question 2: What is the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) in a school?
- To take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, including referrals to external agencies (Correct answer)
- To manage all staff disciplinary procedures
- To lead teaching and learning across the school
- To conduct all exclusion processes
Correct answer: To take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, including referrals to external agencies
The DSL holds lead responsibility for all safeguarding matters, including making referrals to children's social care and the police, and acting as the point of contact for safeguarding concerns.
Question 3: Under KCSIE, what should a teacher do if a pupil makes a disclosure of abuse?
- Listen carefully, not promise confidentiality, and report to the DSL as soon as possible (Correct answer)
- Investigate the matter themselves before reporting
- Promise the pupil confidentiality to maintain trust
- Wait until the end of the day to avoid disrupting learning
Correct answer: Listen carefully, not promise confidentiality, and report to the DSL as soon as possible
Teachers must listen carefully, avoid promising confidentiality, and report to the DSL promptly. Investigations are not the teacher's role — that is for children's social care.
Question 4: Which legislation places a duty on schools to safeguard and promote the welfare of children?
- The Education Act 2002 (Section 175) (Correct answer)
- The Children Act 2004
- The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
- The Equality Act 2010
Correct answer: The Education Act 2002 (Section 175)
Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 places a duty on governing bodies and local authorities to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Question 5: What is 'contextual safeguarding' in the context of child protection?
- Recognising that abuse can occur outside the family home in contexts such as schools, peer groups, and communities (Correct answer)
- Safeguarding only within the school building
- Protection from online harm exclusively
- Safeguarding processes that apply only during school hours
Correct answer: Recognising that abuse can occur outside the family home in contexts such as schools, peer groups, and communities
Contextual safeguarding extends the focus beyond the family to recognise that significant harm can occur in peer, community, and online contexts outside the home.
Question 6: Which of the following is NOT one of the four categories of abuse defined in Working Together to Safeguard Children?
- Financial abuse (Correct answer)
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional abuse
Correct answer: Financial abuse
The four categories under Working Together are physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Financial abuse is not a category in child protection (though it is in adult safeguarding).
QTS Safeguarding and Child Protection 1
Which document is the primary statutory guidance on safeguarding in schools in England?