Headteacher Update

Safeguarding Digest offers you bitesize summaries of key safeguarding issues and key questions to use with school staff to keep their understanding up-to-date. This week: Private fostering What risks may children face if they are living in a private fostering arrangement? All staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training at induction and this training should be regularly updated.

Safeguarding is a critical and heavy emotional responsibility, yet staff are rarely given the structures needed to sustain it, making burn-out a real danger. Dr Jaz Ampaw-Farr sets out three non-negotiables… ‘Safeguarding systems that rely on individual goodwill, emotional overextension, and personal sacrifice are high-risk systems’ - Adobe Stock Safeguarding has never sat neatly inside a policy or a flowchart. It is lived and carried. It sits at the heart of every adult’s role.

The Enrichment Benchmarks are here. They outline eight standards for schools to deliver enrichment activities across five core areas. But do we have enough staff to deliver?

School leaders are facing increasing numbers of AI-generate parental complaints. Alan Shields considers practical steps for dealing effectively with often long and complex complaints Almost half of school leaders in one survey reported an increase in complaints that appear to be “AI‑generated or AI‑enhanced”. - Adobe Stock By nature, teachers are generally an optimistic bunch.

Multi-use outdoor spaces can be incredibly effective for primary schools, providing teaching and learning opportunities, quiet places for pupils, and transforming school culture.

Primary schools are often the first to see the effects of family hardship, but it can be difficult to provide the support you would ideally like to offer.

New government figures show that the most common primary need for pupils with an EHCP remains autism, while for pupils on SEN Support it is speech, language and communication needs - Adobe Stock There are now more than 1.85 million children in England’s education system with recognised SEN – an increase of more than 91,000 in the last year.

Inclusion has been placed at the heart of the government’s education agenda and Schools White Paper. But what does it actually look like? Sara Alston explores our renewed focus on inclusion As part of its reforms, the Department for Education has set out seven principles of inclusion - Adobe Stock What does the government mean by “inclusion”? It has always been a key education buzzword, but the launch of the Schools White Paper and SEND reforms has increased the focus on its meaning.

Headteacher Update's third AI in Schools online conference offers two days of practical insights, advice and ideas for how we can take advantage of AI to safely innovate, boost pupil outcomes, and support teaching staff The third AI in Schools event will take place online across two days in September 2026 - Adobe Stock Join us on September 9 and 10, 2026, for a timely and practical online conference exploring the opportunities, risks and realities of artificial intelligence in schools.

Part of the role of a DSL is to help create a school culture where staff, students and others report concerns and speak out about safeguarding issues. Hannah Carter outlines how we might achieve this... Creating a safeguarding culture in school is a long-term endeavour, requiring consistent effort and commitment from leadership down... - Adobe Stock Let's be brutally honest: safeguarding policies, procedures, and statutory guidance are only as good as the culture in which they operate.