1. Responding to allegations and concerns about adults who work in schools is a key part of the framework for safeguarding children from sexual abuse in schools. This Part considers the ways in which some of the schools examined in this investigation failed to respond appropriately when allegations or concerns about sexual abuse by staff were raised. Since at least 1995, the Department for Education (and its predecessors) has published specific guidance about procedures to deal with allegations against staff but in many of the schools the guidance was not known about or was not followed.

2. This Part also considers how some of the schools examined responded to incidents of harmful sexual behaviour between pupils. Incidents of this kind should be reported to children’s social care or to the police rather than to the local authority designated officer (LADO), who deals with allegations against adults working with children. Such incidents were not always reported as they should have been in some of the schools examined.

3. Part J considers responses to allegations and concerns in Wales.