Policy background
It is Government policy that all providers of education and training should be subject to a duty to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children receiving education and training at that provider. The further education provider market has changed in recent years and new providers are entering into the market. The Department ensures that providers have appropriate safeguarding arrangements in place through the terms of funding that apply to these providers. The Act ensures that there is alignment across all providers and places a specific obligation on 16-19 Academies, as well as placing an obligation on the Secretary of State to ensure that funding provided to special post-16 institutions (SPIs) and independent learning providers (ILPs) is provided subject to the safeguarding duties set out in the Act.
	The Act includes a requirement for providers to have regard to statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State. The current version of statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State is Keeping Children Safe in Education . The Act brings 16-19 Academies, SPIs and ILPs in scope of the guidance. This will provide clarity for all providers in terms of how the safeguarding duties apply to them as the statutory guidance will be developed to cover all providers rather than only being drafted to cover those subject to the previous statutory duties.
	16-19 Academies are not legally classified as a school or a college and are therefore not captured by the statutory safeguarding duties in section 175 of the 2002 Act. Recently there has been an increase in the number of 16-19 Academies as around 20 sixth form colleges have converted to academies and that number is expected to rise. It is appropriate that as a provider of education to children, 16-19 Academies should be subject to the same statutory duties as other similar institutions.
	SPIs provide specialist provision to those with complex special educational needs. Most of these providers have a long history of providing this provision and are spread across the country. While safeguarding obligations are included in the funding agreements that they enter into with the Secretary of State, the Act puts an obligation on the Secretary of State to ensure that terms of funding provided to SPIs include the safeguarding duties.
	ILPs are responsible for providing a range of education and training to children, including further education provision for 16-19 year-olds. There are around 125 ILPs which have a funding agreement for this provision with the Secretary of State. There are also around 1,000 ILPs that receive funding for the delivery of apprenticeship training to 16-19 year-olds (both levy and non-levy funded). Where these providers are delivering further education to 16-19 year-olds, it is expected that the safeguarding duties would apply in the same way as to other providers of further education. For those providers delivering apprenticeships it is expected that the duties would apply to any education or training delivered as part of an apprenticeship.
	Any providers funded to deliver T Levels are expected to be captured by the duties.
	The Act seeks to ensure there is consistency and clarity over how the safeguarding duties apply across all post-16 providers irrespective of provider type or the type of provision being delivered. It does not look to alter the nature of the safeguarding duties nor change the way in which the safeguarding duties are assessed or enforced.