All adults who come into contact with pupils in their work have a duty of care to safeguard and promote their welfare. 

The Children Act 2004, through the Stay Safe outcome of the Every Child Matters Change for Children programme , places a duty on school/service to safeguard and promote the well-being of pupils. This includes the need to ensure that all adults who work with or on behalf of pupils in these school/service are competent, confident and safe to do so.

The guidance contained in this document has due regard to current legislation and statutory guidance. It has been updated from a previous 2006 version.