A record must have at least one category and a maximum of three. Each record type (for example, Safeguarding Concern or Behaviour Incident) has its own set of categories.
This guide describes the categories you can assign to the records you create or refer.
Safeguarding Concern Categories
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Alcohol/substance misuse | Harmful or hazardous use of alcohol or drugs, including the misuse of over-the-counter or prescription medication. |
| Allegation of sexual assault | Claims that someone has sexually assaulted the student. Sexual assault encompasses a range of behaviours, including rape, unwanted sexual contact and coercion. |
| Attendance issue | Pattern of absences from school or class. |
| Bereavement | Feeling sadness, grief, or mourning after losing a loved one. |
| Bullying | Repeated behaviour or actions intended to hurt, intimidate or humiliate another person. |
| Child abduction | The unlawful removal of a child from their parent or legal caretaker. It can also refer to parental abduction, where the child is removed from one of their parents or from the country where they live by either parent without the consent of the other parent. |
| Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) | A form of child abuse where children and young people are manipulated and coerced into committing crimes. |
| Child Criminal Exploitation: County lines | A form of child abuse where children and young people are manipulated and coerced into transporting drugs around the country. |
| Child Criminal Exploitation: Gang-related | A form of child abuse where children and young people are manipulated and coerced into committing crimes with a group of criminals. Not all gangs are involved in criminal activity, and it is not illegal to be a member of a gang. |
| Child missing from education | Children who are not at school or not receiving a suitable education. |
| Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) | A form of sexual abuse where children are coerced or groomed into exploitative relationships or situations. |
| Community safety | Refers to any general concern regarding a child's safety in the community that isn’t covered by any other safeguarding category. |
| Cyberbullying | Repeated behaviour or actions intended to hurt, intimidate or humiliate another person using electronic communication. |
| Cybercrime | Criminal activity involving a computer, networked device or a network. The most common crimes are hacking, phishing, malicious software and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks. Cybercriminals seek to steal data, money or passwords by exploiting human or security vulnerabilities. Young people can be drawn into cybercrime for kudos, status or financial reward. |
| Domestic abuse | Any type of controlling, bullying, threatening or violent behaviour between people in a relationship. Witnessing domestic abuse can seriously harm children and young people. |
| Emotional abuse | Continual patterns of behaviour which determine another person's feelings of self-worth and independence. |
| Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) | Children and young people who experience challenges in attending school due to negative feelings, such as anxiety. |
| Fabricated or Induced Illness | A form of child abuse where a parent or caretaker exaggerates or deliberately causes symptoms of illness. |
| Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) | The practice of partially or totally removing the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It's also known as female circumcision or cutting. |
| Financial (other) | The student (or their family) may be experiencing financial pressures that may result in risks of abuse or exploitation. |
| Financial abuse | A form of abuse where someone uses money or finances to control the student’s parent or guardian, or to withhold or misuse financial resources and benefits awarded to support the child. Examples include withholding money, preventing someone from working, controlling access to bank accounts. In some cases, an adult may be claiming financial benefits in the student’s name or is using benefits for purposes other than to support the child. |
| Forced marriage | One or both are married without their consent or against their will. This also covers marrying someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent. Forced marriage can happen as a result of trafficking and child sexual exploitation. |
| Grooming | An act that can be committed in person or online, where a potential abuser builds a coercive or manipulative relationship with a child or vulnerable person. |
| Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB) | When a child or young person exhibits sexual behaviours outside of their age or stage of development. |
| Homelessness | When a person doesn’t have suitable, safe or permanent accommodation. |
| Initiation/hazing type rituals | A form of initiation when new members enter certain social groups that can be degrading, humiliating or harmful. |
| Mental health | The individual struggles to cope with life's everyday stresses. |
| Modern slavery | When a person is exploited for personal or commercial gain and cannot refuse or leave due to threats of violence or abuse. |
| Neglect | A form of child abuse when parents or guardians fail to meet a child’s basic needs. This may mean that they do not have adequate nutrition, their hygiene needs are not attended to, they are without a safe and suitable place to live, are left without supervision, and are not receiving education or healthcare. |
| Physical abuse | Deliberately causing injury, bodily harm or trauma to another person. |
| Radicalisation/extremism | Radicalisation is the gradual process of supporting or involvement in extremist ideologies. Extremism refers to the support or promotion of an ideology based on violence, hate, and intolerance. |
| Self-harm | Deliberately causing injury, bodily harm or trauma to oneself to cope with difficult feelings, overwhelming situations or memories. |
| Sexual abuse (contact) | A form of child abuse where a perpetrator makes physical contact with the child. |
| Sexual abuse (non-contact) | A form of child abuse where a perpetrator does not make physical contact with the child. They may expose themselves or force a child to watch or hear sexual acts. This form of abuse can happen online or in person. |
| Sexual abuse: child on child | A form of sexual abuse between children. |
| Sexual harassment: child on child | When a child or young person makes unwelcomed inappropriate comments or remarks to another child. |
| Sexual harassment | When an adult makes unwelcomed inappropriate comments or remarks to a child. |
| Sexual violence: child on child | When a child or young person exerts their power and control over another child through unwanted or harmful sexual actions. |
| Sexual violence | When an adult exerts their power and control over a child through unwanted or harmful sexual actions. |
| Trafficking | The recruitment and movement of children for exploitation. |
| Upskirting | Taking nonconsensual photographs or videos under a person's skirt, dress or kilt. |
Behaviour Incident Categories
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Absconding | Leaving the school property without permission and without letting anyone know where they are going. |
| Attendance issue | Deliberately missing school or classes or frequently late to class. |
| Bullying | Repeated behaviour or actions intended to hurt, intimidate or humiliate another person. |
| Bullying: cyber | Repeated behaviour or actions intended to hurt, intimidate or humiliate another person using electronic communication. |
| Bullying: homophobic/biphobic/ transphobic | Repeated behaviour or actions intended to hurt, intimidate or humiliate another person based on their sexuality. |
| Bullying: religion | Repeated behaviour or actions intended to hurt, intimidate or humiliate another person based on their religious beliefs. |
| Bullying: social | Repeated behaviour or actions intended to hurt, intimidate or humiliate another person in a social setting, including spreading rumours or excluding others from social groups. |
| Damage to property | Deliberate and intentional damage or destruction of property, including graffiti. |
| Detention | A consequence that schools may use to address inappropriate student behaviour. |
| Derogatory language | Making comments that strongly disapprove or fail to show respect to another person. |
| Discriminatory behaviour | Treating a person unfairly because of a protected characteristic they hold, such as their age or race. |
| Exclusion | Not allowing a person to take part in an activity or enter a place. Also, a sanction applied by some schools to address student behaviour. |
| First Aid Incident | Behaviour or actions that lead to requiring first aid for themselves or another person. |
| Inappropriate language | Using profane, vulgar or offensive language to another person. |
| Intimidation | To intentionally frighten or threaten someone. |
| Misogyny | Displaying hatred, dislike or prejudice against women. |
| Other - High Level | Any other behaviour that results in a serious incident. |
| Other - Low Level | Any other low-level deliberate behaviour that causes disruption. |
| Physical aggression | Involves any physical acts of violence, including hitting, pushing, slapping or any other forms of physical assault. |
| Play fighting | A rough-and-tumble play that mimics fighting or aggression. |
| Sexist behaviour | Displaying prejudice or discrimination based on a person's sex or gender. |
| Sexualised language | Making comments of a sexual nature. |
| Spitting | Ejecting saliva from a person's mouth as a display of anger, frustration or hatred. |
| Theft | Taking another person’s property or services without permission. |
| Verbal aggression | Involves shouting, threatening, insulting or using offensive language towards others. |
Referral Categories
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) | The NHS service that treats young people with mental health difficulties and emotional and behavioural needs. |
| Child and Family Assessment | Completed by a qualified social worker, the Child and Family Assessment is to gather information about the children and family to understand their needs in order to inform decisions about the support or interventions that may be necessary. |
| Child in Need Assessment | An assessment to determine the student’s needs and ensure that their family can support their wellbeing and provide a reasonable standard of health and development. |
| Early Help Assessment | An assessment undertaken by a lead professional, who already provides support to the child and family (for example, a teacher or a GP). Agreement must be sought from both the child and their parents or carers. The child must also be involved in the assessment and discussion, as well as their family and any other professionals who work with them. |
| Health | The student has health conditions for which they need support. |
| Integrated Front Door | A centralised referral point, where professionals and community members can report concerns about a child’s safety and welfare to Children’s Social Care. |
| Local Authority | A referral to any other Local Authority service. |
| NHS | The National Health Service has a number of health services to which the child or young person can be referred (for example, a school nurse). |
| Operation Encompass | A partnership between the Police and schools to offer immediate support to children experiencing domestic abuse. |
| Other | For referrals that do not fit any other category. |
| Police | If the record warrants intervention from the local policing team, for either perpetrators or victims of crime. |
| Prevent | To refer any concerns about a child, young person or adult learner who may be vulnerable to being drawn into extremism, under the Prevent duty. |
| Section 17 | The duty of local authorities to safeguard the wellbeing of children under their jurisdiction. |
| Section 42 | Section 42 applies when a local authority reasonably suspects that an adult within their area needs care and support. It enables the local authority to act as necessary and provide support in case of abuse (for example, neglect, inability to protect themselves, and financial abuse). |
General Notes and Updates Categories
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Additional support | Any additional support provided either within the educational setting or by another external agency. |
| Assessment | An evaluation of the student’s needs. |
| Case Conference | A multi-disciplinary meeting involving the family and professionals in relation to child protection concerns. |
| Core Group | A meeting with professionals and family members regarding the implementation of a Child Protection Plan. |
| Early Help update | Relates to an Early Help assessment or Early Help plan. |
| Emails sent or received. | |
| Home visit | A visit to the student’s home. |
| Intervention | Actions were taken to support struggling students. |
| Letter | Letters sent or received. |
| Meeting | Either face-to-face or online meeting, arranged to discuss the student’s needs of which the student may or may not have attended. |
| Note | Any general piece of information that would add context or is important to record on the student’s chronology. |
| Outcome | The action and/or resolution. |
| Police involved | The student required involvement from the police, either as a perpetrator or victim. |
| Search for prohibited item | Physical search conducted by a staff member to look for items that are banned by the organisation. |
| Search for prohibited item conducted by police officer | Physical search conducted by police to look for items that are banned by the organisation. |
| Social work visit | Social worker visited the student in the educational setting or at home. |
| Student Voice | Student’s wishes, feelings and views relating to their care or education |
| Telephone call | Phone calls made or received. |
| Text message | Texts messages sent or received. |
| Verbal communication | Information was shared face-to-face. |