Understanding and preventing serious violence in education
Helping schools and colleges understand how their students may get involved in violent or criminal behaviour, and how to prevent and respond to incidents.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
Serious violence is a continuing safeguarding concern. It may involve:
- physical assault
- carrying, threatening with, or using weapons, often in the context of peer conflict or bullying
- criminal exploitation
This information does not introduce new expectations. It provides an overview of existing government guidance to help schools and colleges work confidently and consistently by providing:
- clear routes through existing guidance
- practical tools for local adaptation
- signposting to relevant support
This guidance aims to help you understand:
- statutory duties and the difference between mandatory requirements and non-statutory recommendations
- how to implement recommended strategies for preventing children’s involvement in violence
- how to respond to harm
- how to work with safeguarding partners
- how to navigate common scenarios, including when to act immediately, when to refer, and when to seek advice from safeguarding partners
Distinguishing between legal duties and statutory guidance
This guidance distinguishes between:
- legal duties, which settings must comply with, where applicable
- statutory guidance, which settings must have regard to and should follow unless there is good reason not to
- non-statutory guidance or evidence-informed recommendations, which settings should consider and apply in line with their responsibilities, context and local risks
Understanding the terms used
In this guidance:
- “must” is only used where there is a legal duty
- “should” is used for actions that are expected or strongly recommended but are not direct legal duties
- “may” and “could” are used for optional, illustrative or context-dependent actions
- “recommended” or “evidence-informed” is only used when referring to a recognised evidence base
- “expected” is only used where it is clear whose expectation is being described and whether it has statutory force
Using this guidance
If you are developing a whole-setting approach, use the sections in order:
- understand the risk
- strengthen prevention
- respond safely to incidents
- support children afterwards
- work with safeguarding partners
If you need to act on a live concern, go straight to the Responding to violent incidents section and follow your safeguarding procedures.
Where local processes differ, adapt the resources and templates to reflect your setting’s behaviour policy, child protection policy, local safeguarding partnership arrangements and referral routes.