Supply teachers have a vital role to play in raising and maintaining high educational standards in schools. Campaigning to secure professional entitlements for supply teachers is a key priority of NASUWT, together with securing decent pay and working conditions for all supply teachers.

NASUWT is aware that there are a small minority of supply teachers who may find themselves in a situation where a safeguarding concern or allegation is raised whilst undertaking an assignment in a school or college.

NASUWT is committed to ensuring that those supply teachers who find themselves in such a situation have the information they need in terms of how such matters should be dealt with and the responsibilities of local authorities, employers and employment businesses (i.e. supply agencies).

As such, the Union has produced this advice and guidance to assist supply teachers who find themselves subject to a safeguarding allegation or concern.

Keeping Children Safe in Education

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) is statutory guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) that sets out the legal duties that govern all schools and colleges in England in respect of their obligation to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under the age of 18.

The latest version of the guidance came into force in September 2025 and applies to headteachers, teachers, and staff, as well as governing bodies, proprietors, and management committees.

KCSIE makes it clear that schools and colleges should have processes and procedures in place to manage any safeguarding concern or allegation (no matter how small; e.g. low level concerns) about staff members (including supply staff, volunteers, and contractors), as detailed in paragraphs 69-71 and paragraphs 152 and 153 respectively.

Whilst acknowledging these earlier references, it should be noted it is Part four of KCSIE that deals in substantive detail with allegations made against/concerns that are raised in relation to teachers, specifically in relation to supply teachers:

Supply teachers and all contracted staff

• 377. In some circumstances schools and colleges will have to consider an allegation against an individual not directly employed by them, where its disciplinary procedures do not fully apply because agencies will have their own policies and procedures; for example, supply teachers or contracted staff provided by an employment agency or business.

• 378. Whilst schools and colleges are not the employer of supply teachers, they should ensure allegations are dealt with properly. In no circumstances should a school or college decide to cease to use a supply teacher due to safeguarding concerns, without finding out the facts and liaising with the LADO to determine a suitable outcome. Governing bodies and proprietors should discuss with the supply agency or agencies where the supply teacher is working across a number of schools of colleges, whether it is appropriate to suspend the supply teacher, or redeploy them to another part of the school or college, whilst they carry out their investigation.

• 379. Agencies should be fully involved and co-operate with any enquiries from the LADO, police and/or local authority children’s social care. The school or college will usually take the lead because agencies do not have direct access to children or other school or college staff, so they will not be able to collect the facts when an allegation is made, nor do they have all the relevant information required by the LADO as part of the referral process. Supply teachers, whilst not employed by the school or college, are under the supervision, direction and control of the governing body or proprietor when working in the school or college. They should be advised to contact their trade union representative if they have one, or a colleague for support. The allegations management meeting, which is often arranged by the LADO, should address issues such as information sharing, to ensure that any previous concerns or allegations known to the agency or agencies are considered by the school or college during the investigation.

• 380. When using a supply agency, schools and colleges should inform the agency of the process for managing allegations but also take account of the agency’s policies and the duty placed on agencies to refer to the DBS as personnel suppliers. This should include inviting the agency’s human resource manager or equivalent to meetings and keeping them up to date with information about its policies.

This clarifies the situation for the overwhelming majority of supply teachers who are not generally employed by the placement school (referred to as the ‘end user’ or ‘client’ in legislation) and makes it explicit how such situations should be managed by both schools and employment businesses.

School and college leaders, as well as employment agencies, will need to be cognisant of this information and the importance of abiding by these provisions, particularly given the statutory nature of KCSIE and the fact that it makes it clear that there are no circumstances where paragraphs 377-380 should not be followed by both a school and/or employment agency.

It should be noted that KCSIE does not distinguish between the length of an assignment undertaken by a supply teacher when working through an employment agency (e.g. ad hoc daily assignments or longer term placements, including those in excess of a term).

As such, the Union maintains that KCSIE places a responsibility on schools and colleges, as far as reasonably practicable, to ensure that it manages any such concerns/allegations in the same way as it would for its own employees.

For example, it would not be acceptable for a school/college to cancel an assignment when an allegation/concern is raised without undertaking an investigation. The same would apply to an employment agency who no longer supplies a supply teacher, including for further placements, following an allegation/concern being raised.

If it is decided that the circumstances suggest that a supply teacher should be either suspended or redeployed, then NASUWT maintains that the supply teacher should be treated no differently to other teachers working in the school/college and, as such, should be afforded the same level of protection, including trade union representation at any meeting held to discuss possible redeployment.

Indeed, the advice from KCSIE is that the school/college should advise a supply teacher to contact their trade union representative as soon as possible.

Furthermore, whilst recognising that the school/college is not the employer of a supply teacher working through an employment agency, KCSIE makes it clear that they are under the supervision, direction, and control of the governing body or proprietor when working in the school or college. As such, schools/colleges are best placed to undertake any investigation, as appropriate.

It would therefore not be appropriate for an employment agency to undertake its own process without recourse to KCSIE, particularly if it has not got a policy or procedure in place managing disciplinary issues, as recommended by Acas.

The DfE has confirmed that this guidance is consistent with KCSIE.

Low-level concerns

KCSIE makes it clear that schools/colleges should detail how it would deal with low-level concerns regarding the behaviour of teachers, other staff, volunteers, and contractors, including supply teachers.

The guidance sets out what a low-level concern is, including examples and how schools and colleges in England should deal with low-level concerns with regard to the behaviour of teachers, other staff, volunteers, and contractors, including supply teachers.

KCSIE also identifies the importance of schools and colleges having appropriate policies and processes in place to manage and record any such concerns and take appropriate action to safeguard children.

KCSIE sets out the importance of all low-level concerns being shared responsibly with the right person, recorded and dealt with appropriately, thereby ensuring that low-level concerns are dealt with effectively.
In doing so, this should also protect those working in or on behalf of schools and colleges from becoming the subject of potential false low-level concerns or misunderstandings, including supply teachers.

Supply teachers working in schools/colleges should therefore be provided with access to the relevant staff policy or procedure (e.g. safeguarding and child protection policies) so they can familiarise themselves with this and fully appreciate what is and isn’t appropriate behaviour and how to share any such concerns.

In situations where a supply teacher is the subject of a low-level concern, appropriate action may need to be taken in a timely manner.

However, KCSIE makes it clear that there is a low-level concerns policy which allows for staff to be supported to understand how to address any such conduct and correct
it accordingly.

Low-level concerns and references for supply teachers

Part three of KCSIE makes it clear that schools and colleges should only provide substantiated safeguarding concerns/allegations that meet the harms threshold in references. This includes a group of low-level concerns about a supply teacher.

It states that low-level concerns should not be included in references unless they relate to issues that would normally be included in a reference, such as misconduct or poor performance.

School and college leaders, as well as employment agencies, will need to be cognisant of this information and the importance of abiding by these provisions, particularly given the statutory nature of KCSIE.

The same is true for the guidance, also stating that ‘any repeated concerns or allegations which have all been found to be false, unfounded, unsubstantiated or malicious should not be included in any reference’.

Supply teachers working directly for a school

For supply teachers working directly for a school in England, the provisions of KCSIE would apply in the same way as they would for any other teacher working at the school/college.

Supply teachers working through local authority pooled supply

For supply teachers working through local authority pooled supply, you should be treated in the same way as those working through an employment agency.

Further information

If you have concerns around the way you have been treated as a supply teacher, particularly around safeguarding issues when undertaking an assignment, these should be raised with your local NASUWT Representative, or, alternatively, you can contact NASUWT for further advice.

Furthermore, if any safeguarding concerns are raised about you or you are concerned that they might be, however minor these may seem, you must contact NASUWT immediately for further advice and information. You should not try to address these issues without the support of the Union.

Where schools/colleges have not adhered to the provisions of KCSIE, the Union would want to be made aware as a matter of urgency.

In addition, for those employment agencies operating on the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) portal, for the procurement of supply teachers, which was commissioned by the DfE in England, they are expected to comply with KCSIE, as it is a requirement for eligibility to be on the CCS portal.

As such, an employment agency on the CCS portal can be reported if it is known that is has not complied accordingly with the relevant provisions in KCSIE as outlined above.