Working Together 2026 covers it in chapter 4, paragraphs 321 to 325.
What it means for schools:
- Schools can be Associate Agencies. Working Together paragraph 322 lists independent schools, academies, and free and maintained schools among the agencies that can be brought into MAPPA case by case, where they can help assess and manage the risk an offender poses.
- Children's welfare must be considered. Whenever a child is discussed at a MAPPA meeting, the meeting must consider how to safeguard the child and how the offender's behaviour may affect them (paragraph 323).
- Children who offend and are managed under MAPPA are still entitled to the same safeguards as any other child.
A school might be involved if an offender is a parent of a pupil, lives near a pupil, or wants to be on site. Any information the DSL receives should be held securely and shared only as agreed.
Don't confuse MAPPA with MARAC, which focuses on protecting high-risk victims of domestic abuse. The Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service publish the MAPPA guidance.