The short answer
The Serious Violence Duty has two tiers.
- Specified authorities carry the main duty. They are listed in Schedule 1 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022: chief officers of police, fire and rescue authorities, probation services and youth offending teams, integrated care boards in England (local health boards in Wales), and county, district and unitary councils (statutory guidance, paragraph 20).
- Relevant authorities are a second group: educational, prison and youth custody authorities (section 15(1)). Schools fall here.
So schools are not named duty holders in the first tier. But they do have legal duties, which apply when the partnership involves them.
Which schools count
Section 12 and Schedule 2 define “educational authority”. For schools, it means:
- the governing body of a community, foundation or voluntary school, or community or foundation special school
- the proprietor of an academy, 16 to 19 academy or alternative provision academy
- the proprietor of a non-maintained special school approved under section 342 of the Education Act 1996
- the proprietor of any other registered independent school
- the management committee of a pupil referral unit
Schools used wholly for children under compulsory school age are excluded. Further education colleges are covered by a separate entry. A school is an educational authority for each local government area it is located in.
What schools must do
| Duty | Where in the Act |
|---|---|
| Be consulted when the specified authorities prepare the local strategy | Section 8(4) |
| Collaborate with a specified authority or another relevant authority if asked | Section 15(3) and (5) |
| Carry out actions the strategy specifies for them | Sections 8(5) and 15(4) |
| Have regard to the Secretary of State’s guidance | Section 19 |
Schools may also choose to collaborate without being asked (section 15(1)).
The duties to collaborate and to carry out actions don’t apply where, or to the extent that, complying would be incompatible with another legal duty, would harm the school’s ability to carry out its functions, would be disproportionate to the need, or would mean unreasonable costs (section 15(7)). The statutory guidance repeats these four limits (paragraph 300).
Section 16 also allows educational authorities to share information with specified authorities for the purposes of the duty, without breaching confidentiality. It doesn’t override data protection law. The guidance says personal data about a specific child held by a school “should only be shared for the purposes of keeping children safe and promoting their welfare” (paragraph 299).
What the statutory guidance asks of education
The Home Office statutory guidance was published in December 2022 and is still current. Its education section (paragraphs 291 to 300) says:
- Engagement in education “is a strong protective factor” against involvement in serious violence (paragraph 291).
- The partnership should choose a strategic education representative or group to link it with individual schools (paragraph 296). In practice, most schools will deal with the duty through that representative, not directly.
- Schools should provide data they already have to share under existing duties, such as data on exclusions and persistent absence (paragraph 299).
- Schools should give insight into risk factors for children locally, support the strategy, and deliver agreed actions at school level where required (paragraph 299).
What KCSIE 2026 adds
KCSIE 2026 has a serious violence section in Part one (paragraphs 51 to 54) and in Annex A, both updated this year.
- Weapons. Staff should report any concern about a child carrying or using a weapon, or planning to, to the DSL. The DSL assesses the risk to the pupil and others and, depending on the risk, puts a safety and support plan in place (paragraph 51).
- Who is at risk. Risks are higher for children with disrupted education, such as suspensions, permanent exclusions or alternative provision, or a history of offending (paragraph 52).
- Indicators. Increased absence, a change in friendships or relationships with older people, a big drop in attainment, self-harm or changes in wellbeing, unexplained injuries, and unexplained gifts or possessions (Annex A).
- Times and places. Violence often peaks just before or after school and on journeys. Schools should try to understand where those places are and work with partners to make them safer (Annex A).
- Support. Early, evidence-based support, such as trusted adults, mentoring or therapeutic support, is vital. KCSIE points to the Youth Endowment Fund’s guidance and self-assessment tool (paragraph 53).
- Partners. Home Office-funded Violence Reduction Units operate in 20 police force areas, and each must include at least one education representative in its core membership (Annex A).
KCSIE confirms that the duty “does not replace or duplicate existing safeguarding duties” (Annex A).
What to do in practice
- Find out who represents schools on your local serious violence partnership or Violence Reduction Unit, and how to feed in.
- Read the local strategy. It is published (section 8(7)). Check whether it gives schools any actions.
- Keep good data. Concerns recorded with where and when they happened, alongside exclusion and attendance data, are what the partnership will ask for. See contextual safeguarding.
- Link to exploitation. Serious violence and child criminal exploitation often overlap.
- Share lawfully. Follow KCSIE and your data protection policy. See information sharing in safeguarding.