Homelessness: staff factsheet

Use this factsheet to make sure your staff are clear on:

• Who counts as being 'homeless'
• The impact homelessness can have on children
• What signs they should look out for
• What they should do if they have concerns
• How they can support children

You could either use it as a basis for talking about the issue at a staff meeting, or send it round for staff to read themselves. Before you share it, make sure to edit the 'To help support a homeless child, you can …' section, to add any other specific support strategies your school has in place.

Want to make it more interactive? Ask staff whether they know who counts as being homeless before sharing the factsheet with them, or ask them about the potential risks to and impact on children of being homeless.

If you want to have more of a discussion about the issue at a staff meeting, try using these questions:

• Which other safeguarding issues may overlap with homelessness?
• How might homelessness affect a child’s learning?
• As a school, how can we support pupils and families who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)?

… use our safeguarding scenario on homelessness to get staff to put the learning into practice.