Barnardo’s and the Centre to End all Sexual Exploitation (Cease) have written an open letter to the next government on the harms of online pornography on children and young people. The letter calls for: legislation ensuring pornographic content is regulated online the same way that it is offline; the robust implementation of age assurance measures; and a commitment to continuing the Independent Pornography Review.

Read the letter: Charities and experts call on next Government to tackle harms caused by online pornography  

The National Children’s Bureau has published a blog post for schools and youth organisations on distinguishing between banter and bullying. The blog discusses: recognising when banter is appropriate; empowering young people to set personal boundaries; and implementing a school-wide approach.

Read the blog: “But Miss, it was only banter…” How do we equip children with the skills to understand when banter has gone too far?  

The Promise Scotland has launched a new website, Plan 24-30, setting out a six-year plan to address findings from the Independent Care Review. The plan sets out action and changes required in Scotland to ensure that ‘The promise’ made to care experienced children and families that all children will grow up loved, safe and respected, is kept. Plan 24-30 aims to help organisations devise and align their plans; facilitate cooperation; and offer new ways to allocate resources.

Find out more: Plan 24-30 is a dynamic plan of action  
Visit the website: Plan 24-30

The Department for Education (DfE) has published statistics on children in secure children’s homes in England and Wales. New data shows the number of children accommodated in secure children’s homes on 31 March 2024 was up 12% from the previous year, from 139 to 156.

Access the statistics: Children accommodated in secure children’s homes

The draft of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 does not contain major systemic changes – these have been deferred to next year and the Government began a call for evidence on safeguarding in schools and collegeswhich is planned to close on 20^th June 2024.

Ministers decided this year’s guidance should contain only “technical changes… with a view to providing a more substantively updated document, encompassing wider changes, to be delivered in 2025″.

Join our members area to get access to the KCSiE Summary of changes

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued an alert to schools across the UK about financially motivated sexual extortion or ‘sextortion’. This type of blackmail involves a person being forced into paying money or meeting another financial demand, following a threat to release nude or semi-nude photos of them. The alert explains how to spot signs of this type of abuse and support affected children. Guidance is also included to share with parents and carers.

Read the news story: NCA issues urgent warning about ‘sextortion’
Download the alert: Financially motivated sexual extortion: an alert for education settings

The DFE has set up a consultation on the updated relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance.

We’d like to hear from teachers, school leaders, stakeholders and parents.

Closes 11th July 2024 – Click here for further details

The DfE has updated Information sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to include greater clarity regarding the use of consent and instil confidence that the legal framework supports the sharing of information for the purposes of safeguarding.

It provides core principles to apply to day-to-day decision-making and aims to strengthen multi-agency working.

Click here to view the new guidance

(Source: Working Together to Safeguarding Children 2023, pages 7 and 8)

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children – defined for the purposes of this guidance as:

• providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge
• protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online
• preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• promoting the upbringing of children with their birth parents, or otherwise their family network through a kinship care arrangement, whenever possible and where this is in the best interests of the children
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes in line with the outcomes set out in the Children’s Social Care National Framework.

The Guardian has published a news story exploring offenders’ use of social networks, including Facebook Messenger and Meta Pay, to purchase child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Court documents and interviews with former Meta moderators suggest how the networks can be used to facilitate child sexual abuse and exploitation with some payments for CSAM going undetected and unreported. 

Read the news story:How Facebook Messenger and Meta Pay are used to buy child sexual abuse material