Source: Department for Education
Date: 18 January 2020

The Department for Education (DfE) has updated Keeping children safe in education, the statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding children and safer recruitment, and the Staffing and employment guidance for schools in England to reflect legal changes following exit from the EU, including guidance on checking the past conduct of individuals who have lived or worked overseas.

Read the guidance:Keeping children safe in education
Staffing and employment: advice for schools​​​​​​

Source: Home Office
Date: 21 January 2021

The Home Office has published the government’s response to the recommendations set out in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report into institutional responses to the sexual abuse of children outside the UK. The response includes recommendations for: the development of a national plan of action addressing child sexual abuse and exploitation overseas by UK nationals; bringing forward legislation for the establishment of a list of countries where children are considered to be at high risk of sexual abuse and exploitation from overseas offenders; and extending the geographical reach and mandatory nature of the Disclosure and Barring Service scheme.

Read the policy paper:Response to an IICSA report on the sexual abuse of children outside the UK

Source: Home Office
Date: 22 January 2021

The Home Office has published the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy setting out the government’s vision for preventing, tackling and responding to child sexual abuse whether it is committed in person or online, in families or communities, in the UK or overseas. The strategy is based on three objectives: tackling all forms of child sexual abuse and bringing offenders to justice; preventing offending and re-offending; and protecting and safeguarding children and young people, and supporting all victims and survivors.

Read the news story:Priti Patel publishes new strategy to protect children from sexual abuse
Read the strategy:Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy

Source: Parent-Infant Foundation
Date: 19 January 2021

The Parent-Infant Foundation has published a report looking at the impact of the Spring 2020 national lockdown on babies, and how local systems responded to the challenges of the coronavirus crisis. Findings from a survey of 235 senior leaders of pregnancy and 0-2 services across the UK include: 98% of respondents said that babies that their organisation works with had been impacted by parental anxiety, stress or depression which was affecting bonding and responsive care; 80% said that some babies they work with had experienced increased exposure to domestic conflict, child abuse or neglect, with 29% saying many babies they work with had been impacted.

Read the news story: Working for babies: lockdown lessons from local systems
Read the report: Working for babies: lockdown lessons from local systems (PDF)

Source: Department for Education
Date: 15 January 2021

The Department for Education (DfE) has published data on serious incidents involving children in England for the period April to September 2020. The serious incident notification system requires councils to report all incidents of death or serious harm involving children in their area to the DfE. Figures show that: the total number of serious incident notifications during the period increased by 27% on the same period in 2019 – this follows a decrease between 2018 and 2019 and 2019-20; and incidents relating to child deaths increased from 89 to 119 and serious harm from 132 to 153.

Access the data:Serious incident notifications

Source: BATOD Magazine
Date: 21 January 2021

The January 2021 issue of the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD) Magazine, has published an article looking at the impact of Covid-19 on deaf children and young people. The article describes the work of the NSPCC, including DeafZone on the Childline website, which provides information and support for children in English and British Sign Language (BSL).

Visit the Childline website:DeafZone

An update has been made to Keeping Children Safe in Education (2020) to take account of changes to recruitment after the UK left the EU (see below). The latest version can be downloaded here: Keeping children safe in education (2020) Update – January 2021 (Post EU Exit)

Download KCSIE 2021 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2

The standards that school and childcare providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5.

click here

Last updated 15 January 2021

Source: Department for Education
Date: 10 December 2020

The Department for Education (DfE) is consulting on proposed changes to Keeping children safe in education 2020, the statutory guidance that sets out what schools and colleges in England should do and the legal duties with which they must comply to keep children safe. The DfE is also consulting on proposed updates to advice on Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges. The advice sets out what sexual violence and sexual harassment is, how to minimise the risk of it occurring and what to do when it does occur or is alleged to have occurred. The deadline for responses is 4 March 2021.

Read the news story: Keeping children safe in education – schools and colleges – proposed revisions 2021
Read the consultation document: Keeping children safe in education 2021: Government consultation (PDF)
Read the proposed guidance:Keeping children safe in education 2021: proposed statutory guidance for schools and colleges (PDF)
Read the proposed advice:Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges: proposed advice (PDF)

Source: Department for Education, NSPCC Learning
Date: 09 December 2020

The Department for Education (DfE) has updated the Working together to safeguard children 2018 statutory guidance for England to include factual changes in relation to information sharing, school’s awareness of child mental health, homelessness duty and references to domestic abuse. NSPCC Learning has updated its briefing on the guidance to include a summary of updates introduced in December 2020.

Read the guidance: Statutory guidance: working together to safeguard children
Read the briefing:Key provisions introduced in Working together to safeguard children 2018, and updates added in 2020