Welcome to DCD hub, for professionals working with children and young people from Devon and Cornwall Police.

News

18/12/2024: Threat against UK ‘smouldering’, top counter terror officer warns

The UK is facing a “smouldering” terror threat level with children as young as 10 accessing extreme online material, one of the country’s most senior counter-terrorism officers has warned.

BBC News

17/12/2024: Plan to register children not in school takes shape

A register to identify children who are not in school in England will be part of a bill introduced to Parliament on Tuesday.

BBC News

17/12/2024: Illegal casinos are using Roblox to draw children into online gambling

A Sky News investigation has found a network of illegal casinos allowing children to gamble using their accounts on the hugely popular children’s game Roblox. In response to our investigation, the Gambling Commission has taken action against the “criminal” websites.

Sky News

16/12/2024: ‘The school system is broken’: Why more parents are home-educating their children

“Toby was so tremendously unhappy in school,” says his father, Daniel. “We were standing outside the classroom door for an hour every morning and he just didn’t want to go in.

BBC News

16/12/2024: ‘Families first for children’ model to be rolled out to all councils, says chief social worker

Approach involving family help and specialist child protection teams that is currently being tested in 10 areas to be extended across England, says Isabelle Trowler

Community Care

16/12/2024: Archbishop of York ‘deeply sorry’ for not being able to act sooner over sex abuse case

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell is due to take over from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby next month as the Church battles serious sex abuse allegations.

Sky News

16/12/2024: YJLC Summit: Collaborating with Children – Applying Child First Principles in Practice

This year’s Summit is our first youth-led conference. An organizing committee of young people has looked at whether a system designed without children at heart can ever really work. They have delved into what Child First, Collaboration and Participation are all about and have chosen speakers from around the world that they think will best examine the issues.

Youth Justice Legal Centre

14/12/2024: Inexperienced social worker did not identify Sara Sharif’s father as posing any risk

The murdered girl had been allowed to live with her father, who had repeatedly attracted the attention of police and social workers.

Guardian

13/12/2024: Practitioners struggling to respond to extrafamilial harm to children, finds analysis of serious cases

Staff not picking up on early signs of risk, such as missing episodes, while there is little evidence that interventions are keeping children safe, says national safeguarding panel, in annual report.

Community Care

Newsletter

NEWSLETTER: CCP Weekly news

Events

22/01/2025: Safeguarding Children in the Digital Age conference

The digital world continues to produce new risks to young people’s safety and wellbeing as well as increased opportunities for learning and discovery. Safeguarding today requires practitioners in all fields to be up to speed with emerging . . . digital trends and threats. We have secured some of the country’s leading experts and practitioners to equip you with the knowledge, skills and confidence to enable children and young people to stay safe in 2025 and beyond. Through a number of CPD-accredited sessions, our speakers will provide you with actionable insights and top tips to implement in your work.
Details

31/01/2025: Tackling County Lines Digital Conference

Nearly a year on from the Jay Review, thousands of children and young people are still at risk of being exploited across the UK. There is a need to adopt recommendations focusing on a new approach to tackle criminal exploitation. With a . . . renewed focus on building strong collaborations between police forces, local authorities, education and youth services to close county lines, how can multi-agency efforts improve to safeguard children and young people?
Details

03/02/2025: YJLC Summit: Collaborating with Children – Applying Child First Principles in Practice

This year’s Summit is our first youth-led conference. An organizing committee of young people has looked at whether a system designed without children at heart can ever really work. They have delved into what Child First, Collaboration and . . . Participation are all about and have chosen speakers from around the world that they think will best examine the issues.
Details

School incidents:
When to report to the police

When incidents happen in schools, it can sometimes be difficult to know whether to involve the police or deal with it using the school behaviour management system.The information on these pages provide a guide for school staff to determine the best course of action.

ELearning

Prevent duty training:

Prevent sits alongside long-established safeguarding duties on professionals to protect people from a range of other harms such as substance abuse, involvement in gangs and physical and sexual exploitation.

Free | Free
Link

Documents and Publications

Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: annual report 2023 to 2024

This is the fifth annual report from the independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. It looks at the child safeguarding system, based on serious child safeguarding incidents occurring between April 2023 and March 2024. It highlights key themes and patterns in practice for national government and local safeguarding partners to improve the protection of vulnerable children.

Gov.UK (12/12/2024)
PDF

Links

Article 39

Article 39 is a small, independent charity which fights for the rights of children living in state and privately-run institutions (boarding and residential schools, children’s homes, immigration detention, mental health inpatient units, prisons and supported accommodation) in England.

Website