Welcome to the Devon and Cornwall Police website for professionals working with children and young people

19/01/2021: One in four UK young people have felt ‘unable to cope’ in pandemic

Young people are in danger of giving up on their futures and on themselves, with a quarter saying they feel unable to cope with life, one of the UK’s leading charities has said. The Prince’s Trust . . . long-running annual survey of young people’s happiness and confidence returned the worst findings in its 12-year history.
Guardian

17/01/2021: Rise in suspected child abuse cases after lockdown

The number of reported incidents of children dying or being seriously harmed after suspected abuse or neglect rose by a quarter after England’s first lockdown last year, figures indicate. The Child . . . Safeguarding Practice Review Panel received 285 serious incident notifications from April to September.
This is an increase of 27% from 225 in the same period the previous year.
BBC

13/01/2021: More than 100,000 children left homeless during lockdown, LGA warns

Local authority leaders are calling for urgent action to reduce the number of children “stuck in temporary accommodation during lockdown”. The Local Government Association said action is needed as . . . latest government figures show that 127,240 children are living in temporary accommodation.
Children and Young People Now

17/01/2021: Rise in suspected child abuse cases after lockdown

The number of reported incidents of children dying or being seriously harmed after suspected abuse or neglect rose by a quarter after England’s first lockdown last year, figures indicate. The Child . . . Safeguarding Practice Review Panel received 285 serious incident notifications from April to September.
This is an increase of 27% from 225 in the same period the previous year.
BBC

15/01/2021: Care Review: Sector responds to long-awaited announcement amid concerns over appointment of chair

Children’s social care leaders have called on the newly appointed chair of the government’s independent Care Review to ensure care experienced people are “at the heart” of the project. The Department . . . for Education has today launched the long-awaited Care Review promised in the 2019 Conservative Party’s manifesto for the general election. Founder of Frontline social care Josh MacAlister has been named as chair of the review and has pledged to launch a “Experts in Experience” group of hand-picked individuals with experience of the care system.
Children and Young People Now

15/01/2021: Nine in ten female young offenders are victims of abuse, research finds

Almost all female young offenders are likely to have been abused by a family member or someone they trust, research has found. According to a research report as many as nine in ten girls in the . . . criminal justice system, under the age of 18, may have experienced abused. Just under a third (63 per cent) of young female offenders, aged between 16 and 24 have been victims of rape and/or domestic abuse. In addition, 15 per cent of young women in the same age group have been involved in sex work.
Children and Young People Now

15/01/2021: Government U-turn exempts children from extended custody time limits

Campaigners are celebrating a government U-turn exempting children from extended custody time limits during the coronavirus crisis. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Justice . . . implemented new regulations which extended custody time limits by two months, to address delays in the criminal justice system.
Children and Young People Now

15/01/2021: Nine in ten female young offenders are victims of abuse, research finds

Almost all female young offenders are likely to have been abused by a family member or someone they trust, research has found. According to a research report as many as nine in ten girls in the . . . criminal justice system, under the age of 18, may have experienced abused. Just under a third (63 per cent) of young female offenders, aged between 16 and 24 have been victims of rape and/or domestic abuse. In addition, 15 per cent of young women in the same age group have been involved in sex work.
Children and Young People Now

13/01/2021: ‘Child spies’ bill could face Lords defeat as Tory peers rebel

Tory peers, bishops and crossbenchers could inflict defeat on the government after an outcry over new guidance which allows state agencies to use children as undercover spies as part of the . . . government’s covert intelligence bill. Church of England bishops are among those who are expected to back an amendment led by the crossbench peer and children’s rights activist Beeban Kidron, the former Tory cabinet minister George Young, Labour’s Roy Kennedy and the Lib Dems’ Sally Hamwee.
Guardian

18/01/2021: Racism in education: How truth pages helped students fight back (Video)

The killing of George Floyd was a catalyst moment for social justice movements across the world. But after the coronavirus pandemic worsened some of those movements were pushed aside. The result was a . . . wave of call to actions, some more successful than others, enlisting the cooperation of institutions in tackling racism and racial inequality. The BBC’s Lorna Acquah investigates the racism experienced by students in the UK and the US and how the movement snowballed.
BBC

09/01/2021: Surge in pupils at school in lockdown sparks call for limit

Heads are calling for limits to the number of pupils in school during lockdown in England, with attendance rates surging to 50% in some places. The two head teachers’ unions, NAHT and ASCL, say the . . . high numbers attending could hamper the fight against the virus. The Department for Education has widened the categories of vulnerable and key worker pupils who can attend.
BBC

08/01/2021: Early years leaders campaign for increased protection to open during lockdown

Early years organisations have joined forces to urge the government to introduce improved safety measures for settings asked to stay open during the third national lockdown. The Early Years Alliance . . . (EYA) , the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) and the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (Pacey) have launched the #ProtectEarlyYears campaign, calling for improved safety measures for the sector in response to the government decision to ask early years providers to remain open during the third national lockdown.
Children and Young People Now

13/01/2021: Smacking children may have lasting impact, research suggests

Smacking children and harsh parenting could have a long-lasting impact on a child’s mental health and behaviour, research suggests. The use of smacking has generated much debate, with Scotland last . . . year the first nation in the UK to ban the practice. The removal of “justifiable assault” from the law means children now have the same protection from violence as adults.
Guardian

13/01/2021: More than 100,000 children left homeless during lockdown, LGA warns

Local authority leaders are calling for urgent action to reduce the number of children “stuck in temporary accommodation during lockdown”. The Local Government Association said action is needed as . . . latest government figures show that 127,240 children are living in temporary accommodation.
Children and Young People Now

06/01/2021: Disadvantaged pupils offered free data in bid to tackle digital divide

The Department for Education is partnering with broadband providers to offer disadvantaged families free data to support home learning during the latest Covid-19 lockdown. But education experts and . . . children’s campaigners believe the move does not go far enough to address the digital divide disadvantaged pupils face.
Children and Young People Now

16/06/2020: Early intervention services ‘unable to cope’ as lockdown measures lift

Early intervention services could be left “unable to cope” as lockdown measures lift due to the impact of school closures and social distancing on vulnerable families, new research warns. A new report . . . by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) and Action for Children, based on interviews with professionals across the children’s services sector, finds that the “knock-on effect” of the coronavirus pandemic on early help services will have a “profound” impact on families not eligible for local authority support.
Children and Young People Now

01/05/2020: Police need ACE training to better understand impact of child violence, study says

Police officers should be trained in understanding the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on young people in order to tackle an increase in child to parent violence, new research suggests. . . . A report commissioned by Northumbria Police, Policing Childhood Challenging Violent or Aggressive Behaviour: responding to vulnerable families, makes the recommendation as part of a wider strategy to help its police officers better understand the causes of child to parent violence.
Children and Young People Now

10/04/2020: How does a traumatic event impact child behaviour?

“Children do make choices to misbehave,” states professor Essi Viding, “but the tools they bring to make the choices are different. Someone who has very stable developmental history is making a . . . particular choice with a completely different toolkit than a child who has an unpredictable developmental history.”
Times Education Supplement

14/01/2021: Top tips for online safeguarding during the pandemic

Speaking at the CYP Now Safeguarding Children in the Digital Age 2021 conference), Sarah Gensmantel from safeguarding software company MyConcern shared five top tips for educators who are currently . . . updating school policy to reflect remote learning.
Children and Young People Now

13/01/2021: Safeguarding in the Digital Age: Empower young people to talk about online grooming, conference told

More needs to be done to educate and empower young people to talk about the threat of online grooming, CYP Now’s Safeguarding Children in the Digital Age 2021 conference has heard. Traci Good, founder . . . and chief of the i-vengers online safety project, told attendees of the need to “keep talking” to children to make them aware of the dangers of grooming. According to the NSPCC, “grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them”.
Children and Young People Now

13/01/2021: TikTok to tackle grooming with safeguards for young users

Children on TikTok will face “groundbreaking” new restrictions in an attempt to prevent grooming on the platform, the video-sharing company has announced, with particularly strict new rules for users . . . under 16. The platform, which has a lower age limit of 13, said users under 16 would no longer be able to receive comments from strangers, have their videos used for “duets” or mark their posts as available to be downloaded. Their accounts will default to “private”, which prevents anyone other than friends from viewing their videos.
Guardian