09/01/2025: Consultation launches to tackle low numbers of suitably qualified youth workers
Youth workers are being urged to give their views on proposals to overhaul qualifications and training for the role in a bid to tackle recruitment challenges and improve their career progression.
09/01/2025: Children’s social care reform bill clears first parliamentary hurdle
MPs give in-principle backing to legislation that would introduce multi-agency child protection teams, tighten regulation of placement providers and require meetings with families to explore alternatives to care.
09/01/2025: Five Reasons To Abolish Short-Term Custodial Sentences For Children
Abolishing Detention and Training Orders is the key to meaningful decarceration according to Dr Kathy Hampson and Dr Anne-Marie Day.
08/01/2025: Government’s early years funding hikes fail to cover rising costs, IFS warns
Increases to funding for the early years sector are failing to consider the rising cost pressures that providers face, an Institute of Fiscal Studies report is warning.
08/01/2025: Cooper vows to make child abuse reporting mandatory
The government is to introduce laws that make it an offence to fail to report child sexual abuse concerns, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has confirmed.
08/01/2025: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill explained
Tim Spencer-Lane sets out how the legislation will reform the provision, regulation and staffing of children’s social care in England.
08/01/2025: Rising costs force ‘difficult choices’ on schools
Head teachers say they face “difficult choices” over what their schools can afford, as a new report says they could be forced into further cuts next year.
08/01/2025: Child sex abuse and grooming gangs: What we know, and what we don’t, from the data
Recent debates over grooming gangs have been marked by accusations of lies and disinformation – this is what the data actually tells us about the victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
07/01/2025: Social work opinion split over police involvement in mental health incidents, poll finds
Following an evaluation of the right care, right person policy, we asked social workers their opinion on police withdrawing from mental health incidents.
07/01/2025: SEND is the ‘biggest issue’ for schools – Ofsted
Special educational needs and disabilities (Send) is the “biggest issue” affecting schools in England, Ofsted’s chief inspector has said.
07/01/2025: Child mental health crisis: Better resilience is the solution, say experts
Jane Graham has been a school nurse for nearly 20 years – and during this time the nature of her work has completely changed. “When I started, the majority of the support we provided was for physical health, like asthma, allergic reactions and injuries,” she says. “Now it’s mental health.”
07/01/2025: Revenge Porn Helpline Welcomes New Legislation to Criminalise the Creation and Sharing of Deepfakes But Still Raises Concern Amid Remaining Gaps
The Revenge Porn Helpline welcomes the UK Government’s recent announcement to introduce new offences targeting the creation and sharing of sexually explicit ‘deepfake’ images and other forms of non-consensual intimate image abuse.
06/01/2025: ‘How parent advocacy can rebalance the power dynamics of the children’s social care system’
A parent-led network argues that peer to peer advocates can help ensure families’ voices are heard during the child protection process and overcome misunderstandings between parents and professionals.
06/01/2025: Record numbers of children in England jailed many miles from their families
More than one in 10 young people in custody are held at least 75 miles from their homes
03/01/2025: Care leavers missing out on home ‘essentials’, research finds
Care leavers in England are at risk of missing out on essential items when setting up their first home due to the lack of clear national guidelines on the levels of support offered by councils, latest research shows.
02/01/2025: Urgent referrals of children in mental health crisis in England rise 13% in year
Charity says NHS failure to help more young people sooner is a ‘shocking betrayal’.
30/12/2024: Lisa Nandy urges YouTube and TikTok to promote better content for children
UK culture minister says government wants to ‘open a dialogue’, but will intervene if platforms do not comply
22/12/2024: Spiralling demand and shrinking budgets: why England’s SEND system is buckling
No quick fix for a system that is failing children and parents and pushing councils into insolvency.
19/12/2024: Covid Inquiry to hear children’s personal accounts of loneliness and lost learning
The Covid Inquiry is to hear children’s first-hand accounts of life during the pandemic and lockdowns following the completion of a project to collect hundreds of their stories.
19/12/2024: New pilot shows way for smaller platforms to play big part in online safety
A new pilot scheme is showing how even the smallest platforms can help play their part in preventing the spread of child sexual abuse imagery online.
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.
18/12/2024: Agencies to be required to set up multi-agency child protection teams, under social care reform bill
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill would also allow for regulation of agency work in children’s social care and creation of new type of placement where a child can be deprived of liberty.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
2024 Update
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: annual report 2023 to 2024
Independent annual report for serious child safeguarding incidents, 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.
Link
(Gov.UK, Pub: 12/12/2024)
X (Formally Twitter) Checklist
Information on how to keep your X profile under your control
Whether you’re new to X or an experienced user, managing your profile can sometimes feel overwhelming. The X Checklist simplifies this process by addressing the most common questions people have about their profiles. Available to download or order online.
Link
(SWGFL, Pub: 04/12/2024)
‘So You Got Naked Online’ Released
New Version
The way young people communicate online is constantly evolving and it is essential that young people are provided with up-to-date advice and support. With the latest online safety concerns in mind, SWGfL has released a new version of So You Got Naked Online, to provide children, guardians and teachers with essential advice on what to do if a young person (or a friend) has put a sexting image or video online and have lost control over that content and who it’s being shared with. Available to download or order online. SEND version also available.
Link
(SWGFL, Pub: 29/11/2024)
Puberty and learning disabilities
A guide for parents and carers of children and young people who have learning disabilities
NSPCC Learning has designed a booklet on navigating puberty to share with parents and carers of children and young people who have learning disabilities. The guide sets out: what puberty is; changes that happen to everyone during puberty; and top tips to support children through the physical and emotional challenges that puberty brings.
Link
(, Pub: 27/11/2024)
Online safety: government priorities
Its work to implement the Online Safety Act.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has announced new online safety priorities for Ofcom as it continues its work to implement the Online Safety Act. Ofcom will have to report back to the Secretary of State on what action it has taken against the priorities. The draft Statement of strategic priorities for online safety focuses on five key areas: implementing safety by design; increasing transparency and accountability of online platforms; maintaining regulatory agility to keep pace with changing technology and behaviour; building an inclusive and resilient online society of well-informed users; and supporting continued innovation in safety technologies. The Government has also announced plans for a new research project looking at the effects of smartphones and social media on children to help build the evidence base around online harms.
Link
(Gov.UK, Pub: 20/11/2024)
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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.
DfE | Free | Information
Domestic Violence Awareness
In this Domestic Violence course you will learn of the existing legislations surrounding domestic violence in order to protect individuals. You will consider the key elements of domestic violence in relation to the behaviours that are experienced by both the abuser and the victim.
CPD Online College | £20.00 | Information
Talk Relationships: delivering sex and relationships education training
Online training to support secondary school teachers to deliver inclusive sex and relationships education. We want all young people to grow up understanding healthy behaviours in relationships and to get help from a trusted adult if they need it. This elearning course is part of our Talk Relationships service that supports people working in secondary education to overcome any challenges they may face when delivering sex and relationships education.
NSPCC | £9.50 | Information
Harmful sexual behaviour in schools training
Are you aware of the differences between healthy sexual behaviours and those which are of concern? Do you know what to do if a child or young person has experienced sexual harassment and abuse or is displaying sexualised behaviour? Get the knowledge and skills you need to recognise, report and record sexualised behaviour concerns with our elearning courses for primary or secondary schools.
NSPCC | £35.00 per person | Information
Understanding and responding to gambling harms
Our free online course, Understanding and responding to gambling harms: A brief guide for professionals, will teach you about gambling disorders and how to support someone affected by gambling harms.
Royal Society for Public Health | Free | Information
2024 Update
The legacy and impact of life story from a parent’s perspective
Community Care Live
Listen to practitioners and parents from Wiltshire speaking about the impact of life story work.
NSPCC: How to plan meaningful participation work with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA)
In collaboration with the IICSA Changemakers
The voices of people with lived experience of child sexual abuse play an important role in understanding how to respond to and prevent this form of abuse. This podcast episode, hosted by the IICSA Changemakers, contains advice on how you can carry out participation work with adult victim-survivors of abuse in a way that is both safe and meaningful.
Podcast: How domestic abuse affects children
The effects of domestic abuse on children, young people and babies.
NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode on the effects of domestic abuse on children, young people and babies. The episode features representatives from Childline and the NSPCC Helpline discussing: what children are telling Childline about domestic abuse and how this differs from what adults are telling the Helpline; the ways in which the effects of domestic abuse may present through a child’s behaviour; the importance of listening to the voice of the child; and safeguarding actions for professionals who identify domestic abuse.
Podcast: Teaching sex and relationships education (SRE) with Talk Relationships
Discussing the challenges teachers face when teaching SRE in secondary schools
In this podcast episode, actor and Childline ambassador Natalie Dormer is joined by two teachers to talk about what it’s like to teach sex and relationships education. They discuss the challenges teachers may face when teaching SRE, as well as practical solutions to these problems.
Adolescent Social Anxiety Symptoms and their relationship with Suicidal Ideation and Depressive Symptoms
Overview of the paper, methodology, key findings, and implications for practice
In this Papers Podcast, Dr. Kenny Chiu discusses his JCPP Advances paper ‘Social anxiety symptoms and their relationship with suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in adolescents: A prospective study’ (https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12249).