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Covid-19 and disadvantage gaps in England 2021 - Education Policy Institute

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Covid-19 and disadvantage gaps in England 2021 - Education Policy Institute

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The Education Policy Institute has published a major report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, examining disadvantage gaps in England during 2021. The "disadvantage gap" - the gap in grades between disadvantaged students and their peers - is a leading measure...Read more Covid-19 and disadvantage gaps in England 2021 ›

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This document comprises statutory guidance for heads of safeguarding organisations, and non-statutory guidance for front-line professionals, on forced marriage.

Documents

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Details

This document comprises:

statutory guidance on forced marriage for all persons and bodies who exercise public functions in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults

multi-agency practice guidelines on handling cases of forced marriage, for front line workers, including:

health professionals

educational staff

police

children's social care

adult social services

local authority housing staff

registrars

staff working at the UK border

The 2 documents were previously separate and are now combined here, but only the first part of the document is statutory guidance.

You can also see videos of the guidance in British Sign Language.

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The right to choose: government guidance on forced marriage

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Female genital mutilation (FGM) guidance, case studies and support materials for local authorities, professional services and specialist voluntary organisations.

Details

FGM is illegal in the UK. Anyone who commits FGM faces up to 14 years in prison, a fine, or both. Anyone found guilty of failing to protect a girl from risk of FGM faces up to 7 years in prison, a fine, or both.

This resource pack includes:

information on legislation and prevalence

resources and good practice case studies for local authorities, the police, healthcare professionals and schools

links to support organisations, clinics and helplines which can help people who think they might be at risk

E-learning

Recognising and preventing FGM training is available for professionals with safeguarding responsibilities.

It gives an introduction to FGM and the action you must take to protect girls who may be at risk.

Warning

Some of the content in the links included in this resource pack contain images or accounts that viewers may find distressing.

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Female genital mutilation: resource pack

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Multi-agency guidelines on FGM for those with statutory duties to safeguard children and vulnerable adults.

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Details

This guidance on female genital mutilation ( FGM) is for all persons and bodies in England and Wales.

You must read and follow this guidance if you are under statutory duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.

You should read this FGM guidance along-side other safeguarding guidance, including (but not limited to):

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Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation

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Multi-agency guidelines on FGM for those with statutory duties to safeguard children and vulnerable adults.

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Gives relevant professionals and the police an understanding of the female genital mutilation (FGM) mandatory reporting duty.

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A mandatory reporting duty for FGM requires regulated health and social care professionals and teachers in England and Wales to report known cases of FGM in under 18-year-olds to the police. The FGM duty came into force on 31 October 2015.

This document gives relevant professionals and the police information on the mandatory reporting duty.

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Mandatory reporting of female genital mutilation: procedural information

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Gives relevant professionals and the police an understanding of the female genital mutilation (FGM) mandatory reporting duty.

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Violence Reduction Units bring together organisations across local communities to tackle violent crime and address its underlying causes. These units also help fund vital local projects that do positive preventative work with children and young people.

This £35.5 million, which covers 2021/22, is the third year of funding for 18 Violence Reduction Units operating across England and Wales in areas worst affected by serious violence. This takes the total invested in Violence Reduction Units to more than £105 million and further delivers on the government's pledge to crack down on violent crime.

In their first year of activity, initiatives funded by the scheme supported more than 100,000 young people, more than 51,000 of whom were identified as being at high-risk of being involved in criminal and violent activity. They also helped bring police, education leaders, health workers and local government together to share information about the causes of violence and agree a coordinated plan of action to tackle it. This is crucial to preventing crime at a local level. Today's funding means that they can continue this vital work.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

Violence Reduction Units play a vital role in preventing young people from being dragged into the horrors of serious violence, and this funding will enable them to continue this crucial work.

I will continue to back our police with the resources and powers they need to cut crime and make your community safer.

Work funded by Violence Reduction Units has included prevention work in schools, communities, prisons, hospitals, Pupil Referral Units and police custody suites.

The Home Office, in partnership with the National Police Chiefs' Council, is hosting a virtual Four Nations conference this week, which will be attended by Minister for Crime and Policing Kit Malthouse. The Minister will hear about the significant work taking place to support young people and discuss the importance of tackling serious violence.

Policing Minister Kit Malthouse said:

Violence Reduction Units are providing life-changing support to young people.

The Four Nations conference brings together expert minds to develop ideas and solutions which will make a real difference in tackling serious violence.

Ultimately these are solutions that will ensure young people are able to lead positive lives and achieve their potential.

Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Lead for Serious Violence and PCC for West Yorkshire, Mark Burns-Williamson OBE, said:

Police and Crime Commissioners are pleased that Ministers and the Home Office have recognised the value and ongoing work of our VRUs by committing to another year of funding. Today's announcement means we will continue to invest in projects which support young people in particular, diverting them away from violence, harm and exploitation.

Robust police enforcement is important in bringing violent offenders to justice and protecting communities. But when partners come together, recognising what can be achieved by adopting a wider public-health approach, we can also address some of the longer-term underlying issues and prevent violence in the first place with effective early intervention measures.

National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for Violence & Vulnerability, Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Sebire, said:

Less than 2 years ago, Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) were launched to tackle the root causes of serious violence as policing saw an increase in this type of criminality.

In that time, these specialist units, which work in partnership with other agencies, have already made a significant change in how we approach serious violence and vulnerability, allowing targeted and evidenced-based interventions.

We welcome the commitment from government in tackling serious violence and this funding will allow the units to continue to support young people and keep communities safe.

In addition to the funding announced today, more than £2 million is being made available via a winter contingency fund package. This money is being delivered through VRUs to local charities and social enterprises that support vulnerable young people at risk of involvement in violence through the lockdown period.

The money forms part of a wider government drive to tackle crime and make communities safer, which includes bringing in 20,000 additional police officers over the next 3 years, 6,620 of which have already been recruited. Since 2019, the government has also invested £106.5 million to boost police operational capacity in the 18 police forces worst affected by serious violence. This is separate to the funding for VRUs.

The £35.5 million VRU funding announced today for 21/22 is broken down as follows*.

VRU allocation for 21/22

London: £7,000,000

West Midlands: £3,370,000

Greater Manchester: £3,370,000

Merseyside: £3,370,000

West Yorkshire: £3,370,000

South Yorkshire: £1,600,000

Northumbria: £1,600,000

Thames Valley: £1,160,000

Lancashire: £1,160,000

Essex: £1,160,000

Avon and Somerset: £1,160,000

Kent: £1,160,000

Nottinghamshire: £880,000

Leicestershire: £880,000

Bedfordshire: £880,000

Sussex: £880,000

Hampshire: £880,000

South Wales: £880,000
Total: £34,760,000**
*The £35.5 million VRU funding announced today for 21/22 is subject to receiving proposals from VRUs on their use of the funding and to these plans being agreed by the Home Office.

** the remaining funding from the £35.5 million will be spent on evaluation and sharing learning.

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£35.5m to support young people at risk of involvement in serious violence

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Violence Reduction Units bring together organisations across local communities to tackle violent crime and address its underlying causes. These units also help fund vital local projects that do positive preventative work with children and young people.

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Programmes that place case workers in accident and emergency departments to support children and young people with a violence-related injury.

Estimated impact on violent crime

The average impact that an approach is likely to have on violent crime.

HARMFUL -

The approach is likely to increase violent crime.

NO EFFECT -

The approach is unlikely to have an effect on violent crime.

LOW -

The approach is likely to result in small reductions in violent crime. It is in the bottom third of approaches according to impact.

MODERATE -

The approach is likely to result in moderate reduction in violent crime. It is in the middle third of approaches according to impact.

HIGH -

The approach is likely to result in large reductions in violent crime. It is in the top third of approaches according to impact.

? -

There is not enough evidence to provide an impact estimate

Cost

The average cost of an approach per participant.

Evidence quality

The quality of the research available to calculate the impact estimate. This rating reflects our confidence that new research will not lead to large changes in the impact estimate.

There is not enough research to create an impact estimate.

We have very low confidence in this impact estimate

We have low confidence in this impact estimate

We have moderate confidence in this impact estimate

We have high confidence in this impact estimate

We have very high confidence in this impact estimate

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An overview of existing research on approaches to preventing serious youth violence.

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Guidance for frontline professionals on dealing with county lines, part of the government's approach to ending gang violence and exploitation.

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Details

This guidance outlines what county lines (and associated criminal exploitation) is, signs to look for in potential victims, and what to do about it. It does not provide information about the entirety of the county lines issue.

The document is a supplement to an organisation's existing safeguarding policies, to help identify and protect those exploited through this criminal activity. It's also aimed at:

local partners in policing

local authorities

the voluntary sector

This guidance is part of the cross-government approach to ending gang violence and exploitation.

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Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines

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Guidance for frontline professionals on dealing with county lines, part of the government's approach to ending gang violence and exploitation.

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Designed with KCSIE, Ofsted and the Prevent duty guidance in mind, this page offers up-to-date Prevent training to support your whole school approach, quality-assured resources for safeguarding teams, staff, parents and carers, with guidance on risk assessment, policy and cross-curricular content to build resilience to extremism and promote critical thinking.

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Further information and details of how to register and book these courses can be found on our T Level Professional Development web page.

Generic courses:

Employer Partnerships and Industry Insights

Governors Providing T Levels

New Teacher Programme: How am I Going to Teach?

New Teacher Programme: What is Learning?

New Teacher Programme: Who are my Learners?

Operational Middle Leaders and Managers: Leadership and Professional Practice for

Operational Middle Leaders and Managers: Leading and Managing Curriculum Change for T Levels

Strategic Leaders Providing T Levels

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English - 1

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded English - A

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Maths - 1

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Maths - A

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Digital - 1

Supporting T Level Learners with Embedded Digital - A

Teaching T Levels: Enhancing Pedagogy

Teaching T Levels: Vocational and Professional Upskilling

T Level Leadership Mentoring

T Level Planning and Implementation

Understanding T Levels for Business Support Staff

Understanding T Levels for Frontline Staff

Understanding T Levels for Leaders and Governors

Subject specialist courses:

Education and Childcare:

T Levels: Introducing the Education and Childcare Route

Teaching and Learning on the Education and Childcare T Level

Construction:

T Levels: Introducing the Construction and the Built Environment Route

Teaching and Learning on the Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction and the Built Environment T Level

Teaching and Learning on the Onsite Construction T Level

Teaching and Learning on the Building Services Engineering for Construction and the Built Environment T Level

Digital:

T Levels: Introducing the Digital Route

Teaching and Learning on the Digital Production, Design and Development T Level

Teaching and Learning on the Digital Support Services T Level

Teaching and Learning on the Digital Business Services T Level

Heath and Science:

Teaching and Learning on the Health T Level

Teaching and Learning on the Healthcare Science T Level

T Levels: Introducing the Health and Science Route

Teaching and Learning on the Science T Level

Business and Administration:

Introducing the Business and Administration T Levels

Teaching and Learning on the Management and Administration T Level

Legal, finance and Accounting:

Introducing the Legal, Finance and Accounting T Levels

Teaching and Learning on the Accounting T Level

Teaching and Learning on the Finance T Level

Engineering and Manufacturing:

Introducing the Engineering and Manufacturing T Levels

Teaching and Learning on the Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control T Level

Teaching and Learning on the Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing T Level

Teaching and Learning on the Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing T Level

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ETF courses available on FutureLearn - The Education and Training Foundation

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Further information and details of how to register and book these courses can be found on our T Level Professional Development web page. Employer Partnerships and Industry Insights Governors Providing T Levels New Teacher Programme: How am I Going to Teach? New Teacher Programme: What is Learning?

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Prevent legislation, guidance and resources - The Education and Training Foundation

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Access a wealth of Prevent duty and British values resources, tools, guidance and articles from the last five years to support teaching.

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You have accessed the detailed training about Channel.

Depending on your needs this product will help you understand

It will share key learnings and best practice from those already involved around the country, and will allow you to work through example case studies so you can see the process in action.

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You have accessed the detailed training about Channel. Depending on your needs this product will help you understand It will share key learnings and best practice from those already involved around the country, and will allow you to work through example case studies so you can see the process in action.

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This training requires a basic understanding of Prevent and the

NOTICE CHECK SHARE

procedure, which is applied when there is a concern that someone might be at risk of radicalisation, and require the correct, proportionate response to that.

This knowledge base is accessible through the complementary Prevent Awareness Training.

If you have not completed that training, it is essential to do so before embarking on this online package.

To be redirected to Prevent Awareness Training click here
Or click here to continue

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This training requires a basic understanding of Prevent and the procedure, which is applied when there is a concern that someone might be at risk of radicalisation, and require the correct, proportionate response to that. This knowledge base is accessible through the complementary Prevent Awareness Training.

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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.

Prevent is one part of the government's overall counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. The aim of Prevent is to:

tackle the ideological causes of terrorism

intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation

enable people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate

Who Prevent duty training is for

This training is for people working in sectors covered by the Prevent duty, such as:

education

health

local authorities

police

criminal justice agencies (prisons, probation, youth justice)

Other sectors that are not covered by the Prevent duty may also complete this training.

Prevent duty courses

In these training courses, you will learn about:

the Prevent duty

different extremist ideologies that can lead to terrorism

the risk around radicalisation and your supportive role

making a Prevent referral that is both informed and made with good intention

the interventions and support available

Help and further information

If you experience any issues with the service or our site, refer to our help section. A link can be found at the footer of every page.

This service is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg)

I have a concern about a family member, friend or member of the community

If you do not work for a sector that falls under the Prevent duty, but you have a concern about an individual that you would like to share, please contact your local council or call the national police Prevent advice line on 0800 011 3764.

If you're deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, a police non-emergency number is available as a text phone service on 18001 101.

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Prevent duty training: Learn how to support people susceptible to radicalisation

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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. Prevent is one part of the government's overall counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST.

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Guidance for schools and childcare providers on preventing children and young people from being drawn into terrorism.

Applies to England

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Protecting children from radicalisation: the prevent duty

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Guidance for schools and childcare providers on preventing children and young people from being drawn into terrorism.

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Channel and PMAP are part of the Prevent strategy. The process is a multi-agency approach to identify and support individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

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Channel/PMAP is a programme which focuses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. Channel refers to panels operating in England and Wales, while PMAP operates in Scotland.

The programme uses a multi-agency approach to protect vulnerable people by:

identifying individuals at risk

assessing the nature and extent of that risk

developing the most appropriate support plan for the individuals concerned

Sections 36 to 41 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 set out the duty on local authorities and partners of local panels to provide support for people vulnerable to being drawn into any form of terrorism.

This guidance has been issued under sections 36(7) and 38(6) of the act to support panel members and partners of local panels.

The documents:

provide guidance for Channel panels and PMAPs

provide guidance for panel partners on panel delivery (that is, those authorities listed in Schedule 7 to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 who are required to co-operate with panels and the police in carrying out their functions in Chapter 2 of Part 5 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015)

explain why people may be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism and describes signs to look for

provide guidance on the support that can be provided to safeguard those at risk of being drawn into terrorism

Channel/PMAP may be appropriate for anyone who is vulnerable to being drawn into any form of terrorism. Channel/PMAP is about ensuring that vulnerable children and adults of any faith, ethnicity or background receive support before their vulnerabilities are exploited by those that would want them to embrace terrorism, and before they become involved in criminal terrorist activity.

Find out how your personal data is stored and used for Channel/PMAP.

We are aware of accessibility issues with this publication. We are working to fix these. Read more about our accessible documents policy

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Channel and Prevent Multi-Agency Panel (PMAP) guidance

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Channel and PMAP are part of the Prevent strategy. The process is a multi-agency approach to identify and support individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

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This sector specific guidance for further education institutions in England and Wales subject to the Prevent duty is additional to, and is to be read alongside, the general guidance contained in the Revised Prevent Duty Guidance issued on 16th July 2015.

Further education

1. Section 26(1) of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 ("the Act") imposes a duty on "specified authorities", when exercising their functions, to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. There is an important role for further education institutions, including sixth form colleges and independent training providers, in helping prevent people being drawn into terrorism, which includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists exploit. It is a condition of funding that all further education and independent training providers must comply with relevant legislation and any statutory responsibilities associated with the delivery of education and safeguarding of learners.

Further education specified authorities

2. The further education institutions specified in Schedule 6 to the Act fall into the following categories:

further education institutions on the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) register of training organisations (ROTO), including sub- contractors which receive more than £100,000 of SFA funding via lead providers. This includes approximately 950 further education colleges and independent providers - such as private companies and third sector organisations that are eligible to receive public funding from the SFA to deliver education and training and the 93 Sixth Form Colleges and other organisations funded by the Education Funding Agency to deliver post 16 education and training;

further education institutions in Wales funded by the Welsh Government; and

private further education institutions who are not in receipt of public funding who may be on the UK Register of Learning Providers and have similar characteristics to those on the register. We define these as institutions that have at least 250 students who are undertaking courses in preparation for examinations which either receive public funding or are regulated by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation or the Welsh Government.

3. Most institutions already understand their Prevent-related responsibilities, especially in the context of ensuring the welfare of learners, staff and visitors, and there are numerous examples of good practice in these areas. As with higher education, compliance with this duty will reflect existing best practice and should not add significant new burdens on institutions. It is to be implemented in a proportionate and risk-based way.

4. To comply with the duty we would expect further education institutions to be delivering in the following ways.

External speakers and events

5. In order to comply with the duty all further education institutions should have policies and procedures in place for the management of events held on their premises. The policies should apply to all staff, students and visitors and clearly set out what is required for any event to proceed.

6. Every institution clearly needs to balance its legal duties in terms of both ensuring freedom of speech and also protecting student and staff welfare.

7. Encouragement of terrorism and inviting support for a proscribed terrorist organisation are both criminal offences. Institutions should not provide a platform for these offences to be committed.

8. Furthermore, when deciding whether or not to host a particular speaker, institutions should consider carefully whether the views being expressed, or likely to be expressed, constitute extremist views that risk drawing people into terrorism or are shared by terrorist groups. In these circumstances the event should not be allowed to proceed except where institutions are entirely convinced that such risk can be fully mitigated without cancellation of the event. This includes ensuring that, where any event is being allowed to proceed, speakers with extremist views that could draw people into terrorism are challenged with opposing views as part of that same event, rather than in a separate forum. Where institutions are in any doubt that the risk cannot be fully mitigated they should exercise caution and not allow the event to proceed.

9. We would expect institutions to put in place a system for assessing and rating risks associated with any planned events, which provides evidence to suggest whether an event should proceed, be cancelled or whether action is required to mitigate any risk. There should also be a mechanism in place for assessing the risks associated with any events which are college- affiliated, funded or branded but which take place off their premises and for taking swift and appropriate action as outlined in paragraph 8.

10. Institutions should also demonstrate that staff involved in the physical security of the estate have an awareness of the Prevent duty. Where appropriate and legal to do so, an institution should also have procedures in place for the sharing of information about speakers with other institutions and partners.

11. But it is important to realise that the risk of radicalisation in institutions does not just come from external speakers. Radicalised students can also act as a focal point for further radicalisation through personal contact with fellow students and through their social media activity. Where radicalisation happens off campus, the student concerned may well share his or her issues with other students. Changes in behaviour and outlook may be visible to staff. Much of this guidance therefore addresses the need for institutions in receipt of public funding to self- assess and identify the level of risk, ensure all staff have access to training, and that there is welfare support for students and effective IT policies in place which ensure that these signs can be recognised and responded to appropriately.

Partnership

12. In complying with this duty we would expect active engagement from governors, boards, principals, managers and leaders with other partners including police and BIS regional higher and further education Prevent co-ordinators (details of BIS Prevent co-ordinators can be found on the Safer Campus Communities website. We would expect institutions to seek to engage and consult students on their plans for implementing the duty.

13/. Where the size of an institution warrants, management and co-ordination arrangements should be implemented to share information across the relevant curriculum areas within an institution, with a single point of contact for operational delivery of Prevent-related activity.

Risk assessment

14. Each institution should carry out a risk assessment which assesses where and how students or staff may be at risk of being drawn into terrorism. These policies and procedures will help an institution satisfy itself and government that it is able to identify and support these individuals.

15. We would expect the risk assessment to look at institutional policies regarding the campus and student welfare, including equality and diversity, and the safety and welfare of students and staff. We expect the risk assessment to address the physical management of the institution's estate, including policies and procedures for events held by staff, students or visitors, and relationships with external bodies and community groups who may use premises, or work in partnership with the institution.

16. Institutions must have clear and visible policies and procedures for managing whistleblowing and complaints. In England, if an individual feels that their complaint has not been taken seriously by the college or provider they can raise it with the SFA (for Further Education and Private Providers) or EFA (for sixth form colleges or private providers funded by it).

17. Where an institution has sub-contracted the delivery of courses to other providers, we expect robust procedures to be in place to ensure that the sub-contractor is aware of the Prevent duty and the sub-contractor is not inadvertently funding extremist organisations.

18. In Wales the Safer Working Practice Guidance and assessment process should also be adhered to.

Action plan

19. Any institution that identifies a risk should notify the relevant BIS Prevent co-ordinator and others as necessary (such as the SFA, EFA Welsh Government and the police) and develop a Prevent action plan to set out the actions they will take to mitigate the risks.

Staff training

20. We would expect institutions to demonstrate that it undertakes appropriate training and development for principals, governors, leaders and staff. This will enable teachers and others supporting delivery of the curriculum to use opportunities in learning to educate and challenge. It will also allow leaders and teachers to exemplify British values in their management, teaching and through general behaviours in institutions, including through opportunities in the further education curriculum. We expect institutions to encourage students to respect other people with particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010.

21. We would expect appropriate members of staff to have an understanding of the factors that make people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas which are used by terrorist groups and can purport to legitimise terrorist activity. We define extremism as "vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas." Such staff should have sufficient training to be able to recognise this vulnerability and be aware of what action to take in response. This will include an understanding of when to make referrals to the Channel programme and where to get additional advice and support.

22. At a corporate level we would expect the institution to have robust procedures both internally and externally for sharing information about vulnerable individuals. This should include information sharing agreements where possible.

23. As the independent body responsible for standards and quality improvement for further education, the Education and Training Foundation will work with the sector to ensure that appropriate training is available. This will include and draw from training provided through the network of Prevent co-ordinators.

Welfare and pastoral care/chaplaincy support

24. All institutions have a clear role to play in the welfare of their students and we would expect there to be sufficient pastoral care and support available for all students.

25. As part of this, we would expect the institution to have clear and widely available policies for the use of prayer rooms and other faith-related facilities. These policies should outline structures in place for managing prayer and faith facilities (for example an oversight committee) and mechanisms for managing any issues arising from the use of the facilities.

IT policies

26. We would expect institutions to have policies relating to the use of their IT equipment. Whilst all institutions will have policies around general usage, covering what is and is not permissible, we would expect that all policies and procedures will contain specific reference to the duty. Many educational institutions already use filtering as a means of restricting access to harmful content, and should consider the use of filters as part of their overall strategy to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

27. Institutions must have clear policies in place for students and staff using IT equipment to research terrorism and counter terrorism in the course of their learning.

28. The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) can provide specialist advice and support to the FE sector in England to help providers ensure students are safe online and appropriate safeguards are in place. JISC also has a Computer Security Incident Response Team who can provide assistance in the event of an online incident occurring.

Monitoring and enforcement

29. Ofsted inspects publicly funded further education and skills providers in England under the Common Inspection Framework. This inspection is risk-based and the frequency with which providers are inspected depends on this risk. Safeguarding is inspected as part of leadership and management judgement. In Wales the inspection regime is operated by Estyn.

30. Where Ofsted finds a publicly-funded further education institution or independent training provider inadequate, intervention action would be taken. In the case of independent providers this is likely to result in their contract being terminated by the Skills Funding Agency. In the case of further education institutions and local authority providers, this would result in the Further Education or Sixth Form College Commissioner making an immediate assessment. This could lead to governance and leadership change, restructuring or even dissolution under the Secretary of State's reserve powers. Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 Act, and following intervention action, it would also be possible for the Secretary of State to issue a direction as the ultimate sanction.

31. For those institutions that are not publicly funded, the Secretary of State will have a power to nominate a body to monitor compliance with the duty and undertake risk-based assessments.

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Prevent duty guidance: for further education institutions in England and Wales

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This sector specific guidance for further education institutions in England and Wales subject to the Prevent duty is additional to, and is to be read alongside, the general guidance contained in the Revised Prevent Duty Guidance issued on 16th July 2015. 1.

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Radicalisation and Extremism - Examples and Behavioural Traits

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Radicalisation in children can be triggered by a specific incident or news item or it can happen much quicker. While there is no single route to radicalisation, the behaviours described here are intended as a guide to help you identify possible radicalisation.

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Guidance for specified authorities in England and Wales on the duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

A. Status and scope of the duty

Statutory guidance issued under section 29 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.

1. Section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (the Act) places a duty on certain bodies ("specified authorities" listed in Schedule 6 to the Act), in the exercise of their functions, to have "due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism". This guidance is issued under section 29 of the Act. The Act states that the authorities subject to the provisions must have regard to this guidance when carrying out the duty.

2. The list of specified authorities subject to the provisions can be found in Schedule 6 to the Act. Further details can be found in the sector-specific sections of this guidance.

3. The duty applies to specified authorities in England and Wales, and Scotland. Counter terrorism is the responsibility of the UK Government. However, many of the local delivery mechanisms in Wales and Scotland, such as health, education and local government, are devolved. We will ensure close cooperation with the Scottish and Welsh Governments in implementing the Prevent duty where there are interdependencies between devolved and non-devolved elements. There is separate guidance for specified authorities in Scotland.

4. The duty does not confer new functions on any specified authority. The term "due regard" as used in the Act means that the authorities should place an appropriate amount of weight on the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism when they consider all the other factors relevant to how they carry out their usual functions. This purpose of this guidance is to assist authorities to decide what this means in practice.

B. Introduction

5. The Prevent strategy, published by the Government in 2011, is part of our overall counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. The aim of the Prevent strategy is to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. In the Act this has simply been expressed as the need to "prevent people from being drawn into terrorism".

6. The 2011 Prevent strategy has three specific strategic objectives:

respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it

prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support

work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address.

7. Terrorist groups often draw on extremist ideology, developed by extremist organisations. Some people who join terrorist groups have previously been members of extremist organisations and have been radicalised by them. The Government has defined extremism in the Prevent strategy as: "vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces".

8. The Prevent strategy was explicitly changed in 2011 to deal with all forms of terrorism and with non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists then exploit. It also made clear that preventing people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism requires challenge to extremist ideas where they are used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups. And the strategy also means intervening to stop people moving from extremist (albeit legal) groups into terrorist-related activity.

9. Our Prevent work is intended to deal with all kinds of terrorist threats to the UK. The most significant of these threats is currently from terrorist organisations in Syria and Iraq, and Al Qa'ida associated groups. But terrorists associated with the extreme right also pose a continued threat to our safety and security.

10. Islamist extremists regard Western intervention in Muslim-majority countries as a 'war with Islam', creating a narrative of 'them'and'us'. Their ideology includes the uncompromising belief that people cannot be both Muslim and British, and that Muslims living here should not participate in our democracy. Islamist extremists specifically attack the principles of civic participation and social cohesion. These extremists purport to identify grievances to which terrorist organisations then claim to have a solution.

11. The white supremacist ideology of extreme right-wing groups has also provided both the inspiration and justification for people who have committed extreme right-wing terrorist acts.

12. In fulfilling the duty in section 26 of the Act, we expect all specified authorities to participate fully in work to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. How they do this, and the extent to which they do this, will depend on many factors, for example, the age of the individual, how much interaction they have with them, etc. The specified authorities in Schedule 6 to the Act are those judged to have a role in protecting vulnerable people and/or our national security. The duty is likely to be relevant to fulfilling other responsibilities such as the duty arising from section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

13. This guidance identifies best practice for each of the main sectors and describes ways in which they can comply with the duty. It includes sources of further advice and provides information on how compliance with the duty will be monitored. Sector-specific guidance for Further Education and Higher Education institutions subject to the Prevent duty has been published separately and should be read alongside this guidance.

C. A risk-based approach to the Prevent duty

14. In complying with the duty all specified authorities, as a starting point, should demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the risk of radicalisation in their area, institution or body. This risk will vary greatly and can change rapidly; but no area, institution or body is risk free. Whilst the type and scale of activity that will address the risk will vary, all specified authorities will need to give due consideration to it.

15. There are three themes throughout the sector-specific guidance, set out later in this document: effective leadership, working in partnership and appropriate capabilities.

Leadership

16. For all specified authorities, we expect that those in leadership positions:

estalish or use existing mechanisms for understanding the risk of radicalisation

ensure staff understand the risk and build the capabilities to deal with it

communicate and promote the importance of the duty; and

ensure staff implement the duty effectively.

Working in partnership

17. Prevent work depends on effective partnership. To demonstrate effective compliance with the duty, specified authorities must demonstrate evidence of productive co-operation, in particular with local Prevent co-ordinators, the police and local authorities, and co-ordination through existing multi-agency forums, for example Community Safety Partnerships.

Capabilities

18. Frontline staff who engage with the public should understand what radicalisation means and why people may be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism as a consequence of it. They need to be aware of what we mean by the term "extremism" and the relationship between extremism and terrorism (see section B, above).

19. Staff need to know what measures are available to prevent people from becoming drawn into terrorism and how to challenge the extremist ideology that can be associated with it. They need to understand how to obtain support for people who may be being exploited by radicalising influences.

20. All specified authorities subject to the duty will need to ensure they provide appropriate training for staff involved in the implementation of this duty. Such training is now widely available.

Sharing information

21. The Prevent programme must not involve any covert activity against people or communities. But specified authorities may need to share personal information to ensure, for example, that a person at risk of radicalisation is given appropriate support (for example on the Channel programme). Information sharing must be assessed on a case-by-case basis and is governed by legislation. To ensure the rights of individuals are fully protected, it is important that information sharing agreements are in place at a local level. When considering sharing personal information, the specified authority should take account of the following:

necessity and proportionality: personal information should only be shared where it is strictly necessary to the intended outcome and proportionate to it. Key to determining the necessity and proportionality of sharing information will be the professional judgement of the risks to an individual or the public;

consent: wherever possible the consent of the person concerned should be obtained before sharing any information about them;

power to share: the sharing of data by public sector bodies requires the existence of a power to do so, in addition to satisfying the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998;

Data Protection Act and the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality: in engaging with non-public bodies, the specified authority should ensure that they are aware of their own responsibilities under the Data Protection Act and any confidentiality obligations that exist.

22. There may be some circumstances where specified authorities, in the course of Preventrelated work, identify someone who may already be engaged in illegal terrorist-related activity. People suspected of being involved in such activity must be referred to the police.

D. Monitoring and enforcement

23. All specified authorities must comply with this duty and will be expected to maintain appropriate records to show compliance with their responsibilities and provide reports when requested.

Central support and monitoring

24. The Home Office currently oversees Prevent activity in local areas which have been identified as priorities for this programme, and will provide central monitoring for the new duty. The Home Office shares management (with local authorities) of local Prevent co-ordinator teams.

25. The Home Office will:

draw together data about implementation of Prevent from local and regional Prevent co-ordinators (including those in health, further and higher education), the police, intelligence agencies and other departments and inspection bodies where appropriate;

monitor and assess Prevent delivery in up to 50 Prevent priority areas;

maintain contact with relevant departments and escalate issues to them and inspectorates where appropriate;

support the Prevent Oversight Board, chaired by the Minister for Immigration and Security, which may agree on further action to support implementation of the duty.

26. Where a specified body is not complying with the duty, the Prevent Oversight Board may recommend that the Secretary of State use the power of direction under section 30 of the Act. This power would only be used when other options for engagement and improvement had been exhausted. The power would be used only to ensure the implementation and delivery of the Prevent duty. It is also capable of being exercised in respect of Welsh specified authorities, and would be used following consultation with Welsh Ministers.

Inspection regime in individual sectors

27. Central support and monitoring will be supported by existing inspection regimes in specific sectors. Not every specified authority has a suitable inspection regime and in some areas it may be necessary to create or enhance existing regimes.

28. We will work with the Welsh Government on Prevent monitoring arrangements and provide support to Welsh inspection regimes as required.

E. Sector-specific guidance

Local authorities

29. With their wide-ranging responsibilities, and democratic accountability to their electorate, local authorities are vital to Prevent work. Effective local authorities will be working with their local partners to protect the public, prevent crime and to promote strong, integrated communities.

Specified local authorities

30. The local authorities that are subject to the duty are listed in Schedule 6 to the Act. They are:

a county council or district council in England;

the Greater London Authority;

a London borough council;

the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority;

the Council of the Isles of Scilly;

a county council or county borough council in Wales; and

a person carrying out a function of an authority mentioned in section 1 (2) of the Local Government Act 1999 by virtue of a direction made under section 15 of that Act

31. Other local authorities, including stand-alone fire and rescue authorities, are not listed in the Act and are not subject to the duty, but it is anticipated, considering their wider prevention role, that in many areas they will be partners in local efforts to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

32. In fulfilling the new duty, local authorities, including elected members and senior officers should be carrying out activity in the following areas.

Partnership

33. Local authorities should establish or make use of an existing local multi-agency group to agree risk and co-ordinate Prevent activity. Many local authorities use Community Safety Partnerships but other multi-agency forums may be appropriate.

34. It is likely that links will need to be made to other statutory partnerships such as Local Safeguarding Children Boards Safeguarding Adults Boards, Channel panels and Youth Offending Teams.

35. It will be important that local or regional Prevent co-ordinators have access to senior local authority leadership to give advice and support. 36. We expect local multi-agency arrangements to be put in place to effectively monitor the impact of Prevent work.

37. Prevent work conducted through local authorities will often directly involve, as well as have an impact on local communities. Effective dialogue and coordination with community based organisations will continue to be essential.

Risk assessment

38. We expect local authorities to use the existing counter-terrorism local profiles (CTLPs), produced for every region by the police, to assess the risk of individuals being drawn into terrorism. This includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists exploit. Guidance on CTLPs is available here.

39. This risk assessment should also be informed by engagement with Prevent co-ordinators, schools, registered childcare providers, universities, colleges, local prisons, probation services, health, immigration enforcement Youth Offending Teams and others, as well as by a local authority's own knowledge of its area.

40. We would expect local authorities to incorporate the duty into existing policies and procedures, so it becomes part of the day-to-day work of the authority. The duty is likely to be relevant to fulfilling safeguarding responsibilities in that local authorities should ensure that there are clear and robust safeguarding policies to identify children at risk. This guidance should be read in conjunction with other relevant safeguarding guidance, in particular Working Together to Safeguard Children.

Action plan

41. With the support of co-ordinators and others as necessary, any local authority that assesses, through the multi-agency group, that there is a risk should develop a Prevent action plan. This will enable the local authority to comply with the duty and address whatever risks have been identified.

42. These local action plans will identify, prioritise and facilitate delivery of projects, activities or specific interventions to reduce the risk of people being drawn into terrorism in each local authority. Many of these projects and activities will be community based.

Staff training

43. Local authorities will be expected to ensure appropriate frontline staff, including those of it's contractors, have a good understanding of Prevent are trained to recognise vulnerability to being drawn into terrorism and are aware of available programmes to deal with this issue.

44. Local authority staff will be expected to make appropriate referrals to Channel (a programme which provides support to individuals who are at risk of being drawn into terrorism which is put on a statutory footing by Chapter 2 of Part 5 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015) and ensure that Channel is supported by the appropriate organisation and expertise. Guidance on the Channel programme can be found here

Use of local authority resources

45. In complying with the duty we expect local authorities to ensure that publicly-owned venues and resources do not provide a platform for extremists and are not used to disseminate extremist views. This includes considering whether IT equipment available to the general public should use filtering solutions that limit access to terrorist and extremist material.

46. We expect local authorities to ensure that organisations who work with the local authority on Prevent are not engaged in any extremist activity or espouse extremist views.

47. Where appropriate, we also expect local authorities to take the opportunity when new contracts for the delivery of their services are being made to ensure that the principles of the duty are written in to those contracts in a suitable form.

Collaboration between areas

48. In two-tier areas, county and district councils will need to agree proportionate arrangements for sharing the assessment of risk and for agreeing local Prevent action plans. It is expected that neighbouring areas will also agree proportionate arrangements for sharing the assessment of risk and for agreeing local Prevent action plans as appropriate.

Prevent priority areas

49. The Home Office will continue to identify priority areas for Prevent-related activity. Priority areas will, as now, be funded to employ a local Prevent co-ordinator to give additional support and expertise and additional Home Office grant funding is available for Prevent projects and activities. The Home Office will continue to have oversight of local Prevent co-ordinators and the funding, evaluation and monitoring of these projects.

Other agencies and organisations supporting children

50. A range of private and voluntary agencies and organisations provide services or, in some cases, exercise functions in relation to children. The duty applies to those bodies, which include, for example, children's homes and independent fostering agencies and bodies exercising local authority functions whether under voluntary delegation arrangements or via the use of statutory intervention powers. These bodies should ensure they are part of their local authorities' safeguarding arrangements and that staff are aware of and know how to contribute to Prevent-related activity in their area where appropriate. Out-of-school settings supporting children

51. Many children attend a range of out-ofschool settings other than childcare including supplementary schools, and tuition centres to support home education. These settings are not regulated under education law. Local authorities should take steps to understand the range of activity and settings in their areas and take appropriate and proportionate steps to ensure that children attending such settings are properly safeguarded (which should include considering whether children attending such settings are at risk of being drawn into extremism or terrorism). In assessing the risks associated with such settings, local authorities should have regard to whether the settings subscribe to voluntary accreditation schemes and any other evidence about the extent to which the providers are taking steps to safeguard the children in their care. Where safeguarding concerns arise, local authorities should actively consider how to make use of the full range of powers available to them to reduce the risks to children, including relevant planning and health and safety powers.

Monitoring and enforcement

52. In fulfilling its central monitoring role (section D above) the Home Office can (and already does) scrutinise local Prevent action plans, project impact and overall performance. It will also consider work with local authority 'peers' to provide targeted assistance and help authorities develop good practice.

53. The Government anticipates that local authorities will comply with this duty and work effectively with local partners to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Where there are concerns about compliance, the Government may need to consider the appropriateness of using existing mechanisms such as section 10 of the Local Government Act 1999. This allows the Secretary of State to appoint an inspector to assess an authority's compliance with its statutory "best value" duty in relation to one or more of the specified functions.

54. If the Secretary of State is satisfied that a council in England has failed to discharge its "best value" duty in relation to the new Prevent duty, it would be open to him to use his powers under Section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999 to intervene. This could include requiring the council to undertake specific actions, appointing Commissioners and transferring some of the council's functions to them. The Secretary of State must consult the council before issuing a direction. The Secretary of State may also direct a local inquiry to be held into the exercise by the authority of specified functions. Welsh Ministers' powers of intervention in relation to a Welsh council that has failed to discharge its "improvement" duties are set out in the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009.

55. If the Secretary of State is satisfied that a local authority is failing to perform any function relating to education, childcare or children's social care to an adequate standard he may use his powers under section 497A or the Education Act 1996 (applied to childcare under section 15(3) of the Children's Act, and children's social care under section 50(1) of the Children Act 2004) to take whatever action is deemed expedient to achieve necessary improvement. In Wales, Welsh Ministers have the power to intervene under the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013. These intervention measures are considered in cases where Ofsted inspections (or Estyn in Wales) identify inadequate practice and serious concerns about practice in relation to safeguarding, adoption and lookedafter children. The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) has a role here in terms of care settings and standards.

56. In addition to the powers above, the Act provides the Secretary of State with the power to issue a direction where a local authority has failed to discharge the duty (see paragraph 26, above).

Schools and registered childcare providers (excluding higher and further education).

57. In England about eight million children are educated in some 23,000 publicly-funded and around 2,400 independent schools. The publiclyfunded English school system comprises maintained schools (funded by local authorities), and academies (directly funded by central government. In Wales, over 450,000 children attend Local Authority maintained schools, and there are 70 independent schools.

58. All publicly-funded schools in England are required by law to teach a broad and balanced curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life. They must also promote community cohesion. Independent schools set their own curriculum but must comply with the Independent School Standards, which include an explicit requirement to promote fundamental British values as part of broader requirements relating to the quality of education and to promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. These standards also apply to academies (other than 16-19 academies), including free schools, as they are independent schools. 16-19 academies may have these standards imposed on them by the provisions of their funding agreement with the Secretary of State.

59. In Wales, independent schools set their own curriculum, but must comply with Independent Schools Standards made by the Welsh Ministers. These Standards also include a requirement to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.

60. Early years providers serve arguably the most vulnerable and impressionable members of society. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) accordingly places clear duties on providers to keep children safe and promote their welfare. It makes clear that to protect children in their care, providers must be alert to any safeguarding and child protection issues in the child's life at home or elsewhere (paragraph 3.4 EYFS). Early years providers must take action to protect children from harm and should be alert to harmful behaviour by other adults in the child's life.

61. Early years providers already focus on children's personal, social and emotional development The Early Years Foundation Stage framework supports early years providers to do this in an age appropriate way, through ensuring children learn right from wrong, mix and share with other children and value other's views, know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and challenge negative attitudes and stereotypes.

62. This guidance should be read in conjunction with other relevant guidance. In England, this includes Working Together to Safeguard Children, Keeping Children Safe in Education and Information Sharing: HM government advice for professionals providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers.
Working together to safeguard children Keeping children safe in education
63. In Wales it should be read alongside Keeping learners safe.

64. The authorities specified in paragraph 65 below are subject to the duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Being drawn into terrorism includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists exploit. Schools should be safe spaces in which children and young people can understand and discuss sensitive topics, including terrorism and the extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology, and learn how to challenge these ideas. The Prevent duty is not intended to limit discussion of these issues. Schools should, however, be mindful of their existing duties to forbid political indoctrination and secure a balanced presentation of political issues. These duties are imposed on maintained schools by sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996. Similar duties are placed on the proprietors of independent schools, including academies (but not 16-19 academies) by the Independent School Standards.

Education and childcare specified authorities

65. The education and childcare specified authorities in Schedule 6 to the Act are as follows:

the proprietors of maintained schools, non-maintained special schools, maintained nursery schools, independent schools (including academies and free schools) and alternative provision academies

pupil referral units

registered early years childcare providers5

registered later years childcare providers6

providers of holiday schemes for disabled children

persons exercising local authority functions under a direction of the Secretary of State when the local authority is performing inadequately; and

persons authorised by virtue of an order made under section 70 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 to exercise a function specified in Schedule 36A to the Education Act 1996.

66. In fulfilling the new duty, we would expect the specified authorities listed above to demonstrate activity in the following areas.

Risk assessment

67. Specified authorities are expected to assess the risk of children being drawn into terrorism, including support for extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology. This should be based on an understanding, shared with partners, of the potential risk in the local area.

68. Specified authorities will need to demonstrate that they are protecting children and young people from being drawn into terrorism by having robust safeguarding policies in place to identify children at risk, and intervening as appropriate. Institutions will need to consider the level of risk to identify the most appropriate referral, which could include Channel or Children's Social Care, for example. These policies should set out clear protocols for ensuring that any visiting speakers - whether invited by staff or by children themselves - are suitable and appropriately supervised.

Working in partnership

69. In England, governing bodies and proprietors of all schools and registered childcare providers should ensure that their safeguarding arrangements take into account the policies and procedures of the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB). In Wales, Local Service Boards provide strategic oversight.

Staff training

70. Specified authorities should make sure that staff have training that gives them the knowledge and confidence to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism, and to challenge extremist ideas which can be used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups. They should know where and how to refer children and young people for further help. Prevent awareness training will be a key part of this.

IT policies

71. Specified authorities will be expected to ensure children are safe from terrorist and extremist material when accessing the internet in school, including by establishing appropriate levels of filtering.

Monitoring and enforcement

72. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects the specified authorities in England listed above, with the exception of some privately funded independent schools. When assessing the effectiveness of schools, Ofsted inspectors already have regard to the school's approach to keeping pupils safe from the dangers of radicalisation and extremism, and what is done when it is suspected that pupils are vulnerable to these. Maintained schools are subject to intervention, and academies and free schools may be subject to termination of their funding agreement, if they are judged by Ofsted to require significant improvement or special measures, or if they fail to take the steps required by their local authority, or for academies or free schools by the Secretary of State pursuant to their funding agreement, as applicable, to address unacceptably low standards, serious breakdowns of management or governance or if the safety of pupils or staff is threatened. In Wales, all publicly funded schools are inspected by Estyn.

73. Ofsted inspects 16-19 academies under the Common Inspection Framework for further education and skills.

74. Privately funded independent schools in England are inspected by Ofsted or one of three independent inspectorates. In Wales, Estyn inspects independent schools.If they fail to meet the Independent School Standards, they must remedy the problem or be subject to regulatory action by the Department for Education or the Welsh Government, which could include de-registration (which would make their continued operation unlawful).

75. Early education funding regulations in England have been amended to ensure that providers who fail to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs do not receive funding from local authorities for the free early years entitlement.

76. Ofsted's current inspection framework for early years provision reflects the requirements in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The health sector

77. Healthcare professionals will meet and treat people who may be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. Being drawn into terrorism includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists exploit.

78. The key challenge for the healthcare sector is to ensure that, where there are signs that someone has been or is being drawn into terrorism, the healthcare worker is trained to recognise those signs correctly and is aware of and can locate available support, including the Channel programme where necessary. Preventing someone from being drawn into terrorism is substantially comparable to safeguarding in other areas, including child abuse or domestic violence.

79. There are already established arrangements in place, which we would expect to be built on in response to the statutory duty.

Health specified authorities

80. The health specified authorities in Schedule 6 to the Act are as follows:

81. NHS England has incorporated Prevent into its safeguarding arrangements, so that Prevent awareness and other relevant training is delivered to all staff who provide services to NHS patients. These arrangements have been effective and should continue.

82. The Chief Nursing Officer in NHS England has responsibility for all safeguarding, and a safeguarding lead, working to the Director of Nursing, is responsible for the overview and management of embedding the Prevent programme into safeguarding procedures across the NHS.

83. Each regional team in the NHS has a Head of Patient Experience who leads on safeguarding in their region. They are responsible for delivery of the Prevent strategy within their region and the health regional Prevent co-ordinators (RPCs).

84. These RPCs are expected to have regular contact with Prevent leads in NHS organisations to offer advice and guidance.

85. In Wales, NHS Trusts and Health Boards have CONTEST Prevent leads and part of multi-agency structures where these are in place. This guidance should be read in conjunction with Building Partnerships-Staying Safe issued by the Department of Health and Social Services, which provides advice to healthcare organisations on their role in preventing radicalisation of vulnerable people as part of their safeguarding responsibilities.

86. In fulfilling the duty, we would expect health bodies to demonstrate effective action in the following areas.

Partnership

87. All Sub Regions within the NHS should, under the NHS England Accountability and Assurance Framework, have in place local Safeguarding Forums, including local commissioners and providers of NHS Services. These forums have oversight of compliance with the duty, and ensure effective delivery. Within each area, the RPCs are responsible for promoting Prevent to providers and commissioners of NHS services, supporting organisations to embed Prevent into their policies and procedures, and delivering training.

88. We would expect there to be mechanisms for reporting issues to the National Prevent sub board.

89. We would also expect the Prevent lead to have networks in place for their own advice and support to make referrals to the Channel programme.

90. Since April 2013 commissioners have used the NHS Standard Contract for all commissioned services excluding Primary Care, including private and voluntary organisations. Since that time, the Safeguarding section of the contract has required providers to embed Prevent into their delivery of services, policies and training. This should now be bolstered by the statutory duty.

Risk assessment

91. All NHS Trusts in England have a Prevent lead who acts as a single point of contact for the health regional Prevent co-ordinators, and is responsible for implementing Prevent within their organisation. To comply with the duty, staff are expected, as a result of their training, to recognise and refer those at risk of being drawn into terrorism to the Prevent lead who may make a referral to the Channel programme. Regional health Prevent co-ordinators are able to provide advice and support to staff as required. In Wales, Health is a member of the Wales Contest Board and similar arrangements are in place.

Staff training

92. The intercollegiate guidance, Safeguarding Children and Young people: roles and competences for health care staff includes Prevent information and identifies competencies for all healthcare staff against six levels.

93. The training should allow all relevant staff to recognise vulnerability to being drawn into terrorism, (which includes someone with extremist ideas that are used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups), including extremist ideas which can be used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups, and be aware of what action to take in response, including local processes and policies that will enable them to make referrals to the Channel programme and how to receive additional advice and support.

94. It is important that staff understand how to balance patient confidentiality with the duty. They should also be made aware of the information sharing agreements in place for sharing information with other sectors, and get advice and support on confidentiality issues when responding to potential evidence that someone is being drawn into terrorism, either during informal contact or consultation and treatment.

95. We would therefore expect providers to have in place:

Policies that include the principles of the Prevent NHS guidance and toolkit, which are set out in Building Partnerships, Staying Safe: guidance for healthcare organisations

A programme to deliver Prevent training, resourced with accredited facilitators;

Processes in place to ensure that using the intercollegiate guidance, staff receive Prevent awareness training appropriate to their role; and

Procedures to comply with the Prevent Training and Competencies Framework.

Monitoring and enforcement

96. Within the NHS, we expect local safeguarding forums, including local commissioners and providers of NHS Services to have oversight of fulfilling the duty and ensuring effective delivery.

97. Externally, Monitor is the sector regulator for health services in England ensuring that independent NHS Foundation Trusts are well led so that they can provide quality care on a sustainable basis. The Trust Development Authority is responsible for overseeing the performance of NHS Trusts and the Care Quality Commission is the independent health and adult social care regulator that ensures these services provide people with safe, effective and high quality care. In Wales, the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, and the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales could be considered to provide monitoring arrangements. We will work with the Welsh Government to consider the arrangements in Wales.

98. We are considering whether these internal arrangements are robust enough to effectively monitor compliance with the duty or whether the duty should be incorporated into the remit and inspection regimes of one of the existing health regulatory bodies, or another body.

Prisons and probation

99. As an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for protecting the public and reducing re-offending through delivery of prison and probation services.

100. There are 122 prisons in England and Wales including 14 prisons operated under contract by private sector organisations. There are around 85,000 prisoners in custody at any one time and 150,000 individuals in custody during a 12 month period.

101. Probation services are delivered by the National Probation Service (NPS), which supervises high-risk and other serious offenders, and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), which supervise low and medium-risk offenders. NOMS is currently responsible for around 220,000 offenders under probation supervision, subject either to community sentences or to licence conditions after release from custody.

102. This responsibility for public protection and reducing re-offending gives both prisons and probation services a clear and important role both in working with offenders convicted of terrorism or terrorism-related offences and in preventing other offenders from being drawn into terrorism and the extremist ideas that are used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups.

Criminal justice specified authorities

103. The criminal justice specified authorities listed in Schedule 6 to the Act are as follows:

Prisons

104. NOMS manages the risk of offenders being drawn into, or reverting to, any form of offending as part of its core business (identifying and managing the risks presented by offenders).

105. To comply with the duty we would expect public and contracted out prisons to carry out activity in the following areas.

Preliminary risk assessment

106. Prisons should perform initial risk assessments on reception, including cell-sharing risk assessments, and initial reception and induction interviews to establish concerns in relation to any form of extremism, be that faith based, animal rights, environmental, far right, far left extremism or any new emerging trends.

107. Contact with prisons chaplaincy should take place, as an integral part of the induction process. Any concerns raised as a result of chaplaincy contact with prisoners, including any concerns about extremism, should be reported throughout the sentence.

108. Prisoners should have regular contact with trained staff who will report on behaviours of concern.

109. Appropriate information and intelligence sharing should take place, for example with law enforcement partners, to understand whether extremism is an issue and to identify and manage any behaviours of concern.

Assessing ongoing risk and interventions

110. For offenders convicted of terrorist or terrorist-related offences, mainstream offender management processes will be used to determine whether interventions are necessary. These are intended to challenge the index offence and can include, where appropriate, intervention disruption and relocation.

111. Where concerns around someone being drawn into terrorism (which includes someone with extremist ideas that are used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups) are identified, either during the early days in custody or later, prison staff should report accordingly, through the intelligence reporting system. All such reporting should be regularly assessed by specialist staff in conjunction with the police.

112. Where such concerns are identified an establishment should look to support that individual. This could take the form of moving them away from a negative influence or providing them with mentoring from the relevant chaplain providing religious classes or guidance.

113. Management actions could also include a reduction in privilege level, anti-bullying intervention, adjudication or segregation. Alternatively, it may be appropriate to provide theological, motivational and behavioural interventions.

114. Intelligence and briefing packages targeted at staff working with terrorist and extremist prisoners and those at risk of being drawn into terrorism should continue to be made available and delivered. These should continue to be jointly delivered by appropriately trained prison staff and police, and will be updated as required. In complying with this duty, extremism awareness training provided to new staff should be increased.

Transition from custody to supervision in the community

115. Pre-release planning should take place for all prisoners, including those subject to sentences less than 12 months, who will now receive some level of post-release supervision. Prisons, probation providers and the police should consider what risks need to be managed in the community including those that have arisen whilst in custody and indicate a vulnerability to being drawn into terrorism. Where this is the case, a Channel referral will be considered as part of the risk management plans and a referral to Channel made at the earliest opportunity where appropriate.

116. For offenders already convicted of terrorism or terrorism-related offences, prisons will complete appropriate pre-release processes such as Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) with relevant agencies including the police and the NPS. These processes ensure that the requirements of the duty are met in the management of terrorist offenders in the community with the NPS the lead agency in MAPPA for such cases.

117. For all prisoners, where sufficient remaining sentence time permits, a formal multi-agency meeting which includes the police and the probation counter terrorism lead, should take place to inform decisions after release. This will ensure that partner agencies work together to share relevant information and put provision in place to manage the risk or any outstanding concerns This can apply to periods of Release on Temporary Licence, Home Detention Curfew as well as eventual release on licence.

118. Where insufficient time remains, police and probation staff should be given fast time briefing by prison counter-terrorism staff as above and the National Probation Service CT lead will ensure the probation provider in the community is aware of the information, the risks and relevant personnel within partner agencies.

Staff training

119. In complying with the duty, we would expect all new prison staff to receive Prevent awareness training (tailored specifically to the prison environment). For staff already in post, this should be provided through specialist training and briefing packages that cover working with extremist behaviour. This training can be delivered in partnership with the police and be available to those members of staff who work most closely with terrorist and identified extremist prisoners. All staff should have an understanding of general intelligence systems, reporting and procedures to enable them to report on extremist prisoners and those vulnerable to extremist messaging.

Under-18 secure estate

120. The under-18 secure estate differs in terms of governance and service provision to that of the prisons and probation services for adults.

121. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has a statutory responsibility to commission secure services for children and young people under the age of 18 and has a statutory duty to place children and young people sentenced or remanded by the courts into secure establishments.

The under-18 secure estates consists of:

Secure Children's Homes (SCHs) Secure children's homes are run by local authority children's services, overseen by the Department of Health and the Department for Education. They have a high ratio of staff to young people and are generally small facilities, ranging in size from six to forty beds.

Secure Training Centres (STC) Secure training centres are purpose-built centres for young offenders up to and including the age of 17. They are run by private operators under contracts, which set out detailed operational requirements. There are currently three STCs in England.

Young Offender Institutions (YOI) Young offender institutions are facilities run by both the Prison Service and the private sector and can accommodate 15 to 21-year-old male offenders.

122. We would expect that staff at each secure estate and Youth Offending Teams (YOT) overseeing the care of the child or young person would receive appropriate training in identifying and managing those at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

123. As part of the ongoing care and monitoring of each child or young person, any indication of risk should be identified and a referral made to Channel if appropriate

Probation

124. To comply with the duty we would expect all providers of probation services, particularly the National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to demonstrate that they are delivering activities under all of the following categories.

Leadership

125. We would expect every NPS division to have a designated probation counter-terrorism lead (PCTL) to provide the leadership necessary at a regional level to ensure processes for identifying, assessing and managing high-risk terrorist offenders are followed. We would expect PCTLs to provide a consultative role to CRCs.

Partnerships

126. In all partnership working we would expect that all providers of probation services will comply with the duty; for example both the NPS and CRCs are partners in local Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs). Active participation in CSPs will enable all probation providers to work together with other partners to share information and develop joint referrals and interventions.

Risk assessment

127. We would expect probation staff to adopt an investigative stance in undertaking risk assessments as they should in all cases. Where there are concerns, albeit these may be intelligence led, about someone being at risk of being drawn into terrorism this should initially be recorded in the core risk assessment.

128. Additionally, we would expect existing risk assessment processes to be supplemented by specialist assessments, for example, extremism risk screening. We would expect PCTLs to provide a consultative role to CRCs in doing this, where appropriate.

129. For offenders already convicted of terrorist or terrorist-related offences we would expect the NPS to work in partnership with other agencies, including prisons and the police, to manage any risks identified via MAPPA and to provide bespoke interventions where relevant. For offenders who have not been convicted of a terrorism-related offence and may not be MAPPA eligible, but who are subsequently at risk of being drawn into terrorism, we would expect probation providers to have processes in place to escalate these cases to other agencies or otherwise refer the offender for appropriate interventions - for example to the Channel programme.

Staff training

130. We would expect probation providers to ensure that all staff receive appropriate training in identifying and managing those at risk of being drawn into terrorism including those with extremist ideas that can be used to legitimise terrorism and are shared by terrorist groups. Prevent awareness training has already been given to probation staff in recent years. In complying with the duty, we expect this and other relevant Prevent training to continue.

131. In the future, we expect Prevent awareness training to be included within the Probation Qualification Framework, which is completed by all newly qualified probation staff in both the NPS and CRCs. In addition PCTLs should lead the development of, for example, faith awareness or Extremism Risk Screening training of local training and staff development to supplement the Prevent awareness training. This should focus on emerging issues and any new support and interventions that become available.

Monitoring and enforcement for prisons and probation

132. Within prisons, we would expect compliance with the duty to be monitored and enforced internally by:

mandatory compliance with Prison Service Instructions and Orders which define policy and best practice; and

regular assessment of levels and risk of extremism and radicalisation internally via regional counter-terrorism co-ordinators.

133. Externally, our preference is to use existing inspection regimes where appropriate to do so. We consider that a thematic inspection by HM Inspector of Prisons could be a useful addition to the monitoring arrangements outlined above.

134. For probation providers, internally, we would expect compliance with the duty to be reinforced by detailed operational guidance set out in Probation Instructions. CRCs are contractually required to comply with the mandatory actions in relevant Probation Instructions and a similar requirement exists for the NPS in Service Level Agreements. Compliance with Probation Instructions is monitored and assured internally by contract management and audit functions within NOMS and the Ministry of Justice

135. Externally, we consider that a thematic inspection by HM Inspector of Probation could be a useful addition to the monitoring arrangement outlined above.

136. The YJB monitors the flow of young people through the Youth Justice system identifying the needs and behaviours of young offenders working closely with local partners to improve the support available.

The police

137. The police play an essential role in most aspects of Prevent work alongside other agencies and partners. They hold information which can help assess the risk of radicalisation and disrupt people engaged in drawing others into terrorism (which includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists exploit). The Police work alongside other sectors in this document to play a galvanising role in developing local Prevent partnerships and bring together a wide range of other organisations to support local delivery of Prevent.

138. The police are uniquely placed to tackle terrorism and whilst it is acknowledged that the Police Service will designate dedicated Prevent roles within Policing, a key objective for the police is to ensure that Prevent is embedded into all aspects of policing including patrol, neighbourhood and safeguarding functions. In fulfilment of their duties consideration must be given to the use of all suitable police resources, not just those specifically designed as Prevent.

Police specified authorities

139. The police specified authorities listed in Schedule 6 to the Act are as follows:

140. In fulfilling the new duty we would expect the police to take action in the following areas. Prosecute, disrupt and deter extremists

141. In complying with the duty, police should engage and where appropriate disrupt extremist activity, in partnership with other agencies. We expect the police to prioritise projects to disrupt terrorist and extremist material on the internet and extremists working in this country. Officers should consider the full range of investigative and prosecution options when it comes to disrupting extremist behaviour, including the use of public order powers where appropriate. This may include:

Supporting vulnerable individuals

142. Prevent requires a multi-agency approach to protect people at risk from radicalisation. When vulnerable individuals are identified the police will undertake the following:

In partnership with other agencies including the local authority, consider appropriate interventions, including the Channel programme, to support vulnerable individuals;

Work in partnership with and support Channel Panels chaired by local authorities to co-ordinate Channel partners and Channel actions;

Support existing, and identify potential new Intervention Providers.

Partnership and risk assessment

143. The police should:

144. The success of Prevent work relies on communities supporting efforts to prevent people being drawn into terrorism and challenging the extremist ideas that are also part of terrorist ideology. The police have a critical role in helping communities do this. To comply with the duty, we would expect the police, to support others including local authorities, to build community resilience by:

Supporting local authority Prevent Coordinators in developing Prevent-related projects and action plans;

Supporting the Charity Commission in providing guidance to avoid money being inadvertently given to organisations which may endorse extremism or terrorism and enforcing legislation where fraud offences are identified.

Supporting opportunities to develop community challenges to extremists; and

Collate and analyse community tension reporting across the UK that enables police and partners to identify and respond to emerging concerns.

Monitoring and enforcement

145. The Strategic Policing Requirement makes clear that Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Chief Constables must demonstrate that they have contributed to the government's counter terrorism strategy (CONTEST). This includes the Prevent programme, where they are required to take into account the need to identify and divert those involved in or vulnerable to radicalisation. The Home Secretary can direct a PCC to take specific action to address a specific failure.

146. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) is the statutory body for inspecting the police. They can carry out thematic inspections and can be asked to inspect a particular force or theme by the Home Secretary.

F. Glossary of terms

'Having due regard' means that the authorities should place an appropriate amount of weight on the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism when they consider all the other factors relevant to how they carry out their usual functions.

'Extremism' is defined in the 2011 Prevent strategy as vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas.

'Interventions' are projects intended to divert people who are being drawn into terrorist activity. Interventions can include mentoring, counselling, theological support, encouraging civic engagement, developing support networks (family and peer structures) or providing mainstream services (education, employment, health, finance or housing).

'Non-violent extremism' is extremism, as defined above, which is not accompanied by violence.

'Prevention' in the context of this document means reducing or eliminating the risk of individuals becoming involved in terrorism. Prevent includes but is not confined to the identification and referral of those at risk of being drawn into terrorism into appropriate interventions. These interventions aim to divert vulnerable people from radicalisation.

'Radicalisation' refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups.

'Safeguarding' is the process of protecting vulnerable people, whether from crime, other forms of abuse or (in the context of this document) from being drawn into terroristrelated activity.

The current UK definition of 'terrorism' is given in the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT 2000). In summary this defines terrorism as an action that endangers or causes serious violence to a person/people; causes serious damage to property; or seriously interferes or disrupts an electronic system. The use or threat must be designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public and is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.

'Terrorist-related offences' are those (such as murder) which are not offences in terrorist legislation, but which are judged to be committed in relation to terrorism.

'Vulnerability' describes the condition of being capable of being injured; difficult to defend; open to moral or ideological attack. Within Prevent, the word describes factors and characteristics associated with being susceptible to radicalisation.

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Revised Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales

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Guidance for specified authorities in England and Wales on the duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. 1.

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This document sets out the government's strategy to counter extremism in all its forms.

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This strategy is about countering all forms of extremism: violent and non-violent; Islamist and the neo-Nazi. It will improve our understanding of the causes and impacts of extremism and do more to:

counter the extremist ideology

build a partnership with all those opposed to extremism

disrupt extremists

build more cohesive communities

The strategy also explains how the government will work in partnership with everyone who wants to defeat extremism.

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Describes the signs that someone may be a victim of modern slavery, the support available to victims, and the process for determining whether someone is a victim.

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organisations with a duty to notify the Home Office when encountering a potential victim of modern slavery

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Core activities are designed to be used on a peer-to-peer basis to help students explore sensitive topics like fear of missing out and risk-taking. Pupils can also access more content, including advice, tips and videos on mental health and wellbeing, on the Every Mind Matters website. This content is aimed at parents and young people, and offers the option of exploring sensitive subjects on their own, or with parents or carers.

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Core activities are designed to be used on a peer-to-peer basis to help students explore sensitive topics like fear of missing out and risk-taking. Pupils can also access more content, including advice, tips and videos on mental health and wellbeing, on the Every Mind Matters website.

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How schools can support pupils whose mental health problems manifest themselves in behaviour.

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This guidance is for school staff and applies to all schools.

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how to create a whole school culture, including promoting positive mental health

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where and how to put in place support, including working with external agencies where required

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Factsheets providing background information on the measures within the Homelessness Reduction Act and the Homelessness (Review Procedure etc) Regulations 2018.

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15. the Homelessness (Review procedure etc.) Regulations 2018: review procedures

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Domestic abuse: specialist sources of support

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Experiencing domestic abuse can have a serious impact on a child's long-term health. It is a top priority that vulnerable children and young people remain safe during this uncertain period. If you are concerned that a child is at risk of harm, you should refer this information to children's social care, or to the police if you believe the child is in immediate danger.

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"We had to watch videos of people like arguing and talk about it. I thought that was quite good because you get to tell the truth to everybody [about what had happened at home]. [It was] a little bit hard but I felt quite good about myself because I let it all out. [Before DART] I kept it to myself . . . All the bad things were in my brain and now it's turned good. "
Boy aged 8 who attended DART

Domestic abuse can have a negative impact on a child's behaviour, brain development and wellbeing. Children need safety and security - and when those needs aren't met it can take a toll on their education and their mental health.

"I really need your help; my dad has been physical abusing my mum. He has an anger problem and it's getting out of hand. The smallest things make him angry and he starts shouting. I'm terrified of him and I've had enough, I can't take it any more - please help me!"
Boy, aged 14, Childline

We've been running DART for over 10 years. In that time, we've worked with more than 2,000 women and children across the UK. Since 2018, we've trained over 300 professionals in partner organisations to deliver DART themselves.

We evaluated DART and we found that after completing the programme:

mothers' self-esteem and confidence in parenting increased

mothers reported more affection towards their children

children had fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties

the sessions helped children share their experiences of the abuse, and their mothers to understand them.

Read more about the impact our DART service has made in our evaluation on NSPCC Learning.

"I feel I and my daughter have learnt a lot coming here and we've become closer and understand each other more."
A mother attending the DART service

Today, parents continue to face economic and mental health pressures with limited access to support. The need for specialist services like DART is stronger than ever.

"[My son] never spoke to me about how he felt [whilst the abuse was happening]. Only afterwards [during a DART activity] he made a house, showing me crying in the bedroom, and [the perpetrator] on top of me and [my son] crying, it hit home to me. I thought he'd forgotten about it...But these things were still in his mind. I never thought he thought about it."
Mother who attended DART

We want more families to be able to access support so we're looking to train and license more partners to help deliver the programme around the UK.

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Witnessing domestic abuse is child abuse. If you're worried about a child, we have advice to help you keep them safe.

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Our aim is to ensure that schools have timely information about all police attended incidents of domestic abuse, no matter where in the world the child lives.

Our aim is to enable staff in every school to understand how to support children who are experiencing domestic abuse, no matter where in the world the child lives.

Our aim is to ensure all children experiencing domestic abuse receive timely support in their school, no matter where in the world the child lives.

Have you received an Operation Encompass call about a child in your school, or are you concerned about a child or children in your school who are experiencing domestic abuse?

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Free Online Key Adult Operation Encompass Training

This training is CPD accredited and should be completed by all professionals receiving Operation Encompass notifications. All those working with children including school governors can also undertake this training.
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To update Key Adult details in Devon and Cornwall please email us.

Have you received an Operation Encompass call about a child in your school, or are you concerned about a child or children in your school who are experiencing domestic abuse?

For FREE advice from an Educational or Clinical Psychologist about how best to support them, call the Operation Encompass Professionals' National Advice and Guidance line on 0204 513 9990.

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Our aim is to ensure that schools have timely information about all police attended incidents of domestic abuse, no matter where in the world the child lives. Our aim is to enable staff in every school to understand how to support children who are experiencing domestic abuse, no matter where in the world the child lives.

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The Cyber Choices programme was created to help people make informed choices and to use their cyber skills in a legal way.

This is a national programme co-ordinated by the National Crime Agency and delivered by Cyber Choices teams within Regional Organised Crime Units and Local Police Force Cyber Teams.

The aims of the programme are to:

* Explaining the difference between legal and illegal cyber activity
* Encouraging individuals to make informed choices in their use of technology
* Increasing awareness of the Computer Misuse Act 1990
* Promoting positive, legal cyber opportunities

What you need to know

So what is cyber crime?

Cyber offences are committed when someone is using a computer or other digital technology. There are two main types of cyber offences - There's 'Illegal hacking' also known as cyber-dependent crime, where someone gains access to another person's computer network or device without permission. The other type is where technology has been used to enhance another crime, like fraud. This Is also known as cyber-enabled crime.

Examples of illegal hacking/cyber-dependent crime include:

- Adam watches a friend entering their username and password. Adam remembers their login details and without their permission, later logs in and reads all their messages.

- Raj's Teacher leaves their tablet on their desk. Without their permission, Raj accesses their online shopping account and buys items with the attached credit card.

- Sarah is playing an online game with a friend who scores higher than her. Sarah uses a 'Booter' tool knowing it will knock them offline, so she can win the game.

- Kim hacks a phone company. This hack stops some people phoning the Police when they are in danger. They didn't mean for this to happen but they were reckless.

- Robin downloads software so they can bypass login credentials and hack into a friend's laptop, however they've not had a chance to use it yet.
Are you a parent , guardian , carer or teacher? Click here to find out more.
Whether you learn it at school or read about it online, it is hard not to notice that the cyber world is expanding and new technologies largely influence our lives. Those with a real interest in how tech works, could have a bright future ahead. Skills in coding, gaming, cyber security or anything digital-related, are in high demand. The average salary in the UK is £36,903 whereas in tech industry, the average is £53,318. Specialised tech roles, that use cutting-edge kit, are particularly in demand and the average for that is £85,894.

Unfortunately, the digital world can also be tempting for young people for the wrong reasons. Many are getting involved in cyber crime without realising that they are breaking the law. This can have serious consequences for someone's broader future and not just their career.

Make no mistake, cyber crime is a serious criminal offence. Law Enforcement will make every effort to arrest and prosecute offenders.

Anyone (including young people) who commits cyber crime could face:

A visit and warning from police or NCA officers

A Cease and Desist visit from police or NCA officers

Computers being seized and being prevented from accessing the internet

A penalty or fine

Being arrested

Up to life in prison for the most serious offences

You really don't want a permanent criminal record, which could seriously affect your education and future career prospects. You also wouldn't want anything that might hinder any potential overseas travel you have in mind.

So, if you want to increase your knowledge of cyber crime, make sure you're fully aware of the Computer Misuse Act.

Link to Welsh version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oR2oKCHn1w

Resources

Using cyber skills positively

With great tech knowledge, comes great responsibility, and great opportunities too. People with impressive cyber skills are in high demand. Not just in the UK but also abroad, which means that young people may have an opportunity to travel to new places whilst learning new cyber skills. Plus, you get to the chance to work with all the latest tech whilst making a name for yourself in the digital space.

The Cyber Choices programme was created to help people make informed choices and to use their cyber skills in a legal way. If you're looking for more information specific to you, then download one of these helpful leaflets.

- Introduction to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (514 KB)

Further Developmental Resources

It's well known that many children under the age of 12 are becoming tech savvy and have access to various technologies. A great source of information to teach them legal ways to use tech, is the Barefoot Programme. It enables primary school teachers (KS1 & 2) to deliver the computer curriculum effectively and in an entertaining way. Barefoot offer free face-to-face workshops, helpful online guides and engaging lessons. Why not check it out here?
Cyber Security Challenge UK OverTheWire FutureLearn Cyber Explorers
Fancy a cyber challenge in a safe and legal environment? Why not try one of these online resources to test your skills.

Career Resources
GCHQ Careers
Already interested in a career in the digital world? Then find out about what jobs within the tech industry match your skills. There are job profiles too where GCHQ staff talk about what they get up to in their role. You can also find out more about GCHQ's CyberFirst programme for University Students, Apprenticeships and Summer Schools for teenagers.

All the third party websites listed are publicly available for personal development. They are not necessarily endorsed, supported or monitored by the NCA or UK Law Enforcement.

All links and web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication

Find out about our positive stories HERE.
https://www.ukcybersecuritycouncil.org.uk/careers-learning/careers-route-map
CYBER SECURITY CAREER PATHWAYS - ROUTES INTO AND THROUGH THE PROFESSION

This link provides details about the 16 Cyber Security Specialisms that underpin the industry.

Each area of expertise provides information on typical responsibilities and tasks for job roles within the specialism, the skills and knowledge required, and additional information for those seeking to enter the specialism as well as those with prior experience.

Parents / Guardians / Carers

Children are becoming more and more immersed in communications and computing technology, including phones, tablets, laptops, PCs, game consoles, TVs, and of course, the internet.

Many young people are curious and want to explore how these things work, how they interact with each other and what vulnerabilities they have. This can include learning to code or experimenting with tools discovered online.

These are great skills to have and the cyber security industry needs more people with them. Those with a real interest in how tech works, could have a bright future ahead. Skills in coding, gaming, cyber security or anything digital-related, are in high demand. The average salary in the UK is £36,903 whereas in tech industry, the average is £53,318. Specialised tech roles are particularly in demand and the average for that is £85,894. However, some young people are vulnerable and make poor choices and use such skills illegally, often in ignorance of the law. The average age of someone convicted for cyber crime offences is much younger than other crime types; offenders are often teenagers.

It's important for us to understand why more young people are becoming involved in cyber crime. This enables us to ensure that proper deterrents and alternative opportunities are available to people, so that they can enhance their skills and use them positively.

Positive stories

Case study 1:

After hacking the school IT systems Sam came to the attention of the police. As part of their engagement with the police, it was decided that Sam would benefit from education on the law through the Cyber Choices programme. They really engaged with the programme so they were offered work experience with a cybersecurity organisation. Whilst there they learnt how their skills could be put to good use and the type of damage their behaviour could have caused. At the end, Sam was offered a paid contract for 4 hours a week during the school term and up to 8 hours a week in school holidays.

Case study 2:

Alex downloaded the WannaCry virus onto a college computer. Thankfully it didn't spread any further. The incident was referred to the police and they have since been expelled from that college. They decided not to press charges againt Alex and a Cease & Desist visit, was carried out instead. Alex was then placed on the Cyber Choices programme. Over time, Alex was able to show a good understanding of the law and a lowered risk that he would commit cyber crime and ended up working for a cyber security company in IT maintenance and now has a bright future.

Case study 3:

Jamie was at the point of being excluded from school. This was due to the misuse of school computers and continually bypassing protection controls. Jamie also gained unauthorised access to systems and computer material. Jamie was placed on the Cyber Choices programme, where officers explained the law and why it is important to follow the school IT regulations. Once it was understood why rule breaking was unacceptable and what that meant in terms of the law, there was a distinct change in their behaviour. Jamie ended up using these IT skills to help the school IT team to find vulnerabilities in the school network, so that they could better protect the school. Jamie's knowledge for IT has helped gain a place at college to further develop these abilities by studying Network Security.

Teachers

Young people with an aptitude for coding or hacking have a choice to make. Help your students take the legal route with their skills.

If your student has an interest in computers/technology, it's important to have a discussion with them about their use of it. Recognising and engaging with this interest may encourage them to follow the correct pathway.

If you're concerned, talk to your student about the importance of honesty, legality and the consequences of being involved in cyber crime. Explain the enjoyable, financially rewarding and legal options available to them. These include coding, engineering, web development, penetration testing, security operations, law enforcement, legal hacking and many more roles in both the public and private sectors.

Cyber Choices in collaboration with the education partners have developed lesson plans which explore cyber crime, decision making and victim awareness:

PSHE Association - Click Here

Barefoot - Click Here

Resources

People with impressive cyber skills are in high demand. Not just in the UK but also abroad, which means that young people may have an opportunity to travel to new places whilst learning new cyber skills. The Cyber Choices Network was created to help people make informed choices and to use their cyber skills in a legal way. If you're looking for more information specific to you, then download one of these helpful leaflets:
PSHE Association
Cyber Choices in collaboration with the education partners have developed lesson plans which explore cyber crime, decision making and victim awareness:

If you require a downloadable version of any of the videos on this webpage for professional or education purposes, please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Working alongside CREST, the National Crime Agency have produced a discussion paper around young people's pathways into cybercrime:

Identify, Intervine, Inspire report

What to do if you are concerned

If you're worried about someone, speak to them about legal ways for using technology and the internet, the consequences of cyber crime and show them positive ways to use their skills with resources above. For further information, advice or assistance, please contact the Cyber Choices team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Information you provide will be held in confidence. However, If criminal offences or risks of harm are reported to us, we may pass that information on to appropriate partners, if necessary.

If you believe you have been a victim of cyber crime then please report this to Action Fraud.

If you are a business, charity or other organisation which is currently suffering a live cyber attack (in progress) please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

If you are concerned about online child abuse and explotation, please visit the thinkuknow website where advise can be found.

For non-fraud or cybercrime related crime reporting please call 101.

In all emergencies or instances where you feel you or others are in imminent danger or at risk of serious harm, call 999.

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Cyber Choices: Helping you choose the right and legal path

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Click here for image text (11 KB) The Cyber Choices programme was created to help people make informed choices and to use their cyber skills in a legal way.

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In 2018, Barnardo's NICCO (National Information Centre for Children of Offenders) was funded by Forces in Mind Trust to conduct a needs assessment of veterans in custody, their families and children.

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National Information Centre on Children of Offenders

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National Information Centre on Children of Offenders

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Get help with child arrangements - Get help with child arrangements

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Use this guide if you need to make or change child arrangements (also known as contact, access or custody) with the other parent. For example, you may need to decide where your children will live or rearrange the times they see you.

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A booklet for young witnesses aged 12 to 17 that explains what it means to be a witness, how to give evidence and the help you can get.

Documents

PDF, 458 KB, 24 pages

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If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email hmctsforms@justice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

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Young witness booklet for 12 to 17 year olds

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Guidance

A booklet for young witnesses aged 5 to 11 that explains what a witness does, what a courtroom looks like and who can help you to tell the court what you know.

Documents

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Young witness booklet for 5 to 11 year olds

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GOV.UK uses cookies to make the site simpler. Guidance A booklet for young witnesses aged 5 to 11 that explains what a witness does, what a courtroom looks like and who can help you to tell the court what you know.

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There is currently no legal definition of 'county lines' or 'criminal exploitation', and very little guidance. Currently, the criminal exploitation of children and young people is often not fully understood by services working with them, which can impact on the response that a child or young person receives.

Trafficking and criminal exploitation are forms of abuse and therefore should be afforded a safeguarding response. Often the visible symptoms of this abuse are responded to, meaning that many children and young people receive a criminal justice response, while their safeguarding needs are overlooked.

According to the recent National Crime Agency briefing on County Lines Violence, Exploitation and Drug Supply, two in three police forces reported that the exploitation of children and young people was identified in relation to county lines activity. One in four police forces reported that children and young people involved in county lines were experiencing sexual abuse. However the latest report also acknowledged that, although the exploitation of children and young people continues to be reported, the true scale of abuse remains an intelligence gap in many parts of the country.

Criminal exploitation interlinks with a number of multiple vulnerabilities and offences, including the child or young person being exposed to, and/or being victim of, physical and emotional violence, neglect, sexual abuse and exploitation, modern day slavery and human trafficking, domestic abuse and missing episodes.

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County lines and criminal exploitation toolkit

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This toolkit hopes to address some gaps in knowledge and offer suggestions for supporting young people who are at risk of, or being trafficked for the purpose of criminal exploitation.

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Definition of child sexual exploitation, potential vulnerabilities and indicators of abuse and appropriate action to take in response.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This guidance is for:

local authority chief executives

directors of children's services

people leading local safeguarding arrangements

people who work with children, including in social care, health, early years, education and the police

It replaces the 2009 guidance 'Safeguarding children and young people from sexual exploitation'.

See also:

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Child sexual exploitation: definition and guide for practitioners

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Definition of child sexual exploitation, potential vulnerabilities and indicators of abuse and appropriate action to take in response.

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Action Against Abduction works to protect children from the threat of abduction. This includes abduction by a family member, by people who are known but not related to children, and by strangers. We aim to give parents the best information, and to ensure professionals have the right policies, so that we keep all of our children safe.

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Action Against Abduction works to protect children from the threat of abduction. This includes abduction by a family member, by people who are known but not related to children, and by strangers. We aim to give parents the best information, and to ensure professionals have the right policies, so that we keep all of our children safe.

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Guidance on responding to incidents and safeguarding children and young people

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This non-statutory advice aims to support designated safeguarding leads (or equivalents) and senior leadership teams in education settings in England in responding effectively to incidents involving the sharing of nudes and semi-nudes.

It includes guidance on:

risk assessing incidents

safeguarding and supporting children and young people

handling devices and imagery

recording incidents, including the role of other agencies

providing education on the sharing of nudes and semi-nudes

This advice is non-statutory and should be read alongside the Department for Education's:

A one-page summary of how to respond to incidents is also available for all members of staff in education settings.

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Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people

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Free advice and support for professionals concerned about how child protection issues are being handled in their organisation.

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You're a whistleblower if you're a worker and you report certain types of wrongdoing. This will usually be something you've seen at work - though not always.

The wrongdoing you disclose must be in the public interest. This means it must affect others, for example the general public.

As a whistleblower you're protected by law - you should not be treated unfairly or lose your job because you 'blow the whistle'.

You can raise your concern at any time about an incident that happened in the past, is happening now, or you believe will happen in the near future.

Who is protected by law

You're protected if you're a worker, for example you're:

an employee, such as a police officer, NHS employee, office worker, factory worker

a trainee, such as a student nurse

an agency worker

a member of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

Get independent advice if you're not sure you're protected, for example from Citizens' Advice.

A confidentiality clause or 'gagging clause' in a settlement agreement is not valid if you're a whistleblower.

Complaints that count as whistleblowing

You're protected by law if you report any of the following:

a criminal offence, for example fraud

someone's health and safety is in danger

risk or actual damage to the environment

a miscarriage of justice

the company is breaking the law, for example does not have the right insurance

you believe someone is covering up wrongdoing

Complaints that do not count as whistleblowing

Personal grievances (for example bullying, harassment, discrimination) are not covered by whistleblowing law, unless your particular case is in the public interest.

Report these under your employer's grievance policy.

Contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) for help and advice on resolving a workplace dispute.

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Whistleblowing - what it is, who to tell, what to expect and how to complain if you're treated unfairly

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Research report analysing 368 serious case reviews (SCRs) with findings for professionals working with children and families.

Documents

Ref: ISBN 978-1-83870-028-7, DfE-00027-2020 PDF, 2.48 MB, 277 pages

Details

This study examines serious case reviews ( SCRs) relating to incidents from April 2014 to March 2017.

Local safeguarding children boards ( LSCBs) conduct SCRs every time child abuse or neglect is known or suspected and either:

a child dies

a child is seriously harmed, and there are concerns about how organisations or professionals worked together to protect the child

LSCBs are responsible for improving the overall wellbeing of children in their local-authority area. They include representatives from children's services, police, district councils and NHS trusts.

Using the study, Research in Practice have produced 6 online briefings for various professional sectors.

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Analysis of serious case reviews: 2014 to 2017

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Tools resources and research from the contextual safeguarding research programme

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Statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Details

This guidance is for:

local authority chief executives

directors of children's services

safeguarding partners

teachers and education staff

social workers

health service professionals

adult services

police officers

voluntary and community sector workers in contact with children and families

It applies to:

A version of the guidance for young people and a separate version suitable for younger children are also available for practitioners to share.

Statutory guidance is issued by law - you must follow it unless there's a good reason not to.

Working together to safeguard children 2018

This is a factual update to Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 to reflect recent changes to legislation, including:

Integrated Care Boards: from 1 July 2022, integrated care boards have replaced clinical commissioning groups as a result of the Health and Care Act 2022

Public Health England: has now been replaced by the UK Health Security Agency and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which is part of the Department of Health and Social Care, and by the UK Health Security Agency. The Chief Public Health Nurse role has transferred to OHID

Domestic Abuse Act 2021: references to the Domestic Abuse Bill should be read as the Domestic Abuse Act 2021

UK GDPR: references to the GDPR should be read as the UK GDPR. The UK GDPR is the retained EU law version of the GDPR. The UK GDPR sits alongside the Data Protection Act 2018

Statutory framework

The updated statutory framework sets out the legislation relevant to safeguarding and it should be read alongside the statutory guidance.

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Statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

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Information sharing advice for safeguarding practitioners

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Guidance on information sharing for people who provide safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers.

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1. Your organisation's DSL(s)

2. 101 - Call the police for non-emergencies and advice

3. 999 - Call the police if there's an emergency

4. Your safeguarding partners (i.e. the local authorities, the police, the health service)

5. The Social Services

6. Childline - Call 0800 1111

7. NSPCC - Call 0808 800 5000 / email help@nspcc.org.uk.

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If you think a child or young person is at risk or being abused or neglected, contact the children's social care team at their local council. If you do not know where they live, contact your local council's team, the NSPCC or the Police for advice.

You can read about what might happen after you report it.

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If you think a child or young person is at risk or being abused or neglected, contact the children's social care team at their local council.

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"the process during which young pubescent girls' breasts are ironed, massaged, flattened and/or pounded down over a period of time (sometimes years) in order for the breasts to disappear or delay the development of the breasts entirely."

In some families, large stones, a hammer or spatula that have been heated over scorching coals can be used to compress the breast tissue. Other families may opt to use an elastic belt or binder to press the breasts so as to prevent them from growing.

Breast flattening usually starts with the first signs of puberty, which can be as young as nine years old and is usually carried out by female relatives.

It should also be acknowledged that some adolescent girls and boys may choose to bind their breast using constrictive material due to gender transformation or identity, and this may also cause health problems.

Breast Flattening can happen anywhere in the world, the map below represents the countries where research has been carried out. Just because a country is not highlighted, doesn't mean it does not happen, it means there is no research in that area.

Due to the type of instruments that may be used, the type of force and the lack of aftercare, significant health and developmental issue may occur, such as:

Abscesses

Cysts

Itching

Tissue damage

Infection

Discharge of milk

Dissymmetry of the breasts

Severe fever

Even the complete disappearance of one or both breasts.

There may also be an impact on the child's social and psychological well-being.

In many cases, the abuser thinks they are doing something good for the child by delaying the effects of puberty and the practice is designed to:

make teenage girls look less "womanly"

prevent pregnancy and rape

enable the girl to continue her education

prevent dishonour being brought upon the family if the girl begins sexual relations outside of marriage

deter unwanted attention

Although there is no specific law within the UK around breast flattening or breast ironing, it is a form of physical abuse and if professionals are concerned a child may be at risk of, or suffering significant harm, they must refer to their local safeguarding procedures.

The video above highlights the practice of Breast Ironing in the UK.

In this video, Lucy talks about her experience of undergoing Breast Ironing in Cameroon and the effect it has had on her.

This animation goes through what breast ironing is, the consequences and safeguarding duties of professionals.

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"the process during which young pubescent girls' breasts are ironed, massaged, flattened and/or pounded down over a period of time (sometimes years) in order for the breasts to disappear or delay the development of the breasts entirely." In some families, large stones, a hammer or spatula that have been heated over scorching coals can be used to compress the breast tissue.

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It's important that you comply with the law and know the ways in which it affects you and the way you work.
Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003
The FGM Act 2003 applies to the UK (not Scotland, they have the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005) and also any UK nationals that perform the act outside of the UK. It also makes the act of performing FGM punishable by up to 14 years.

The possible offences under the Act are broken down into 4 sections:

The offence of Female Genital Mutilation

The offence of assisting a girl to mutilate her own genitals

Assisting a non-UK person to mutilate the genitalia of an overseas person

The offence of a UK national or resident performing the act outside of the UK

Definitions, penalties and consequential provisions are also covered within this act. This Act was created in order to punish those who have performed FGM illegally.

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FGM Awareness & Prevention Training | iHASCO

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This FGM Awareness and Prevention Training Course provides useful information about Female Genital Mutilation and will help you spot the signs of potential FGM, as well as teach you how to intervene should you suspect a child is going to...

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Child Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief (CALFB)

Belief in concepts of:

witchcraft and spirit possession, demons or the devil acting through children or leading them astray (traditionally seen in some Christian beliefs),

the evil eye or djinns (traditionally known in some Islamic faith contexts) and

dakini (in the Hindu context);

ritual or muti murders where the killing of children is believed to bring supernatural benefits or the use of their body parts is believed to produce potent magical remedies;

use of belief in magic or witchcraft to create fear in children to make them more compliant when they are being trafficked for domestic slavery or sexual exploitation.

This is not an exhaustive list and there will be other examples where children have been harmed when adults think that their actions have brought bad fortune, such as telephoning a wrong number which is believed by some to allow malevolent spirits to enter the home.

If you are worried about a child you should follow your normal safeguarding, ensuring you mention you are concerned the child may be a victim of abuse linked to faith and abuse and the reasons why you are concerned.

Professionals should consider:

Whether these beliefs are supported by others in the family or in the community, and whether this is an isolated case or if other children from the same community are being treated in a similar manner;
Whether there is a faith community and leader which the family and the child adhere to:

As a minimum, the full details of the faith leader and faith community to which the family and child adhere to should be obtained;

The exact address of the premises where worship or meetings take place should be obtained;

Further information should be obtained about the belief of the adherents and whether they are aligned to a larger organisation in the UK or abroad (websites are particularly revealing in terms of statements of faith and organisational structures).

The family structure:

The roles of the adults in the household should be clarified (e.g. who the child's main carer is, whether the child is being privately fostered

Whether the abuse relates to the arrival of a new adult into the household or the arrival of the child, perhaps from abroad;

If the child has recently arrived to the UK what their care in their country of origin was. What the child's immigration status is; The identities and relationships of all members of the household. These should be confirmed with documentation; it may be appropriate to consider DNA testing.

Whether there are reasons for the child to be scapegoated (e.g. the child's behaviour or physical appearance may be different from other children in the family or community, the child may be disabled or their parents labelled as possessed);

Whether an interpreter is required. If working with a very small community, the professional should assure themselves that the interpreter and the family are not part of the same social network.

If a child is being taken out of the country you can explore:

Whether the arrangements appear likely to safeguard and promote the child's welfare;
Why the child is being taken out of the UK;

Whether the care arrangements for the child in the UK allow the local authority to discharge its safeguarding duties;

What the child's immigration status is. Professionals should also consider whether the child recently arrived in the UK, and how they arrived;

What the proposed arrangements are for the child in their country of destination, and whether it is possible to check these arrangements;

That taking a child outside of the UK for exorcism or deliverance type procedures is likely to cause significant harm.

(London CP Online )

An animation on Mardoche's Yembi's childhood in the UK where he was accused of being a witch by his aunt and uncle.

Further examples:

The case of Ayesha Ali, 2013. (Online), Possession.

The case of Kristy Bamu, 2010. (Online), Witchcraft/Possession

The case of Eunice Spry, 1986-2007, (Online), Jehovah's Witness/Possession

The case of Victoria Climbe, 2000, (Online), Witchcraft

The case of Patrick Erhabor, 2001, (Online), Sacrifice

The case of Faith Lovemore, 2009, (Online), Possession

Case number 14, 2008, (Online), Evil spirits

Mardoche gives advice to professional about how to work with children who have been accused of witchcraft. This video follows the animation of Mardoche's life (above) in the UK, where he was accused of being a child of Kindoki by his Aunt and Uncle..

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Child Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief - National FGM Centre

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Child Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief (CALFB) witchcraft and spirit possession, demons or the devil acting through children or leading them astray (traditionally seen in some Christian beliefs), the evil eye or djinns (traditionally known in some Islamic faith contexts) and dakini (in the Hindu context); ritual or muti

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Abuse linked to faith or belief is where concerns for a child's welfare have been identified, and could be caused by, a belief in witchcraft, spirit or demonic possession, ritual or satanic abuse features; or when practices linked to faith or belief are harmful to a child.

Any abuse that takes place against those who are branded (or labelled) either as a witch or as having been possessed by an evil spirit is unacceptable. Significant harm (including murder) can occur because of concerted efforts to 'excise' or 'deliver' evil from a child (or vulnerable adult).

From our own experience and in consultation with communities, we know this kind of abuse is under-reported.

Spotting the signs that this abuse exists can prevent escalation from 'subtle' harms that may often go unnoticed by many, to 'extreme' situations where there is loss of life. Witchcraft beliefs are used to blame a person (rather than circumstances) for misfortune that happens in life.

It can take place for some of the following reasons

abuse as a result of a child being accused of being a 'witch'

abuse as a result of a child being accused of being possessed by 'evil spirits'

ritualistic abuse which is prolonged sexual, physical and psychological abuse

satanic abuse which is carried out in the name of 'satan' and may have links to cults

any other harmful practice linked to a belief or faith

The forms of abuse that can occur fall into the four main categories below.

Physical abuse

This can involve ritualistic beating, burning, cutting, stabbing, semi-strangulating, tying up the child, or rubbing chilli peppers or other substances on the child's genitals or eyes.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse can occur in the form of isolation. A child may not be allowed near or to share a room with family members, and threatened with abandonment. The child may also be convinced that they are possessed.

Neglect

In situations of neglect, the child's family and community may have failed to ensure appropriate medical care, supervision, education, good hygiene, nourishment, clothing or warmth.

Sexual abuse

Children who have been singled out in this way can be particularly vulnerable to sexual abusers within the family, community or faith organisation. These people exploit the belief as a form of control or threat.

Where does it happen?

Child abuse linked to faith or belief is not confined to one faith, nationality or ethnic community. Examples have been recorded worldwide across various religions including Christians, Muslims and Hindus.

The number of known cases suggests that only a small minority of people who believe in witchcraft or spirit possession go on to abuse children and adults.

Abuse may happen anywhere, but it most commonly occurs within the child's home.

Common factors and causes

A range of factors can contribute to the abuse of a child for reasons of faith or belief. Some of the most common ones are below.

Belief in evil spirits

Belief in evil spirits that can 'possess' children is often accompanied by a belief that a possessed child can 'infect' others with the condition. This could be through contact with shared food, or simply being in the presence of the child.

Scapegoating

A child could be singled out as the cause of misfortune within the home, such as financial difficulties, divorce, infidelity, illness or death.

Bad behaviour

Sometimes bad or abnormal behaviour is attributed to spiritual forces. Examples include a child being disobedient, rebellious, overly independent, wetting the bed, having nightmares or falling ill.

Physical and emotional differences

A child could be singled out for having a physical difference or disability. Documented cases included children with learning disabilities, mental health issues, epilepsy, autism, stammers, deafness and LGBTQ+.

Gifts and uncommon characteristics

If a child has a particular skill or talent, this can sometimes be rationalised as the result of possession or witchcraft. This can also be the case if the child is from a multiple or difficult pregnancy.

Complex family structure

Research suggests that a child living with extended family, non biological parents, or foster parents is more at risk. In these situations they are more likely to have been subject to trafficking and made to work in servitude.

What to look out for

Indicators of child abuse linked to faith or belief include the following:

physical injuries, such as bruises or burns (including historical injuries/scaring)

a child reporting that they are or have been accused of being 'evil', and/or that they are having the 'devil beaten out of them'

the child or family may use words such as 'kindoki', 'djin', 'juju' or 'voodoo' - all of which refer to spiritual beliefs

a child becoming noticeably confused, withdrawn, disorientated or isolated and appearing alone amongst other children

a child's personal care deteriorating (eg rapid loss of weight, being hungry, turning up to school without food or lunch money, being unkempt with dirty clothes)

it may be evident that the child's parent or carer does not have a close bond with the child

a child's attendance at school or college becomes irregular or there is a deterioration in a child's performance

a child is taken out of a school altogether without another school place having been arranged

Wearing unusual jewellery/items or in possession of strange ornaments/scripts.

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Abuse linked to faith or belief is where concerns for a child's welfare have been identified, and could be caused by, a belief in witchcraft, spirit or demonic possession, ritual or satanic abuse features; or when practices linked to faith or belief are harmful to a child.

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is when someone voices their opposition to - or acts in opposition of - our fundamental values, which are: democracy, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance, and the rule of law. Extremism also includes someone calling for the death of members of our armed forces in the UK or overseas.

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is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. Terrorism includes severely endangering people, or causing serious harm to them. It also includes serious disruption of an electronic system, or severe damage to property.

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contains a duty on specified authorities to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. This is also know as the Prevent duty.

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In June 2021 Ofsted concluded that the prevalence of child-on-child sexual harassment and abuse was so widespread that, for some, incidents are 'so commonplace that they see no point in reporting them' and 'consider them normal'. SWGfL and The Marie Collins Foundation has created a support service for professionals working with children and young people in tackling harmful sexual behaviours, funded by the Home Office and in collaboration with the Department for Education.

Harmful sexual behaviour is 'sexual behaviours expressed by children and young people under the age of 18 years old that are developmentally inappropriate, may be harmful towards self or others, or abusive towards another child, young person or adult' (Hackett, 2014).

The support service is available for anyone in England working with children and young people, particularly, designated safeguarding leads within primary and secondary schools and alternative provision. Support is also available to early years provision, colleges and wider safeguarding professionals (including police, social workers and health care professionals). If children within your care have been displaying or are affected by specific incidents of Harmful Sexual Behaviour, the support service can provide initial support and signpost to further resources and advice.

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Designed and Developed by Will Earp, South West Grid for Learning Trust Ltd

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Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support Service

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In June 2021 Ofsted concluded that the prevalence of child-on-child sexual harassment and abuse was so widespread that, for some, incidents are 'so commonplace that they see no point in reporting them' and 'consider them normal'.

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Most of the apps and social networking sites are for people aged 13 and over. They also state that bullying, abusive behaviours which includes harassment and impersonation will result in the account becoming shut down and the user banned. A general rule when making a complaint about being bullied online is to copy the terms and conditions which have been breached and take a screenshot of the comment or photo as evidence.

Reporting bullying on social media

Facebook

Facebook does not tolerate bullying and say they will remove bullying content when they become aware of it and may disable the account of anyone who bullies or attacks another. They have a set of community standards that they adhere to and it states that they will not tolerate bullying in any shape or form.

You can report bullying on Facebook using the report links which appear near the content itself, as 3 dots and will give you an option to hide or report the comment or post. They will investigate and let you know their outcome. You may want to read their help pages on bullying.

Twitter

If you receive a tweet or reply that you don't like, you can unfollow that person. If they continue to contact you, you can block the user (just click on the head icon on their profile and select block user). You may find that as they are unable to get through to you, they will lose interest. However, if this is not the case and you continue to receive unwanted replies, abuse or threats, you can report it here straight to Twitter directly.

On Twitter you can choose to protect your tweets so that people can only follow you if you approve them first. You can select this by going into the 'settings menu' then 'security and privacy' and ticking the box for 'protect my tweets'. Find out more about the difference on Twitter between public and protected tweets.

YouTube

You have every right to use YouTube without fear of being subjected to bullying or harassment. Bullying can be reported and action taken when things cross a line. To flag a video you think is inappropriate (click on the little flag bottom right of the video) and YouTube will take a look at it to see whether it breaks their terms of use. If it does then they will remove it. YouTube rules say you can't upload videos with hate content, nudity or graphic violence and if you find one on someone else's space, click on the video to flag it as inappropriate. If under comments, you are being bullied, harassed or threats are being made, they have a reporting tool page where you can report the bullying and they will investigate.

Instagram

Bullying or abuse on Instagram can happen in many ways. It can be either negative comments, fake profiles or hacking of accounts. Instagram take all of these violations very seriously and have plenty of advice on their pages if you or someone you know is being bullied or abused on Instagram. Their advice initially is to block and unfollow the person who is being abusive. However, if it continues or it has gotten worse, you can use their in-app reporting tool. This page has details on how to report the abuse directly to them.

Snapchat

Snapchat is an app that allows users to send pictures to each other that disappear off screen within a set amount of time. Unfortunately, there is bullying on Snapchat in the form of screenshots, sending pics without permission, negative comments and more. If this is the case for you or someone you know they can block a user, tap the Menu icon, select "My Friends," locate their name in the list and swipe right across their name. If you would like to delete a friend from your contacts, press "Delete." Even if you haven't added the user as a friend, their name will still appear in the "My Friends" list under "Recent" if they have sent you a message recently. If you receive an inappropriate photo or someone's harassing or bullying you, report it by filling out their online form.

TikTok

TikTok is a fun app for many young people. It has increased in popularity and is a platform that allows users to create short videos incorporating music. If you are worried about your child experiencing bullying on TikTok, visit their safety centre first and foremost. If you want to report bullying directly to them, please click here. There are some safety points to consider when using this app. Ensure that all privacy and security settings are checked and are private rather then public. When your profile is private, you have the ability to approve or deny any followers from viewing your content. If comments are made on your video, you have the ability to delete it. If someone is making you feel upset or they are being inappropriate, you can block them too. Ensure as a parent that you have access to your child's account so that can monitor it fully. Please remember that this app is for those aged 13 and over. if you suspect that someone under this age are using it, you can report this by clicking here.

If you are a parent or guardian, you can use Family Pairing to link your account to your teen's account. Once you turn it on, you will be able to set controls including screen time, restricted mode, search functions, privacy settings, messages, comments and more.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp Messenger lets people sends instant messages, videos, photos, and short audio messages to either one person or within a group chat. Messages can only be sent to other smartphone users who also have WhatsApp. Once you install the app, it checks your address book to see if anyone else you know is already using WhatsApp, and connects you automatically. You have to be over 16 to use WhatsApp legally. Bullying can take many forms as it is a messaging service and we often hear of abusive group chats. You can block and delete the contact. You can find out more by emailing them at support@whatsapp.com.

Keep it private

Don't post anything on a social networking site which gives your real name, address, school, phone number or which will allow a stranger to contact you in real life. Make sure you don't ID your friends either.

Don't upload anything that might embarrass you at a later date. You might not realise it but things you post on the internet now could come back to cause problems for you later on, for instance when you go for an interview for college or a job. So if you are not happy for it to be shown to the world then do not hit send. Remember once you send it you have lost control of that image or comment.

Never be pressured into taking pictures of yourself that you wouldn't want other people to see. Trust your gut instinct over this. Once again, once you hit send, you have lost control over that picture and this can cause anxiety and stress.

If you're using a shared computer at school, in an internet cafe or library then you'll stay logged on even when you close the browser. So don't forget to log off when you've finished the session. Read more tips about staying safe online.

Location settings

Many social networks allow you to post your location or check in each time you tweet or post a status update. To turn off the location settings, go into the settings or privacy menu and double check.

Snapchat has developed a feature called Snap Map which can show your location. It is very important to turn this feature off so you are able to keep safe. Snap Map tracks your current location and places your avatar on a map like a pin. This can allow others to zoom in and find exactly where you are. It doesn't take effect until you update the app, and it has an opt-out option. If you're opening the app for the first time after the update, Snapchat will walk you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the Snap Map. First, it'll show you how to pinch and zoom in the camera tool to access the map. Then, it'll ask who you want to see your location. You get three choices: all your friends, select friends, or only me. Choosing 'only me' activates what it calls 'ghost mode' meaning you can see others but they can't see you. To turn off location data altogether, you'll need to visit your phone's settings where you can scroll down to Snapchat, click on 'location', and choose to never share.

Hashtags

Be wary of using hashtags as that can open up your post to be visible on that particular hashtag thread on any social network or app. It can open up your post and your account to a wider audience than you originally intended.

Inappropriate behaviour

If anyone makes you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed online then please tell your parents or someone that can help. If they're doing it to you then they might also be doing it to other people. It's particularly important never to meet up with anyone you meet online in real life, if anyone suggests that to you and particularly if they suggest you keep it secret that's a real danger sign.

When you go into a social networking site people might approach you to be a friend but remember that no matter how much they tell you about themselves, they are still strangers and they might not be telling you the truth about themselves. There have been cases of adults pretending to be young people to chat to them online and try and involve you in inappropriate activities. This is called grooming and is a criminal offence. CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) investigates cases of sex abuse and grooming on the internet. Incidents can be reported by clicking the red button on the top right hand corner of the CEOP website.

Although the police can get information from your computer's hard drive, it's helpful if you don't delete anything you think is dodgy until the police have decided whether they need it as evidence.

Removing or blocking friends

Facebook - click on their profile, then on the 'message' button dropdown and you will see the option to 'unfriend'. You can also block a person this way.

Twitter - to remove or block someone on Twitter, click on the button with a head icon on it next to the 'Follow' button on a user's profile. If you click on this you will see a menu with the options to BLOCK the user to prevent them from seeing your profile, and vice versa, and you can also REPORT FOR SPAM, which will alert Twitter to any users who are abusing the service. Read our article about Twitter safety.

YouTube - go to your account page and click on "All Contacts" link in the "Friends and Contacts" section. Choose which person you want to unfriend and the click on "Remove Contacts". From then on the person won't be on your "Share Video" list.

WhatsApp - You can click on the name and then you will be taken to a dropdown menu and you can then choose to block the person.

Snapchat - to block a user who added you follow the steps below. Tap 'Added Me' on the Profile Screen. Then tap their name, and tap the wheel icon next to their name. Press 'Block' to prevent them from sending you Snaps, Chats, or from viewing your Stories.

Instagram - when you block someone, they can't see your profile or posts. People aren't notified when you block them. To block or unblock someone, tap their username to open their profile and then tap the three dots and press the option to block user.

Closing your account

Facebook - to deactivate your Facebook account go to the "settings" tab on the Account page. That will remove your profile and content and nobody will be able to see your details or search for you. But if you decide to reinstate the account later then the whole lot will be restored, including your friends and photos. If you would like to permanently delete your Facebook account, log in to your account, click 'Privacy and Settings', 'See More Settings' and select 'Delete my account'. Once you have confirmed your wish to delete your Facebook account it can take up to fourteen days for it to happen.

Twitter - on the settings tab on your profile, you will see 'deactivate my account' at the bottom. Click on this to delete your account. You have 30 days to change your mind otherwise your profile, all of your tweets and data will be permanently deleted.

YouTube - click on "My Account" in the top right hand corner and under "Account Settings" click on "Delete Account". Give the reason you're quitting the site and your password and then click "Delete My Account". Log out by clicking the link in the top right hand corner. Your videos will be removed from the site immediately and the thumbnails will disappear as soon as YouTube is updated. Your profile is removed permanently.

WhatsApp - you can remove the app from your smartphone either through app management in settings or by going into the settings of WhatsApp.

Snapchat - Open the Snapchat app, login and tap the Settings icon in the upper right corner. Navigate to Support and then Learning the Basics and then click on delete an account.

Instagram - Log into Instagram from a mobile browser or computer. You can't temporarily disable your account from within the Instagram app. Click your username in the top right and then select Edit Profile. Click temporarily disable my account in the bottom right and follow the on-screen instructions. If you want to delete your account permanently, go to the Delete Your Account page. If you're not logged into Instagram on the web, you'll be asked to log in first. Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you deleting your account? And re-enter your password. The option to permanently delete your account will only appear after you've selected a reason from the menu. Click or tap permanently delete my account.

Posting offensive comments or posts

Don't get into arguments online, this is called flaming and it can get nasty. If you break the rules of whichever site you're on then the content is likely to be removed and you might have your membership terminated. You're not allowed to upload anything which is offensive or racist and which promotes physical harm so don't make threats to anyone. Neither are you allowed to harass people or to encourage other people to harass them.

Further resources

It may help to chat to other parents on our forums to find out how they are dealing with this issue within their family life. You can also talk to us online via our live chat service, email us at askus@familylives.org.uk or call us on our helpline on 0808 800 2222 to speak to trained family support worker. You can also report bullying to an organisation called Report Harmful Content online and they can help to get things taken down.

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Being bullied on Twitter, Instagram. Snapchat, whatsapp, Youtube or Facebook? Read our advice on how to protect yourself, and report bullying online.

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Welcome to the UK Safer Internet Centre, where you can find online safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe online.

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Recognise a forced marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities or reduced capacity, cannot) consent to the marriage as they are pressurised, or abuse is used, to force them to do so. It is recognised in the UK as a form of domestic or child abuse and a serious abuse of human rights.

The pressure put on people to marry against their will may be:

physical: for example, threats, physical violence or sexual violence

emotional and psychological: for example, making someone feel like they are bringing 'shame' on their family

Financial abuse, for example taking someone's wages, may also be a factor.

How the Forced Marriage Unit can help

The Forced Marriage Unit remains in operation during coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Forced Marriage Unit ( FMU) is a joint Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Home Office unit which leads on the government's forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. It operates both inside the UK (where support is provided to any individual) and overseas (where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals).

The FMU operates a public helpline to provide advice and support to:

victims and potential victims of forced marriage

professionals dealing with cases

The FMU public helpline can help with:

safety advice

providing assistance when an unwanted spouse is due to move to the UK ('reluctant sponsor' cases)

where possible, assistance in repatriation of victims held against their will overseas

The FMU undertakes an extensive training and awareness programme targeting both professionals and potential victims, and carries out a range of work to raise awareness.

The FMU privacy notice describes how we process data to provide support to victims and potential victims of forced marriage. The notice explains how we will use your personal data, and what your rights are in relation to our use of your personal data.

telephone: +44 (0) 20 7008 0151

email, including for outreach work: fmu@fcdo.gov.uk

Facebook: Forced Marriage page

Twitter: @FMUnit

media enquiries:

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office +44 (0) 20 7008 3100

Home Office +44 (0) 300 123 3535

The FMU has also produced:

Understand the legislation on forced marriage

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 made it a criminal offence in England, Wales and Scotland to force someone to marry. (It is a criminal offence in Northern Ireland under separate legislation).

This includes:

taking someone overseas to force them to marry (whether or not the forced marriage takes place)

marrying someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the marriage (whether they are pressured to or not)

Forcing someone to marry can result in a sentence of up to 7 years in prison.

It is also possible for victims or those at risk to apply for a Forced Marriage Protection Order ( FMPO). As a civil law measure, an application for a FMPO would be made in the family court. Read guidance from the Ministry of Justice on taking out an FMPO

Failure to comply with the requirements or terms set out in a FMPO granted by the Family Court, is a criminal offence and can result in a sentence of up to 5 years in prison.

In 2017 the government introduced lifelong anonymity for victims of forced marriage to encourage more victims of this hidden crime to come forward.

Access guidance and training

The government is committed to ensuring that professionals who are made aware of a forced marriage victim have the training and guidance they need to provide effective advice and support. This includes police officers, social workers, teachers, and safeguarding professionals.

The Forced Marriage Unit has created a guidance document which comprises:

multi-agency statutory guidance for dealing with forced marriage, which provides guidance for every person and organisation that has a public function relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults; and

multi-agency (non-statutory) practice guidelines on handling cases of forced marriage, for frontline workers, including health professionals, educational staff, police, children's social care, adult social services, local authority housing staff, registrars, and staff working at the UK border."

You can also read:

Training

The FMU has also developed free forced marriage e-learning for professionals. The modules aim to enable professionals to recognise the warning signs and ensure that appropriate action is taken to help protect and support all those at risk.

Please email fmu@fcdo.gov.uk if you have problems registering.

Outreach programme

The FMU runs an ongoing outreach programme across the UK, to raise awareness of forced marriage and delivers training to statutory agencies and voluntary and community organisations (including local authority safeguarding teams, police forces, and the judiciary).

If you would like us to attend your event, please fill out a speaker request form and email it to us.

Statistics on forced marriage

You can view a collection of Forced Marriage Unit statistics including the most recent yearly release.

Other statistical information on forced marriage

The Ministry of Justice produces, as part of their family justice quarterly statistics series, data on the number of applications made for a Forced Marriage Protection Order and the number of orders granted by the court.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) produces, as part of their Violence against Women and Girls crime report, data on the number of forced marriage referrals from the police to the CPS, defendants charged and prosecutions.

'Right to choose' campaign

The Forced Marriage Unit ( FMU) developed this short film aimed at deterring potential forced marriage perpetrators. The film highlights the devastating impact forced marriage can have on victims and their families, and signposts victims and highlights where victims can turn to sources of further support.

Right to choose: consequences of forced marriage
Consequences of forced marriage
Right to choose campaign audio

The FMU has also produced an abridged audio version of the Right to choose: consequences of forced marriage video. The FMU also commissioned the audio in 5 additional languages: Arabic, Bengali, Punjabi, Somali and Urdu.

The FMU also commissioned 3 short videos to highlight the increased reports of forced marriage during the summer holidays. These videos show how to spot the signs of forced marriage and focus on 3 young people all affected by these issues.

Right to choose: spotting the signs of forced marriage (Nayana)

This film contains scenes which some viewers may find distressing.

Right to choose: spotting the signs of forced marriage (Jess)

Right to choose: spotting the signs of forced marriage (Azim)

Animated documentaries

The British high commission in Islamabad commissioned short animated documentaries on the issue of forced marriage in Pakistan.

Sara's story
Sara's story
Farzana's story
Farzana's story
Shazia's story
Shazia's story

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A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities or reduced capacity, cannot) consent to the marriage as they are pressurised, or abuse is used, to force them to do so.

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Introduction

Helping children and mothers after domestic abuse

Through Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together (DART™), children and mothers can talk to each other about domestic abuse, learn to communicate and rebuild their relationship.

The service, which has been recognised by the Home Office, also provides children and mothers with an opportunity to meet others who have lived through similar experiences.

How it works

How DART works

Over ten weeks, mothers and children aged 7-14 meet for a weekly two-hour group session.

Children and mothers work together for an hour at the start of the group, and then take part in activities in separate groups. At the end of each session, they join together again.

Women learn more about:

how domestic abuse happens

how it affects children.

They'll also explore experiences and strategies that can be used as a parent.

Children take part in activities together that help them build their own understanding of domestic abuse, how they're feeling and how to keep themselves safe.

Evidence base

The evidence base

Domestic abuse can both directly and indirectly disrupt the relationship between a parent and their child (Humphreys et al, 2006; Buchanan, 2018). It can have a significant impact on the child's development, education outcomes and mental health (Holt, Buckley and Whelan, 2008; Stanley, 2011; Szilassy et al, 2017).
> Find out more about the impact of domestic abuse
Abuse can happen in any relationship, and both males and females can be abused or be abusers. However, there is a strong body of evidence demonstrating that females are disproportionately affected by domestic abuse (Office for National Statistics, 2017; SafeLives, 2018).

Because of this, our service focuses on work with mothers and their children. Supporting mothers and their children to rebuild their relationship is critical in helping both to recover from and overcome their experiences (Humphreys et al, 2006).

DART is based on University of Warwick research, 'Talking to my mum' (Humphreys et al, 2006), and previous statutory guidance (Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), 2010), which stated that children's outcomes are improved if the mother is supported to take an active part in the child's recovery.

It also builds on work undertaken by the Community Group Treatment Programme in Sutton, which focused on working with children but found that sessions where the mothers attended were the most successful (Audit Commission, 2007).

Who it is for

Who is DART for?

DART is for primary-school children aged 7 to 14 and mothers who have experienced domestic abuse.

Both child and mother need to feel safe enough to participate in DART, which means we can't work with families if they're still living with the person who has been abusive.

Delivering DART

We're also supporting organisations to adopt, implement and deliver DART themselves.
> Find out more about delivering our services

Evaluation

Evaluation of DART

We evaluated Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together (DART™) to see if it helps reduce the impact of domestic abuse on the relationship between mothers and children.

What we learnt

After receiving the DART programme:

mothers' self-esteem and confidence in parenting increased, and they reported more affection towards their children

children had fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties; reductions were greater among children who received DART than those involved in an alternative service

practitioners, mothers and children said that the joint sessions helped them to work together; the sessions helped children share their experiences of the abuse, and their mothers to understand them.

Barriers to improvements included:

challenging behaviour in some of the children's groups

contact with the father

some mothers resuming relationships with the perpetrator after the intervention.

> Read our evaluation report > See a full list of evaluation reports for this service
How we evaluated this service

The evaluation of DART used a mixed-method approach, with quantitative and qualitative data collected from children, mothers, referrers and DART practitioners. The evaluation measured the impact of the service and also included a process evaluation.

Impact evaluation

Standardised measures were completed by mothers and children at three time points:

time 1: before starting the programme

time 2: straight after the programme

time 3: six months after the family finished the programme.

We used questionnaires that measured factors such as:

self-esteem

confidence in parenting

maternal warmth

children's emotional and behavioural difficulties.

A small comparison group was included in the study. The comparison group participants were children and young people from a women's refuge who had attended play therapy to support their recovery from domestic abuse.

The impact of the evaluation was measured by comparing the outcomes of the DART group and comparison group. The longer-term effects of the evaluation were measured by comparing the results of the measures collected at time 3 with the time 1 and time 2 data, to see if any improvements had been maintained over time.

Process evaluation

We interviewed a sample of DART practitioners, and mothers and children who attended the service. This helped us identify which aspects of the programme worked well and led to positive outcomes, and which barriers may prevent families from benefitting from DART. Professionals who referred families to DART (such as social workers, health professionals and school staff) also took part in a survey to share their views and experiences of the programme.

Evaluation tools

The evaluation used the following tools:

Parental acceptance and rejection questionnaire (Mother and Child versions)

Parental Locus of Control scale (two factors from this scale: parental efficacy and parental control)

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

An adapted version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem questionnaire (adapted for children)

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

References and resources

References and resources

Evaluation reports

Smith, E. (2016) Domestic abuse, recovering together (DART): evaluation report. London: NSPCC.

Stokes, I. (2017) Implementation evaluation of Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together (DART) scale-up: impact and evidence briefing. London: NSPCC.

Evidence base

Audit Commission (2007) Seeing the light: innovation in local public services: London Borough of Sutton: helping children who have witnessed domestic violence (PDF). London: Audit Commission Local Government Case Study, 6.

Buchanan, F. (2018) Mothering babies in domestic violence: beyond attachment theory. London: Routledge.

Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (2010) Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (PDF). Nottingham: Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

Holt, S., Buckley, H. and Whelan, S. (2008) The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: a review of the literature. Child Abuse and Neglect, 32(8): 797-810.

Home Office (2018) Children affected by domestic abuse to benefit from £8 million fund. [Accessed 12/10/2018].

Humphreys, C. et al (2006) 'Talking to my mum': developing communication between mothers and children in the aftermath of domestic violence. Journal of Social Work, 6(1): 53-63.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2017) Domestic abuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2017. Cardiff: Office for National Statistics (ONS).

SafeLives (2018) Latest Marac National Dataset. [Accessed 11/10/2018].

SafeLives (2018) Insights Idva: England and Wales dataset 2016-17: adult independent domestic violence advisor (Idva) services (PDF). Bristol: SafeLives

Stanley, N. (2011) Children experiencing domestic violence: a research review. Totnes: Research in Practice.

Szilassy, E. et al (2017) Making the links between domestic violence and child safeguarding: an evidence-based pilot training for general practice. Health and Social Care in the Community, 25(6): 1722-1732.

Introduction

Helping children and mothers after domestic abuse

Through Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together (DART™), children and mothers can talk to each other about domestic abuse, learn to communicate and rebuild their relationship.

The service, which has been recognised by the Home Office, also provides children and mothers with an opportunity to meet others who have lived through similar experiences.

How it works

How DART works

Over ten weeks, mothers and children aged 7-14 meet for a weekly two-hour group session.

Children and mothers work together for an hour at the start of the group, and then take part in activities in separate groups. At the end of each session, they join together again.

Women learn more about:

how domestic abuse happens

how it affects children.

They'll also explore experiences and strategies that can be used as a parent.

Children take part in activities together that help them build their own understanding of domestic abuse, how they're feeling and how to keep themselves safe.

Evidence base

The evidence base

Domestic abuse can both directly and indirectly disrupt the relationship between a parent and their child (Humphreys et al, 2006; Buchanan, 2018). It can have a significant impact on the child's development, education outcomes and mental health (Holt, Buckley and Whelan, 2008; Stanley, 2011; Szilassy et al, 2017).
> Find out more about the impact of domestic abuse
Abuse can happen in any relationship, and both males and females can be abused or be abusers. However, there is a strong body of evidence demonstrating that females are disproportionately affected by domestic abuse (Office for National Statistics, 2017; SafeLives, 2018).

Because of this, our service focuses on work with mothers and their children. Supporting mothers and their children to rebuild their relationship is critical in helping both to recover from and overcome their experiences (Humphreys et al, 2006).

DART is based on University of Warwick research, 'Talking to my mum' (Humphreys et al, 2006), and previous statutory guidance (Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), 2010), which stated that children's outcomes are improved if the mother is supported to take an active part in the child's recovery.

It also builds on work undertaken by the Community Group Treatment Programme in Sutton, which focused on working with children but found that sessions where the mothers attended were the most successful (Audit Commission, 2007).

Who it is for

Who is DART for?

DART is for primary-school children aged 7 to 14 and mothers who have experienced domestic abuse.

Both child and mother need to feel safe enough to participate in DART, which means we can't work with families if they're still living with the person who has been abusive.

Delivering DART

We're also supporting organisations to adopt, implement and deliver DART themselves.
> Find out more about delivering our services

Evaluation

Evaluation of DART

We evaluated Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together (DART™) to see if it helps reduce the impact of domestic abuse on the relationship between mothers and children.

What we learnt

After receiving the DART programme:

mothers' self-esteem and confidence in parenting increased, and they reported more affection towards their children

children had fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties; reductions were greater among children who received DART than those involved in an alternative service

practitioners, mothers and children said that the joint sessions helped them to work together; the sessions helped children share their experiences of the abuse, and their mothers to understand them.

Barriers to improvements included:

challenging behaviour in some of the children's groups

contact with the father

some mothers resuming relationships with the perpetrator after the intervention.

> Read our evaluation report > See a full list of evaluation reports for this service
How we evaluated this service

The evaluation of DART used a mixed-method approach, with quantitative and qualitative data collected from children, mothers, referrers and DART practitioners. The evaluation measured the impact of the service and also included a process evaluation.

Impact evaluation

Standardised measures were completed by mothers and children at three time points:

time 1: before starting the programme

time 2: straight after the programme

time 3: six months after the family finished the programme.

We used questionnaires that measured factors such as:

self-esteem

confidence in parenting

maternal warmth

children's emotional and behavioural difficulties.

A small comparison group was included in the study. The comparison group participants were children and young people from a women's refuge who had attended play therapy to support their recovery from domestic abuse.

The impact of the evaluation was measured by comparing the outcomes of the DART group and comparison group. The longer-term effects of the evaluation were measured by comparing the results of the measures collected at time 3 with the time 1 and time 2 data, to see if any improvements had been maintained over time.

Process evaluation

We interviewed a sample of DART practitioners, and mothers and children who attended the service. This helped us identify which aspects of the programme worked well and led to positive outcomes, and which barriers may prevent families from benefitting from DART. Professionals who referred families to DART (such as social workers, health professionals and school staff) also took part in a survey to share their views and experiences of the programme.

Evaluation tools

The evaluation used the following tools:

Parental acceptance and rejection questionnaire (Mother and Child versions)

Parental Locus of Control scale (two factors from this scale: parental efficacy and parental control)

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

An adapted version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem questionnaire (adapted for children)

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

References and resources

References and resources

Evaluation reports

Smith, E. (2016) Domestic abuse, recovering together (DART): evaluation report. London: NSPCC.

Stokes, I. (2017) Implementation evaluation of Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together (DART) scale-up: impact and evidence briefing. London: NSPCC.

Evidence base

Audit Commission (2007) Seeing the light: innovation in local public services: London Borough of Sutton: helping children who have witnessed domestic violence (PDF). London: Audit Commission Local Government Case Study, 6.

Buchanan, F. (2018) Mothering babies in domestic violence: beyond attachment theory. London: Routledge.

Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (2010) Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (PDF). Nottingham: Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

Holt, S., Buckley, H. and Whelan, S. (2008) The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: a review of the literature. Child Abuse and Neglect, 32(8): 797-810.

Home Office (2018) Children affected by domestic abuse to benefit from £8 million fund. [Accessed 12/10/2018].

Humphreys, C. et al (2006) 'Talking to my mum': developing communication between mothers and children in the aftermath of domestic violence. Journal of Social Work, 6(1): 53-63.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2017) Domestic abuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2017. Cardiff: Office for National Statistics (ONS).

SafeLives (2018) Latest Marac National Dataset. [Accessed 11/10/2018].

SafeLives (2018) Insights Idva: England and Wales dataset 2016-17: adult independent domestic violence advisor (Idva) services (PDF). Bristol: SafeLives

Stanley, N. (2011) Children experiencing domestic violence: a research review. Totnes: Research in Practice.

Szilassy, E. et al (2017) Making the links between domestic violence and child safeguarding: an evidence-based pilot training for general practice. Health and Social Care in the Community, 25(6): 1722-1732.

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Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together (DART) | NSPCC Learning

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We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our site. By continuing to use the site you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more Introduction Through Domestic Abuse, Recovering Together (DART™), children and mothers can talk to each other about domestic abuse, learn to communicate and rebuild their relationship.

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MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference)

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MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference)

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The Domestic Violence MARAC is a meeting where agencies talk about the risk of further harm to adults and children who are known or suspected victims of domestic abuse. The meeting takes place to draw up an action plan to help manage that risk. If you would like further information, research "MARAC".

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It is illegal for a teacher or registered childminder to smack a child in the United Kingdom.
England and Northern Ireland
If the smack is considered “reasonable chastisement” or “reasonable punishment” in court, it is legal for a parent to smack their own child. But it is illegal if the smack leaves a mark or involves the child being hit by an object such as a belt or cane.

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Honour Based Abuse and Violence

Contents

1. Definition

Honour based abuse (HBA) can be described as a collection of practices which are used to control behaviour within families or other social groups in order to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. Such abuse occurs when perpetrators perceive that a relative has shamed the family and/or community by breaking their honour code.

It is a violation of human rights and may be a form of domestic and/or sexual abuse. There is no, and cannot be, honour or justification for abusing the human rights of others. For young victims it is a form of child abuse.

The term 'honour based abuse and violence' relates to the offender/s interpretation of the motivation for their actions.

Honour based abuse and violence cuts across all cultures and communities. It affects people of all ages, but often begins early in the family home. Girls and women are particularly at risk of honour based abuse, however boys and men are also affected and may be at heightened risk if there are factors around disability, sexuality and mental health.

It can be distinguished from other forms of abuse and violence, as it is often committed with some degree of approval and/or collusion from family and/or community members. Women, men and younger members of the family can all be involved in the abuse. Victims of honour-based abuse are more likely to be abused multiple times by multiple perpetrators.

There are no specific legislation or offences which cover honour based abuse or violence, although forcing someone to marry is an offence and a civil remedy is available through a Forced Marriage Protection Order; see Forced Marriage Procedure. Cases of honour based violence or abuse will be prosecuted under the specific offence committed e.g. common assault, inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm, stalking and harassment, kidnap, rape, threats to kill and murder.

2. Risks

Honour based violence, where it affects children and young people, is a child protection issue. Children and young people who are subject to honour based abuse and violence are at risk of significant harm through physical, sexual, psychological, emotional harm and neglect. In some cases they are also at risk of being killed.

Children and young people may find themselves in an abusive and dangerous situation against their will with no power to seek help. The usual avenues for seeking help - through parents or other family members may be unavailable.

Honour based abuse and violence manifests itself in a diverse range of ways with children and young people, it can lead to a deeply embedded form of coercive control, built on expectations about behaviour that are made clear at a young age. Often the control is established without obvious violence for instance through family members threatening to kill themselves because of the victim's behaviour. Honour based abuse can also include forced marriage (approximately 1 in 5 cases), domestic and/or sexual violence, rape, physical assaults, harassment, kidnap, threats of violence (including murder), witnessing violence directed towards a sibling or indeed another family member, and female genital mutilation (FGM).

Female Genital Mutilation is an offence under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. It is also a criminal offence to force someone to marry (Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014). See also Forced Marriage Procedure and Safeguarding Children at Risk of Abuse through Female Genital Mutilation Procedure.

Online targeting of victims is being used more frequently as a means of controlling and exploiting them.

Victims can find it difficult to disclose, leave abusive relationships or ask for help if their immigration status is uncertain. They may face a number of issues such as a fear of deportation, bringing 'shame' on their families, financial difficulties and homelessness, or losing their family and or children.

The notion of shame and the associated risk to the victim may persist long after the incident that brought about dishonour occurred. This means any new partner of the victim, children, associates or their siblings may be at serious risk of significant harm.

Behaviours that could be seen to transgress concepts of honour include:

Inappropriate attitude, behaviour, make-up or dress;

The existence of a boyfriend/girlfriend or a perceived unsuitable relationship e.g. a gay/lesbian relationship;

Rejecting an arranged or resisting a forced marriage;

Pregnancy outside of marriage;

Being a victim of rape;

Inter-faith relationships (or same faith, but different ethnicity);

Leaving a spouse or seeking divorce;

Kissing or intimacy in a public place;

Alcohol and drugs use.

It is important to be mindful that young people may be subject to honour based violence for reasons which may seem improbable or relatively minor to others.
3. Indicators

It is important not only to look for signs of violence, but also patterns of constrained behaviour which may indicate someone is fearful of harm or altering their behaviour because of abusive behaviour by others.

It is likely that awareness that a child is the victim of an honour based crime will only come to light after an assault of some kind has taken place e.g. an allegation of domestic abuse or when a child is reported as missing. There are inherent risks to the act of disclosure for the victim and possibly limited opportunities to ask for help for fear of retribution from their family or community.

There may be evidence of domestic abuse, including controlling, coercive and dominating behaviour towards the child or young person and or adult victim. Family disputes, and unreasonable restrictions on the young person such as removal from education or virtual imprisonment within the home may occur. Children sometimes truant from school to obtain relief from being policed at home by relatives. They can feel isolated from their family and social networks and become depressed, which can on some occasions lead to self-harm or suicide.

Young people may be fearful of being forced into engagement/marriage. Other warning signs may include risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) and/or sexual abuse. (See Safeguarding Children at Risk through Female Genital Mutilation Procedure and Forced Marriage Procedure). Victims of honour based violence are sometimes persuaded to return to their country of origin under false pretences, when in fact the intention could be to kill them.

Some families go to considerable lengths to find their children who run away, and young people who leave home are at risk of significant harm if they are returned to their family. They may be reported as missing by their families, but no mention is made of the reason. It is vital that practitioners explore the underlying reasons before any decisions are made.

It is extremely important that concerns about honour based violence are taken seriously. Murders in the name of 'so-called honour' are often the culmination of a series of events over a period of time and are planned. There tends to be a degree of premeditation, family conspiracy and a belief that the victim deserved to die.

4. Protection and Action to be Taken

It takes a lot of courage for a child or young person to report to an agency that they, or a family member have been, subjected to honour based abuse or violence, or to say that they are afraid that they will be.

The 'One Chance Rule'

All practitioners working with victims of honour based violence need to be aware of the 'one chance' rule. That is, they may only have one chance to speak to a potential victim and thus they may only have one chance to save a life. This means that all practitioners working within statutory agencies need to be aware of their responsibilities and obligations when they come across these cases. If the victim is allowed to walk out of the door without support being offered, that one chance might be wasted.

It is essential that actions do not further jeopardise the child or young person's safety. It is vital that the following points are adhered to by all agencies and practitioners for the safety of the child or young person:

Any suspicion or disclosure of violence or abuse against a child in the name of honour should be treated equally seriously as any other suspicion or disclosure or significant harm against a child;

Do not under estimate the potential risk of harm;

Involving families in cases of honour based abuse or violence, including forced marriage, is dangerous. Under no circumstances should any practitioner:

Allow the child's family or social network to find out about the disclosure, so as not to put the child at further risk of harm;

Speak to victims in the presence of their relatives;

Approach the family or community leaders, share any information with them or attempt any form of mediation. In particular, where an interpreter is required, an accredited female interpreter is required.

Anyone who has concerns that a child is at risk of honour based abuse/ violence, or is living in a household where it is being perpetrated, should consult with their agency designated/named professional for safeguarding and child protection. See Derby City and Derbyshire Thresholds Document ( Documents Library, Guidance Documents).

Wherever there are concerns about honour based abuse or violence an immediate referral to Children's Social Care and or the Police should be made. See Making a Referral to Social Care Procedure.

If the child is at immediate risk of harm the practitioner must contact the Police on 999.

In all cases where honour based abuse or violence is reported or suspected the immediate, imminent and longer term risks must be considered. Immediate action to protect the child and/ or other family members may be required.

Where there are concerns that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, Children's Social Care will convene a Strategy Discussion / Meeting involving Police, Health and other agencies as appropriate (for example the referring agency, child's school, legal services and specialist agencies). See Child Protection Section 47 Enquiries Procedure, Strategy Discussion / Meetings.

The Strategy Discussion / Meeting will consider relevant matters including:

Agreeing what further information is required about the child and family and how it should be obtained and recorded;

Agreeing who should be interviewed, by whom, for what purpose, and when;

Co-ordinating any criminal investigation as appropriate;

Agreeing, in particular, how the child's wishes and feelings will be ascertained so that they can be taken into account when making decisions;

Plan any intervention, including any medical examinations, with consideration of the cultural factors such as the significance it has in terms of cultural identity;

The need for immediate protection and placement away from the family/extended family/community;

Consider taking legal advice as to the options for protection available;

Consider the need for enquiries to be made about the risks to other children in the family i.e. siblings, cousins or the community;

Establish whether an accredited interpreter will be required, to be used in all interviews with the family.

Where there are also concerns about forced marriage and/or female genital mutilation (FGM) see Forced Marriage Procedure or Safeguarding Children at Risk of Abuse through FGM procedures (see Safeguarding Children at Risk of Abuse Through Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Procedure), as appropriate.

If the young person is 16 years or over it will be appropriate to risk assess them using the DASH Risk Identification Checklist(also known by the Police as a Public Protection Notice) and, if they are found to be at high risk of serious harm or homicide, to refer them to the Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC). See Documents Library, Assessment Tools for the DASH Risk Identification Checklist.

If a child or young person has been, or is at risk of being, taken abroad, legal advice should be sought to consider the options to protect the child. Children's Social Care should liaise closely with the Forced Marriage Unit and/or the Community Liaison Unit at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as appropriate.

Addressing the needs of the individual is key, as victims of honour based abuse or violence will require a tailored response dependent on a number of factors including, for example, levels of risk, language and cultural barriers, how long they have been in the country, their social and family networks and their economic circumstances.

Continual assessment and review is paramount as circumstances can change very quickly, for example, following disclosure to the Police the risks to the victim and others who are supporting the victim may increase.

Young people may face significant harm if their families/communities realise that they have asked for help. All aspects of their safety need to be carefully assessed at every stage. Initially this assessment will need to address whether it is safe for them to return home following a disclosure. The young person will need practical help such as accommodation and financial support, as well as emotional support and information about their rights and choices.

As honour based abuse and violence is often perpetrated by family members that might typically be seen to act protectively, such as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, any safety plans must take account of this and be sufficiently robust to ensure the child is safe.

Children and young people who stay or return to their families should be offered support including escape plans, the option to deposit their DNA, passport number, finger prints and photograph with the Police.

Adults affected by honour based abuse or violence should be reviewed under the safeguarding adults at risk process but any adult assessment must address any potential risk of honour based abuse or violence to any other women or female children living in the family as well as the extended family network.

For details of safeguarding adults processes please see:

5. Information Sharing

See also Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Information Sharing Agreement and Guidance for Practitioners (see Documents Library, Guidance Documents).

Social Workers and all other practitioners need to be aware that children at risk or subject to honour based abuse or violence may face significant harm if their families become aware that they have sought assistance from either statutory agencies such as Children's Social Care and Police, or from voluntary/community-based organisations.

Caution should be taken by all practitioners to ensure that they clearly establish that information is shared only with the appropriate person and they should seek advice if necessary. Families may go to great lengths to find information about the whereabouts of children from practitioners and practitioners and get them to collude with such requests.

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Honour based abuse (HBA) can be described as a collection of practices which are used to control behaviour within families or other social groups in order to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. Such abuse occurs when perpetrators perceive that a relative has shamed the family and/or community by breaking their honour code.

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A parent or carer’s health may affect their ability to safeguard, but this is not always the case. Most will be able to care for and safeguard their child, especially with the right support in place.
Examples of the impact of the parent or carer’s physical or mental health are:

may not always be able to cope with taking their child to school or having their friends visit.

may not always be physically able to give their child a bath or help them to get dressed.

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Legislation, policy and guidance on looked after children

There is legislation and guidance in each nation of the UK that sets out how the child protection system works and what agencies' responsibilities are to children and families who need support.

Find out more about the child protection system in:

In addition, there is specific legislation, policy and guidance relating to looked after children and care leavers. We've outlined the key points below.

Looked after children

England

In England and Wales, the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 aims to ensure children in care receive high-quality care and services, which are focused on and tailored to their needs.

The Children and Families Act 2014 amended the Children Act 1989 to require local authorities in England to appoint at least one person to promote the educational achievement of its looked-after children.

In England, the Department for Education (DfE) has provided guidance and regulations on care planning, placement and case review (PDF) (DfE, 2021).

The DfE has also published a protocol for local authority children's services, local care providers, police forces, criminal justice agencies and local health services (including mental health services) on reducing criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers (DfE, 2018a).

In England, schools must have a designated teacher for looked after and previously looked after children. The DfE has published statutory guidance for local authority maintained schools on their roles and responsibilities (DfE, 2018b).

The DfE has also published guidance on promoting the education of looked-after children and previously looked-after children (PDF) (DfE, 2018c).

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a guideline on Looked after children and young people, which sets out how organisations, practitioners and carers should work together to deliver high-quality care, stable placements and nurturing relationships for children in care (NICE, 2021).

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 sets out the duties, powers and responsibilities of local authorities regarding looked after children. It includes provisions about care and supervision, protection of children and children's homes.

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has published a series of regulations and guidance relating to the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Volume 4 is about children in residential care (PDF) (Department of Health, 2006).

The Department of Health has also published Protecting looked after children (PDF), which advises professionals on protecting and safeguarding looked after children (Department of Health, 2018).

The Department of Health has published A life deserved: "caring" for children and young people in Northern Ireland, a strategy which aims to improve the well-being of children and young people in care, at risk of entering care and who have recently left care (Department of Health, 2021a).

The Department of Education has also published guidance for educators of care-experienced children and young people in Northern Ireland and information for schools on the introduction of Personal Education Plans (PEPs) for looked after children (Department of Education, 2018 and 2011).

Scotland

In Scotland, the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 set out many of the duties, powers and responsibilities that local authorities hold in respect of their looked after children and care leavers.

The Foster Children (Scotland) Act 1984 sets out provisions for foster care in Scotland. The Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 includes provisions about care planning, fostering and emergency measures. It also sets out when a child can be classed as 'looked after' but still live with their parents.

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 introduces further provisions to better ensure permanence planning for looked after children.

The non-statutory guidance Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014: national guidance on part 12: services in relation to children at risk of becoming looked after, etc gives frontline practitioners, managers and strategic leaders an overview of the legal framework for providing support services where there is a risk a child may need to go into care, and describes for whom relevant services must be provided (Scottish Government, 2016a).

The Scottish Government has published guidance to clarify local authorities' duties under the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007. This includes:

the legislative and policy context

the child's plan

the death of a looked after child

looked after children cared for by their parents

recruitment of foster carers and the fostering panel

the assessment and approval of foster carers

placement of children

(Scottish Government, 2011).

Local authorities in Scotland have a duty to ensure that children in care can live with their siblings where appropriate. They should support children to sustain lifelong relationships with their siblings, even if they can't live together. The Government has published national practice guidance to help local authorities to implement this duty (Scottish Government, 2021).

Plan 21-24 (The Promise Scotland, 2021) is an action funded by the Scottish Government which outlines priority focus areas for children in or on the edge of care in Scotland for 2021 to 2024, to achieve goals set by the Independent Care Review (Independent Care Review, 2020).

The Scottish Government has also published an additional strategy document: Keeping the promise implementation plan, which sets out specific commitments and actions to support care experienced children and families (Scottish Government, 2022).

The Scottish Government's strategy for looked after children (PDF) sets out priorities to improve the lives of looked after children and young people (Scottish Government, 2015).

The Care Inspectorate in Scotland has published a quality framework for fostering, adoption and adult placement services. The framework is designed to help services assess their own performance and for inspectors to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of services (Care Inspectorate, 2021).

Wales

In England and Wales, the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 aims to ensure children in care receive high-quality care and services, which are focused on and tailored to their needs.

In Wales, The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 set out the responsibilities of local authorities to plan looked after children's care.

The Welsh government has issued a code of practice for looked after and accommodated children (PDF), which provides guidance on supporting looked after children, including:

care and support plans

accommodation and placements

secure accommodation

children accommodated in other types of establishment (Welsh Government, 2015).

The code of practice for advocacy (PDF) sets out the requirements relating to advocacy services for looked after children in Wales (Welsh Government, 2019).

The Welsh Government has published guidance setting out the roles and responsibilities of the designated person for looked after children in schools and the key personnel who should support them (PDF) (Welsh Government, 2017).

Corporate parenting

In England, the Children and Social Work Act 2017 introduces corporate parenting principles, which set out local authorities' responsibilities for looked after children.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published guidance on the role of local authorities and the application of corporate parenting principles. Applying corporate parenting principles to looked-after children and care leavers: statutory guidance for local authorities (PDF) sets out seven principles that local authorities must follow when supporting children and young people in care and care leavers (DfE, 2018d).

In Northern Ireland, the Standards for Leaving Care Services (Department of Health, Social Security and Public Safety (DHSSPS), 2012) set out that the Health and Social Care Trusts have 'lead responsibility as corporate parents to safeguard and promote the well-being of young people in and leaving care.'

In Scotland, the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 sets out the law on corporate parenting.

In Wales, Part 6 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 covers Welsh local authorities' duties to children in their care.

Children missing from care

In England, the Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care (PDF) outlines action that local authorities and their partners should take to stop children going missing from home or care and to protect those who do (DfE, 2014).

In Northern Ireland, the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) and Health and Social Care Board have published a missing children protocol (PDF), which aims to ensure that the police and health and social care agencies work together effectively, and that the best interests of the child underpin their work (Health and Social Care Board and PSNI, 2015).

The Scottish Government has published a National missing persons framework, which includes provision for children (Scottish Government, 2017).

The Wales Safeguarding Project Procedures Board provides a practice guide for children who go missing from home or care (Wales Safeguarding Project Procedures Board, 2020).

Other types of care

Fostering for adoption

The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced 'fostering for adoption' in England. This allows approved adopters to foster children while they wait for court approval to adopt.

Family and friends care, kinship care or private fostering

Family and friends care (or kinship care) is an arrangement where a child who cannot be cared for by their parent(s) goes to live with a relative, friend or other connected person.

The arrangement can be a private arrangement directly between the parent(s) and the relative, friend or connected person or it can be arranged with the involvement of the local child protection services.

In England, the Department for Education (DfE) provides statutory guidance for local authorities about family and friends providing care for children who cannot live with their parents (DfE, 2011).

In Northern Ireland, The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 set out how arrangements should be made for fostering a child privately. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) has published guidance on children living with carers in private fostering arrangements (DHSSPS, 2011).

The DHSSPS has also published a set of minimum standards for kinship care in Northern Ireland (DHSSPS, 2019).

In Scotland, The Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 set out legislation around foster and kinship care. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 includes provisions about kinship care.

In Wales, Section 81(6) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 covers family and friends care.

Special guardianship

Special guardianship is when a local authority places a child or young person to live with someone other than their parent(s) on a long-term basis. It aims to provide more security than long-term fostering for children where adoption is not the best option.

In England, the regulations for special guardianship are set out in The Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 and The Special Guardianship (Amendment) Regulations 2016.

The Department for Education (DfE) also provides statutory guidance for local authorities (DfE, 2017).

In Wales, the law on special guardianship is set out in The Special Guardianship (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018.

The Welsh Government has also published guidance (PDF) on local authorities' functions in relation to special guardianship orders (Welsh Government, 2018).

Voluntary care

In some circumstances, children may be taken into care with the permission of their parents. For example, this may happen if a child's parents are unable to look after them for a period of time due to illness. When this happens a parent retains all their legal rights and can ask for the child to be returned at any time.

A child may be taken into care voluntarily:

The Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) provides guidance on the use of Section 20 in England and Section 76 in Wales (PDF) (ADCS, 2016).

Care leavers

In England and Wales, the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 aims to improve the life chances of young people living in and leaving local authority care.

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 introduced a new duty on local authorities in England to provide personal advisers who will support all care leavers up to age 25, if they want it. It also extends additional educational support to care leavers.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published statutory guidance on extending personal adviser support to age 25 (PDF). This sets out the responsibilities of local authorities in England around extending personal adviser support to all care leavers up to the age of 25 (DfE, 2018e).

Keep on caring: supporting young people from care to independence (PDF) sets out the English government's strategy to improve services, support and advice for care leavers. The strategy makes recommendations for local and national government, and wider society (Cabinet Office et al, 2016).

In Northern Ireland, the Children (Leaving Care) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 sets out agencies' responsibilities for young people leaving care.

The Children (Leaving Care) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 goes into more detail about the matters to be taken into account when assessing and meeting the needs of young people preparing to leave care and care leavers.

The Department of Health's strategy A life deserved: "caring" for children and young people in Northern Ireland aims to improve the wellbeing of children and young people who have recently left care, as well as those in or at risk of entering care (Department of Health, 2021).

There is a duty on Health and Social Care Trusts to assess and meet young people's individual needs up to the age of 21 (or beyond, if in education) (Department of Health, 2021b).

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) has published Standards: leaving care services in Northern Ireland, which sets out minimum standards for leaving care and aftercare services (DHSSPS, 2012).

In Scotland, Part 10 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 states that any young person who ceases to be looked after on or after their 16th birthday, and is less than 26 years of age, is eligible (between the ages of 16 and 19) or potentially eligible (between the ages of 19 and 26) for aftercare. This applies to all care leavers regardless of the placement type while looked after.

Provisions in Part 11 of the Act state that a young person born after 1 April 1999 who is looked after in foster, kinship or residential care is eligible to remain in their current care placement until they turn 21. This is called Continuing Care.

The Scottish Government has published guidance to explain the changes made by Part 10 (Aftercare) and Part 11 (Continuing care) of the Act (Scottish Government, 2016b and 2016c).

Staying put Scotland: providing care leavers with connectedness and belonging provides guidance for local authorities and other corporate parents, and outlines an explicit philosophy of care. It emphasises the importance of relationship-based practice and extended and graduated transitions (Scottish Government, 2013).

The strategy document Keeping the promise implementation plan sets out plans to provide increased support for care leavers in Scotland, including access to employment and financial support (Scottish Government 2022).

In Wales, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to provide support for children and young people leaving care. The support provided should be equivalent to that which a child who has not been looked after might reasonably expect from his or her parents.

The Care Leavers (Wales) Regulations 2015 make provision about the support to be provided to young people who are no longer looked after by a local authority.

In addition, the When I am ready: good practice guide provides guidance for practitioners involved in making and supporting arrangements for young people leaving care (Welsh Government, 2016).

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There is legislation and guidance in each nation of the UK that sets out how the child protection system works and what agencies' responsibilities are to children and families who need support. Find out more about the child protection system in: In addition, there is specific legislation, policy and guidance relating to looked after children and care leavers.

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Introduction

Children have the right to be protected from harm. If your organisation or group works with children or young people you must have a clear set of guidelines about how you will:

keep children safe

respond to child protection concerns.

Your safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures are an important part of protecting children and young people. They must be supported by good governance, health and safety, financial management, staff supervision and management.

This page explains how to write a safeguarding or child protection policy statement that sets out your organisation's commitment to keeping children safe.

What is a safeguarding policy statement?

A safeguarding or child protection policy statement makes it clear what your organisation or group will do to keep children safe.

It should set out:

your organisation's commitment to protecting all children

the more detailed policies and procedures your organisation will put in place to keep children safe and respond to child protection concerns.

What are safeguarding and child protection procedures?

Safeguarding and child protection procedures are detailed guidelines and instructions that support your overarching safeguarding policy statement. They explain the steps that your organisation will take to keep children and young people safe and what to do when there are concerns about a child's safety or wellbeing.

For example, your safeguarding procedures should cover issues like how staff and volunteers should respond to concerns about a child and young person and how you will make sure you recruit the right people to work with children and young people.

You should also ensure that staff and volunteers know what to do if they are concerned about anything happening in a child's life - whether or not it is happening within your organisation.

Where to start

Getting started on your safeguarding policy statement

There are different ways to write a safeguarding or child protection statement, but before you put pen to paper it's helpful to think about:

the potential risks to a child in your organisation

how someone might raise a concern

the practicalities of who should be involved in writing the policy statement.

It is also useful to think about all the things that you might already be doing to help make your organisation a place where children and young people can flourish, have positive experiences and stay safe.

Things to consider

What are the potential risks to children - who may pose a risk? what situations may increase risk?

How do you make sure the people who work or volunteer for your organisation are suitable to do so?

What are the different ways someone might raise a concern about a child's wellbeing?

How should you respond to concerns or allegations of harm that has happened within your organisation?

How does this overarching policy statement link up with your more detailed child protection procedures?

How will you make sure everyone involved with your organisation is aware of how to spot and respond to child protection concerns?

> Find out more about best practice for recognising and responding to abuse
Practical tips

Tailor your policy statement to suit the needs of your organisation.

Use words and phrases that will mean the most to the group or community.

Involve people from different parts of the organisation to make sure the policy is relevant for everyone.

Think about how you can involve children and incorporate their perspective.

Ask different people in different roles to read the policy statement and feedback to ensure it is accessible to everybody.

Writing a policy statement

Writing a safeguarding and child protection policy statement

Your policy statement should be clear, concise and cover all the information listed below. Aim to keep it to two sides of A4 paper if possible, though you may need more space depending on your organisation's needs and context.

Purpose and aim of the policy statement

Identify the organisation, its purpose and function. Set out the organisation's overarching commitment to keeping children safe.

Scope of the policy statement

Be clear about who the policy applies to. It should cover all children under 18 but are all adults expected to comply with it? Should it just be staff and volunteers who work directly with children? What about those who have occasional contact with children such as a caretaker?

Context

Briefly state the main legislation and guidance that supports the policy statement. Explain how this policy statement links to more detailed child protection policies and procedures.
> Find out more about the child protection system in each UK nation
Policy statement

Set out your organisation's beliefs about the importance of child protection.

For example, "we believe everyone has a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them".

Include a statement about equality and a commitment to anti-discriminatory practice. For example "we will give equal priority to keeping all children and young people safe regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation".

Make sure your policy statement recognises the additional needs of children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities and disabled children and the barriers they may face, for example with communication or the impact of discrimination.

> Find out more about safeguarding d/Deaf and disabled children > Read our information on safeguarding children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities
Explain how, in broad terms, the organisation will meet your commitment to keeping children safe. For example by:

listening to children and respecting them

appointing a nominated child protection lead and a member of the trustee board who takes lead responsibility for safeguarding at the highest level in the organisation

writing detailed safeguarding and child protection procedures

making sure all staff and volunteers understand and follow the safeguarding and child protection procedures

ensuring children, young people and their families know about the organisation's safeguarding and child protection policies and what to do if they have a concern

building a safeguarding culture where staff, volunteers and children know how they are expected to behave and feel comfortable about sharing concerns.

Supporting documents

You need a set of more detailed policies and procedures which explain the steps adults within your organisation must take to keep children safe. Your policy statement should include a list of these. You can find more details about writing these policies and procedures on the "writing safeguarding policies" tab.

Contact details

Include the names and contact details of the people responsible for safeguarding and child protection in your organisation.

Include the contact details for the NSPCC Helpline and Childline so that people know they can contact us if they need child protection support and advice.

Dates

Provide the date the policy statement comes into force.

It's important to keep the statement up to date so you should include and a review dates and make sure the review happens on time.

Signature

Your policy statement should be signed and dated by the most senior person in your organisation who has responsibility for safeguarding and child protection.
> See an example safeguarding and child protection policy statement
Next steps after completing your safeguarding policy statement

When you have completed your overarching safeguarding and child protection policy statement, you need to ensure that all adults and children are aware of, understand and can access your safeguarding policies.

You should consider:

how you will tell everyone about new or updated policies and any challenges that might arise

how to ensure your policy is accessible to people with communication difficulties or different language needs.

Writing procedures

Writing safeguarding and child protection procedures

Your overarching safeguarding and child protection policy statement should refer to a set of more detailed policies and procedures. These procedures should outline the steps that must be taken if there are any concerns about a child's or young person's safety and wellbeing.

It is essential that your procedures are clear and easy to follow. Make sure each procedure includes the items below.

Purpose and aim of the procedure

Every procedure you create should clearly state its aim and purpose and who it applies to. For example, each procedure should be written for everyone who comes into contact with children and young people even if it is not their main role in your organisation.

Summary of useful information

Include a summary of any information that is relevant. For example, a procedure about responding to concerns about a child's wellbeing could include a description of the different types of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual abuse and neglect) as well as the signs and indicators that might be a cause for concern.

Clear instructions

Each procedure should include clear steps of the action needed. You could consider using diagrams and flowcharts to help make the steps easy to follow.

If someone is concerned about child's welfare they should tell the nominated child protection lead or their deputy. Any concerns must be kept confidential and should not be discussed with anyone other than the child protection lead, who should make a referral to children's services. Reporting concerns helps children's services build an overall picture of the child's life and the support they or their family may need.

If a child tells you they are experiencing abuse, it's important to reassure them that they've done the right thing in telling you. Make sure they know that abuse is never their fault. Never promise a child that you will keep the things they're telling you a secret. Explain that you need to share what they've told you with someone who will be able to help.
> Find out more about recognising and responding to abuse
What information to record

Ensure the procedure details how, when and what information needs to be recorded. You should also cover who should record this information (for example, your organisation's nominated child protection lead) and where records should be stored.

Contact details

Make sure the procedure includes contact details for anyone who needs to be informed, including any external agencies and make sure it's clear who is responsible for making any referrals. This should be your organisation's nominated child protection officer.

It is important that staff and volunteers know who to speak to and don't feel they are on their own when dealing with a worrying situation. Parents, children and young people also need to know who to talk to if they are worried.

Confidentiality

Be clear about confidentiality. Information should only be shared with people who need to know. Make sure your procedures are clear about what should be shared and who with. Remember you must share any concerns you have about a child, even if they ask you not to.

Ensure your procedures are clear and accessible

Make sure that all adults and children are aware of, understand and can access your safeguarding and child protection procedures. Reading them should be part of your induction processes and training.
> See our Introduction to safeguarding and child protection training > See our Safeguarding 16 to 25 year olds training
You may need to provide procedures in different languages or in other formats such as Braille or large text. You should also consider whether you need a child-friendly version. Decide in advance how you will tell everyone about any new or updated procedures.

What procedures should you have?

When writing your more detailed policies and procedures you should consider all elements of keeping a child or young person safe. You should make sure your procedures cover:
> View our Introductory guide to safeguarding for the voluntary and community sector

Legislation and guidance

Legislation and guidance

Each UK nation has its own child protection legislation and guidance.

As part of this, there is guidance setting out the safeguarding and child protection responsibilities of organisations and groups.

England

In England, the Department for Education (DfE) provides the key statutory guidance for anyone working with children and young people: Working together to safeguard children (DfE, 2018). This sets out how organisations should work together to keep children safe. Sections 57 - 62 set out the requirements for voluntary, charity, social enterprise, faith-based organisations and private sectors.

The DfE's guidance What to do if you're worried a child is being abused (PDF) describes the actions to take if you think a child is being abused or neglected. (DfE, 2015)

The DfE has published a voluntary code of practice for out-of-school settings. It includes advice on safeguarding and child protection, staff suitability, and governance (DfE, 2020).

If your organisation is a registered charity, you must also follow the Charity Commission's guidance.
> Find out more about the safeguarding legislation and guidance for charities
Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has published Co-operating to safeguard children and young people in Northern Ireland (Department of Health, 2017). Section 3.8 sets out how voluntary, charitable, faith and community-based organisations should contribute to keep children safe.

The Revised regional core child protection policies and procedures for Northern Ireland explain what actions people who work with children should take if they have concerns about a child or young person's welfare (Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, 2021).

If your organisation is a registered charity, you must also follow the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's guidance.
> Find out more about the safeguarding legislation and guidance for charities
Scotland

In Scotland, the National guidance for child protection provides a framework for anyone who might face child protection issues (Scottish Government, 2021). This includes third sector organisations (voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, co-operatives and mutuals).

If your organisation is a registered charity, you must also follow guidance from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
> Find out more about the safeguarding legislation and guidance for charities
Wales

The Welsh Government has published Working together to safeguard people, a suite of guidance and codes of practice that sets out how agencies and practitioners should work together to safeguard children (Welsh Government, 2019).

Volume 5 (PDF) focuses on handling individual cases to protect children at risk.

The Working together to safeguard people: code of safeguarding practice sets out safeguarding expectations for all individuals, groups and organisations providing activities or services to children and adults in Wales (Welsh Government, 2022).

The Wales Safeguarding Procedures provide a framework for how child protection referrals, actions and plans should be carried out (Wales Safeguarding Procedures Project Board, 2020).

If your organisation is a registered charity, you must also follow the Charity Commission's guidance.
> Find out more about the safeguarding legislation and guidance for charities

References and resources

References and resources

Department for Education (DfE) (2020) Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings: code of practice. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Department for Education (DfE) (2015) What to do if you're worried a child is being abused: advice for practitioners (PDF). London: HM Government.

Department for Education (DfE) (2018) Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.[Accessed 25/11/2021].

Department of Health (2017) Co-operating to safeguard children and young people in Northern Ireland. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI) (2021) Revised regional core child protection policies and procedures for Northern Ireland. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Scottish Government (2021) National guidance for child protection in Scotland. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Wales Safeguarding Procedures Project Board (2020) Wales Safeguarding Procedures [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Welsh Government (2019) Working together to safeguard people: volume 5: handling individual cases to protect children at risk (PDF). Cardiff: Welsh Government

Welsh Government (2021) Safeguarding guidance. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Welsh Government (2022) Working together to safeguard people: code for safeguarding practice. [Accessed 03/02/2022].

Childline

If a child or young person needs confidential help and advice after an image of them has been shared online, direct them to Childline. Calls to 0800 1111 are free and children can also contact Childline online.

You can also download or order Childline posters and wallet cards.

Elearning

Our elearning courses can help develop your understanding of how to protect children from abuse:

Related NSPCC resources

You may also be interested in the following NSPCC Learning resources:

Introduction

Children have the right to be protected from harm. If your organisation or group works with children or young people you must have a clear set of guidelines about how you will:

keep children safe

respond to child protection concerns.

Your safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures are an important part of protecting children and young people. They must be supported by good governance, health and safety, financial management, staff supervision and management.

This page explains how to write a safeguarding or child protection policy statement that sets out your organisation's commitment to keeping children safe.

What is a safeguarding policy statement?

A safeguarding or child protection policy statement makes it clear what your organisation or group will do to keep children safe.

It should set out:

your organisation's commitment to protecting all children

the more detailed policies and procedures your organisation will put in place to keep children safe and respond to child protection concerns.

What are safeguarding and child protection procedures?

Safeguarding and child protection procedures are detailed guidelines and instructions that support your overarching safeguarding policy statement. They explain the steps that your organisation will take to keep children and young people safe and what to do when there are concerns about a child's safety or wellbeing.

For example, your safeguarding procedures should cover issues like how staff and volunteers should respond to concerns about a child and young person and how you will make sure you recruit the right people to work with children and young people.

You should also ensure that staff and volunteers know what to do if they are concerned about anything happening in a child's life - whether or not it is happening within your organisation.

Where to start

Getting started on your safeguarding policy statement

There are different ways to write a safeguarding or child protection statement, but before you put pen to paper it's helpful to think about:

the potential risks to a child in your organisation

how someone might raise a concern

the practicalities of who should be involved in writing the policy statement.

It is also useful to think about all the things that you might already be doing to help make your organisation a place where children and young people can flourish, have positive experiences and stay safe.

Things to consider

What are the potential risks to children - who may pose a risk? what situations may increase risk?

How do you make sure the people who work or volunteer for your organisation are suitable to do so?

What are the different ways someone might raise a concern about a child's wellbeing?

How should you respond to concerns or allegations of harm that has happened within your organisation?

How does this overarching policy statement link up with your more detailed child protection procedures?

How will you make sure everyone involved with your organisation is aware of how to spot and respond to child protection concerns?

> Find out more about best practice for recognising and responding to abuse
Practical tips

Tailor your policy statement to suit the needs of your organisation.

Use words and phrases that will mean the most to the group or community.

Involve people from different parts of the organisation to make sure the policy is relevant for everyone.

Think about how you can involve children and incorporate their perspective.

Ask different people in different roles to read the policy statement and feedback to ensure it is accessible to everybody.

Writing a policy statement

Writing a safeguarding and child protection policy statement

Your policy statement should be clear, concise and cover all the information listed below. Aim to keep it to two sides of A4 paper if possible, though you may need more space depending on your organisation's needs and context.

Purpose and aim of the policy statement

Identify the organisation, its purpose and function. Set out the organisation's overarching commitment to keeping children safe.

Scope of the policy statement

Be clear about who the policy applies to. It should cover all children under 18 but are all adults expected to comply with it? Should it just be staff and volunteers who work directly with children? What about those who have occasional contact with children such as a caretaker?

Context

Briefly state the main legislation and guidance that supports the policy statement. Explain how this policy statement links to more detailed child protection policies and procedures.
> Find out more about the child protection system in each UK nation
Policy statement

Set out your organisation's beliefs about the importance of child protection.

For example, "we believe everyone has a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them".

Include a statement about equality and a commitment to anti-discriminatory practice. For example "we will give equal priority to keeping all children and young people safe regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation".

Make sure your policy statement recognises the additional needs of children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities and disabled children and the barriers they may face, for example with communication or the impact of discrimination.

> Find out more about safeguarding d/Deaf and disabled children > Read our information on safeguarding children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities
Explain how, in broad terms, the organisation will meet your commitment to keeping children safe. For example by:

listening to children and respecting them

appointing a nominated child protection lead and a member of the trustee board who takes lead responsibility for safeguarding at the highest level in the organisation

writing detailed safeguarding and child protection procedures

making sure all staff and volunteers understand and follow the safeguarding and child protection procedures

ensuring children, young people and their families know about the organisation's safeguarding and child protection policies and what to do if they have a concern

building a safeguarding culture where staff, volunteers and children know how they are expected to behave and feel comfortable about sharing concerns.

Supporting documents

You need a set of more detailed policies and procedures which explain the steps adults within your organisation must take to keep children safe. Your policy statement should include a list of these. You can find more details about writing these policies and procedures on the "writing safeguarding policies" tab.

Contact details

Include the names and contact details of the people responsible for safeguarding and child protection in your organisation.

Include the contact details for the NSPCC Helpline and Childline so that people know they can contact us if they need child protection support and advice.

Dates

Provide the date the policy statement comes into force.

It's important to keep the statement up to date so you should include and a review dates and make sure the review happens on time.

Signature

Your policy statement should be signed and dated by the most senior person in your organisation who has responsibility for safeguarding and child protection.
> See an example safeguarding and child protection policy statement
Next steps after completing your safeguarding policy statement

When you have completed your overarching safeguarding and child protection policy statement, you need to ensure that all adults and children are aware of, understand and can access your safeguarding policies.

You should consider:

how you will tell everyone about new or updated policies and any challenges that might arise

how to ensure your policy is accessible to people with communication difficulties or different language needs.

Writing procedures

Writing safeguarding and child protection procedures

Your overarching safeguarding and child protection policy statement should refer to a set of more detailed policies and procedures. These procedures should outline the steps that must be taken if there are any concerns about a child's or young person's safety and wellbeing.

It is essential that your procedures are clear and easy to follow. Make sure each procedure includes the items below.

Purpose and aim of the procedure

Every procedure you create should clearly state its aim and purpose and who it applies to. For example, each procedure should be written for everyone who comes into contact with children and young people even if it is not their main role in your organisation.

Summary of useful information

Include a summary of any information that is relevant. For example, a procedure about responding to concerns about a child's wellbeing could include a description of the different types of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual abuse and neglect) as well as the signs and indicators that might be a cause for concern.

Clear instructions

Each procedure should include clear steps of the action needed. You could consider using diagrams and flowcharts to help make the steps easy to follow.

If someone is concerned about child's welfare they should tell the nominated child protection lead or their deputy. Any concerns must be kept confidential and should not be discussed with anyone other than the child protection lead, who should make a referral to children's services. Reporting concerns helps children's services build an overall picture of the child's life and the support they or their family may need.

If a child tells you they are experiencing abuse, it's important to reassure them that they've done the right thing in telling you. Make sure they know that abuse is never their fault. Never promise a child that you will keep the things they're telling you a secret. Explain that you need to share what they've told you with someone who will be able to help.
> Find out more about recognising and responding to abuse
What information to record

Ensure the procedure details how, when and what information needs to be recorded. You should also cover who should record this information (for example, your organisation's nominated child protection lead) and where records should be stored.

Contact details

Make sure the procedure includes contact details for anyone who needs to be informed, including any external agencies and make sure it's clear who is responsible for making any referrals. This should be your organisation's nominated child protection officer.

It is important that staff and volunteers know who to speak to and don't feel they are on their own when dealing with a worrying situation. Parents, children and young people also need to know who to talk to if they are worried.

Confidentiality

Be clear about confidentiality. Information should only be shared with people who need to know. Make sure your procedures are clear about what should be shared and who with. Remember you must share any concerns you have about a child, even if they ask you not to.

Ensure your procedures are clear and accessible

Make sure that all adults and children are aware of, understand and can access your safeguarding and child protection procedures. Reading them should be part of your induction processes and training.
> See our Introduction to safeguarding and child protection training > See our Safeguarding 16 to 25 year olds training
You may need to provide procedures in different languages or in other formats such as Braille or large text. You should also consider whether you need a child-friendly version. Decide in advance how you will tell everyone about any new or updated procedures.

What procedures should you have?

When writing your more detailed policies and procedures you should consider all elements of keeping a child or young person safe. You should make sure your procedures cover:
> View our Introductory guide to safeguarding for the voluntary and community sector

Legislation and guidance

Legislation and guidance

Each UK nation has its own child protection legislation and guidance.

As part of this, there is guidance setting out the safeguarding and child protection responsibilities of organisations and groups.

England

In England, the Department for Education (DfE) provides the key statutory guidance for anyone working with children and young people: Working together to safeguard children (DfE, 2018). This sets out how organisations should work together to keep children safe. Sections 57 - 62 set out the requirements for voluntary, charity, social enterprise, faith-based organisations and private sectors.

The DfE's guidance What to do if you're worried a child is being abused (PDF) describes the actions to take if you think a child is being abused or neglected. (DfE, 2015)

The DfE has published a voluntary code of practice for out-of-school settings. It includes advice on safeguarding and child protection, staff suitability, and governance (DfE, 2020).

If your organisation is a registered charity, you must also follow the Charity Commission's guidance.
> Find out more about the safeguarding legislation and guidance for charities
Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has published Co-operating to safeguard children and young people in Northern Ireland (Department of Health, 2017). Section 3.8 sets out how voluntary, charitable, faith and community-based organisations should contribute to keep children safe.

The Revised regional core child protection policies and procedures for Northern Ireland explain what actions people who work with children should take if they have concerns about a child or young person's welfare (Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland, 2021).

If your organisation is a registered charity, you must also follow the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland's guidance.
> Find out more about the safeguarding legislation and guidance for charities
Scotland

In Scotland, the National guidance for child protection provides a framework for anyone who might face child protection issues (Scottish Government, 2021). This includes third sector organisations (voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, co-operatives and mutuals).

If your organisation is a registered charity, you must also follow guidance from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
> Find out more about the safeguarding legislation and guidance for charities
Wales

The Welsh Government has published Working together to safeguard people, a suite of guidance and codes of practice that sets out how agencies and practitioners should work together to safeguard children (Welsh Government, 2019).

Volume 5 (PDF) focuses on handling individual cases to protect children at risk.

The Working together to safeguard people: code of safeguarding practice sets out safeguarding expectations for all individuals, groups and organisations providing activities or services to children and adults in Wales (Welsh Government, 2022).

The Wales Safeguarding Procedures provide a framework for how child protection referrals, actions and plans should be carried out (Wales Safeguarding Procedures Project Board, 2020).

If your organisation is a registered charity, you must also follow the Charity Commission's guidance.
> Find out more about the safeguarding legislation and guidance for charities

References and resources

References and resources

Department for Education (DfE) (2020) Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings: code of practice. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Department for Education (DfE) (2015) What to do if you're worried a child is being abused: advice for practitioners (PDF). London: HM Government.

Department for Education (DfE) (2018) Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.[Accessed 25/11/2021].

Department of Health (2017) Co-operating to safeguard children and young people in Northern Ireland. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI) (2021) Revised regional core child protection policies and procedures for Northern Ireland. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Scottish Government (2021) National guidance for child protection in Scotland. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Wales Safeguarding Procedures Project Board (2020) Wales Safeguarding Procedures [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Welsh Government (2019) Working together to safeguard people: volume 5: handling individual cases to protect children at risk (PDF). Cardiff: Welsh Government

Welsh Government (2021) Safeguarding guidance. [Accessed 25/11/2021].

Welsh Government (2022) Working together to safeguard people: code for safeguarding practice. [Accessed 03/02/2022].

Childline

If a child or young person needs confidential help and advice after an image of them has been shared online, direct them to Childline. Calls to 0800 1111 are free and children can also contact Childline online.

You can also download or order Childline posters and wallet cards.

Elearning

Our elearning courses can help develop your understanding of how to protect children from abuse:

Related NSPCC resources

You may also be interested in the following NSPCC Learning resources:

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Writing safeguarding policies and procedures | NSPCC Learning

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Introduction Children have the right to be protected from harm. If your organisation or group works with children or young people you must have a clear set of guidelines about how you will: keep children safe respond to child protection concerns. Your safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures are an important part of protecting children and young people.

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What is the UN Convention?

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the basis of all of our work. It is the most complete statement of children's rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.

What makes the UN Convention so special?

The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child's life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.

Every child has rights "without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status" (Article 2).

The Convention must be seen as a whole: all the rights are linked and no right is more important than another. The right to relax and play (Article 31) and the right to freedom of expression (Article 13) have equal importance as the right to be safe from violence (Article 19) and the right to education (Article 28).

We are the only organisation working for children recognised by the Convention.

The Convention is also the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. All UN member states except for the United States have ratified the Convention. The Convention came into force in the UK in 1992.

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UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - UNICEF UK

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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the basis for all of UNICEF's work and upholds children's rights all over the world.

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This page summarises the changes brought about by Part 1 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, and brings together useful guidance and commentary on sections within this. This resource will be updated when final guidance and regulations relating to the Act, such as Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance and the content of the relationships and sex education curriculum, have been published.

Introduction

The Children and Social Work Act was passed by the Conservative Government in 2017, having been launched in 2016 in the House of Lords by Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for the School System Lord Nash and championed through the House of Commons by then Minister for Children and Families Edward Timpson. The Bill was published with no prior public consultation.

Mark Riddell has since been named by then Children's Minister Robert Goodwill as implementation advisor for care leavers, meaning he "will work closely with local authorities as they drive forward the new duties introduced" by the Children and Social Work Act as they relate to care leavers.
Helpful overall reading
- Children and Young People Now has produced a very helpful overview of the Act and key responses to it.

- NSPCC has published a briefing on the government's proposed changes to Working Together to Safeguard Children

The main import of the Act - for children in care and care leavers

NB For clear legal definitions of a child in care and care leavers, see Child Law Advice.

Corporate Parenting Principles

The Act introduces Corporate Parenting Principles which are intended to change local authority culture so that all staff and departments consider the impact of their work on children and young people for whom the local authority is the corporate parent, as well as on those under 25 who were previously in the care of a local authority.

The Corporate Parenting Principles state that English local authorities (including county, district, borough and combined authorities) must 'have regard to the need' to take certain actions in their work for children in care and care leavers. These are:
(a) to act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and well-being, of those children and young people; (b) to encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings; (c) to take into account the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people; (d) to help those children and young people gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners; (e) to promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes, for those children and young people; (f) for those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work; (g) to prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living. Helpful reading

- The Local Government Association's resource pack on the Corporate Parenting Principles

The Local Offer for care leavers

English local authorities must publish a 'Local Offer' for care leavers, informing care leavers about services they provide under the Children Act 1989, plus anything else they or others offer that 'may assist care leavers in, or in preparing for, adulthood and independent living' including services related to:
Helpful reading

- The Local Government Association's resource pack on support for care leavers

- Surrey has created a Twitter profile to promote its local offer.

Some areas are working to listen to care leavers to produce more standardised information and services based on what a wide group of care leavers want.

- Directors of Children's Services in the North East region are developing a Memorandum of Understanding to "work towards all care leavers in the region having access to the things they have told us are most important to them, regardless of where they live."

Personal Advisor up to the age of 25

This adds a new provision to the Children Act 1989, extending the entitlement to a Personal Advisor (PA) beyond the age of 21 to all care leavers up to 25 years old, whether or not they are in education or training. Local authorities now have a responsibility to make the offer of a PA at least once a year to care leavers, and for them to carry out a needs assessment and to prepare a pathway plan for the care leaver.
Helpful reading
It is difficult to anticipate how many more care leavers will take up this entitlement, how many more PAs might be needed and in which areas. Various organisations working with care leavers have identified that the system is already stretched, and that care leavers need support beyond current statutory provision to successfully become independent (for example the Princes Trust research programme From Care To Independence).
Implementation of the above provisions
Government guidance on the implementation of the Corporate Parenting Principles, the Local Offer and the extension of the PA entitlement has undergone public consultation and should be published soon.

The government intends regulation relating to the above provisions to come into force on April 1st 2018. The Department for Education is due to review the role of the PA, including training, knowledge and skills.

Responses to the government's consultation on guidance for the Corporate Parenting Principles, the Local Offer for care leavers and the extension of Personal Advisor support to care leavers up to the age of 25:

- The Local Government Association

- The Association of Directors of Children's Services

The education of previously looked after children

The Children and Social Work Act contains several provisions intended to support the educational achievement of previously looked after children. A 'previously looked after' child is a child who was in the care of the local authority but was then immediately adopted, became subject to a Child Arrangements Order or a Special Guardianship Order. The Act addresses disparities between the educational support offered to looked after children and previously looked after children, and between the duties of state-maintained schools and academies towards currently and previously looked after children.

It stipulates:

State-maintained schools must now have a designated staff member responsible for promoting the educational achievement of previously looked after children as well as children currently in care

Academies must designate a member of staff to promote the educational achievement of both children currently and previously in care

A local authority must make available information and advice promoting the educational attainment of previously looked after children - to their school's 'designated member of staff' and people with parental responsibility

Care and adoption proceedings

This section of the Act extends the issues a court or adoption agency must consider when making decisions about the care or adoption of a child. It came into force on 31st October 2017.

It extends the definition of the 'permanence plan' that courts must consider when making a care or supervision order for a child. Part of a Section 31 plan, the permanence plan that informs placement decisions now incorporates both:

The long-term plan for where the child will live (with parents, relatives or friends; with an adoptive family; in other long-term care)

The impact on the child of any harm they have suffered or are likely to suffer, their corresponding needs and how the long-term plan will address those needs

When considering placing a child for adoption, courts and adoption agencies must now have regard to the child's relationship with prospective adopters, as well as relatives. The full list of considerations is in the Adoption and Children Act 2002.

Then Children's Minister Edward Timpson clarified in parliamentary debate of this provision:
"It is not a matter of children who have no relationship with the prospective adopters, and have not met them or had time to get to know them. It is about those who are already placed, where there is already a relationship."
Placing children in secure accommodation over the border

This provision allows local authorities in England and Wales to place children in secure accommodation in Scotland, and those in Scotland to place children in secure accommodation in England. It aims to solve the problem of insufficient places in local secure accommodation by giving authorities permission to look further afield when placing a child.
Helpful reading
Due to disparities in law between England and Scotland, it means children being subject to slightly different entitlements and requirements once they have been placed over the border.

- Article 39 published a useful briefing on concerns about this provision as part of a proposed amendment to the Bill (a sunset clause) which was rejected.

The main import of the Act - for safeguarding

The Children and Social Work Act makes several significant changes for safeguarding at both local and national levels, by amending the Children Act 2004.

Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel

The Secretary of State will establish a new national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, which will identify and review local safeguarding cases it judges to be complex or of national significance. The purpose of the review is "to identify any improvements that should be made by safeguarding partners or others to safeguard and promote the welfare of children".

A local authority must notify the panel of any instance where a child dies or is seriously harmed in their area, or where a child usually resident in their area dies or is seriously harmed outside of England. The panel has the power to request any information that will help it in its review.

Local safeguarding arrangements

The Act effectively abolishes Local Safeguarding Children Boards, removing the Children Act 2004 duties relating to them. In their place, it puts duties on three 'safeguarding partners' - the local authority, any Clinical Commissioning Groups operating in the area and the Chief Officer of Police - to make safeguarding arrangements that respond to the needs of children in their area.

Two or more areas can also combine their safeguarding arrangements, and one partner can undertake functions on behalf of the corresponding partner within the combined area (eg one Clinical Commissioning Group may carry out the functions of another Clinical Commissioning Group for the overall area).

Their main responsibilities are:

To involve 'relevant agencies' in their area

To identify and supervise the review of serious safeguarding cases in their area

To publish their local safeguarding arrangements

To arrange for independent scrutiny of their local safeguarding arrangements

To publish a report every 12 months on what they and the relevant agencies have done as a result of the local safeguarding arrangements and how effective the arrangements have been in practice

Child death reviews

This section of the Act provides for the functioning of child death review partners in a local authority area. Much of the detail on the constitution and proceedings of the review partners will be clarified in updated guidance. The child death review partners must arrange for the review of every death of a child usually resident in their area, and of children not usually resident in their area if they consider it appropriate.

The purpose of the review is:

to identify any matters relating to the death or deaths that are relevant to the welfare of children in the area or to public health and safety

to consider whether it would be appropriate for anyone to take action in relation to any matters identified.

As with the local safeguarding partners, two or more areas can combine their functions and partners can undertake work on behalf of other partners in the combined area.
Helpful reading
Concerns have been expressed that in stipulating only three agencies as safeguarding partners, new local safeguarding arrangements leave many settings - including schools and children's charities - with less formal involvement in keeping children safe and put previously well-established working relationships across the community at risk.

- The Association of Independent LSCB Chairs has gathered together several useful briefings on changes to child safeguarding arrangements

- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 will, when finalised, clarify important detail for the implementation of new safeguarding arrangements

Protecting whistle-blowers

The Act extends the protection against employment discrimination for whistle-blowers in the NHS to whistle-blowers in children's social care roles. Regulations to prevent discrimination against people who have made protected disclosures, and compensate workers where it occurs, will be created that apply to both local authorities and other providers of statutory social care services. Discrimination is determined to be where an employer "refuses the applicant's application or in some other way treats the applicant less favourably than it treats or would treat other applicants for the same position."

Combined authorities

Section 33 of the Act simply extends the power of the Secretary of State to secure proper performance from individual local authorities to combined authorities.

The main import of the Act - for the curriculum

Relationships and sex education in England schools

Chapter 4 of the Act puts a duty on all primary schools to provide relationships education and on all secondary schools to provide relationships and sex education. Previously, only state-maintained secondary schools had any obligation in this regard.

Relationships / relationships and sex education must be appropriate to pupils' age and religious background. Schools will be required to publish their policy on their relationships and sex education.

The content of both relationships education and sex and relationships education must include:
(i) safety in forming and maintaining relationships, (ii) the characteristics of healthy relationships, and (iii) how relationships may affect physical and mental health and well-being
Then Secretary of State for Education Justine Greening appointed Ian Bauckham to lead the consultation on how these subjects should be taught. This consultation is currently underway.
Helpful reading
- The Sex Education Forum has published a short briefing on the implications of the new SRE provisions

Personal, Social, Health and Economic education

This section also allows the Secretary of State to require (via regulations) that Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) is provided in all primary and secondary schools in England. The detail of this education would be clarified by consultation and statutory guidance issued to schools, and the new regulations could amend previous education legislation.
Helpful reading
- The Department for Education's public consultation on the content and teaching of these subjects is open until 12th February 2018.

- The Department has published a statement explaining their rationale for making relationships and sex education statutory while only creating the possibility of making PSHE statutory, and for keeping the provisions of the Act relatively broad and leaving much of the detail to be decided after consultation or by individual schools

Several organisations feel that the Act should have gone further and made PSHE in its entirety a statutory part of the curriculum in all schools.

- The PSHE Association, supported by many organisations, continues to gather evidence and campaign for up to date, high-quality statutory PSHE education

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This page summarises the changes brought about by Part 1 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, and brings together useful guidance and commentary on sections within this. This resource will be updated when final guidance and regulations relating to the Act, such as Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance and the content of the relationships and sex education curriculum, have been published.

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Our Mental Health resources have been created to provide information on a wide range of mental health topics to assist with imporving mental health support in the workplace.

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Safeguarding Annual Report 2020 21 Polly Harrow

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NE health skills hub Suzanne Duncan final

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In 2017, the Government published its Green Paper for Transforming children and young people's mental health, which detailed proposals for expanding access to mental health care for children and young people, building on the national NHS transformation programme which is already underway.

Its proposals were focused on providing additional support through schools and colleges and reducing waiting times for treatment. Following a 13-week public consultation, during which the Government received more than 2,700 responses, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education published its Response to the Children and Young People's Mental Health Green Paper Consultation.

Supported by partners, NHS England and NHS Improvement is leading the delivery of two of the programme's main commitments:

Establishing new Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), jointly delivered with the Department for Education. MHSTs are intended to provide early intervention on some mental health and emotional wellbeing issues, such as mild to moderate anxiety, as well as helping staff within a school or college setting to provide a 'whole school approach' to mental health and wellbeing. The teams will act as a link with local children and young people's mental health services and be supervised by NHS staff;

Trialling a four-week waiting time for access to specialist NHS children and young people's mental health services, building on the expansion of NHS services already underway.

NHS England and NHS Improvement is also supporting the Mental Health Services and Schools and Colleges Link Programme which will bring together education and mental health services under Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to forge joint working and ensure long-term collaboration.

The Link Programme is a £9.3m national initiative led by the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families and funded by the Department for Education, which will be rolled out over four years. Every school, college and alternative provision will be trained through a series of workshops to pool their understanding and resources and to draw up long term plans, coordinated by CCGs.

The first Mental Health Support Teams were launched in 25 trailblazer areas announced in December 2018. These include 12 areas that are also testing a four-week waiting time. These trailblazer MHSTs are building up their capacity and capability during 2019. A further 57 sites were confirmed in July 2019, and these will start developing 123 Mental Health Support Teams during 2020.

NHS England and NHS Improvement regional teams are leading local areas through this process. Further plans for the development of children and young people's mental health care are described in the NHS Long Term Plan, and set out in detail for local areas in the Mental Health Implementation Plan.

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New mental health support in schools and colleges and faster access to NHS care

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In 2017, the Government published its Green Paper for Transforming children and young people's mental health, which detailed proposals for expanding access to mental health care for children and young people, building on the national NHS transformation programme which is already underway.

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How to understand and safeguard your learners needs - whitepaper

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Being kind to yourself; theimportance of self-compassion,taking breaks and sleep

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Being kind to yourself; theimportance of self-compassion,taking breaks and sleep

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https://zoom.us/rec/share/nx2W5CIilP-gGUq0PU1NATwK38rVepqZTSNKm_uZj94-pAdwNQnHw_POqa5WJaTG.bhH5aHIjKA4ZIwXv?startTime=1625651146000
AoCLW21

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The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) is planning to host a number of Forums in 2021-22 for those responsible for Safeguarding and Prevent in Further Education and Training Sector.

The online Forums bring together designated safeguarding leads, deputies and those with specific safeguarding and prevent roles and responsibilities. They provide a space to hear from sector specialists sharing best practice, knowledge and skills and to support individual development.

The Forums run from 10.00 to 16.00, with registration open at 9.45. Each is themed to focus on current hot topics and issues that the FE and Training sector is facing in relation to Safeguarding and Prevent. The events will feature guest speakers, small group discussions, reflections and a space to ask questions.

Our next Forum will take place on Tuesday 29 June 2021, with the theme 'Peer Influence'. The power of peer influence occurs in all age groups regardless of gender, social and cultural groups. It can be a force for negative or positive outcomes in our Prevent and Safeguarding practice.

We will be exploring both the risks and opportunities that peer influence presents, including how we can empower learners to safeguard themselves. See full agenda.

If you would like to secure your place, please book through our ETF booking page:

If you have any questions, please check the Forum FAQs.

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Safeguarding and Prevent - The Education and Training Foundation

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The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) is planning to host a number of Forums in 2021-22 for those responsible for Safeguarding and Prevent in Further Education and Training Sector. The online Forums bring together designated safeguarding leads, deputies and those with specific safeguarding and prevent roles and responsibilities.

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Mental Health and Colleges - AoC Report January 2021_0