Source: Department of Science Innovation and Technology published on this web site Monday 18 March 2024
This advice is for designated safeguarding leads (DSLs), their deputies, headteachers and senior leadership teams in schools and educational establishments[footnote 1] in England. Other members of staff should see a one-page summary on how to manage incidents available on the UK Council for Internet Safety’s (UKCIS’) website.
This document may also act as good practice advice for out-of-school settings providing education for children and young people in England (e.g. extracurricular clubs, youth organisations and providers).
Practitioners working in education settings in Wales should see the following advice on responding to incidents:
Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: responding to incidents and safeguarding children and young people (Welsh Government as part of UKCIS)
Practitioners working in education settings in Scotland should see the following guidance and advice for responding to incidents and safeguarding children and young people in Scotland:
National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland
Healthy relationships and consent: key messages for young people (Scottish Government)
Upstream (Stop It Now! and the Scottish Government)
What’s the problem? (Stop It Now!)
Internet safety for children and young people: national action plan (Scottish Government)
This advice outlines how to respond to an incident of nudes and semi-nudes being shared (see section 1.4 for a definition), including:
- risk assessing situations
- safeguarding and supporting children and young people
- handling devices and images
- recording incidents, including the role of other agencies
- informing parents and carers
The types of incidents which this advice covers are:
- a person under the age of 18 creates and shares nudes and semi-nudes of themselves with a peer under the age of 18
- a person under the age of 18 shares nudes and semi-nudes created by another person under the age of 18 with a peer under the age of 18
- a person under the age of 18 is in possession of nudes and semi-nudes created by another person under the age of 18
This advice does not cover children and young people under the age of 18 sharing adult pornography or exchanging sexual texts which do not contain images
In response to these issues, education settings should follow their local authority’s guidance and schools and colleges should also refer to the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) Keeping children safe in education statutory safeguarding guidance.
The production of this advice has been co-ordinated by the UKCIS Education Working Group in consultation with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on behalf of UKCIS.
This advice is non-statutory, and schools and colleges should read this alongside:
Keeping children safe in education: statutory guidance (DfE)
Searching, screening and confiscation: non-statutory advice (DfE).
The advice replaces ‘Sexting in schools and colleges: responding to incidents and safeguarding young people’ published in 2016 by UKCIS in collaboration with the NPCC and Charlotte Aynsley.
