Latest Safeguarding News
Financially motivated sexual extortion: guidance for further education professionals
Source: UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) published on this website Friday 30 January 2026 by Jill Powell
Globally there has been an increase in reports of children and young people being victims of financially motivated sexual extortion, often referred to in the media as ‘sextortion’.
The National Crime Agency’s CEOP Education, in partnership with UK Safer Internet Centre, have create...
Read More..........MHRA issues new guidance for people using mental health apps and technologies
Source: Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published on this website Wednesday 29 January 2026
New advice on using apps and other digital tools to support mental health is being published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) today (27 January), as part of free online resources developed with NHS England for the public, parents, c...
Read More..........Man who planned to drug and rape children given life sentence
Source: National Crime Agency (NCA) published on this website Wednesday 28 January 2026 by Jill Powell
A man from London, who planned to travel overseas and rape children as young as six, has been jailed for life.
Edward Gratwick, 68, from Mitcham, was arrested at Stansted Airport on 7 March 2025 as he attempted to board a flight to Bucharest, Romania.
He was identified by officers from th...
Read More..........Report Fraud has launched
Source: City of London Police published on this website Monday 26 January 2026 by Jill Powell
The City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, last week announced the full public launch of Report Fraud - a new national service designed to transform how victims and businesses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland report cyber crime and fraud, and how law enfor...
Read More..........Children not always recognised as domestic abuse victims in their own right, inspectorates warn
Source: Ofsted published on this website Thursday 22 January 2026 by Jill Powell
The 4 inspectorates jointly carried out inspections across 6 local authority areas to look at the response to children who are at risk from, or are victims of, domestic abuse. Inspectors considered icti children as victims of domestic abuse if they have seen, heard or experienced the effect of the abuse. But today’s ...
Read More..........DBS checks for self-employed people and personal employees
Source: Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) published on this website Wednesday 21 January 2026
This guidance is live from 21 January 2026
.The information below is for self-employed individuals and personal employees.
A self-employed person is an individual who works for themselves rather than being employed by an organisation. For example, a private maths ...
Read More..........Government launches consultation on children's social media use and bans phones in schools to protect young people's wellbeing and ensure safer online experiences.
Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published on this website Monday 20 January 2026 by Jill Powell
A consultation will identify the next steps in the government’s plan to boost children’s wellbeing online, ensuring they have a healthy relationship with mobile phones and social media.
The proposals will build on the government’s broader action to e...
Read More..........The government is consulting on the Child Protection Authority (CPA), a national body to improve child protection.
Source: Department for Education published on this website Monday 19 January 2026 by Jill Powell
The CPA is envisaged as an expert, accurate and decisive body that makes the multi-agency child protection system clearer, more unified and ensure there is ongoing improvements through effective evidence-based support.
This consultation seeks views on the CPA’s proposed functions, governance, and int...
Read More..........Former Nazareth House nuns and retired support worker guilty of non-recent child abuse
Source: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service(COPFS) published on this website Friday 16 January 2026 by Jill Powell
Two former nuns and a retired support worker have been convicted of abusing vulnerable young people at children’s homes more than 40 years ago.
Carol Buirds, 75, Eileen McElhinney, 78, and Dorothy Kane, 68, were found guilty of subjecting multiple victims to cruel and unnatur...
Read More..........Prosecutors are working on the highest ever number of hate crime cases as referrals from police hit record levels.
Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Thursday 15 January 2026
The Crown Prosecution Service’s latest performance data for July to September 2025 released today (January 15) shows it received 4,358 cases from police which have been flagged as having a hate crime element. This is a 14.7 per cent increase on the previous quarter – April to June 2025 – and 2.8 p...
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