Family and loved ones of Damilola Taylor, who was killed 25 years ago, were joined by the mayor of London in Peckham at an event to mark the anniversary. His legacy includes the Damilola Trust, which supports young people, promotes education and fights youth violence. www.itv.com/news/london/...

Looking to plan courses for your setting in 2026 & want to get ahead of the game? I'm running several Designated Safeguarding Lead courses in 2026. One covers everything for the newly-promoted DSL, the other is a renewal course for DSLs with 2+yrs experience. annmariechristian.com/book-now/

In advance of Safer Internet Day, the UK Safer Internet Centre has created a range of resources for 2026's official theme - "Smart tech, safe choices – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI". Find your free resources here, suitable for ages 3-18. saferinternet.org.uk/blog/launchi...

#ThinkTheUnthinkable: A head teacher who exposed himself to members of staff both at school and while on a school trip has been banned from teaching for at least 15 yrs. A professional standard panel agreed his behaviour was 'predatory' and 'sexualised'. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The NSPCC has just published some research on parent and carer awareness of the online blackmail of children and young people. One key finding is that ⅔ of parents and carers think tech companies and the govt are ineffective at preventing online blackmail.

A London primary school is tackling persistent absence rates by holding 'attendance awareness courses' for parents. The course is improving attendance and is offered as an alternative to paying a fine, helping parents understand the issues around persistent absence. schoolsweek.co.uk/the-school-r...

If your education setting has an OFSTED inspection approaching it can be daunting to ensure all your #safeguarding paperwork is present & correct. I can ease concerns, providing audits of your documentation to ensure everything is where it should be & KCSIE compliant. DM for info.

The National Child Mortality Database has published its info on the number & nature of child deaths. The death rate for children in the most deprived areas of England was more than twice that for children in the least deprived areas and 17% were known to social care. www.ncmd.info/publications...

Almost 7,000 child sexual abuse cases are stuck in the court system - a 9% rise on 2024. The NSPCC is calling for all open cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation to be fast-tracked, as the average wait is 10mths, rising to 18mths for rape of a 13-15yo child. www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/new...

A London scheme providing free school meals to all state primary children has now served 100 million lunches, having run for 2 yrs. Every child in yrs 3-6 receives a free meal, as children in yrs 1 & 2 already receive free lunches under a central govt scheme. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Crown Prosecution Service will train staff to recognise a 'wide spectrum of abuse' in cases of violence against women & girls, after new data found domestic abuse to be present in over 1/3 of rape cases & over 8/10 stalking & image-based abuse cases. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

I’m now booking training for 2026. My online Designated Safeguarding Lead courses are popular and places are filled up quickly, so get onto my bookings page ASAP to find out more about the course content, which training is best for you and how to express interest. annmariechristian.com/training/

Peterborough City Council are no longer housing any children in bed and breakfast or hotel accommodation, after a local campaign to end the practice, and schools citing ‘a significant impact’ on pupils’ performance. Families are now placed in self-contained housing. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Are children’s human rights protected in the social care system? The Joint Committee on Human Rights are holding an enquiry into whether social care systems fail to respect children’s human rights, particularly for children with immigration or nationality issues, www.cypnow.co.uk/content/in-d...

It’s important not to conflate a disadvantaged background with a lack of ability. This article looks at ways of challenging disadvantaged high-ability students, and also at the importance of creating a culture of challenge for ALL pupils. (Registration required) www.sec-ed.co.uk/content/best...

An educational setting has hailed a recent smartphone ban as 'transformative' for improvements in student behaviour. After a parent consultation, they moved to an outright ban on smartphones while still allowing 'brick' phones so families could be contacted. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A new law to protect tenants from the conditions that caused the death of Awaab Ishak has come into force. It forces landlords to fix emergency repairs within 24 hours, investigate issues such as damp and mould within 10 days, and repair within 5 days. www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news...

The parents of a 9-month-old boy who choked while eating pasta in a nursery setting have reached a settlement with the nursery involved. The boy suffered catastrophic brain injury due to lack of oxygen after the food became lodged in his lungs. #safeguarding www.itv.com/news/meridia...

Schools are to face a legal duty to record their use of non-disciplinary seclusion spaces and report to parents, under new measures being planned by the government. They want to differentiate between seclusion (supervised isolation) and removal (disciplinary). schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-to-f...

Do you need #safeguarding training for the spring school term? I can cater for individual DSLs, groups, a whole school team and even a multi-academy trust. You'll receive training containing the most up to date case studies and recent changes in legislation. DM me or link in bio.

Teachers at a secondary school in Northumberland are planning to strike over what both the NEU and NASUWT unions call a "failure of management to act" to properly tackle "disruptive behaviour". Senior leaders say behaviour is no worse than any other school. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Children's Commissioner has produced a report on children in custodial remand; how children who are already some of the most vulnerable in society are subjected to further poor treatment because the system around them has failed them repeatedly. www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/a-p...

#ThinkTheUnthinkable: A man who ran a summer holiday camp for underprivileged children for the last 27 years has pleaded guilty to sexual offences (incl assault of a child under 13 by penetration). He had injected sweets with drugs in order to incapacitate his victims.

A review of Sara Sharif's murder discovered that council workers tried to check on her at home just before her death, but went to an old address. The new address provided by her school had not been updated on the council's systems. She was killed the next day. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I featured on @itvnews last night, speaking about the Sara Sharif review & what I consider to be the main failings in the events leading up to her murder. I speak about professionals taking things at face value & lack of info sharing. See me from 4m 20s: www.itv.com/watch/news/c...

*INTERNATIONAL TRAINING ALERT* I’ll be in Qatar in December, delivering Safeguarding and Child Protection training. I’m CIS-affiliated & a BSME safeguarding partner. Want to join? Fill in the form below. 📅 Saturday 6 December ⏰9am - 12 noon 📍Pullman Hotel Doha docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Regulators are taking part in an international fact-finding exercise run by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network to check sites used by children. This checks whether sites have age assurance mechanisms and controls to limit the collection of children’s personal info.

It was a pleasure to take part in the 2025 #TeachAwards as one of the judges. In particular I was impressed by the online secondary magazine Picture News Secondary - it's a great website, with easy to navigate articles on both national and global issues. cdn.teachwire.net/e-mag/Teach-...

Many DSLs bear the weight of cases that stay with them for years, so it's important for every manager to provide supervision for their DSL, to help them reflect on their practice and work-life balance, review workloads and discuss issues. More info here 👇 www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-gui...

Councils that are working hard to place children in care closer to home are praised by campaigners at the care experience charity Become. 18,000 children in care currently live more than 20 miles from home; some have been placed more than 500 miles away. www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

Cheshire's Police commissioner is leading an initiative to put mobile phones in lockable pouches at every Cheshire high school. Schools with lockable pouches see immediate positive results in wellbeing & dramatic reductions in online safeguarding incidents. www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester...

OFSTED's new framework will identify children who have (or have previously had) involvement with social services. This will enable schools to identify & support them appropriately, but first there needs to be a fail-safe way for school systems to flag these pupils. schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-says-...

A 13yo girl who went missing from a children's home was found days later in the house of a man who was then convicted of raping her. Previously, she'd been moved between 9 placements in 2yrs. She was found to have taken drugs & had been abused by multiple men. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Here's the second Food Safety in Early Years resource from Kent Safeguarding: general guidance, with a visual guide and Eatsafe crib sheet, enabling you to identify children's differing needs (texture, allergies etc) at every stage of their food journey. www.kscmp.org.uk/__data/asset...

At a recent Early Years conference, I received a lot of questions about food safety in Early Years. I've found two excellent resources from Kent Safeguarding. Here's the first: a Practitioner Resource Pack with clear, concise info. www.kscmp.org.uk/__data/asset... Stay tuned for part 2...

Human error could have been the cause of criminal cases involving alleged grooming gangs being dropped. A National Crime Agency project tasked with discovering failures to tackle grooming gangs is looking at 1000s of cases where no further action was taken. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Male Allies UK has just published research on how adolescent boys feel about being a boy in today’s society, exploring their views on topics including gender, relationships & technology. They spoke to over 1,000 boys around Britain - read the report here: www.maleallies.co.uk/voice-of-the...

Need to renew your expertise as a Designated Safeguarding Lead? Do you have 2+ yrs experience as a DSL & feel like you could do with some more up to date training? My 1-day DSL course is online, affordable and will leave you feeling exhilarated to develop your role! annmariechristian.com/book-now/

Researchers call for an increase in parental support after a rise in children's social care referrals. "In need of help...as a result of risks to their development or health" meant that 2,900 more children were referred in 2025 than 2024, and 13,000 more since 2020. www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

Child safeguarding reviews in Wales - the government has confirmed there has been no oversight since 2018. The admission has been criticised by safeguarding experts; the response: "We will be reviewing requirements around independent investigations shortly." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Children in Need Report 2025 has just been released by the govt, exploring statistics surrounding children assessed as needing help & protection as a result of risks to development or health. This page contains headline facts & figures explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statist...

NSPCC Learning has published a briefing on young people's experiences of suicidal thoughts & feelings. It includes helpful info on what responses they considered to be unhelpful, how they describe their feelings around suicide and coping mechanisms used. learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-res...

The Children's Society has published its annual Good Childhood Report. Findings include: almost 10% of 10-17-year olds who completed the survey had low wellbeing; 40% are worried about money issues & school is the area of life causing the most unhappiness. www.childrenssociety.org.uk/information/...

I wrote this article about my own experiences of Affluent Neglect last year. Maybe some of my experiences will resonate with your own. Maybe some of this information will be entirely new to you. But awareness of affluent neglect must become more widespread. www.linkedin.com/pulse/copy-a...

Continuing the topic of affluent neglect, here is the link to an Early Years TV episode I made 3 years ago. It's a subscription service but the information is extensive - I discuss spotting the signs, the unique challenges faced by early years & much more. www.earlyyears.tv/episode/ann-...

The government has announced plans to repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989, due to new evidence showing that prioritising parental contact can sometimes perpetuate child abuse. This could help protect children from abusive parents. www.gov.uk/government/n...

#ThinkTheUnthinkable: A Nottinghamshire teacher has been banned from the profession for life after conducting a sexual relationship with a student he had taught two years before. Because he was not her current teacher, no criminal charges were brought. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It's taking time, but affluent neglect is now beginning to gain the public's attention. Often (but not always) emotional neglect, which can be caused by leaving a child alone for long periods, substance abuse, domestic violence or parental mental illness. More here: www.tes.com/en-gb/for-sc...

Campaigners are calling for all young people to have guaranteed access to a trusted adult. This is to counter lack of contact with youth workers & community figures, & help to tackle record levels of pressure & unhappiness reported by 10 to 17-year-olds. www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

A new report shows many young people only receive mental health support years after needing it - once they reach crisis point or after they enter the youth justice system. The report includes interviews that suggest early support could prevent offending. www.cypnow.co.uk/content/anal...