What is it? The Scottish Government recently released the new National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland, the first update since the previous guidance in 2014. The non-statutory guidance describes the responsibilities and expectations for how safeguarding professionals and agencies should work together with parents, families, and communities to prevent and
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Pause, Think and Plan Guidance on how to talk to the children in your care about online risks. Watch video
Online Safety Alert Our online safety experts have been alerted to the concept of ‘Gacha Heat’ videos using the characters and backgrounds from the popular roleplaying game Gacha Life. These videos contain characters and backgrounds made on Gacha Studio which is part of their suite of apps. The ‘Gacha
What is it? The Age Appropriate Design Code (sometimes referred to as The Children’s Code) is a new code of practice that sets out standards of age-appropriate design for “information society services” that are likely to be accessed by children. In other words, it’s new requirements for any companies that offer services online that are
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Pause, Think and Plan Guidance on how to talk to the children in your care about online risks. Watch video
With the rapid advancement of technology and the big boom of the gaming industry in 2020, there is a good chance your household has at least one gamer living in it. Gaming is one of the fastest evolving social forums. Even if someone games privately instead of “online” (meaning they can play simultaneously with
This contains sensitive information and should not be shared with anyone below the age of 18 years old. Safeguarding Alert Our online safety experts have been alerted to a potentially viral TikTok trend. The trend focuses on people recording “reaction videos” while searching for a term that brings them to a specific type of illegal, sexual online content. From what our experts have discovered, the explicit material
There are so many online gaming platforms nowadays, it can be difficult to keep track of them all! One of the oldest platforms is Roblox, which is celebrating its 15th birthday this week. Roblox experienced a 122% increase in platform engagement over 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic. With over 42 million daily users,
It’s that time of year again! When summer t-shirts are swapped for school ties, beach shorts replaced by crisp white shirts, and sandals in shoe-racks switch places with shiny new school shoes. Alongside these replacements, there are other transitions happening that may not be so obvious. As school timetables are given out, our home
Recently, many of the popular online platforms that we use every day released plans to improve the experience for users under 18. But will these changes actually improve the online safety for children and young people? Our analysts have reviewed the latest changes announced by Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Google to provide you with
Receiving exam results is always a stressful time. It’s the culmination of countless hours of hard work and stress on top of navigating education throughout a pandemic. For many, it will be a time of joy and looking forward to the future. However, this won’t be the reality for some pupils around the UK as they receive results that aren't what they hoped for. Dealing with
When a viral challenge is reported in the news or on social media, it can be difficult to establish the facts, risks, and what you need to do to protect the young people in your care. If you’re a parent or carer who’s seen reports of an online challenge, the first thing to do
With nearly two billion users worldwide, WhatsApp remains one of the most popular social media messaging services after ten years of being on the scene. Though they’ve clearly found a formula for success WhatsApp continue to develop and expand. Our online safety experts have examined the newest features to let you know what’s up
Your Content Goes Here Bullying is not a normal part of childhood and should never happen in any form. Unfortunately, this is a common struggle for children and young people today, and advancing technology only increases the risk. The long-term impact of cyberbullying on a young person’s physical and mental wellbeing can be profound. Cyberbullying, as
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Visit The Safeguarding Hub Our resources ensure you have the insight and understanding required to meaningfully engage, support and advise the children in
On the 29th of July, an update was made in part 4, section 2. Full details below. After more than a year of increased online risk for children and Ofsted’s review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges across the country, the Department of Education has published a new “strengthened” version
Urgent Online Safety Alert Why are you receiving this alert? Our online safety experts have been alerted to an extremely dangerous website and app called ‘Monkey’, which allows users to have video calls with strangers. The platform markets itself as ‘an alternative to Omegle, with a TikTok vibe’. Our online safety
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Visit The Safeguarding Hub Our resources ensure you have the insight and understanding required to meaningfully engage, support and advise the children in
Ever since TikTok surged into popularity, especially with children and young people, every other social media giant has attempted to answer the accessible, trendy format with new features on their existing platforms. Instagram introduced Reels, Snapchat created Spotlight, and now video hosting platform YouTube is entering the mix with Shorts. Here’s everything you need to know: Latest Updates
Published: 24th June, 2021 It’s Pride Month in the UK, which marks the celebration of and focus on LGBTQ+ communities. While this is a time to celebrate, it is also an important time to shed light on the difficult everyday situations many LGBTQ+ young people find themselves in, especially during the ongoing pandemic. Understanding the
Last Updated: 23rd June, 2021 We have previously raised concerns about the dangers of self-generated sexual imagery created by children and young people. It can be scary and confusing for children and young people, especially if they lose control of any images. Here, we help define this issue and give you some top tips on supporting children and young people by keeping control of images.
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Visit The Safeguarding Hub Our resources ensure you have the insight and understanding required to meaningfully engage, support and advise the children in
Published: 18th June, 2021 Loss is one of the most universal human experiences. Whether it be a loved one, a dream career, or a special place, no one is immune to loss and its lasting effects. This is especially true for children and young people, who often experience this before reaching emotional maturity. Any
Latest Update 17th June 2021: Ofsted has warned UK schools that they need to act as though sexual harassment and online sexual abuse is happening to them – even if they haven’t been named on the Everyone’s Invited website. The education watchdog published the results of their rapid review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges on the 10th of June, 2021. review of sexual abuse in schools
Join our Safeguarding Hub Newsletter Network Members of our network receive weekly updates on the trends, risks and threats to children and young people online. Visit The Safeguarding Hub Our resources ensure you have the insight and understanding required to meaningfully engage, support and advise the children in