YouTube has officially announced that it will be launching new parental control settings over the next few months. What do we know? YouTube announced that they will be launching a range of new settings designed for the parents of teens and pre-teens. These new settings are designed to provide a safer experience that allows
This new feature is currently being rolled out, as it becomes available our online safety experts will provide updates on the new function. What's Happening? Instagram is rolling out a new feature called ‘Live Rooms’, which will allow users to ‘go live’ and broadcast with up to 3 other people to their audience. This new feature
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. What is Coronavirus? An explainer for Children Our animated video has reached over 350,000 views on YouTube. Watch Last
The National Crime Agency reports that 88% of police forces in England and Wales have an established or emerging County Lines problem in their area. Since the police force's County Lines Programme launched in 2019, they have closed 3,588 county lines, arrested 10,209 people and referred 5,727 people for safeguarding. County lines is the
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. What is Coronavirus? An explainer for Children Our animated video has reached over 350,000 views on YouTube. Watch Video on youtube
Why has the ongoing pandemic caused a surge in eating disorders? The past two years have generated feelings of anxiety and uncertainty in young people, as seen by referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Northern Ireland increasing by 24% during the pandemic. The Royal College of Psychiatrists reported that
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. What is Coronavirus? An explainer for Children Our animated video has reached over 350,000 views on YouTube. Watch Video on youtube
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. What is Coronavirus? An explainer for Children Our animated video has reached over 350,000 views on YouTube. Watch Video on youtube
Over the course of the pandemic, mental health in the UK has worsened by 8.1%, with young people and women most affected as the groups who already had been struggling with mental health issues prior to the outbreak of Covid-19. We know from emerging research that self-harm referrals and presentations at A&E departments temporarily dropped (by
This week marks Children’s Mental Health Week across the UK. As we continue to navigate our way through the Coronavirus pandemic and find ourselves at home more than usual, it’s critical that we look after our mental health - especially children and young people. Being at home more inevitably means we’re spending more time
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. What is Coronavirus? An explainer for Children Our animated video has reached over 350,000 views on YouTube. Watch Video on youtube
For many teachers and parents, safety at school used to mean visitor passes and school gates. However, with education now taking place online from the kitchens, make-shift studies and bedrooms of students, classroom safety may seem less of a concern. With a rise in incidents such as ‘lesson bombing’, it’s clear that the classroom
This is a safeguarding alert following multiple reports of a new surge in ‘lesson bombing’ during remote learning classes at schools. We have been alerted to a recent trend in ‘online lesson bombing’ from police forces, members of Our Safer Schools Community, and news reports. In one area there have been 15 recent incidents
What is this alert about? This safeguarding blog contains a TikTok alert for your immediate attention. We have been alerted to reports of the tragic death of a 10-year-old girl in Italy. It has been reported that she died after taking part in the so-called ‘blackout’ or ‘choke challenge’ on the video-sharing platform TikTok.
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. What is Coronavirus? An explainer for Children Our animated video has reached over 350,000 views on YouTube. Watch Video on youtube
It was a cold winter morning just after the Christmas break. Mrs Phillips, the school secretary, had just got into work after being stuck in heavy traffic. She had thrown off her coat and sat down at her desk ready to face the mountain of emails which had landed in her inbox since before the
Many of us, including young people, use WhatsApp daily. It’s established itself as a messaging giant in the world of social media. But there are more names arriving on the scene which could put more pressure on WhatsApp as it battles to defend its privacy policy due to a recent backlash. It concerns how
Why have you received this alert? We have been alerted to the risk of potential grooming and abuse on the Avakin Life platform by members of our network. Our online safeguarding experts have reviewed and tested the game, and discovered a number of potential risks to young people. The major risk is that
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. What is Coronavirus? An explainer for Children Our animated video has reached over 350,000 views on YouTube. Watch Video on youtube
In digital safeguarding we know that standing still is falling behind. Our team of online safety experts have been working tirelessly to make sure you have the right information in your pocket, when you need it. In the last few weeks there have been a number of major changes to the most popular social
4 min read Snapchat has released its new Spotlight feature to its 67 million daily active users. In this article, our team of online safety experts unpack the risks and functionality of the new feature and provide practical advice for empowering and protecting the young people in your care on this popular platform.
‘Let’s get to cunch-line’ From the Children’s Commissioners 2019 report ‘Gaming the System’ we know that around 93% of children in the UK play video games and this leisure time has benefits for their development. Despite these benefits, we know that some features of online games can and do present risks to children and
All children and young people have the right to learn in a safe and healthy environment that’s free from bullying, harassment, and intimidation in all forms. Unfortunately, bullying still happens inside and outside of school, but most cases are resolved quickly. Bullying is best understood as a set of harmful behaviours directed at one
This week, the government published the update of ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ for September 2020. Due to the onset of Coronavirus, the consultation for this update was suspended in March. They have now published the full update with some key changes. We have highlighted 3 of the main changes you should be aware
How we use screens has changed how we live our lives. They make our education, work and social activities easier, quicker and slicker. As the national lockdown continues, young people will be spending more time indoors which means more screen time. For a while now, we’ve seen debates about screen time pass