Welcome to the November news round  up.

At SAFEcic we are very alert to the current speed of changes. We are endeavoring to provide the most up to date and reliable advice and guidance on safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk during this crisis. 

If you have any safeguarding questions, or would like a free safeguarding consultation please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

We are also continuing to offer 25% off all Online Safeguarding course credits purchased online

Open House Blended Learning Training Schedule

SAFEcic is pleased to announce a new set of dates for remote blended learning training for January 2021 through July 2021.

These public training sessions are available for the following courses:

• Combined Standard Child and Adult Safeguarding
• Combined Adult and Child Safeguarding for Designated Leads and Deputies
• Safeguarding for Trustees - Ensuring Compliance

Prices start from just £50 per delegate for a charity/not for profit organisation and there is a 10% discount for SAFEcic members.

For more information or to book please click here

Scotland

The Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 removes the outdated defence of “reasonable chastisement” from the physical assault of children, giving them the same legal protections everyone else already has.

The legislation, brought forward by John Finnie MSP and supported by Scottish Ministers, was passed by the Scottish Parliament in October 2019.

Children’s Minister Maree Todd said: “I’m very pleased that Scotland has become the first part of the UK to legislate to ensure that children, without exception, have the same protection from assault as adults.

“This outdated defence has no place in a modern Scotland. It can never be reasonable to strike a child. The removal of this defence reaffirms that we want this country to be the best place in the world for children to grow up so that they feel loved, safe, respected and can realise their full potential.

“We have worked in partnership with organisations including children’s charities, Social Work Scotland and Police Scotland on implementation of this Act. As part of this, we will continue to promote positive parenting and build on the support we already offer to children and families.”

England

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published a draft Homelessness Code of Guidance in respect of the Domestic Abuse Bill. The Bill has completed its passage through the House of Commons and is due to have its second reading in the House of Lords on a date to be announced. The Bill, if enacted in its current form, will amend Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 to strengthen the support available to victims of domestic abuse. The Act extends priority need to all eligible victims of domestic abuse who are homeless as a result of being a victim of domestic abuse. The Bill would bring in a new definition of domestic abuse which housing authorities would have to follow to assess whether an applicant was homeless as a result of being a victim of domestic abuse.

England and Wales

From 28th November, changes to the DBS Filtering Regime mean that even more people with old, minor cautions and convictions from when they were under 18 will no longer need to disclose them when applying for certain roles. These roles include working with children, vulnerable people, working in certain regulated professions such as healthcare, law and senior finance roles and applications for taxi, gambling and Security Industry Authority (SIA) licences.

These changes to the Filtering Regime have the potential to reduce some of the terrible lifelong impact that a childhood criminal record can have on someone’s chance to move on and succeed in life.

If you are an individual who wants to find out how these changes might affect you when applying for jobs, do contact our NACRO's Criminal Record Support Service on 0300 123 1999 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or read their updated guidance.

If you are an employer or organisation that carries out standard or enhanced DBS certificates you need to prepare for these changes –contact NACRO's Employer Advice Service on 0845 600 3194 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for help with the practical steps you will need to take. NACRO will also be running a series of webinars to support organisations understand what changes they need to make. Register your interest by contacting NACRO on either the telephone number or email address above..

You can also get involved with the current consultation and workshops about useful references led by the DBS and other partners.

 

1. During the autumn term, Ofsted is carrying out a series of ‘interim visits’ to schools.This briefing note reports on 380 visits carried out between 29 September and 23 October. Part of the report includes Safeguarding which says:

“Leaders in some schools had seen an increase in vulnerable pupils. They mainly reported identifying vulnerable pupils through risk assessments, conversations with families and notifications from other services. Once identified, schools offered a variety of support, including tailored one-to-one support for pupils and referral to other services. Several leaders said a minority of pupils had suffered neglect during the first national lockdown. In serious cases, a few pupils had been placed into care as a result. 

Some leaders of special schools and AP settings were very concerned about pupils’ experiences. They talked about some pupils having become more involved in criminal exploitation, including gang violence, and child sexual exploitation. Leaders talked about seeing rises in anxiety levels and aggression. As a result, leaders felt the need to put in place additional pastoral support. One AP setting described how it had implemented mentoring and additional PSHE sessions specifically to help pupils to understand more about the dangers of becoming involved in criminal activities. 

Many leaders were concerned about the impact that the end of the furlough scheme might have on the financial situation of families, and whether this will lead to an increase in vulnerable pupils. The mental health of parents was a cause of concern for quite a few schools, as, if there are issues, this can impact on the well-being of pupils. Increased anxiety of parents has led to schools deeming some pupils as newly vulnerable. Schools are offering these pupils/families additional support.”

 

2. The Catholic Church prioritised its own reputation over the welfare of vulnerable children for decades, according to a Report published today (November 10) by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

The 147 page report finds the Catholic Church's moral purpose has been betrayed by those who sexually abused children, as well as those who turned a blind eye and failed to take action against perpetrators. 

Between 1970 and 2015, the Catholic Church received more than 900 complaints involving over 3,000 instances of child sexual abuse in England and Wales. Since 2016, there have been more than 100 reported allegations each year. The true scale of abuse over the last 50 years is likely to have been far higher.

This report finds that the Catholic Church repeatedly failed to support victims and survivors, while taking positive action to protect alleged perpetrators, including moving them to different parishes. Victims described the profound and lifelong effects of abuse, including depression, anxiety, self-harming and trust issues.

In recent years, senior leaders have been resistant to external oversight and have only partially implemented the recommendations of previous reviews, such as the 2001 Nolan report and 2007 Cumberlege report.

As the most senior Catholic leader in England and Wales, Cardinal Nichols should be leading by example. However, when he apologised for the Catholic Church’s failings in our 2018 hearing, he did not acknowledge any personal responsibility or show compassion for victims in the recent cases we examined.

At times, the report finds, Cardinal Nichols has shown he cares more about the impact of child sexual abuse on the Catholic Church’s reputation than on victims and survivors.

The Holy See and the Apostolic Nuncio, its ambassador to the UK, did not provide a witness statement to this Inquiry despite repeated requests. They had been asked about the Apostolic Nuncio’s involvement in handling child sexual abuse allegations at Ealing Abbey, as well as other issues. The Inquiry could not understand their lack of cooperation.

The report concludes that the Holy See’s actions stand in direct contrast with Pope Francis’ public statement on child sexual abuse in 2019, calling for “concrete and effective actions that involve everyone in the Church”.

The Inquiry has held seven weeks of public hearings in this investigation, including case studies into the English Benedictine Congregation and the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

It makes seven recommendations to better protect children in future, focusing on key issues including leadership, training and external auditing.

Professor Alexis Jay OBE, Chair of the Inquiry, said:

“For decades, the Catholic Church’s failure to tackle child sexual abuse consigned many more children to the same fate.

“It is clear that the Church’s reputation was valued above the welfare of victims, with allegations ignored and perpetrators protected.

“Even today, the responses of the Holy See appear at odds with the Pope’s promise to take action on this hugely important problem.

“While some progress has been made, there still needs to be lasting change to culture and attitudes to avoid repeating the failures of the past.”

 3. Seven new case reviews added to the NSPCC national repository this month

  a.      Death of a 14-year-old girl in June 2018. In May 2016, Child CH was placed in care due to long-term neglect and emotional abuse. She had three foster placements and two placements in children's homes. Whilst in care, she disclosed previous sexual abuse. Throughout her time in care, Child CH had many missing episodes and was seen at hospitals on several occasions for self-harm and suicidal ideation. She was kept in hospital following tying a ligature around her neck as her placement said they could not manage her safely. From May 2018, Child CH was at a mental health hospital and continued to display ligaturing behaviours. She went missing from the hospital and was found dead four hours later. Ethnicity/nationality not stated. Uses the Significant Incident Learning Process (SILP) methodology. Learning includes: risk assessments need to be holistic, shared across agencies and reviewed regularly; perceived risk can increase professional anxiety and be a barrier for access to services and placements; and when a child in care is particularly vulnerable, there should be a plan for service delivery which takes this vulnerability into consideration. Recommendations include: request assurance on the commissioning arrangements for placements for children who require stable and safe care; ensure information about looked after children is shared with a placement or hospital when a child is moved; and write to the Department for Education and Ofsted about the challenge in finding placements for children with significant risks and vulnerabilities.

b.      Death of a 9-month-old child in February 2014 as the result of a hypoxic brain injury. Mother convicted of causing or allowing her child's death; her male partner was convicted of murder. Mother and her partner both known to health, children's services and the police. Initial assessment by Children's services; no further action taken. Maternal history of premature birth; partner history of domestic violence towards two previous partners. Ethnicity or nationality of Child H is not stated. Learning includes: need for multi-agency collaboration, assessment, managerial oversight, supervision and challenge; if duty officers in children's services do not routinely communicate with the referring practitioner before making decisions about a referral, misunderstandings can occur and this leaves children vulnerable; need for agreements and plans to be monitored, reviewed, checked and shared with other agencies; all family members, especially those living in the household, should be subject to assessments, both to determine risk and to confirm and assess their ability to protect children in the family; need to engage men; unaddressed domestic abuse can leave some children vulnerable and with ineffective help. Makes no recommendations but sets out questions and issues for the safeguarding board to consider around practice, procedures and strategies.

c.     Death of a 9-week-old infant in 2018. Child I had no identified health concerns and the cause of death was unascertained. Child I was found unresponsive in an unsafe sleeping position co-sleeping with his mother, Mrs I. Resuscitation was attempted and during this Mrs I made statements of guilt to hospital staff and police who identified that Mrs I was under the influence of alcohol. Parents were known to Police for alcohol related incidents. At the time of death there were concerns that Child I had been subject to neglect. Two hours following Child I's death Mrs I was arrested at hospital for driving with excess alcohol. Both parents were arrested the following day for neglect. Learning includes: practitioners working with families should take every opportunity to remind parents of key safe sleeping messages tailored to their needs; health practitioners are in a key position to identify domestic abuse and to initiate support and safety for victims; good practice was shown by the neonatal doctor in following-up after Child I was not brought for a repeat blood test. Ethnicity and nationality not stated. Recommendations include: support professionals working with universal and high risk families to identify safe-sleep risks, emphasising 'out of routine' events such as going to a party or on holiday; support professionals in discussing alcohol consumption with parents and highlighting what happens on those occasions when they may binge/drink more than usual; Portsmouth hospital should review and improve continuity of carer arrangements, especially when there is staff sickness.

d.      Death of two children by their parents in May 2019 as a result of strangulation. Four surviving siblings are in local authority care subject to care proceedings. Mother and uncle (later known to be father) convicted of two charges of murder, four charges of attempted murder and six charges of conspiracy to murder; in November 2019 both sentenced to life imprisonment. Parental history of: neglect; child protection plans; being in care; child sexual abuse; separation and loss. Family known to multiple agencies. Family are white British. Issues identified include: need to recognise and respond to harmful sexual behaviour by professionals; professional optimism and the need to be more professionally curious and take a holistic view; invisible male carers/fathers; eligibility to services; impact of delays to provision of services and the need to meet needs in a more timely way; need for a more integrated offer to families with children with Attention Deficit Disorder; need to align special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) processes; need to understand the impact of lived experience, especially trauma, on parenting. Recommendations include: streamline specialist support; consider how professional optimism impacts on assessments; consider fathers in assessment; develop an integrated offer for harmful sexual behaviour; Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to consider the impact of delays to service provision and how to meet needs in a more timely way.

e.      Death by suicide of a 17-year-old child in November 2019. Child T was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in 2012. Child T's behaviour deteriorated at secondary school and they were permanently excluded and transferred to a pupil referral unit (PRU) in 2016. Child T displayed aggressive behaviour on several occasions and admitted to drug misuse. Child T attempted suicide four times and was admitted to hospital twice between December 2017 and September 2018. In the eight months leading up to their death, the only services involved with Child T were a special college and an adult sleep clinic. Family are Catholic but Child T did not hold any faith. Ethnicity/nationality not stated. Findings include: education, health and care (EHC) plans and safeguarding of those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) need to be more aligned to ensure safeguarding issues aren't minimised due to SEND; the emergency provision for young people following a suicide does not aid recovery for the young person or the family; and when a young person has highly complex needs, the focus can be entirely on the young person without consideration of the impact of issues on the wider family. Recommendations include: review the offers of post-diagnostic support for autistic spectrum disorder; challenge agencies and partnerships in how they listen to young people around the transition to adult services; and ensure a review by the SEND board takes place to address issues holistically before consideration of school exclusion.

f.        Injuries to a 4-week-old infant in 2016. Civil court found that the injuries were caused by Father and that Mother failed to protect Child N. A criminal investigation in respect of Mother, Father and Paternal Uncle concluded with no further action in 2020. Child N lived with their mother, father and older sibling, Sibling 2. Both siblings were subject of a Child in Need plan at the time of the injuries. Another older sibling, Sibling 1, died when aged 5-months-old. Mother was a teenage parent with a history of self-harm, mental health problems and personality disorder, and substance misuse. Father had experienced a difficult childhood and had anger control issues. Ethnicity or nationality not stated. Learning includes: when one parent has mental health issues affecting their ability to care for the children, the assessment and plan needs to consider the impact on the other parent/carer; supervision for professionals needs to ensure they are focused on the child and not by the parent's histories and situations; professionals should seek to understand the nature of parenting relationships from the point of view of both parents/adults and the child, and not focus only on the mother. Uses the Significant Incident Learning Process (SILP) methodology. Recommendations include: confirm if formal pre-birth assessments are being undertaken in cases where a new baby will be the subject of a child in need or child protection plan at birth; consider the benefits and practicalities of requesting that the information that a child is on a child in need plan is shared with all professionals working with the family.

g.       Death of two sisters aged 3- and 1-years-old in 2018. Alice and Beth died within two weeks of each other. Police investigation revealed the cause of death to be interference with the normal mechanics of breathing. Mother was convicted of murder and imprisoned. Alice and Beth's parents had separated before Beth was born. Mother was in a new relationship before Beth's birth. Alice had attended A&E previously for injuries and seizures. Several accusations of alleged abuse were made by both parents and mother's partner, as well as arguments over contact with Alice and Beth. Numerous reports to children's services, the police and the NSPCC were also made. Learning includes: where a family moves between areas, the new authority and relevant partners need to be informed; where possible more information should be achieved and explored when referrals come to the multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) to better understand the nuances of the referral; when concerns raised about parents can be easily refuted there is a danger that professionals can be prone to dismiss other information in the same vein. Ethnicity and nationality not stated. Recommendations include: encourage professionals to adopt an investigative, questioning and professionally curious approach when considering the history of a case; seek reassurance that the West Midland Regional Safeguarding Network policy on 'Protecting Children who move across Local Authority borders' is understood and adhered to; be assured that GPs are clear on the pathways and procedures for making timely referrals to Children services.

 4 The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is holding a two week virtual public hearing in the second phase of its Residential Schools investigation, from 16 - 27 November.

The second and final phase of this investigation will take a broader look at safeguarding procedures within the schools sector in general, including day schools.

It follows phase one of this investigation which focused on the residential, special and music schools sectors. During phase one, in October last year, Counsel to the Inquiry Fiona Scolding QC commented that schools should be places where children are protected and where the environment is safe, nurturing and caring. Evidence from that investigation illustrated clearly that this has not always been the case. 

This hearing will examine culture, governance and management when allegations of child sexual abuse are made, the effectiveness of school inspections and safeguarding and training procedures in both England and Wales.

The Inquiry will consider evidence regarding allegations of child sexual abuse at two state day schools, Headlands School in East Yorkshire and Hillside First School in North Somerset, as well as one co-educational independent school, Clifton College in Bristol, which has both day and boarding pupils.

Since 2006, five former members of staff from Headlands School have been convicted of sexual offences against children, the most recent being Christopher Reen. The former martial arts teacher was jailed for three years and four months in 2010 after admitting six counts of sexual activity with a girl under 16, and one count of sexual activity in breach of trust.

In 2011, Nigel Leat, a former primary school teacher at Hillside First School, received an indeterminate sentence for public protection, after pleading guilty to 36 offences against five pupils, including attempted rape and sexual assaults. He had filmed the abuse, which took place at the school.

In 2015, former housemaster at Clifton College, Jonathan Thomson-Glover, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison after admitting to 36 counts of taking, making and possessing indecent images of children.

Witnesses in the second phase of the investigation include victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in residential schools, teachers, safeguarding experts and teaching unions.

This is the fifth public hearing to be held virtually. As usual, proceedings will be streamed live on the Inquiry’s website.

Witnesses will continue to be supported by the Inquiry’s Support and Safeguarding team, through phone calls and video calls.

Evidence and full transcripts will be available on the website a few hours after the end of each hearing day.

1.Safeguarding Adults week  16th to 22nd was celebrated this month.

Ann Craft Trust said:

“Each day of the week we’ll focus on a different safeguarding theme. These themes are broad, and each one covers many different areas of focus.

“To help you prepare for the event, we’ve gathered a number of resources for each theme.

“We designed these resources to spark conversations, and to help spread our message on social media.

“Plus, these themes are not exhaustive. Our aim is to highlight certain causes, and to start some vital conversations. But if you want to use Safeguarding Adults Week to talk about a different aspect of safeguarding, please do so!

“We’d love to hear about your plans for this year’s Safeguarding Adults Week. And don’t forget to use o#SafeguardingAdultsWeek when posting to social media!” 

2. As further pandemic restrictions take effect in England, the Home Office has joined forces with charities including the NSPCC, Barnardo’s and The Children’s Society to launch a new campaign to protect victims of child abuse.

The month-long campaign, ‘Something’s Not Right’, encourages young people to recognise different forms of abuse, report it and get help.

The campaign will see animated adverts aimed at secondary school pupils aged 13+, running across Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. Young people will be directed to a dedicated page on the NSPCC service Childline where they can access information and seek support.

The campaign follows evidence suggesting that young people faced a greater risk of sexual abuse, criminal exploitation and domestic abuse due to the impact of coronavirus. The monthly average number of Childline counselling sessions about domestic abuse and abuse increased by 20% and 22% respectively in April to July 2020, compared to pre-lockdown levels.

The Internet Watch Foundation revealed that there were almost 9 million blocked attempts to access child sexual abuse material during the first month of restrictions alone. This trend has continued, with the charity revealing that in September, they received a 45% increase in calls reporting child abuse material online.

Charities

1. Safeguarding and protecting people for charities and trustees updated October 2020  this document describes what to do to protect people who come into contact with your charity through its work from abuse or mistreatment of any kind has been updated.

 It is essential you check that safeguarding is constantly high on the agenda and all  actions and processes are in place.

The Charity commission has added 10 actions trustee boards need to take to ensure good safeguarding governance

Safeguarding should be a key governance priority for all charities

Ensure your charity has an adequate safeguarding policy, code of conduct and any other safeguarding procedures. Regularly review and update the policy and procedures to ensure they are fit for purpose

Identify possible risks, including risks to your beneficiaries or to anyone else connected to your charity and any emerging risks on the horizon

Consider how to improve the safeguarding culture within your charity

Ensure that everyone involved with the charity knows how to recognise, respond to, report and record a safeguarding concern

Ensure people know how to raise a safeguarding concern

Regularly evaluate any safeguarding training provided, ensuring it is current and relevant

Review which posts within the charity can and must have a DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service

Have a risk assessment process in place for posts which do not qualify for a DBS check, but which still have contact with children or adults at risk

Periodically review your safeguarding policy and procedures, learning from any serious incident or ‘near miss’

If you work overseas, find out what different checks and due diligence you need to carry out in different geographical areas of operation.

In this guidance:

• ‘must’ means something is a legal or regulatory requirement or duty that trustees must comply with

• ‘should’ means something is good practice that the Commission expects trustees to follow and apply to their charity

2. An official inquiry has found misconduct and mismanagement at the London-based Buddhist charity, Rigpa Fellowship, where students were put at risk of harm as a result of serious safeguarding failures.

The Charity Commission disqualified one former trustee and removed another trustee during the course of its inquiry. Today’s report heavily criticises institutional failings to provide a safe culture and environment.

The regulator opened a regulatory case into the charity when serious allegations of abuse towards its students by the charity’s Spiritual Director, Sogyal Lakar, surfaced. An independent investigation (commissioned by Rigpa Fellowship and Rigpa Fellowship US) found that, on the balance of probabilities, some of Lakar’s ‘inner circle’ were “subjected to serious physical, sexual and emotional abuse by him”. The Commission’s engagement escalated to a statutory inquiry after it found that the charity was not making sufficient progress in addressing the safeguarding concerns.

Trustees failed to take appropriate action

Former trustees, Patrick Gaffney and Susan Burrows, both failed to take appropriate action despite having knowledge of instances and allegations of improper acts and sexual and physical abuse against students.

During a meeting with the inquiry, Gaffney appeared unable or unwilling to recognise the serious nature of the allegations that had been made and the lack of appropriate action taken. Evidence seen by the inquiry also did not support claims from Burrows that she had no prior knowledge of instances of abuse involving Lakar.

The inquiry says that both former trustees “failed to recognise or sought to downplay” the seriousness of the allegations.

Investigators also found that the charity failed to report incidents relating to physical or sexual abuse to the Commission, as would have been expected.

Failure to provide a safe environment for students, staff and volunteers

The inquiry criticises safeguarding policies that the charity previously linked to on its website. It says that these blurred the distinction between consent and submission and placed too much responsibility for safeguarding on the student rather than the teacher. These policies were developed by the international Rigpa body – the inquiry found that the former trustees were insufficiently rigorous in their consideration and analysis of the policies and procedures produced by the international Rigpa body. The former trustees should have ensured that any international policies referred to were sufficient for UK regulations and law.

The inquiry concluded that former trustees and senior management figures at the charity were responsible for mismanagement and misconduct, particularly around how former trustees responded to safeguarding concerns. The report says that their inability to create a safe culture within the charity exposed some beneficiaries to harm.

The current trustees have now implemented new safeguarding policies and procedures tailored specifically to the operations of the UK charity and have taken steps to sever the governance link between the UK charity and its international counterparts. The regulator expects the new trustees to comply fully with these safeguarding policies and procedures, and to monitor their effectiveness in protecting people.

Ann Craft Trust said:

“Each day of the week we’ll focus on a different safeguarding theme. These themes are broad, and each one covers many different areas of focus.

“To help you prepare for the event, we’ve gathered a number of resources for each theme.

“We designed these resources to spark conversations, and to help spread our message on social media.

“Plus, these themes are not exhaustive. Our aim is to highlight certain causes, and to start some vital conversations. But if you want to use Safeguarding Adults Week to talk about a different aspect of safeguarding, please do so!

“We’d love to hear about your plans for this year’s Safeguarding Adults Week. And don’t forget to use o#SafeguardingAdultsWeek when posting to social media!”

2. As further pandemic restrictions take effect in England, the Home Office has joined forces with charities including the NSPCC, Barnardo’s and The Children’s Society to launch a new campaign to protect victims of child abuse.

The month-long campaign, ‘Something’s Not Right’, encourages young people to recognise different forms of abuse, report it and get help.

The campaign will see animated adverts aimed at secondary school pupils aged 13+, running across Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. Young people will be directed to a dedicated page on the NSPCC service Childline where they can access information and seek support.

The campaign follows evidence suggesting that young people faced a greater risk of sexual abuse, criminal exploitation and domestic abuse due to the impact of coronavirus. The monthly average number of Childline counselling sessions about domestic abuse and abuse increased by 20% and 22% respectively in April to July 2020, compared to pre-lockdown levels.

The Internet Watch Foundation revealed that there were almost 9 million blocked attempts to access child sexual abuse material during the first month of restrictions alone. This trend has continued, with the charity revealing that in September, they received a 45% increase in calls reporting child abuse material online.

Charities

1. Safeguarding and protecting people for charities and trustees updated October 2020  this document describes what to do to protect people who come into contact with your charity through its work from abuse or mistreatment of any kind has been updated.

 It is essential you check that safeguarding is constantly high on the agenda and all  actions and processes are in place.

The Charity commission has added 10 actions trustee boards need to take to ensure good safeguarding governance

Safeguarding should be a key governance priority for all charities

Ensure your charity has an adequate safeguarding policy, code of conduct and any other safeguarding procedures. Regularly review and update the policy and procedures to ensure they are fit for purpose

Identify possible risks, including risks to your beneficiaries or to anyone else connected to your charity and any emerging risks on the horizon

Consider how to improve the safeguarding culture within your charity

Ensure that everyone involved with the charity knows how to recognise, respond to, report and record a safeguarding concern

Ensure people know how to raise a safeguarding concern

Regularly evaluate any safeguarding training provided, ensuring it is current and relevant

Review which posts within the charity can and must have a DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service

Have a risk assessment process in place for posts which do not qualify for a DBS check, but which still have contact with children or adults at risk

Periodically review your safeguarding policy and procedures, learning from any serious incident or ‘near miss’

If you work overseas, find out what different checks and due diligence you need to carry out in different geographical areas of operation.

In this guidance:

• ‘must’ means something is a legal or regulatory requirement or duty that trustees must comply with

• ‘should’ means something is good practice that the Commission expects trustees to follow and apply to their charity

2. An official inquiry has found misconduct and mismanagement at the London-based Buddhist charity, Rigpa Fellowship, where students were put at risk of harm as a result of serious safeguarding failures.

The Charity Commission disqualified one former trustee and removed another trustee during the course of its inquiry. Today’s report heavily criticises institutional failings to provide a safe culture and environment.

The regulator opened a regulatory case into the charity when serious allegations of abuse towards its students by the charity’s Spiritual Director, Sogyal Lakar, surfaced. An independent investigation (commissioned by Rigpa Fellowship and Rigpa Fellowship US) found that, on the balance of probabilities, some of Lakar’s ‘inner circle’ were “subjected to serious physical, sexual and emotional abuse by him”. The Commission’s engagement escalated to a statutory inquiry after it found that the charity was not making sufficient progress in addressing the safeguarding concerns.

Trustees failed to take appropriate action

Former trustees, Patrick Gaffney and Susan Burrows, both failed to take appropriate action despite having knowledge of instances and allegations of improper acts and sexual and physical abuse against students.

During a meeting with the inquiry, Gaffney appeared unable or unwilling to recognise the serious nature of the allegations that had been made and the lack of appropriate action taken. Evidence seen by the inquiry also did not support claims from Burrows that she had no prior knowledge of instances of abuse involving Lakar.

The inquiry says that both former trustees “failed to recognise or sought to downplay” the seriousness of the allegations.

Investigators also found that the charity failed to report incidents relating to physical or sexual abuse to the Commission, as would have been expected.

Failure to provide a safe environment for students, staff and volunteers

The inquiry criticises safeguarding policies that the charity previously linked to on its website. It says that these blurred the distinction between consent and submission and placed too much responsibility for safeguarding on the student rather than the teacher. These policies were developed by the international Rigpa body – the inquiry found that the former trustees were insufficiently rigorous in their consideration and analysis of the policies and procedures produced by the international Rigpa body. The former trustees should have ensured that any international policies referred to were sufficient for UK regulations and law.

The inquiry concluded that former trustees and senior management figures at the charity were responsible for mismanagement and misconduct, particularly around how former trustees responded to safeguarding concerns. The report says that their inability to create a safe culture within the charity exposed some beneficiaries to harm.

The current trustees have now implemented new safeguarding policies and procedures tailored specifically to the operations of the UK charity and have taken steps to sever the governance link between the UK charity and its international counterparts. The regulator expects the new trustees to comply fully with these safeguarding policies and procedures, and to monitor their effectiveness in protecting people.

1. The Internet Watch Foundation has had a record number of public reports of suspected child sexual abuse material to its hotline, but there are warnings “false reports” could be hampering analysts’ efforts to keep the internet safe. 

September saw the highest number of public reports of suspected child sexual abuse material ever received in a single month by the IWF.

The IWF is the UK-based charity responsible for finding and removing images and videos of children suffering sexual abuse from the internet. 

Analysts at the IWF’s hotline then process these reports and assess them so criminal material can be quickly removed from the internet. 

Last month, analysts processed 15,258 reports from members of the public. This is 45% more than in September 2019, when 10,514 public reports were received. 

This year to sept the IWF has processed a total of 230,520 reports, including tip offs from members of the public, the police, and internet providers. In 2019, itself a record year, IWF analysts processed 260,400 reports. 

The IWF is part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, which, along with charities SWGfL and Childnet, works to deliver critical advice, resources, and interventions to help keep everyone, especially children and young people, safe online.

Hotline Director Chris Hughes said the coronavirus lockdown and more people working from home have contributed to an acceleration in the increase of public reports. 

“Public reporting has been going up year on year because of a combination of things, but it has definitely accelerated.

“More people spending longer at home, and more people being more active online may mean more people are spotting criminal content and calling it out.”

2.An 18-year-old from south London has today been sentenced to two years' detention in a young offender institution, suspended for two years, after he pleaded guilty to 14 counts of terrorism and two of possessing indecent videos featuring young boys.

He was also given a Serious Crime Prevention Order to enable monitoring of his internet use for a period of five years.

Harry Vaughan, who was predicted to get three A*s and one A in his A-Levels, admitted encouraging others to commit terrorist acts inspired by his neo-Nazi ideology.

He also accepted he had shared a link containing a number of books detailing urban warfare skills, bomb making guides and how to use weapons.

He added: “…some if not most of these files fall under materials useful to someone preparing an act of terrorism (not something you want to get done for). In fact, so do a lot of the files I see being posted here. The feds can and will charge you”.

The offences date back to January 2019 when Vaughan was just 16 years old and posted three images and a message on an online neo-Nazi forum.

He was arrested at his parents’ home in Twickenham on 19 June 2019 on suspicion of disseminating terrorist publications and the address was searched. The main items used in the prosecution’s case against Vaughan were his laptop and mobile phones. He had used these to upload the offending material to Fascist Forge - a neo-Nazi website.

The site was launched in 2018 and is an online forum used by extreme right-wing militants. It emphasises violent tactics, including the creation of small terrorist cells, and the need to prepare for an imminent race war.

Jenny Hopkins, head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the CPS, said: “Harry Vaughan was an A-grade student at a prestigious grammar school in south London who chose to pursue his obsession with racist, far-right politics online.

“The material found on his laptop and mobile phone was overwhelming and he pleaded guilty.

“This case reinforces once again there isn’t just one type of person who engages in terrorism in the UK, and shows the hard work of the criminal justice system in holding these people to account.”

3. A sex offender, who groomed children with gifts and sexually assaulted them, has been jailed for 18 years with a two-year extended licence.

Alan Styles, 84, of Yew Tree Lane, Wednesbury, was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court for nine counts of sexual assault of a child, four counts of rape of a child under 13, two counts of sexual activity with a child, four counts of assault of a child by penetration and three counts of making indecent photographs of a child. He was also charged with one count of attempted rape and one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

Styles sexually abused the victims, who were all under 12, over four years and groomed them with gifts. His offending came to light when one of his victims confided in their mother after a sex education lesson at school. She subsequently reported the incident to police which led to other victims being discovered.

When police raided his home, they discovered 665 indecent images of children on his devices; 33 of the images were of the most serious category (category A). In addition, there were 225 images at category B and 407 at category C.

Styles initially denied the charges but later admitted all charges after he was presented with overwhelming evidence.

Julia McSorley of the CPS said: “Alan Styles is a dangerous man who committed grave offences against vulnerable children. Thanks to the bravery of the victims, we were able to build a strong case against Styles, using video evidence and witness testimony and he had no choice but to admit his guilt for these offences without the need for a trial. He will now face the consequences of his actions. The CPS would like to pay tribute to the incredible courage of these victims in finding the strength to bring their abuser to justice. We hope that, despite the undoubtedly long-lasting effects of this abuse, the victims can get some closure knowing he has been imprisoned and can no longer harm other children."

4. An online predator who targeted thousands of children has admitted 96 sex abuse offences against 51 boys aged four to 14.

Labourer David Nicholas Wilson, 36, from Norfolk – one of the most prolific offenders the National Crime Agency has ever investigated – created a series of fake online identities to contact young boys on Facebook and other social media platforms.

Officers unearthed evidence that out of over 5,000 children he contacted in the UK and abroad, as many as 500 victims sent him images.

He pretended to be multiple teenage girls and built trust with his victims, sending them sexual images of young women harvested from the internet in exchange for the boys sending him images and videos of themselves.

Using unregistered mobile phones, he then blackmailed a number of his victims into sending him more extreme footage – and in some cases, of them abusing younger siblings or friends.

On some occasions Wilson then distributed the images to victims’ friends.

He showed no compassion even when some victims begged him to stop.

Such was the level of suffering Wilson inflicted, several children on the indictment spoke of wanting to end their lives.

Wilson, of Kirstead, King’s Lynn, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court and admitted 96 charges relating to 51 victims between 2016 and 2020.

The charges included: intentionally causing or inciting boys to engage in sexual activity; blackmail; intentionally causing children to look at sexual images, and intentionally facilitating the sexual exploitation of children by sending on images of those children.

He will be sentenced on 12 January 2021.

The impact of Covid-19, social isolation and a rise in hateful extremism online is creating a ‘perfect storm’ which is making more young people vulnerable to radicalisation and other forms of grooming.

But parents, friends and families can now get specialist support to stop their loved ones being drawn into harmful activities or groups, with the launch of ACT Early - a new dedicated safeguarding website (and advice line from the specialists at Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP).
This new resource will provide advice, guidance and support for anyone who is concerned that someone they know may be at risk from being radicalised by terrorists or extremist content online.
Between 1st January 2019 and 30th June 2020, 17 children have been arrested in relation to terrorism offences. Some were as young as 14 years old, while nearly all will have been radicalised entirely online.
In the same time period, more than 1500 children under the age of 15 were referred to the Prevent programme to help them choose a different path, away from hatred and violence.
Family and friends are best placed to spot the worrying behaviour changes which can indicate that a loved one is heading down a path towards radicalisation, but currently just 2% of referrals into the Government’s Prevent programme come from that group. 
You won’t be wasting our time and you won’t ruin lives, but you might save them.
For further help and advice call the national Police Prevent Advice Line on 0800 011 3764, in confidence, and our specially trained Prevent officers will listen carefully to your concerns.