Dear Colleague,

Welcome to SAFEcic's May 2018 round up of news, which includes essential reading for those working in education and the charity sector.

Are you and your team up to date with your safeguarding training?

Check out SAFEcic's upcoming open house courses in Suffolk or our online training here

England

1. Keeping children safe in educationto be enacted 3rd September 2018

Statutory guidance for schools and colleges FOR INFORMATION ONLY

This statutory guidance should be read and followed by:

• governing bodies of maintained schools (including maintained nursery schools) and colleges;
• proprietors of independent schools (including academies, free schools and alternative provision academies) and non-maintained special schools. In the case of academies, free schools and alternative provision academies, the proprietor will be the academy trust; and
• management committees of pupil referral units (PRUs).

The above persons should ensure that all staff in their school or college read at least Part one of this guidance.

2. Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges

Advice for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams and designated safeguarding leads May 2018

This is advice provided by the Department for Education. Its focus is child on child sexual violence and sexual harassment at schools and colleges. The advice covers children of all ages, from the primary through secondary stage and into colleges. For the purposes of this advice, a child is anyone under the age of 18. Whilst the focus of the advice is on protecting and supporting children, schools and colleges should of course protect any adult students and engage with adult social care, support services and the police as required.

The advice sets out what sexual violence and sexual harassment is, how to minimise the risk of it occurring and what to do when it does occur, or is alleged to have occurred.

3. Staffing and employment advice for schools May 2018.

This guidance applies to maintained schools and academies in England.

It is for:

• school leaders, school staff and governing bodies
• local authorities
• academy trusts

It will help with managing staffing and employment issues, and making decisions. It replaces the statutory guidance from 2009, ‘Guidance on managing staff in schools’.

England and Wales

1. The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3) May 2018 Guidance

Charity trustees are the people who share ultimate responsibility for governing a charity and directing how it is managed and run. They may be called trustees, the board, the management committee, governors, directors or something else.

This guidance explains what being a trustee involves, including:

• what trustees do
• who can be a trustee and how trustees are appointed
• their legal responsibilities
• specific trustee roles of chair and treasurer

You should read this guidance if you are:

• a trustee of any charity based in England or Wales
• thinking about setting up a charity or becoming a trustee in England or Wales

This document includes Safeguarding and DBS checks

1.NatCen are performing analysis for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. HMICFRS independently assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces and fire and rescue services.

Through in-depth individual interviews, they will explore people’s direct experiences of hate crime, including their views and experiences about reporting it and interactions with the police and support organisations. Findings from this research will inform recommendations to improve how hate crime is handled in policy and practice.

They would like to talk to anyone who has experienced or reported a hate crime or hate-related incident from January 2017 in England or Wales.

They are interested in all experiences of hate crime, including:

• incidents related to race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, transgender identity
• incidents related to other personal characteristics such as age, gender, or being part of an alternative subculture
• physical, verbal, and online incidents of hate crime.

To take part email by clicking This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Freephone 0808 169 1224

Please note their website also gives this warning

"Warning about telephone fraud

We've received reports that members of the public have received hoax telephone calls claiming to be from the National Centre for Social Research, asking people for confirmation of their bank name and account number.

Please be warned that these calls are not made by NatCen Social Research and that we would never ask for these details. If you receive a call like this and are concerned, please report it to Action Fraud."

2. The Home Office Disrespect NoBody PSHE educationteaching materials are designed to support the Government’s campaign to help prevent abusive behaviours within young people’s relationships.

These teaching materials can be easily integrated into your PSHE education programme and are designed to help pupils understand and maintain healthy relationships while learning about consent and challenging controlling behaviour, violence and abuse. The resource also focuses on developing key skills and attributes intrinsic to healthy relationships - such as empathy, respect, communication and negotiation.

The PSHE Association has worked with the Home Office to update and streamline the lesson plans, guidance and activities for 2018, following helpful feedback from its members.

3. Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) research on child sex abuse live-streaming reveals 98% of victims are under 13. A new study by IWF has revealed shocking statistics on children being groomed, coerced and blackmailed into live-streaming their own sexual abuse over webcams, tablets and mobile phones.

The research, Online Child Sexual Exploitation: Examining the Distribution of Captures of Live-streamed Child Sexual Abuse was conducted over a three-month period and identified 2,082 images and videos of live-streamed child sexual abuse. It revealed that 98% of images found were of children aged 13 and under, 28% were aged 10 or under, while the youngest victim was just three-years-old.

Top lines from the study found:

• 96% of victims were girls
• 96% showed a child on their own, in a home environment
• 18% of the abuse was categorised as Category A, which includes the rape and sexual torture of children
• 40% of the abuse was categorised as Category A or B, which indicates serious sexual abuse.

Shockingly, 100% of the imagery had been harvested from the original upload location and had been redistributed on third party websites, with 73% of content appearing on 16 dedicated forums. This indicates the abusive imagery was being shared with the intention of advertising paid downloads of videos of webcam child sexual abuse.

Sadly, a huge 40% of this illegal imagery was confirmed as Category A or B, 18% being Category A which involves what IWF classifies as the rape and sexual torture of children. The remainder was classed as Category C.

Of the live-streamed content, 4% was captured from mobile-only streaming apps.

The Internet Watch Foundation, which conducted the research (over a three-month period from August to October 2017) with funding support from Microsoft, is calling for greater awareness of online child sexual abuse using live-streaming apps. The organisation wants to encourage parents, carers and professionals working with youngsters to be aware of children’s technology use and the dangers posed to them by offenders.

Consultations

1. Children in need of help and protection: call for evidence.

The Department of Education announce:

“We want to understand what it is that makes the difference to the educational outcomes of Children in Need in practice, how some Children in Need can achieve better educational outcomes than others, and what works in enabling Children in Need to achieve their potential."

We need to develop a stronger evidence base, going beyond the data to look at what is happening in practice. At different stages in a child’s life, or when requiring different levels of statutory social care support, children’s needs will require a different response. At each of these stages, a child may work with a variety of professionals who offer support to a child and to their family, to improve a child’s circumstances.

Through the call for evidence, we want to understand how the work of professionals supporting Children in Need can make a difference to a child’s educational outcomes. Specifically, we are interested in:

• how support is delivered or commissioned to help children
• how this support is measured and evaluated
• how this support influences educational outcomes

The consultation closes July 1st 2018.

2. Consultation to review Scotland's disclosure regime

Disclosure Scotland announce a disclosure review , including the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, which covers those working with children and the vulnerable.

The Changes proposed are for those working with vulnerable people. It would require all sports coaches working with children and other vulnerable groups to undergo mandatory disclosure checks.

Proposals include:

• Simplifying the disclosure system
• Making membership of the PVG scheme mandatory for those in sensitive roles
• Making PVG membership time-limited
• Making the disclosure system respond better to young people’s circumstances
• Using digital technology to better and more efficiently meet customer needs

The consultation will run for 12 weeks until before July 19th.

1. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has defended its guidance on spotting injuries to babies after criticism from researchers on television.

BBC 2’s Victoria Derbyshire show heard last week from parents who said they had been investigated for possible child abuse because of the misinterpretation of guidelines on bruising in babies.

It cited University of Central Lancashire research that suggested the NICE guidelines meant social services were investigating parents too often.

Lead researcher Professor Andy Bilson told the programme that "social workers are in danger of having to take decisions based on really misleading interpretations of research".

The researchers said 91 of 152 top tier councils in England had specific guidance on how staff should respond to possible abuse but 77% of these did not give staff latitude to make judgments about the causes of a bruise.

2. A man who said he could cure diseases such as cancer and diabetes using just blood tests and food has been fined a total of £2,250 and handed a Criminal Behaviour Order at Blackfriars Crown Court today.

The sentencing comes after a conviction handed down last month following an investigation by National Trading Standards, who act as the legal backstop for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

3. Gabriella Swerling for the Times wrote:

“A couple were free to abuse their twin baby boys as police and social workers at a scandal-hit authority missed opportunities to save them, The Times can reveal.

The “wicked” mother and her partner, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, have been convicted of causing serious harm to both children.

Throughout their trial, jurors heard harrowing details of the abuse. One toddler had 69 separate injuries and his brother had 42. These included extensive neck bruising, unexplained anal bruising, bleeding in the brain, spinal fractures and a scalp injury probably caused by “being dragged by the hair”.

It has since emerged that despite repeated visits from social services and health visitors in the months leading up to one child being hospitalised, they failed to spot warning signs that the children were being abused.

The mother was already on a child protection plan following concerns about her parenting but this was “stepped down” in January 2016. Minshull Street crown court in Manchester also heard that police officers failed to investigate reports of abuse from a concerned family friend.

The police watchdog has launched an investigation and the council has launched a serious case review. Tim Evans, prosecuting, told jurors: “These children were being beaten and no one was acting to stop the beatings.”

The serious case review is yet to be published.

4. Students at all universities should have the opportunity to report incidents of assault or violence, the National Union of Students in Wales has said. It has welcomed a new online system run by Cardiff University which has seen 101 students report incidents since October.

A significant proportion were cases of abuse within relationships.

Students also registered over 30 cases of rape and 40 sexual assaults.

One student who was sexually assaulted on his way home from a party urged others not to be ashamed if they had endured a similar experience.

Cardiff University said it was surprised by the number who have used the system since it was set up for its 30,000 students.

It is also surprised at the proportion who have chosen to give their details, rather than report incidents anonymously.

"It's been used more frequently than we would perhaps have thought," said Amy Sykes, in charge of the team who respond to disclosures by students.

5. Dozens of victims safeguarded as modern slavery crackdown focuses on labour exploitation. Dozens of potential victims of slavery have been safeguarded following the latest nationwide multi-agency drive to tackle modern slavery.

The week of co-ordinated action, which was led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), started on Monday 14 May and focused on labour exploitation.

It was the latest strand of Operation Aidant, the NCA-led law enforcement response to modern slavery and human trafficking.

The NCA and GLAA worked with police forces from across the UK to co-ordinate or support a range of enforcement activity targeting those involved in modern slavery-related criminality.

1. A teacher who watched porn while pupils were in the classroom has been struck off.

Julian Barrett, 53, was caught on CCTV viewing "explicit sexual footage" at Roman Fields School in Hemel Hempstead.

On one occasion, a disciplinary panel heard, a video of a couple having sex was on his screen when a pupil approached his desk.

He was banned from teaching indefinitely after admitting his actions were sexually motivated.

Mr Barrett worked at the school, which provides education for young people who have had "limited engagement with education", from September 2014 until July 2017.

Between 9 and 15 December 2016 he watched pornography "on a regular basis", the National College for Teaching and Leadership panel was told.

2. A man who sexually abused three girls has been convicted in one of a series of trials connected to allegations of child sexual abuse in Rotherham.

Tony Chapman, 42, admitted 12 counts of indecent assault against one victim but denied raping two other girls and using threats and violence against one of them.

However, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court, Chapman was convicted of three counts of rape, one charge of causing actual bodily harm and one count of making threats to kill.

3. Europol has supported the Spanish National Police on Operation Sky, a complex investigation targeting the distribution of child sexual exploitation material through darknet platforms and Skype.

The investigation led by the Spanish National Police’s High-Tech Crime Unit began in mid-2017 and focused at first on the TOR network. Prompted by clear evidence of the prolific sharing of indecent images, the Spanish investigators uncovered links diverting users to a private group accessible by invitation only on Skype. 

At this point in the operation, there have been eight arrests in Europe (France, Hungary, Italy, Spain) and Canada. Investigations are ongoing with law enforcement agencies to bring all the suspects to justice.

The group members from 14 different countries were actively exchanging child sexual abuse and exploitation material. Operation SKY aimed at clearly identifying, charging and prosecuting them for encouraging child sexual exploitation and abuse through their activities.  The investigators monitored the activity online using innovative operational resources in this complex case.  They also dealt with the demands of different legal frameworks in a worldwide investigation. The house searches and arrests followed shortly after.

4. Mother found guilty of forcing her daughter into marriage. The defendant, who is from Birmingham but cannot be named for legal reasons, took her 17-year-old daughter to Pakistan in 2017 under the guise of a holiday. When they arrived, the victim was told that she was to be married to a 36-year-old man in September, after she had turned 18.

When her daughter protested the marriage the defendant threatened to burn her passport and assaulted her.

In the days leading up to the wedding the victim made contact with family in the UK to for help but the ceremony went ahead.

On the day of the wedding the victim was taken to a venue where a Islamic wedding ceremony was performed, which did not require the groom to be present. After being made to sign a certificate proving the marriage had taken place, she was taken to a wedding hall where she met her husband. The couple were then presented to guests as man and wife.  

The defendant returned to the UK without her daughter but was brought before the Family Division of the High Court after the involvement of social services. The defendant lied to the court that the girl had not been married and wished to stay in Pakistan but the judge ordered her immediate return to the UK.

With the assistance of the Home Office, the girl was brought back to the UK and told police and social workers what had happened. Her mother was arrested in January 2017 and today was convicted of forced marriage and perjury at Birmingham Crown Court.

5. Second forced marriage conviction within a week. A couple from Leeds have been convicted of tricking their daughter into travelling to Bangladesh in order to force her into marriage. 

The defendants told their children in the summer of 2016 that they were travelling to a Bangladesh for a holiday to visit relatives. Once they arrived in a remote village, the victim was told she was to be married to her cousin.  

When she refused, her parents took her phone away and threatened her with violence if she did not agree to the marriage. She was assaulted and her father threatened to slit her throat and to 'chop her up' in 18 seconds - one for each year of her life - if she refused to comply. 

After being made aware of the escalating situation, the British High Commission in Bangladesh, the Forced Marriage Unit, and Bangladeshi police worked together to rescue the victim and bring her safely back to the UK. 

6. Operation Pallial: Former care home Deputy Principal convicted of 29 sexual offences. The former Deputy Principal of private children’s home Ystrad Hall in Llangollen has been found guilty of 29 child sex abuse offences including buggery, indecent assault and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Bryan Davies, 71 from at St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex was convicted of the offences following a six week trial at Mold Crown Court.

Three men contacted the NCA with new complaints about the abuse they had suffered at the hands of Davies and the investigation team re-interviewed eight other men who had previously detailed abuse by him. 

Davies was found guilty of 20 offences of buggery and indecent assault on eight teenage boys aged between 10 and 15 who were in care between 1976 and 1978. He was also found guilty of nine internet based offences between 2006 and 2012, where he would use live-streaming sites to incite young boys aged between 13 and 15 to engage in sexual acts for his pleasure.

21st -27th May 2018 was Dementia Action Week the theme was “Small Actions Big Impacts”

These are the actions that people with dementia want to see:

• Be there for my carers and loved ones
• Talk to me
•  Make time to listen
• Invite me out
• Be patient
• Ask questions and learn about dementia
• Ask if I need help if I look confused

If you would like to know more about SAFE please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Regards

The SAFE Team
01379-871091