Thousands of children in England are struggling with the impacts of parental alcohol misuse, a national children’s charity has reported. Last year, Child in Need assessments identified 71,580 children as living with a parent who regularly and consistently misuses alcohol, and the NSPCC reports that its helpline regularly receives contacts about this issue. The...
Familial child sexual abuse to be probed by national review
A national safeguarding review has been launched into child sexual abuse within the family environment after a “concerning number” of cases. Safeguarding leaders launched the national review to examine cases in more depth and look at how practitioners and agencies could improve the identification, assessment and response to instances of child sexual abuse within...
Online Safety Bill marks ‘new era for children’s safety’
The landmark Online Safety Bill has finally been passed and will soon be made law, marking what the NSPCC describes as “a new era for children’s safety.” The ground-breaking and “essential” piece of legislation was recently passed following years of campaigning by parents, survivors, MPs and charities and is set to transform the online...
Sexual harassment of girls ‘widespread’ in schools
A group of MPs has called for a government-led strategy to engage boys in relationship and sex education, improve safeguarding and tackle sexual harassment of girls. The Women and Equalities Committee have published a report in which they describe sexual harassment of girls as “a scourge” in England’s schools and claim that it is...
9 in 10 teachers report rise in safeguarding concerns
New data from the NSPCC reveals that more than 9 in 10 (93%) teachers have observed an increase in child safeguarding concerns within their schools. The national children’s charity worked with teaching union NASUWT to survey 8,329 teachers and senior leaders across the UK. They found that 93% of respondents had seen an increase...
Child safeguarding needs major overhaul after failings
A safeguarding review panel has made nine recommendations designed to overhaul child safeguarding practices following an inquiry into abuse across three services. The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel have called for Councils to take on a bigger role in monitoring residential settings in their areas to tackle failings in safeguarding children with disabilities and...
NSPCC calls for equal protection for children
The NSPCC is calling on the government to give children in England equal protection from assault by removing the defense of ‘reasonable chastisement.’ The national children’s charity said that Wales, Scotland and more than 60 other countries across the world have brought in equal protection from assault for children and that a “solid and...
NSPCC: Online child abuse crimes have risen by almost 80%
The NSPCC is calling for the upcoming Online Safety Bill to be strengthened to “prioritise children” after figures show that online abuse crimes have surged by 78% over the last 4 years. The national children’s charity says that an analysis of police reports reveals that the number of children being sexually abused online has...
Social media firms introduce global measures to protect children
Leading social media platforms have implemented new global measures to protect children after the UK introduced new regulations aimed at ensuring child safety online. On Thursday 2nd September 2021, the UK introduced a new set of regulations to protect children when they are online, which include the possibility of multi-million-dollar fines for any companies...
Childline counsels 90,000 children during pandemic
The NSPCC’s confidential helpline, Childline, delivered nearly 90,000 counselling sessions for young people worried about mental health or abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic. The national children’s charity said they had grown increasingly concerned about the “huge toll” the pandemic has had on young people. Data from Childline for the period 1st April 2020 until...
Survey reveals impact of coronavirus on UK children
A new survey capturing the experiences of children and young people during the pandemic has revealed many have faced mental health challenges over the past year. Conducted by Survation for Newsround, the survey asked over 2,000 6–16-year-olds from all across the UK about their experiences during 2020-21, questioning them about a range of issues,...
Concerns about parental substance misuse rise 66%
The NSPCC has reported a 66% rise in the number of people contacting them with concerns about parental substance misuse. The national children’s charity says that long-term drug and alcohol misuse among parents has become a growing concern for members of the public, who are contacting their helpline with fears for children being put...
Vulnerable children must be put ‘centre stage’ post-Covid
The Children’s Commissioner for England has called on the government to put vulnerable children “centre stage” in forthcoming plans to “build back better” after the Covid-19 pandemic. In her final speech after six years in the role, Anne Longfield said that plans to “level up” the nation must start with its most vulnerable children...
‘Shocking’ rise in child abuse during lockdown
The Children’s Society has described the 27% increase in reported incidents of children dying or being seriously harmed following suspected child abuse or neglect as ‘shocking.’ It has been revealed that the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel received 285 serious incident notifications from April to September 2020, following England’s first national lockdown to combat...
Ofsted warns of ‘invisibility of vulnerable children’ in lockdown
Ofsted have warned that vulnerable children at risk of harm have “slipped out of sight” during the national coronavirus lockdown. England’s Chief Inspector of Schools, Amanda Spielman, has warned that, when schools were closed during the first national lockdown, children may have missed out on the help they needed due to teachers being unable...