Protecting students against the threat of extremism and online exploitation can be a challenge, especially in today’s everchanging landscape. In this article, Mubina Asaria, Online Safeguarding Consultant at edtech charity LGfL – The National Grid for Learning, explores evidence-based strategies and ready-to-use resources designed to empower school staff and practitioners. Schools across the UK are…
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into the everyday lives of children and young people, schools are beginning to observe new forms of online behaviour that extend beyond conventional safeguarding models. A growing concern in this area is the fascination with AI chatbots, where ongoing interaction with conversational AI may start to indicate emotional dependence…
At Big Creative Education (BCE), we welcome the government’s recognition of the challenges within the SEND system and the commitment to increasing funding for education providers and local authorities. Many young people require support in class and this is something we take very seriously at BCE. Half of our young people, talented creatives, have SEND,…
Mubina Asaria, Safeguarding Consultant at edtech charity LGfL-The National Grid for Learning shares advice for schools on supporting parents to navigate online gaming and keep their children safe. Online gaming is firmly embedded in today’s childhood experience – part of everyday life for many children. Some start playing games online as young as 3-5…
Edtech charity LGfL-The National Grid for Learning has launched a free Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Toolkit for schools across the UK. Designed for senior leaders and Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), the toolkit provides a practical framework to develop safe, effective and future-ready AI policies, aligned with Keeping Children Safe in Education and Department for Education…
Generative AI isn’t coming to schools; it’s already here, and we must respond. Plenty of children are already exploring tools, many teachers are dabbling, and the Department for Education has produced guidance on using them in schools. However, talk of AI is frequently generating these 2 polar responses – stopping and hoping it goes away, or jumping in excitedly…
UK schools find themselves in a difficult situation. Government guidance and regulations on safeguarding children in education are extensive, but implementing a cohesive strategy that addresses the physical safety and mental well-being of staff and pupils remains challenging. A 2024 survey by the Department for Education found that 69% of headteachers and senior staff…
This Autumn, suicide prevention charity, R;pple, reveals widespread concern among parents about the digital risks facing their children, and a growing concern that schools face a huge challenge trying to combat this. Whilst nearly all parents (90%) admit they don’t know what their children are searching for online, three quarters (74%) report that their children have had…
Online safety is an integral part of safeguarding – by protecting children from harm and potential risks in the digital world, we can help ensure their well-being both online and offline. An effective whole school approach to online safety, empowers schools ‘to protect and educate pupils, students, and staff in their use of technology…
A leading social enterprise behind an upcoming Child to Parent Abuse conference focused on safeguarding has announced the release of online tickets. The one-day Breaking the Silence event to be held at Shrewsbury Town Football Club in Shropshire next month (Tuesday 14th October) marks the first time PEGS has held its annual conference in person….
Alex Dave, Safeguarding Education Officer at ed-tech charity, LGfL-the National Grid for Learning, shares advice on supporting parents to be part of the decision-making process in safeguarding their children. It’s important to understand that if we have concerns about the parenting of a child, we cannot make that parent change. As Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) it’s usual to…
Alex Dave, Safeguarding Education Officer at ed-tech charity, LGfL-the National Grid for Learning, shares advice on the relational approach to positive communication with parents. The words we use – either spoken or written – shape us, our values and our behaviours, and they do likewise for others. Language is powerful – it can provide meaning,…
Alex Dave, Safeguarding Education Officer at ed-tech charity, LGfL-the National Grid for Learning, shares advice on building positive partnerships with parents, and ways Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) can approach difficult conversations. ‘Working collaboratively will mean parents and carers have the best chance of making changes, and practitioners can make fair and accurate decisions about how…
New integration offers schools a more connected approach to student voice, wellbeing, and safeguarding data JUNE 2025, UK — CPOMS, the leading provider of safeguarding, wellbeing and pastoral software, and Komodo Wellbeing, a trusted platform designed to capture student voice and provide schools with real-time wellbeing insight, have partnered to create a clearer, more…
Alex Dave, Safeguarding Education Officer at ed-tech charity, LGfL-the National Grid for Learning, shares advice on building positive partnerships with parents, and ways Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) can approach difficult conversations. ‘Working collaboratively will mean parents and carers have the best chance of making changes, and practitioners can make fair and accurate decisions about how…
Mubina Asaria, is Safeguarding Consultant at ed-tech charity LGfL-The National Grid for Learning. Cases of sexual extortion, sometimes referred to as ‘sextortion’ – where intimate, naked or sexual photos or videos are used to blackmail or extort money or further images from the victim – are increasing at an alarming rate. The perpetrators can…
How well do your staff understand Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)? It’s a critically important question for all Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), senior leadership teams (SLTs), governors and trustees, and it’s not easy to assess. To support schools, award winning ed-tech charity, LGfL-The National Grid for Learning, developed a bank of free quizzes. With…
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) states ‘schools and colleges should consider carrying out an annual review of their approach to online safety’. To help support schools, edtech charity, LGfL-The National Grid for Learning has developed a free, comprehensive yet easy to use Online Safety Audit, recently updated (Feb 2025) to reflect changes to the…
How well do your staff understand Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)? It’s a critically important question for all Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), senior leadership teams (SLTs), governors and trustees, and it’s not easy to assess. To support schools, award winning ed-tech charity, LGfL-The National Grid for Learning, developed a bank of free quizzes….
Despite high-profile media reports of harming and abuse of children in their own homes, recent data shows increasing risks to children are often the familiar, ordinary, ‘every day’ situations. Children can be vulnerable to harm in wider contexts including relationships with their peers, schools and their neighbourhoods – delegates at a safeguarding conference will hear….
LGfL’s free translations of statutory KCSIE Part 1 guidance With safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as its top priority, award-winning edtech charity, LGfL – The National Grid for Learning, has commissioned translations of the Department for Education’s (DFE’s) statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, Part 1 into thirteen widely spoken community languages. These…
International tutoring brand, Tutor Doctor, has unveiled its updated safeguarding and safer recruitment policies, developed in collaboration with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and validated by the Department for Education. Regularly reviewed with input from the NSPCC and aligned with guidance such as Keeping Children Safe in Education…
The new free, ready-to-use Parent Online Safety Presentation from leading edtech charity LGfL–The National Grid for Learning, is designed for schools, community groups, and youth centres, to help build staff confidence in engaging parents and empowering them to start essential conversations with their children about staying safe online. Bringing together the latest research, facts,…
Neglect is defined as the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical, emotional, and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. In England, data from the NSPCC revealed a 106% increase in recorded child cruelty and neglect, with offences rising from 14,263 in 2017/18, to 29,422…
The UK Department for Education (DfE) defines neglect as: ‘the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development’. For the majority of readers, the aforementioned definition will conjure an image of an unkempt child living in poverty, and…
