Latest safeguarding and child protection news

Talk Relationships

Source: NSPCC Learning
Date: 19 May 2026

NSPCC Learning has published new Talk Relationships resources to help schools engage parents and carers with the sex and relationships education (SRE) being taught, supporting them to talk to their children about healthy relationships. The resources include: a schools toolkit; an editable presentation; a guide; and five factsheets on specific SRE topics and how parents and carers can address them. NSPCC Learning has also published updated resources for a Whole-School Approach Framework, in line with the new Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance for England.

Access the resources: Talk Relationships

Children’s social care

Source: DfE
Date: 21 May 2026

The Department for Education (DfE) has published an implementation plan for local partners that sets out the next steps for reform of the children’s social care system in England. Following the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, the plan outlines how local partners can: deliver improved early help, strengthen support for family networks and ensure stable, high quality placements for children in care. Under the plans: every local authority will deliver a single Family Help service; multi-agency child protection teams will be established by local safeguarding partners; support for kinship carers will be strengthened; foster care capacity will be increased; care leavers will receive strengthened support; and there will be a new universal parenting offer for adopted and eligible kinship children transitioning into secondary school.

Read the press release: Government sets out next steps for children’s social care reforms  
Read the plan: Delivering the children’s social care reset

Bullying

Source: Anti-Bullying Alliance
Date: 21 April 2026

The Anti-Bullying Alliance has launched an animated film to help younger children understand bullying and feel confident speaking up. As part of its #There4Every1 campaign, the film encourages children to speak to a safe adult about bullying.

Watch the film: Almost 1 in 4 children experience bullying: new film encourages younger children to speak up

See also on NSPCC Learning
> Protecting children from bullying and cyberbullying

Online safety: image security

Source: UK Safer Internet Centre
Date: 08 May 2026

The UK Safer Internet Centre has published image security guidance developed by the UK Online Harms Early Warning Working Group. Aimed at education settings and organisations working with children and young people, the guidance provides information and advice on the risks of sharing images and videos of children on websites and social media platforms. It aims to address the risk of AI image manipulation and abuse, and the emerging threat of blackmail, covering: practices to protect young people’s images; the risks of using young people’s images online; and what to do if images of young people are misused, altered or abused.

Read the news story: Schools given advice on image safety to keep ahead of threat from AI blackmailers  
Find out more: Protecting your setting’s images from AI manipulation and abuse

Children who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Source: National Autistic Society
Date: 19 May 2026

The National Autistic Society has published the results of a survey on schools and children who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the UK. The charity surveyed teachers and education professionals, autistic people and parents/carers of autistic children. Findings include: nearly two thirds of teachers and education professionals worry about keeping SEND children safe because of a lack of capacity; and nearly nine in ten worry about being able to support the mental health and wellbeing of children who have SEND because of a lack of capacity. The National Autistic Society is calling for mandatory autism and neurodiversity training for all school staff and parents to be involved in the development of support plans.

Read the news story: New survey shows nearly two thirds of school staff worry about keeping children with SEND safe

See also on NSPCC Learning
> Safeguarding children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) 

Child sexual abuse: information sharing

Source: CSA Centre
Date: 21 May 2026

The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) has published a new guide to support professionals in England and Wales with information sharing in relation to child sexual abuse. The guide aims to help people working with children learn how to use and share the information they hold with other professionals to effectively safeguard the children they work with from sexual abuse. It covers finding, sharing and using information from different agencies and organisations, including when and how information should be shared.

Access the guide: Sharing information – our new guide for professionals

See also on NSPCC Learning
> Protecting children from sexual abuse