|
Safeguarding Briefing - 3rd October 2022
Dear Colleague
Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, 2021 (NHS Digital)
NHS Digital has recently published the results of a two-yearly look at young people use of alcohol, smoking and drugs. The survey would have fallen during the pandemic, so it was postponed for a year. The survey took the opportunity to also ask questions about the impact of lockdown.
Almost 10,000 secondary aged children (Years 7 -11) answered questions on a range of topics including prevalence, habits, attitudes, and wellbeing.
Cigarette smoking
Today, nearly 90% of 11 - 16 year olds said that they had never tried cigarettes. Thirty years ago, half of the children asked said they had smoked at least once, with a fifth identifying as regular smokers. In this latest survey, only 1% of the young people said they were regular smokers; in 2018 this figure was 2%. In 2019, around 14% of adults smoke cigarettes, compared to 35% in 1984. (Source: Adult smoking habits in the UK, ONS, 2019)
E-cigarettes and Vapes
The fall in young people smoking is perhaps unsurprising given the general reduction in numbers amongst over-16s and the legislative changes.
The first questions about vaping were asked in this survey in 2014. Since then, the proportion of children who describe themselves as current e-cigarette users has increased by 9% since 2018. More girls vape than boys with twenty percent of 15 year old girls described as current users.
Drug use
There has been a fall in the prevalence of lifetime and recent illicit drug use. Just under a fifth of pupils across Years 7 - 11 reported they had ever taken drugs (down from 24% in 2018); 6% in the last month (9% in 2018).
The survey has interesting data on where children get their drugs, and where they obtained the first drugs they used. Sixty percent of children who used cannabis were given it by a friend, usually of their own age.
Most commonly, children who used drugs more than once, obtain their drugs outdoors, for example, in a park or on the street. In 2018, 12% of drugs were obtained in school, by 2021 this had fallen to 5%. Usually, children are using drugs with their friends, but nearly a fifth said they were alone.
For the first occasion, over half the children who said they used drugs did so 'to see what it was like'. For the 'most recent occasion', 50% said it was 'to get high or feel good'. Around a quarter said it was 'to forget about my problems'. Though never the most common reason, ‘because friends were doing it’ does feature in the top four reasons for all the drug types examined.
Sources from which pupils have obtained helpful information about drug use
Pupils were most likely to have obtained helpful information about drug use from parents (70%) and teachers (66%). Other people from whom pupils got helpful information were other relatives (42%), friends (42%) and police in schools (38%).
I think this survey gives us some interesting data that helps us better understand the context that young people live in and in particular their perceptions.
Find the data here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/smoking-drinking-and-drug-use-among-young-people-in-england/2021
Tackling Child Exploitation (TCE) Support Programme
Online Education Consultation Event: Thursday 6th October 2022 3.45pm - 5.15pm
The Tackling Child Exploitation (TCE) Support Programme has been commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) to produce a set of Practice Principles that will support multi-agency local area responses to child exploitation and extra-familial harm. The group has now agreed draft principles with the DfE and are undertaking a second consultation period to offer the opportunity for participants to 'check and challenge' what the Programme has heard and reflect back to TCE how useful the Principles and resources will be.
Join can join the consultation event by signing up here: https://tacklingchildexploitation.arlo.co/waiting-list?sid=406c95c80e604b419687d3509962c100
For more information, please download the information sheets here: https://6282.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Practice+Principles+for+tackling+child+exploitation+and+extra-familial+harm.pdf
Online searches on shortlisted candidates
Keeping Children Safe in Education, paragraph 220 says introduces a new duty to consider 'carrying out an online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates'. Whilst this sounds like a good idea, it is not as straightforward to implement as one might imagine.
To help with understanding what needs to be done, education lawyer, Dai Durbridge, from Browne Jacobson, has produced a helpful FAQ on the topic.
More information here: https://www.brownejacobson.com/education/training-and-resources/guides/2022/09/how-to-carry-out-the-kcsie-online-checks-faqs
Get your own copy of the Safeguarding Briefing by going to: www.safeguardingbriefing.co.uk
Low-level concerns policy (Farrer & Co.)
Farrer & Co.'s revised guidance on low-level concerns has been updated to ensure consistency with KCSIE 2022, and to provide further clarity and reflection of best practice in this evolving area. A new case study has also been included.
Read more: https://www.farrer.co.uk/news-and-insights/developing-and-implementing-a-low-level-concerns-policy-a-guide-for-organisations-which-work-with-children2/
Safeguarding Handbook 2022 - now available
Although I'm sorry to say that there has been a delay this year, the new edition of the Safeguarding Handbook is now available.
Download the contents page here: https://6282.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Safeguarding+Handbook+for+Schools+September+2022+v.13.0+LOOK+INSIDE+VERSION.pdf
You can buy the latest edition of the Safeguarding Handbook here:
Safeguarding Handbook (Hardcopy)...£69
https://www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/store
Safeguarding Handbook (Hardcopy and .pdf)...£99
https://www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/store
The Contextual Safeguarding Young People's Podcast Series
The Contextual Safeguarding Young People's Podcast Series has been developed as part of the Scale Up Project and produced by Tanika Trent-McSherry. Featuring young people from across the London and National Scale Up sites, this is the first time you can hear young people sharing their views on all things related to Contextual Safeguarding. The series comprises of four episodes, each focusing on different contexts: schools, the role of social workers, friendships and peers and neighbourhoods.
Find the podcast series here: https://www.contextualsafeguarding.org.uk/blog/the-contextual-safeguarding-young-people-s-podcast-series/
Safeguarding Podcast
There are a few podcasts around now with a safeguarding theme. Delyth Lynch emailed to say that she has started a podcast talking to DSLs around the country. Delyth says, 'there are some lovely snippets coming through from the DSLs I am speaking to, with some good advice as well.
The podcast can be found here: https://www.schoolmanagementplus.com/category/abc-of-safeguarding/
The relationship between poverty and child abuse and neglect: new evidence (Nuffield Foundation)
Major reviews of children’s social care in England and Scotland have shown that family poverty and inequality are key drivers of harm to children. Evidence also shows that deep and persistent poverty, which have increased rapidly in the UK in recent years, are more damaging for children’s safety than low income or temporary difficulties.
The Relationship Between Poverty and Child Abuse and Neglect: New Evidence is based on reviews of 90 research papers from the last five years. Over 30% of children in England live in poverty. Poverty affects every aspect of family life. Poverty is inextricably implicated in other factors which increase the risk of harm: including domestic violence, poor mental health and substance use. Children’s age and ethnicity interact with poverty in ways that increase inequalities.
Read the Briefing note here: https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Briefing-note-relationship-between-poverty-child-abuse-and-neglect.pdf
Read the Executive summary here: https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Executive-summary-relationship-between-poverty-child-abuse-and-neglect.pdf
Forthcoming Courses
Implementing the role of the Senior Mental Health Lead (DfE Course Code SMHL105)
This is our DfE Quality Assured course for Senior Mental Health Leads. The course is self-paced learning using the resources in our SMHL.Pro Hub. The course cost £397+VAT, some schools are eligible for a grant to cover this cost.
For more details, go to: https://www.smhl.pro/course
Advanced Safeguarding for DSLs
This is a four-session course for DSLs over a full-day. The course is offered live and as a recorded replay. When the course is live, there are plenty of opportunities to contribute with observations, questions or answers. As a recording, the interactions from other people are included and feedback notes that this makes it feel like you are not on your own.
"I came to a session in Birmingham back in 2019 (the day after the GE I think) and it was superb. Today [online] was just as good, if not better. The use of video mixed with live speaking was excellent and goes way beyond what other safeguarding courses provide. You've been there and done it, and your openness with your own story is inspirational."
LIVE ONLINE Thursday 20th October 2022 BOOK NOW
...and available online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience BOOK NOW
LIVE ON LOCATION remember that you can book Andrew to visit your school, cluster or MAT to share his DSL course. Please contact us for details and bookings.
Whole School Safeguarding CPD Online Session for 2022/2023
In this two and half hour online presentation aimed at staff in all roles, specialist safeguarding consultant, Andrew Hall, explores important aspects of safeguarding in schools including child protection, learning from case studies and the latest version of Keeping Children Safe in Education.
"In my excitement, I forgot to add our star rating to the Safeguarding training we have just watched. If we could, we would give it 10 stars! That was the best Safeguarding training we have ever had, thank you so much. Feedback from staff has, so far, been overwhelmingly positive…I can't thank you enough."
"I would like to extend my thanks to Andrew for his fantastic online training. It was filmed so well - almost as if he were here with us! We were kept engaged throughout and felt so well informed - a huge thank you. It was a real success, and we look forward to booking you again in the future - with the staff team saying it was the best safeguarding training they have ever had. We really appreciated Andrew's real-life storytelling and the way such sensitive information was shared - it was excellent training."
You book your online session here: https://cpd.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/product/whole-school-safeguarding-course-online/
Until next time, keep safe and thank you for all the work you're doing,
Andrew Hall
Specialist Safeguarding Consultant,
Success In Schools Ltd.
|
