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Latest safeguarding and child protection news
Sex and relationships education
Source: NSPCC Learning
Date: 26 January 2026
NSPCC Learning has published an evaluation of EMPOWER, a toolkit designed to help young people get involved in shaping their sex and relationships education (SRE). The toolkit was piloted with 24 secondary schools across the UK from January to July 2025. Key findings from the evaluation include: EMPOWER provides schools and educators with a useful framework for incorporating youth voice in sex and relationships education; schools should dedicate time and tailored support to create the conditions that enable meaningful youth voice; and young people value being listened to and recognise the personal and wider benefits of having their voices acted upon. The EMPOWER toolkit is now available in English and Welsh to all UK secondary education settings as part of the NSPCC’s Talk Relationships service.
Read the report: “Teachers listen to you”: how to ensure youth voice is centred in sex and relationships education
Find out more: Talk Relationships: youth voice
Puberty and learning disabilities
Source: NSPCC Learning
Date: 13 January 2026
NSPCC Learning has updated its resources on navigating puberty and sexual development for children and young people who have a learning disability. The resources include a guide for parents on navigating puberty, and a series of symbolised booklets exploring bodies and behaviours. New content includes a guide for parents and carers on humping and thrusting behaviour to help them understand and respond to this behaviour in a supportive, non-shaming and proactive way.
Access the resources: Navigating puberty and sexual development
See also on NSPCC Learning > Safeguarding children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
Social media
Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Department for Education
Date: 19 January 2026
The UK government has launched a consultation on children's use of social media to protect young people's wellbeing and ensure safer online experiences. The consultation will seek views on various measures, including: the right minimum age for children to access social media, including a potential ban for children under a certain age; ways to improve the accuracy of age assurance for children; restrictions on addictive features of social media; and further interventions to support parents in helping their children stay safe online. Immediate action will include Ofsted checking school mobile phone policy on every inspection, with schools expected to become phone-free. The government will respond to the consultation in the summer. The NSPCC has published a response highlighting the role of social media and online communities in children’s lives and calling for technology companies to be held to account.
Read the news story: Government to drive action to improve children’s relationship with mobile phones and social media
Read the NSPCC’s response: A social media ban would punish teenagers for tech platform’s failures
Mobile phones
Source: DfE
Date: 19 January 2026
The Department for Education (DfE) has updated its guidance on the use of mobile phones in schools in England which explains how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones. The guidance includes facts and figures to support discussions with parents and ways to communicate with parents about school policies. Additional case studies include examples of phone policies in different schools.
Read the guidance: Mobile phones in schools
Pupil behaviour
Source: DfE
Date: 29 January 2026
The Department for Education (DFE) has published an evaluation of the behaviour hubs programme in England. The programme encouraged 'lead' schools and multi-academy trusts with positive behaviour cultures to collaborate closely with 'partner' schools seeking to improve their pupil behaviour. It launched in April 2021 and ran over nine cohorts of partner schools. Findings from the evaluation show: nationwide systemic, sustainable improvements in how schools managed behaviour; and evidence that pupil behaviour improved following the programme, particularly in schools with lower pupil-teacher ratios, small primary schools, and large secondary schools.
Read the report: Evaluation of the behaviour hubs programme: final report
School suspensions
Source: DfE
Date: 29 January 2026
The Department for Education (DfE) has published a blog post discussing school suspensions with a focus on how schools can use internal suspensions effectively. Internal suspensions involve a pupil being removed from their usual classroom for a short period but remaining in school and working in a separate, supervised space. They are intended to reinforce clear behaviour expectations; keep pupils learning; reduce disruption for other children; and avoid the risks that can come with being sent home. The blog states that the DfE will publish new guidance to support schools in England to use internal suspensions to tackle behaviour while also keeping children safe, learning and supported.
Read the blog: Suspensions: how suspensions in school can help tackle behaviour and boost pupil support
Autism and mental health
Source: Ambitious About Autism
Date: 27 January 2025
The charity Ambitious About Autism has created a toolkit to help pupils who have autism take control of their mental health and wellbeing. The toolkit has been designed for secondary schools in the UK and the programme aims to build a whole-school community where pupils are supported. The toolkit includes peer-led session resources, an assembly session pack, and specialist school resources.
Find out more: Autistic and OK