Safeguarding Bulletin - 18 February 2026
Free KCSiE 2026 webinars booking now...
We’re running three free webinars to talk with other DSLs about their perspectives on the planned changes, analysing the consultation, and sharing a summary of changes. There are 3 dates to choose from, so click a button below to find out more and reserve your space.
Book now: Friday 27 February 2026 @ 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Book now: Monday 9 March 2026 @ 4.30pm - 5.30pm
Book now: Monday 23 March @ 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
KCSiE 2026 - in case you missed it...
The 2026 consultation on Keeping Children Safe in Education is now open until 22 April. While core safeguarding processes remain unchanged, the draft guidance introduces several key updates:
Greater emphasis on community‑based early help, now clearly distinguished from targeted Family Help.
Clearer definitions throughout the guidance to support more focused and consistent safeguarding practice.
Stronger links to modern slavery, particularly where exploitation of young people is a concern.
Proposed integration of guidance on supporting children questioning their gender, which Baroness Casey describes as providing a robust and protective framework for all children.
Clarification of DSL requirements, highlighting that they must have the appropriate skills and experience - as well as status or authority.
Improved processes when children move schools, aiming for earlier identification and communication of any safeguarding concerns.
The impact of harmful online content on children
“I know I was the one who searched those topics in the past but at this point I’m too stressed to even open the apps because they will keep showing me triggering content.”
The NSPCC has published a briefing offering a snapshot of young people’s experiences with harmful online content before the Online Safety Act 2023 came into force in March 2025.
It uses insight from Childline counselling sessions and NSPCC Helpline child welfare contacts in 2024/25 and shares young people’s online experiences and the impacts, including online bullying, hate content, depictions of violence, misinformation and addictive design in online platforms.
Read more and download the briefing
National safeguarding practice review into the death of baby Victoria Marten
Safeguarding unborn and highly vulnerable babies requires a proactive, relational and trauma-informed multi-agency system that anticipates risk and prepares for future pregnancies.
This review, published by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, was prompted by the tragic death of baby Victoria Marten in early 2023. As anticipated, there are detailed recommendations for practice which will be implemented across updated guidance and legislation, such as Working Together to Safeguarding Children.
Read our blog where we summarise the findings, key themes and recommendations
Why preventing mental ill-health in schools is essential
On this podcast hosted by the Mental Elf, a service focused on keeping readers up-to-date with all of the important and reliable mental health research and guidance, and in partnership with the RESET Project, experts from Anna Freud discuss why prevention is the best way forward for children and young people’s mental health, and how schools can prioritise evidence-based approaches that make a real difference.
This is the final podcast in a series of four, with each episode focusing on a different key area of young people’s mental health research. The podcast is designed especially for teachers, school staff, and those delivering mental health interventions in schools, offering insights that can support everyday practice as well as longer-term change.
Children’s exposure to appearance-changing products online
78% reported that being exposed to appearance-changing products online had a negative impact on self-esteem.
In her new report, the Children’s Commissioner has called for an urgent end to advertising on social media to children after finding they are being “routinely bombarded” with products that claim to change their bodies and appearance.
More than three quarters of children (78%) said the ads negatively impacted their self-esteem, with 41% of 13 to 17-year-olds seeing prescription-only weight loss drugs despite a ban on them being advertised to the public. The latest report follows findings from a survey by the commissioner in 2024 that found just 40% of girls and 60% of boys were happy with how they look.
Strengthening cybersecurity in schools
Cyber security is no longer just an IT issue. It is a safeguarding priority, a leadership responsibility and a whole-school challenge.
SWGfL is partnering with Secure Schools on Thursday 26th February 2026, 2:00–3:00pm to deliver a free webinar: Strengthening cybersecurity in schools. This one-hour session is designed specifically for education professionals who want to move beyond awareness and take meaningful, achievable steps towards building cyber resilience across their setting. Whether you are a DSL, senior leader, IT lead, governor or classroom practitioner, this webinar will help you understand what schools are facing right now and what you can do about it.
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