Safeguarding Bulletin - 28 October 2026
Government to act on landmark antisemitism review
Last week the government accepted all 27 recommendations of the independent review, led by former Ofsted chief inspector Sir David Bell, into antisemitism in schools, recognising that antisemitism is a distinct form of racism and hatred that requires a clear and sustained response.
The Government’s response includes action to:
encourage all schools and colleges to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
introduce dedicated antisemitism training for leaders and safeguarding staff.
strengthen key guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education and guidance on political impartiality.
develop further resources to help staff identify and challenge antisemitism;
improve reporting and recording of antisemitic incidents.
provide enhanced support and advice for schools, colleges and local authorities dealing with complex cases.
support better understanding of Jewish life, identity and contemporary antisemitism across the education system.
strengthen support for schools and colleges discussing controversial issues and sensitive geopolitical events in a balanced, informed and impartial way.
Antisemitism – what is it, why is it a safeguarding issue and how to tackle it
Antisemitism is defined as discrimination, prejudice or hostility towards the Jewish community or anyone believed to be Jewish. An antisemitic incident is any malicious phrase, gesture or act aimed at Jewish people, organisations or property. In the UK, antisemitism is a hate crime.
Melissa Pollard explores how we can have a vital safeguarding role in helping pupils understand and navigate these issues safely.
What 100 safeguarding professionals said about pupil voice, contextual safeguarding & multi-agency working
How does your approach to pupil voice compare with other safeguarding professionals?
The Student Voice, an organisation that has developed a child-friendly and led reporting tool enabling young people to report serious issues to their schools, asked 100 safeguarding professionals how they capture, understand and act on pupil voice.
The results tell an encouraging story. Many settings appear to have established ways for students to speak, are thinking about inclusive participation and are using pupil feedback to inform improvement. But the results also reveal that the biggest opportunities appear further along the student voice journey.
The question is becoming less about whether we are listening to students and more about how effectively we turn what students tell us into safeguarding intelligence, action and impact.
Persistent themes from safeguarding reviews
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has published a new set of 10 persistent themes drawn from national learning where children have died or suffered serious harm through abuse or neglect.
These themes reflect issues that appear repeatedly across safeguarding reviews, are recurring challenges across safeguarding practice and are not new but they are impossible to ignore.
Beyond bully and victim: the importance of teaching children about bystander roles
When schools talk about bullying, conversations often focus on two groups: the person doing the bullying and the person experiencing it.
Yet research suggests that the behaviour of those watching can also be influential in determining the impact and outcome of an incident; even those who do nothing can unintentionally and unwittingly contribute to harm caused.
Students need the knowledge and understanding to assess situations as they unfold and make safe, appropriate decisions about how to respond.
Safeguarding children affected by a parent or carer’s alcohol or drug use
This Department of Health and Social Care guidance outlines how alcohol and drugs used by parents or carers can affect children and how adult treatment and recovery and children’s services should work together to support and safeguard children.
It is not aimed directly at education professionals, but it contains lots of useful information and up-to-date best practice.
We recently published our new resource page on Parental Substance Misuse as part of our safeguarding curriculum calendar.
Support for families and babies rolled out to all family hubs
Healthy Babies support is being expanded to every Best Start Family Hub in England, with the programme due to be available through more than 1,000 hubs by 2028.
The aim is to provide families with more joined-up support during pregnancy and a baby’s early life, including enhanced infant feeding support, parental mental health support, help to build strong parent–baby relationships, and closer links with health visiting and midwifery services.
For Early Years and safeguarding practitioners, this is particularly relevant because it strengthens opportunities for earlier support around parental wellbeing, attachment, infant development and family pressures before difficulties escalate. It also reinforces the importance of practitioners knowing what Family Hub and Healthy Babies services are available locally so families can be signposted or referred at the earliest opportunity.
Webinar: Managing low-level concerns and staff allegations with confidence
Concerns about adult behaviour are rarely clear cut and knowing how to manage low-level concerns, when it becomes an allegation and who needs to be told can be difficult to judge in the moment.
Join Sharon Birch from the Safeguarding Network for a practical session on managing low-level concerns, staff allegations and staff safeguarding. Underpinned by KCSiE Part four, Sharon will draw on her experience of delivering allegations management training to help settings feel clear and confident about their responsibilities.
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