Politics of Black hair: why grooming rules are under scrutiny across the diaspora From schools in Ghana to workplaces in Britain, underpinned by the colonial roots of ‘respectability’, conversations around natural hairstyle persist

The ongoing issue of hair discrimination, & how colonial-era attitudes still prevail in countries, even though they achieved independence from Britain. For example, schools in some African countries require girls to cut their natural hair before enrolling.
www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ap...

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The police have published a report responding to the investigation of online child sexual abuse and the management of registered sex offenders. It highlights how police & national bodies need to work together to meet the demand faced by CSE teams.
hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publications...

New research by Da'aro Youth Project shows rising deaths of unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people Da'aro Youth Project

The Da'aro Youth Project reports that in a ten year period to 2024, at least 54 unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people died while in touch with a local authority. Of this number, the majority died by suicide. ⅔ were teens and over half were Eritreans.
www.daaroyouth.org.uk/news-and-upd...

Ann Marie Christian

In less than a month I will be one of the speakers at Nursery World's Big Day Out taking place at the Business Design Centre London; my discussion topic is Embedding Safeguarding Into Everyday Practice: Creating Safe & Nurturing Early Years Environments
www.nurseryworldsbigdayout.com/speakers/ann...

Nearly fivefold increase in children in unregulated social care settings in England Exclusive: Vulnerable children being placed in caravans and Airbnbs when Ofsted-inspected homes cannot be found

There has been a 370% increase in vulnerable children being placed in unregulated social care settings in England over the last 5yrs. Children have been placed in caravans, Airbnbs & holiday camps, through private companies which charge "exorbitant" fees.
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

On 30 April, I’m going to be speaking at The Link Live Speech and Language Day, talking about safeguarding challenges for children with speech, language & communication needs. The conference is online; the Link members have free conference access. Details: buff.ly/UmZ0tmw

Children growing up in B&Bs – new data shows the full story | Children's Commissioner for England Tens of thousands of children are spending long chunks of their childhoods in unsuitable shared accommodation – sharing bathrooms with strangers, often in

The Children's Commissioner has highlighted the plight of children living in unsuitable 'B&B' accommodation. The conditions are often cramped and unsuitable, sharing kitchen and bathroom facilities with strangers - which can pose safeguarding risks.
www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/blog/childre...

Social Work News “Jennifer used to shove food down our throats with her fingers..."

A brother & sister who were allegedly abused while in foster care are considering taking the council to court, claiming the concerns they raised as children were ignored. Solicitors are supporting an historic abuse claim against their former foster mother.
www.mysocialworknews.com/article/brot...

Rise in number of girls being identified as victims in county lines exploitation, data shows Charities suggest ‘gendered understanding’ of crime means services often fail to recognise girls and young women as victims

An increasing number of girls are being identified as victims of county lines exploitation, according to data from charity Catch22. They said women formed 22% of its caseload in 2025, up from 15% in 2024. Services often fail to recognise women as victims.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Teachers cry for help as misogyny in schools hits new high Teachers are increasingly concerned with the continuing rise of the far right and populist views, the growing influence of the ‘manosphere,’ the normalisation of misogyny online, and the role of…

Teachers are increasingly concerned about far-right, misogynist views & the influence of the 'manosphere' amongst pupils; these factors contribute to rising levels of aggression, disrespect towards women & girls & extremist attitudes displayed by pupils.
www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-list...

Two-thirds of teachers working almost an extra day a week Global survey of teachers conducted by Tes reveals that many are overwhelmed by their workload and lack options for flexible working

Take care of your health & wellbeing - two thirds of teachers worldwide are working nearly an extra day per week due to ever-increasing workloads. Only 4% of respondents said they could work within contracted hours, with many reasons given for overwork.
www.tes.com/magazine/new...

More than a fifth of UK’s ‘austerity children’ scarred by poverty, study says Researchers say hardship is a direct legacy of welfare benefit cuts imposed by Tory governments in recent years

More than 20% of the UK’s ‘austerity generation’ children spent at least 6 of their first 11 years in poverty because of policies such as working age benefit levels being frozen and the imposition of the two child benefit cap, an Oxford University study reported.

On 30 April, I’m going to be speaking at The Link Live Speech & Language Day, talking about safeguarding challenges for children with speech, language and communication needs. The conference is online; The Link members have free conference access. More details:
speechandlanguage.link/the-link-com...

We’re calling for tech companies to block child sexual abuse images in real time As child abuse image offences rise by 8%, our CEO Chris Sherwood says children have been failed by tech companies and urges firms to take action now.

In 2025, police across the UK logged almost 37,000 child image abuse crimes, an 8% rise on the previous year. Many were found on Snapchat & Meta platforms. The NSPCC is calling for tech companies to block nude images from being taken & shared on children’s devices.
www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/new...

Screen time for under-fives should be limited to one hour a day, parents told New government guidance also suggests children under-two should not be watching screens alone.

New govt guidelines advise that screen time for under-5s should be limited to no more than 1 hour per day & children under 2 should not be left alone with a screen.
Parents are advised to steer clear of fast-paced videos and suggests ‘screen swaps’ for reading/games.

Bede's School teacher banned after declaring his love for pupil Benjamin Phelps was a deputy housemaster at Bede's School, but has been banned indefinitely.

#ThinkTheUnthinkable: A boarding school teacher was banned from teaching indefinitely after declaring his love for a pupil. His actions included meeting pupils outside school, hugging them, sending inappropriate text messages & asking them to skip school.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Top state schools ‘shutting out’ disadvantaged pupils with SEND - CYP Now Social mobility campaigners have highlighted the practice of high-performing secondary schools discouraging pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from applying, with a "double…

A report by The Sutton Trust says the top 500 performing state schools discourage pupils with SEND - they admit half as many disadvantaged pupils as the average comprehensive. This means 36% of these schools fail to reflect the communities they serve.
www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

Teacher barred for telling students to organise secret tuition Arfan Munir Rai taught philosophy and sociology at Kensington Park School when he broke the rules.

Safeguarding doesn't have to be directly connected to abuse. This teacher at a London private boys school was barred from teaching after offering some of his student private tuition, telling them to create a fake name and email to conceal his behaviour.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Study links children’s social media use with anxiety and depression in teenage years Researchers say lack of sleep could be a factor among young people interacting online for more than three hours a day

Children who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media are more likely to develop depression or anxiety as teens, say Imperial College London researchers. The impact was likely to be linked to lack of sleep and had a lasting impact on mental health.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

Why language matters: why we talk about ‘safe’ rather than ‘trusted’ adults | NSPCC Learning How shifting from talking about “trusted” to “safe” adults can help children understand who to talk to about any concerns they might have.

Using the correct language:
The NSPCC have adopted the term 'Safe Adult' when describing who children can turn to for help. 'Safe' is a much easier term to use than 'trusted' - trusting someone is a difficult judgement to make when you are a small child.
learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/why-lan...

Nursery World's Big Day Out 2026 Registration Nursery World's Big Day Out 2026 Registration

I'm going to be speaking at Nursery World's Big Day Out in London on 15 May at the Business Design Centre in London.
I'll be discussing ways in which Early Years can embed safeguarding in everyday practice and give you a clearer understanding of reforms.
ow.ly/VpKk50YwhtB

AI videos of sexualised black women removed from TikTok after BBC investigation Dozens of Instagram and TikTok accounts have used AI avatars to promote explicit content, the BBC finds.

Twenty accounts have been banned after the BBC highlighted accounts on Instagram and TikTok featuring highly sexualised black female digital characters or avatars. The images and videos were generated by AI but not labelled as such, breaching guidelines.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Child abuse victim found after researcher spotted school badge An analyst tells the BBC how she tracked down a victim of child sexual abuse after years of searching.

Investigators from the @IWFhotline managed to track down a child who had appeared in hundreds of child sexual abuse images and videos. The investigator was sent new images containing photos of the child in their school uniform. They are now receiving help.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Diagnostic Toolkit for Exploited Children — Ending Coercive Offending Despite growing recognition that children exploited into criminal activity are victims, not offenders, a significant number of these children continue to be criminalised in England. The gap between…

Ending Coercive Offending has launched a Diagnostic toolkit for exploited children in England.
The toolkit aims to reduce the gap between policy intent & frontline practice, developing local solutions to reduce the criminalisation of exploited children.
www.ecocic.com/toolkit-chil...

I'm going to be one of the speaker's at Nursery World's Big Day Out #NWBDO. My subject is 'Embedding Safeguarding Into Everyday Practice', & I'll be discussing how to create safe, nurturing early yrs environments.
Join me by registering on the website:
www.nurseryworldsbigdayout.com/speakers/ann...

How do we communicate the power of sleep to students and families? - SecEd How sleep boosts memory, attention and learning – and why schools must treat it as a core study habit.

The power of sleep: Research tells us students with good sleep habits remember more than students who study longer but sleep less. Sleep prepares the brain for learning - without a reset, the brain struggles to create mental space to store new knowledge.
www.sec-ed.co.uk/content/best...

Ofsted: Schools need training to support children in care Watchdog also warns that issues with the systems of support for young people create 'barriers to progress'

Ofsted says that children in care need to be better understood and supported by school staff, who they say should be continuously trained by specialists. Children in care face additional barriers to progress, and often felt less supported than their peers.
schoolsweek.co.uk/school-staff...

‘Evil’ paedophile jailed for 24 years after abuse of five children at Bristol nursery Judge describes Nathan Bennett as ‘incorrigible and dangerous’ over string of offences including rape

#ThinkTheUnthinkable: A judge who sentenced a paedophile to 30yrs (24 in prison & 6 on licence) for sexually abusing 5 children in his care described him as "incorrigible & dangerous". During the trial it emerged parents had raised concerns 6 mths before.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Drugs, guns, gold bars and teeth - Sky News joins police on county lines crackdown Officers have broken down doors, arrested thousands of suspects and seized large amounts of drugs, money and weapons as they closed hundreds of lines.

Journalists joined Hampshire police, who cracked down on 100s of County Lines operations, arresting over 2000 people. There were almost 800 children found who needed to be safeguarded - many of whom are thought to have been exploited into selling drugs.
news.sky.com/story/drugs-...

Social media firms asked to toughen up age checks for under-13s Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and Roblox are among the platforms UK regulators say aren't putting children's safety at the heart of their products.

Major social media companies have been asked to bring in more robust age checks for under 13s, & do more to ensure young children are kept safe online. The OFCOM chair said services were "failing to put children's safety at the heart of their products".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...