Daily Safeguarding Update

Clinic to open in Kent to Help Victims of Cyberstalking amid Surge in Lockdown

A clinic supporting victims of cyberstalking has been set up in West Kentfollowing a massive rise in reports of cyber crime during lockdown
As more people move online to stay connected, internet-based bullying, harassment and scams have increased – leading to the need for more expert advice
The clinic, in Tonbridge, will be offering 45-minute appointments for over 18s experiencing cyberstalking in West Kent, setting safety plans for victims lasting between three and six months.
‘Look Ahead’, a domestic abuse service, commissioned The Cyber Helpline and the Protection Against Stalking (PAS) charity to work at the new West Kent Cyberstalking Clinic, creating a space for those in need
Rory Innes, founder and CEO of The Cyber Helpline said his organisation has seen calls increase from 100 a month pre-lockdown to 400 a month since the end of March

Amazon has announced a new payment system for real-world shops which uses a simple wave of the hand.
Its new Amazon One scanner registers an image of the user’s palm, letting them pay by hovering their hand in mid-air above a scanner
The product will be trialled at two of Amazon’s physical stores in Seattle
But the company said it is “in active discussions with several potential customers” about rolling it out to other shops in the future
An Amazon spokesperson said, “in most retail environments, Amazon One could become an alternate payment or loyalty card option with a device at the checkout counter next to a traditional point of sale system,”

FarmVille, once the most popular game on Facebook, is to close down in December, more than 11 years after its launch.
At its peak, FarmVille had more than 80 million players tending to crops and raising animals which operated via sending invites to Facebook friends
But the social network will stop supporting Flash-based games in December, rendering it unplayable
Maker Zynga encouraged players to spend any remaining credits before then.
In-app purchases will be available until 17 November, after which the game’s payment system will be turned off

Students at a school in Bolton are deemed to be ‘at risk’ after it was rated ‘inadequate’ by inspectors
Concerns around the safeguarding of pupils at the independent Al Jamiatul Islamiyah school in Deane were raised by regulator Ofsted in a report published in June 2020, following an inspection in February
The all-boys – faith school has 207 pupils of an age range of 11 to 25-years-old
The school also failed to meet a host of health and safety standards set to protect both pupils and staff, said the authorities
In particular, the school has no safeguarding policy for students who board.
The report reads: “There is no specific safeguarding policy in place relating to boarding. The safeguarding policy for the school makes no reference to the boarding aspect of this setting. This means that the school’s policy relating to safeguarding in the boarding provision is unclear

The number of secondary schools in England at least partially closing because of COVID-19 has doubled in a week, new data official data shows
Latest figures published today by the Department for Education (DfE) show the proportion of “fully open” state secondary schools fell by 8 percentage points last week – from 92 per cent on 17 September to 84 per cent on 24 September
A DfE spokesperson said, “of those not fully open, this was mostly due to COVID-19 related reasons,”
Latest data shows there were 3,456 state secondaries in England in 2019-20; this would amount to 553 secondaries at least partially closed, compared to 276 the previous week
Geoff Barton, Association of School and College Leaders General Secretary said: “We are extremely concerned to see a drop in the number of secondary schools fully open…this reflects the extremely difficult circumstances in which schools are operating amidst rising infection rates in the community.”