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September 15, 2023

ICO encourages organisations to share information on children at risk of harm

  • The ICO has published new guidance on the issue of addressing concerns from frontline workers on sharing information on children and young people at risk of harm.
  • The guidance which is aimed at people involved at safeguarding children at all levels, is made up of 10 steps.
  • Identifying the objective for sharing information, assessing risks and sharing as needed, entering into a data sharing agreement and following data protection principles are some of the steps practitioners should follow.
  • The guidance illustrates that senior leaders should ensure that everyone in their organisation has the required level of understanding of what to do to safeguard children.
  • A range of resources to support organisations in raising awareness of the benefits of sharing information has also been created.
  • For more, please visit the UK Authority’s website.

UK parents place low value on teaching children obedience, study finds

  • A study of 24 countries sought to understand the values that parents place most importance on in their children.
  • The UK generally placed less importance on instilling obedience in children than most other countries in the survey.
  • The UK was among countries at the top of the table for placing high importance on teaching children to not be selfish and to have an imagination and good manners.
  • For more, please visit the Guardian’s website.

The following stories may be regionalised:

Police make arrest over ‘threats’ to schools in Leeds and Bradford

  • Police have made an arrest after several schools across west Yorkshire implemented lockdown measures following a threatening email.
  • Schools in Leeds and Bradford sent messages to parents on Thursday informing them that pupils were being kept indoors after the city council advised them of a threat.
  • West Yorkshire Police stated that the contents of the email were being investigated and reassurance and safety advice was being issued to affected schools.
  • Parklands Primary School, Beeston Primary School, Sharp Lane Primary School, Windmill Primary School and Rodillian Academy in Leeds were among those schools to issue notices to parents via social media.
  • Earlier in the week, Humberside Police said hoax threats had been made to schools in the Hull area.
  • A police investigation was also launched after malicious emails were sent to a number of schools in the North West.
  • For more, please visit the ITV News website.

Schoolgirl placed in isolation for wearing Asda skirt

  • A school has defended its strict uniform policy after a child was put into isolation for wearing a skirt from Asda, which looked identical to one from the official retailer.
  • The school stated that the uniform is designed to “foster equality and encourage a sense of pride”.
  • One parent from the same school reported having to replace shoes as they had a gold trim and was subjected to a 50-minute line up where all other year 7s were inspected.
  • The school retailer’s website shows that the uniform costs up to £21 for a twin pack of the girls’ white blouse, compared to £3.50 at Asda.
  • A Department for Education spokesperson stated that: “uniform should be affordable and costs for parents should be kept down by enabling them to choose high-street and unbranded options”.
  • They continued: “Our statutory guidance is that cost and value for money for parents should be the most important consideration by schools when deciding how to source uniform and we expect schools to follow this.”
  • For more, please visit the Independent website.

Unvaccinated children to face isolation for 21 days during measles surge

  • If a classmate becomes infected with measles, children without the measles vaccine may have to enter a 21-day isolation period.
  • The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) predict the capital could see 160,000 cases occur, as the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine rates are lowest in a decade.
  • NHS England statistics show that 102,000 children aged four and five starting school, are not protected against measles, mumps or rubella.
  • Measles is highly infectious, and if left unvaccinated, nine out of ten children in a classroom will catch the disease if one child is infectious.
  • Dr Oge Ilozue, GP and Senior Clinical Advisor, NHS London Vaccination Programme said: “Measles can start with cold like symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing and a cough with a rash not showing until they have been infectious for up to four days”.
  • For more, please visit the Independent website.