Safeguarding

Exclusive polling revealing the impact of social media in schools comes as the government is considering a ban for under-16s

House of Lords vote follows the government’s announcement that Ofsted will inspect schools on whether students are using their phones

Banning under-16s from social media would not remove the problem – and it could deny schools their role in empowering young people to protect themselves from danger, writes Simon Lightman

More and more schools are introducing lockable pouches for students’ smartphones to prevent access during the day. But how do the pouches work, how effective are they and are they worth the cost? Ellen Peirson-Hagger investigates

Online groups such as 764 try to coerce young people into harming themselves and operate on popular social media platforms, warns safeguarding lead Thomas Michael

The number of children missing education has increased by a staggering 19 per cent in a year. One headteacher explains what this really means, and how schools can help these vulnerable children

But Sir Martyn Oliver stops short of agreeing that inspectors should fail a school on safeguarding if students are seen with phones, in letter seen by Tes

If today’s children are going to tackle future global challenges, they will need a spirit of togetherness – and that can start with schools countering the ‘me, me, me’ social media attitude, says Roy Blatchford

From the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to new RSHE guidance and a possible big update to KCSIE, Luke Ramsden looks at potential safeguarding policy changes in 2026 schools should know about

Misogyny takes hold beyond the school gates – so it’s essential that the new government strategy does not expect education to solve this social issue alone, writes the Schools Consent Project’s Luke Ramsden

Teachers will be given specialist training to talk to students about issues such as consent, as part of a new government strategy to address misogyny

And three-quarters of teachers say that homelessness has led to pupils doing poorly in assessments, research shows