06 February 2026

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Contents

ESAS Safeguarding weekly newsletter

Posted on 06 February 2026

From - Caroline Boote ESAS – Education Safeguarding Advisor

To - All age groups for the attention of Headteachers, DSL and DDSL

Action - For information only

Each Tuesday the ESAS team sends an email to DSL/DDSLs, to share information and important updates.


Copy of Tuesday email – 03/02/2026

Please see the below information which has been colour rag rated:

•    red (must read)

•    amber (should read)

•    green (good to know)

Red

Staffordshire learning net- Where has it gone?

You may have noticed that Staffordshire learning net has disappeared. It has now been moved to a new system. Staffordshire digital team has advised ESAS that settings should have received an email with details of how to access the system. Each setting should have two usernames. If your setting has not received log in details or are unable to log in, please contact Staffordshire digital team digital@staffordshire.gov.uk We have been advised by the digital team for settings to ignore the autoreply.

Low level concerns

•    Keeping children safe in education 2025 Page 107-111, LADO threshold information page 93

What is a low-level concern?

KCSiE states:

‘The term ‘low-level’ concern does not mean that it is insignificant. A low-level concern is any concern – no matter how small, and even if no more than causing a sense of unease or a ‘nagging doubt’ - that an adult working in or on behalf of the school or college may have acted in a way that: 

  • is inconsistent with the staff code of conduct, including inappropriate conduct outside of work
  • does not meet the harm threshold or is otherwise not serious enough to consider a referral to the LADO.

Examples of such behaviour could include, but are not limited to:

  • being over friendly with children/having favourites /taking photographs of children on their mobile phone, contrary to school policy/engaging with a child on a one-to-one basis in a secluded area or behind a closed door, or humiliating children’.

Responding to low level concerns

The school or college low-level concerns policy should set out the procedure for responding to reports of low-level concerns.

KCSiE states

‘If the concern has been raised via a third party, the headteacher/principal (or a nominated deputy) should collect as much evidence as possible by speaking:

  • directly to the person who raised the concern, unless it has been raised anonymously, and • to the individual involved and any witnesses.

The information collected will help them to categorise the type of behaviour and determine what further action may need to be taken. This information needs to be recorded in writing along with the rationale for their decisions and action taken’.

Further guidance/training

Settings should:

AI generated child sexual abuse material

There are growing concerns about how AI can be misused to create and share child sexual abuse material (CSAM), referred to as AI-CSAM.

Under UK law, AI-CSAM is illegal.

  • It is not your responsibility to work out how CSAM has been created, or whether any part of it is AI-generated. Any child sexual abuse material online should be reported immediately to police and your setting’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or equivalent.
  • There have been cases where young people have used AI to create nude images of their peers. This should be treated the same way as any other CSAM safeguarding concern.
  • Staff should not share, download, or save the content – even for reporting purposes.
  • Settings should report CSAM to the site, app or network hosting it/CEOP/Police and SFIFD (if appropriate).
  • As well as reporting to appropriate bodies, well being support should also be considered for the child.

Guidance

Amber

DSL Briefing recording and slides 21.01.2026

Please see the attached DSL briefing slides from 21.01.2026 and the recording below:

2.7 Headteacher/Chair of Governors ensure that the DSL/DDSLs have appropriate time to effectively undertake the duties of their roles. (Pg 31 Para 103 KCSiE 2025). Wherever possible DSL/DDSLS should aim to attend briefings in person. Time should be protected for the briefings. The recordings are useful to watch to revisit content or for when you are unable to attend. However, ESAS document attendance at briefings (which can be shared with other agencies including Ofsted) which we are unable to do when people view the recordings only.

The next DSL briefing is 22nd April 2026, booking will be available via SSCP.

Changes to the CCE prevention service from 1st April 

Please find attached a brief description of the CCE Prevention Service scope / eligibility from 1 April. More details will be shared as we receive them.

Parental conflict practitioner’s toolkit

Some level of arguing and conflict between parents is often a normal part of everyday life. However, there is strong evidence to show how inter-parental conflict that is frequent, intense, and poorly resolved can have a significant negative impact on children’s mental health and long-term life chances.

Parental conflict is different to domestic abuse. If at any point there is evidence of domestic abuse, settings should not use parental conflict tools and should signpost to domestic abuse services and support.

Staffordshire county council have developed a practitioner’s toolkit to work with families to address parental conflict. It is recommended that settings complete parental conflict training (Training & Free Resources - Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership) prior to requesting the resource. The resource can be requested by filling in the Reducing Parental Conflict Resources form.

Green


Ripple training- This Thursday 

Unfortunately, the session on Thursday has been cancelled. Once further dates become available we will let you know.

NEW SSCP training- Child sexual abuse in the family environment

Intended to increase participants’ awareness of and response to protecting children who are both at risk of or currently experiencing Intra-familial child sexual abuse.

Family digital agreements

Family digital agreements are way for families to set ground rules and help children to safe when using the internet. They can support children with what to do if something does not feel right or goes wrong. Amongst other things parent can use it to explain why children should not share details of where they live and where it may not be appropriate to use their phone.

This is a resource that we strongly recommend settings promote and have on their websites.

Ben Kinsella Trust Parent and Carers online session- Please promote

The Ben Kinsella Trust are pleased to announce a new date for their popular FREE online session for Parents and Carers. They will will be running this 2 hour session on Wednesday 4th February 6-8pm. 

This session is hosted by knife crime prevention charity, The Ben Kinsella Trust and covers the following topics:

  • Understanding knife crime from the perspective of young people
  • The signs and stages of child exploitation
  • Gangs and gang-life
  • Exploring the link between trauma and exploitation
  • Consider online harms, social media, slang and gang-related music
  • Understanding how ‘issues’ with peers can escalate and how young people can manage them
  • Having meaningful conversations about difficult topics
  • Helping our children stay safe; the SAFE ‘T’s approach
  • Further support and resources

Parents and carers can book a space using the link- https://benkinsellatrust.beaconforms.com/form/dcd0caf8

Wake up Wednesday

Who can young people trust for mental health advice online?

From TikTok to Instagram, not all content is accurate. This #WakeUpWednesday guide shows how to spot misinformation and support young people to make informed choices.

Download your FREE copy: https://vist.ly/4petq

Upcoming training

10 02 2026

11 02 2026

12 02 2026

13 02 2026