‘Sexting’ – responding to incidents and safeguarding young people
31 March 2017
With the prevalence of schools handling cases where children and young people produce and share sexual images of themselves - otherwise known as ‘sexting’, schools and colleges are increasingly concerned.
In response to this concern, the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCCIS)* has produced new practical guidance Sexting in schools and colleges: Responding to incidents and safeguarding young people to support education settings in developing procedures to respond confidently and quickly to sexting incidents. The guidance aims to take a ‘common sense’ attitude to dealing with youth produced sexual imagery, and offers advice within the context of a school’s own child protection policy.
This guidance is for designated safeguarding leads (DSLs), their deputies, headteachers and senior leadership teams in schools and educational establishments in England, but is useful reading for any professional who may come across sexting incidents involving young people. It covers all key areas related to sexting incidents including:
- Responding to disclosures
- Handling devices and imagery
- Risk assessing situations
- Involving other agencies, including escalation to the police and children’s social care
- Recording incidents
- Involving parents and carers
- Preventative education
The guidance also discusses Outcome 21 – a new outcome code that police officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland may use to record incidents of sexting on police systems. This means that even though a child has broken the law by sexting, police can record that they chose not to take further action as it is not in the public interest to do so.
In addition to the useful advice and information Sexting in schools and colleges includes resources and practical case studies to help professionals prepare for and deal with incidents of sexting with confidence.
The guidance can be downloaded directly from the UKCCIS website here, or from the professionals download area in the Thinkuknow site.
* The UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCCIS) is a group of more than 200 organisations from across government, industry, law, academia and charity sectors, working in partnership to help keep children safe online. The production of the advice has been co-ordinated by the UKCCIS Education Group - a partnership of leading child protection and education organisations chaired by CEOP.