COVID-19

Safeguarding

Safeguarding Covid19 (written by Rozenn Logan)

Overview - Impact of Covid19 on Safeguarding 

COVID-19 has led to a significant and unprecedented period of time for people to be at home, whether with their families or in shared accommodation. Safeguarding remains as important as ever, especially as the usual protection systems are under increased pressure. Educators need to be aware of the additional safeguarding challenges posed by Covid19 and develop an understanding of how to support children, young people, vulnerable children, vulnerable adults and families through the crisis. The resources outlined below provide guidance, information and theory to support educators in continuing to protect people’s health, wellbeing and human rights and enable them to live free from harm.

Education Providers & Covid19

Schools and all childcare providers are to remain closed until further notice, apart from for children of critical (key) workers and vulnerable children who are encouraged to attend, unless they have underlying health conditions which put them at severe risk. Every child who can be safely cared for at home should be, to limit the chance of the virus spreading.

List of critical care roles in the Covid19 pandemic: www.gov.uk 

Vulnerable children & young people are defined as:

• are assessed as being in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, including children who have a child in need plan, a child protection plan or who are a looked-after child
• have an education, health and care (EHC) Plan whose needs cannot be met safely in the home environment
• have been assessed as otherwise vulnerable by education providers or local authorities (including children’s social care services), and who are therefore in need of continued education provision. This might include children on the edge of receiving support from children’s social care services, adopted children, or those who are young carers, and others at the provider and local authority discretion. (Department for Education, Gov.uk, 2020)

Updating Safeguarding Policies & Procedures during Covid19            

• The principles of safeguarding remain the same but do you need to amend your policies and procedures?
• What is the role of the nominated child protection lead and how will you continue to recruit new staff or volunteers safely?
• How will you continue to work with children and families and how will you respond to non-attendance? 
• Are there any specific areas of concern? Including online safety, domestic abuse and mental health.
• How will you report concerns about a child? (NSPCC, 2020)

Priorities for Education Sector in Safeguarding Children & Young People 

• Limit the impact of school interruption by using child-friendly distant education methods such as TV, radio or online learning.
• Advocate with government and private employers for flexible working arrangements for parents and caregivers who may have lost access to childcare to enable them to continue care and education of their children.
• Work with schools to ensure that protection and safety messages are delivered to parents and children in a way that limits panic and distress, reassures, and encourages adherence to health messaging.
• Train teachers and other school staff on signs of distress to enable them to identify and refer children who may have specific child protection needs.
• Ensure teachers and volunteers have necessary knowledge and skills related to GBV risk mitigation, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), child safeguarding, and safe referral practices.
• Support the development and roll-out of child-friendly complaints and feedback mechanisms in schools and other education facilities.
• Develop, disseminate or display messages in schools about child protection and available services including case management and family tracing and reunification.
• Work with education actors to address stigma and social exclusion in schools. (The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 2020)

Safeguarding Children & Young People during Covid19

School closures and social distancing measures mean that children & young people may be at increased risk of harm, especially those who are vulnerable. Education settings, local authorities and social care providers will continue to work in cooperation to promote the welfare, protection and care of children and young people.

School, social care and tracking vulnerable children & young people

Education providers

Where applicable, designated safeguarding leads and/or equivalent staff should keep under review their lists of vulnerable children and young people who should be attending provision. Providers are encouraged to share their lists of vulnerable children and young people who should be attending provision with their local authority.

Education providers, social workers, local authorities and other professionals will want to work together to ensure adequate and appropriate arrangements are in place to keep in touch with vulnerable children and young people (whether they are attending provision, or not attending for an agreed or non-agreed reason), such as by letter, phone or visit. To support this, educational settings should take the opportunity when communicating with parents and carers to confirm emergency contact numbers are correct and ask for any additional emergency contact numbers where they are available. (Department for Education, 2020)

There is growing concern about vulnerable children during lockdown. Schools have remained open to them, as well as children of key workers, to provide some protection but the numbers attending are small. Latest figures show 10% of children “in need” and those with education, health and care plans are turning up at school – up from 5% earlier in the pandemic. (Weale, S. 2020; The Guardian)

Local authorities

Local authorities and local safeguarding partners have specific duties under legislation and statutory guidance concerning support for families and the welfare and protection of children. Local authorities and local safeguarding partners will want to continue to meet their statutory duties as far as they can, but there will be times in the current circumstances when this is not possible.

Many authorities’ children’s social care services are risk-assessing and then reviewing the circumstances of every family they are currently working with, ensuring that those facing the highest risks are visited the most frequently. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing great social and economic upheaval and the social circumstances of many families are changing. Given this, there is an expectation that all authorities will have similar arrangements in place which ensure proper scrutiny of the safety and well-being of children. (Department for Education, 2020)

Changes to legal protection of children in care 

Changes to legal protections for children in care, introduced by the UK government as an emergency response to the coronavirus crisis, have been condemned by children's rights campaigners. Activists described the decision to relax 10 key sets of regulations, developed over decades to protect the most vulnerable children in society, as an “outrageous assault on safeguards” and warned that children would be harmed. One of the key relaxations, which came into force last Friday, is the removal of the requirement for a social worker to visit – or even telephone – a child in care every six weeks, reducing it to “as soon as is reasonably practicable”. The government says the measures are temporary – expiring on 25 September – and will allow overstretched children’s services greater flexibility, but there are fears that the coronavirus crisis is being used as an excuse to relax children’s social care duties and the expiry date could be revoked. (Weale, S. 2020; The Guardian)

Covid19-specific child protection risks

Some of the child protection risks below are observed in the current COVID-19 pandemic and some are potential risks observed in previous infectious disease outbreaks:

(The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 2020; Unicef, 2020; NSPCC, 2020)

Safeguarding in Schools during Covid19

Coronavirus briefing: safeguarding guidance and information for schools: learning.nspcc.org.uk 

Free School Meals policy and updates: www.gov.uk/freeschoolmealsguidance    

9 Key safeguarding areas, TES: www.tes.com

Safeguarding online 

Online abuse

Safeguarding online is a major priority due to the increased time spent at home during the pandemic, potentially unsupervised. Social distancing and the inability to do other activities such as outdoor play may increase the amount of time spent online and therefore the risk of online abuse. 

Online abuse is any type of abuse that happens on the internet, facilitated through technology like computers, tablets, mobile phones and other internet-enabled devices. 

(Department for Education, 2018; Department of Health, 2017; Scottish Government, 2014; Welsh Assembly Government, 2018).

It can happen anywhere online that allows digital communication, such as:

• social networks
• text messages and messaging apps
• email and private messaging
• online chats
• comments on live streaming sites
• voice chat in games
• Video calls/conferencing

Children and young people can be revictimised (experience further abuse) when abusive content is recorded, uploaded or shared by others online. This can happen if the original abuse happened online or offline.

Children and young people may experience several types of abuse online:

• bullying/cyberbullying 
• emotional abuse (this includes emotional blackmail, for example pressuring children and young people to comply with sexual requests via technology)
• sexting (pressure or coercion to create sexual images) 
• sexual abuse 
• sexual exploitation.

Children and young people can also be groomed online: perpetrators may use online platforms to build a trusting relationship with the child in order to abuse them. This abuse may happen online or the perpetrator may arrange to meet the child in person with the intention of abusing them. (NSPCC, 2019)

Guidance for teaching safely online

• Which platform to choose: Always make sure the platform you are using is suitable for the children’s age group. Set up school accounts for any online platforms you use (don’t use teachers’ personal accounts). Check the privacy settings.
• Pre-recording, live streaming, record when live streaming: If you plan to record or livestream lessons via an online platform, you need to assess any risks and take appropriate actions to minimise harm. Take into consideration where the recording or live streaming will take place. Teachers should be in a neutral area where nothing personal or inappropriate can be seen or heard in the background. Advice on live streaming safely: learning.nspcc.org.uk/livestreaming
• Consent: Make sure parents, carers and children understand the benefits and risks of online lessons and get written consent for children to be involved.
• Contacting children at home: While schools are closed staff might need to contact children individually, for example to give feedback on homework. Staff should only contact children during normal school hours, or at times agreed by the school leadership team. Remind staff of your code of conduct and make it clear how you expect them to behave. Any one-to-one sessions, for example pastoral care meetings, should be risk assessed and approved by the school’s leadership team. Make sure staff know what safeguarding measures to take if they are having a one-to-one conversation with a child. Use parents’ or carers’ email addresses or phone numbers to communicate with children, unless this poses a safeguarding risk. Use school accounts to communicate via email or online platforms, never teachers’ personal accounts. Make sure any phone calls are made from a blocked number so the teacher's personal contact details are not visible. If staff members are accessing families’ contact details at home, ensure they comply with the Data protection Act 2018.
• Child protection concerns: Remind all staff of your safeguarding and child protection policy and procedures. Check that everyone is able to contact your nominated child protection lead and deputy if they have any concerns about a child. This may be because: a staff member sees or hears something worrying during an online lesson; or a child discloses abuse during a phone call or via email. The nominated child protection lead should keep a note of any contact numbers they may need while the school is closed, for example children’s social care and the local police.
• Online safety: Children and young people are likely to spend more time online due to social distancing. Talk to them regularly about the benefits and risks of the online world and give them space to ask questions and talk about anything that worries them.
• Mental health and wellbeing: Children and young people may be worried about the impact of coronavirus, social distancing or self-isolation. Those who already have mental health difficulties such as anxiety might be finding things particularly tough. Talk to them about what’s happening, check how they’re feeling and keep them as well informed as you can. Tell children and young people where they can go if they are worried about anything or need to talk to someone while school is closed. Childline provides a range of online tools that young people might find helpful:

• information about coronavirus
• Calm Zone – activities to help let go of stress
• games to help take your mind off things
• information and advice on a range of topics including feelings, relationships, family and schools
• peer support message boards
• Childline Kids, our website for under 12s.

(NSPCC Learning, 2020)

Zoom-bombing

As learning has widely moved online, a new safeguarding challenge has come to light through the large-scale use of video conferencing technology - so called Zoom-bombing, Zoombombing or Zoom-raiding. Zoom-bombing is the unwanted intrusion into a video conference call by an individual, which causes disruption. 

Zoom raiders often employ shocking imagery, racial epithets and profanity to derail video conferences. Though a meeting organizer can remove a participant at any time, the perpetrators of these attacks can be hard to identify; there may be several in a single call, and they can appear to jump from one alias to another. (NY Times, 2020). Zoom, along with other video conferencing platforms have updated their security settings in response to this, further details can be found here: zoom.us 

Guidance for educators on preventing Zoombombing

Zoom comes pre-stocked with numerous security features designed to control online classrooms, prevent disruption, and help educators effectively teach remotely. Here are some best practices for securing your virtual classroom using Zoom.

Lock your virtual classroom

Did you know you can lock a Zoom session that’s already started, so that no one else can join? It’s kind of like closing the classroom door after the bell. Give students a few minutes to file in and then click Participants at the bottom of your Zoom window. In the Participants pop-up, click the button that says Lock Meeting.

Control screen sharing

To give instructors more control over what students are seeing and prevent them from sharing random content, Zoom recently updated the default screen-sharing settings for our education users. Sharing privileges are now set to “Host Only,” so teachers by default are the only ones who can share content in class.

However, if students need to share their work with the group, you can allow screen sharing in the host controls. Click the arrow next to Share Screen and then Advanced Sharing Options. Under “Who can share?” choose “Only Host” and close the window. You can also change the default sharing option to All Participants in your Zoom settings.

Enable the Waiting Room (Starting March 31, the Waiting Room feature will be automatically turned on by default)

The Waiting Room feature is one of the best ways to protect your Zoom virtual classroom and keep out those who aren’t supposed to be there.

When enabled, you have two options for who hits the Waiting Room before entering a class:

1. All Participants will send everyone to the virtual waiting area, where you can admit them individually or all at once.
2. Guest Participants Only allows known students to skip the Waiting Room and join but sends anyone not signed in/part of your school into the virtual waiting area.

The virtual Waiting Room can be enabled for every class (in your settings) or for individual classes at the scheduling level. 

Lock down the chat

Teachers can restrict the in-class chat so students cannot privately message other students. We’d recommend controlling chat access in your in-meeting toolbar controls (rather than disabling it altogether) so students can still interact with the teacher as needed.

Remove a participant

If someone who’s not meant to be there somehow manages to join your virtual classroom, you can easily remove them from the Participants menu. Hover over their name, and the Remove option (among other options) will appear. Click to remove them from your virtual classroom, and they won’t be allowed back in.

Security options when scheduling a class

The cool thing about Zoom is that you have these and other protection options at your fingertips when scheduling a class and before you ever have to change anything in front of your students. Here are a few of the most applicable:

• Require registration: This shows you every email address of everyone who signed up to join your class and can help you evaluate who’s attending.
• Use a random meeting ID: It’s best practice to generate a random meeting ID for your class, so it can’t be shared multiple times. This is the better alternative to using your Personal Meeting ID, which is not advised because it’s basically an ongoing meeting that’s always running.
• Password-protect the classroom: Create a password and share with your students via school email so only those intended to join can access a virtual classroom.
• Allow only authenticated users to join: Checking this box means only members of your school who are signed into their Zoom account can access this particular class.
• Disable join before host: Students cannot join class before the teacher joins and will see a pop-up that says, “The meeting is waiting for the host to join.“
• Manage annotation: Teachers should disable participant annotation in the screen sharing controls to prevent students from annotating on a shared screen and disrupting class.

Note: For schools scheduling classes through an LMS, some of these settings might appear a little differently. Visit support.zoom.us if you need assistance.

Additionally, teachers have a couple of in-meeting options to control your virtual classroom:

• Disable video: Turn off a student’s video to block distracting content or inappropriate gestures while class is in session.
• Mute students: Mute/unmute individual students or all of them at once. Mute Upon Entry (in your settings) is also available to keep the clamor at bay when everyone files in.
• Attendee on-hold: An alternative to removing a user, you can momentarily disable their audio/video connections. Click on the attendee’s video thumbnail and select Start Attendee On-Hold to activate. (Zoom, 2020)

Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults during Covid19

During the COVID-19 crisis, it is particularly important to safeguard adults with care and support needs. They may be more vulnerable to abuse and neglect as others may seek to exploit disadvantages due to age, disability, mental or physical impairment or illness.

These groups may be targeted because of a number of factors. Generally speaking they may need assistance with some tasks, be less up to speed with technology, more welcoming of new contacts, more trusting and – for many older people – wealthier. There is evidence that social isolation increases the likelihood of abuse. Many older and disabled people spend long periods at home alone, and now as the whole nation is being asked to stay at home the same groups are more likely to be alone rather than in a family group.

At a time of international crisis, those who seek to exploit these vulnerabilities are quick to act. We will all have been warned of new scams offering help and advice on COVID-19 or with financial assistance. Many of us will have concerns for family members who may fall prey to fraudsters. (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2020)

Domestic Abuse

As a result of the pandemic, domestic abuse has increased worldwide. In China, police reports show domestic violence has tripled during the epidemic. Domestic violence organisations have observed increased household tension and domestic violence due to forced coexistence, economic stress, and fears about the virus. The COVID-19 outbreak has also curtailed access to support services for survivors, particularly in the health, police and justice sector. There is also some evidence that authorities have converted women’s shelters into homeless shelters. In Italy, similar concerns have been raised about rising levels of domestic violence. However, there are also examples of innovative practices to support survivors including through technological solutions in China and Italy. (Fraser, E. 2020, VAWG Helpdesk) 

The UK has followed this global pattern. While domestic abuse was already a significant concern,2 calls and contacts to the national domestic abuse helpline run by the charity Refuge were 49% higher in the week prior to 15 April than the average prior to the pandemic. On 6 April, traffic to the helpline website increased by 700% compared to the previous day. Chayn, a website that addresses gender-based violence, said that analysis of online traffic showed that visitors to its website had more than trebled last month compared with the same period last year. The Men’s Advice Line for male victims of domestic abuse had an increase in calls of 16.6% in the week of 30 March, and a 42% increase in visits to its website and the Respect phone line, which offers help for domestic abuse perpetrators who want to change and stop being violent, had a 26.86% increase in calls in the week of 30 March, while its website received a 125% increase in visits in the same period compared to the week before. (Publications.parliament.uk, 2020)

Women not reporting to the police

It has been suggested that isolation is making it harder to get help, with a reduction in reports to the police. In the first two weeks of April alone there was a 47% increase in calls to Spain’s domestic violence helpline over the same period last year. The number of women contacting support services, which have been designated as essential by the government, by email or on social media is said to have increased by as much as 700%. But there has been a sharp drop in complaints being made to the police. In order to bring a formal complaint, women need the support of family and people around them and isolation is making this more difficult. (Burgen, S. 2020, The Guardian)        

Safety Planning 

A guide for victims and survivors during Covid19 is available here, including how to make a personalised safety plan, further resources and helplines: safelives.org.uk/safetyplan 

Financial abuse during Covid19: survivingeconomicabuse.org

Living with violent children: 

For some parents, being at home with their children means facing threats, abuse and violent outbursts. Peter Jakob, a clinical psychologist who helps people facing this issue, says the isolation and shame that parents already feel is a major challenge in tackling violence from their children. But he says it can still be addressed, even in lockdown. Dr Jakob encourages parents to have a network of supporters who can launch what he calls a "campaign of concern" - where after an incident, a number of people contact the child using messaging or video-chatting apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime. (Lee, J. 2020, BBC News)

Staying safe online if at risk of domestic abuse: safelives.org.uk

Resources 

Safeguarding children & young people

Department for Education, GOV.UK, 2020, Supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus (covid-19) outbreak, (online), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people

NSPCC Learning, 2020, Coronavirus: safeguarding and child protection (online), available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection/coronavirus

NSPCC Learning, 2020, Coronavirus: 5 steps to update your safeguarding policies & procedures, (online), available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2020/april/updating-safeguarding-policies-procedures-coronavirus

NSPCC Learning, 2020, Coronavirus briefing: guidance for social workers, (online), available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/2196/coronavirus-briefing-guidance-for-social-workers.pdf

Social Care Institute for excellence (SCIE), 2020, Safeguarding children and families during the covid-19 crisis, (online), available at: https://www.scie.org.uk/care-providers/coronavirus-covid-19/safeguarding/children

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 2020, (online), Technical Note: Protection of Children during the Coronavirus Pandemic (v.1), available at: https://alliancecpha.org/en/system/tdf/library/attachments/the_alliance_covid_19_brief_version_1.pdf?file=1&type=node&id=37184 

Weale, S., 2020, The Guardian, Children in care at risk since coronavirus crisis, say campaigners, (online), available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/28/children-in-care-at-risk-since-coronavirus-crisis-say-campaigners

Willow, C. 2020, article39, Ministers use Covid-19 to destroy children’s safeguards, (online), available at: https://article39.org.uk/2020/04/23/ministers-use-covid-19-to-destroy-childrens-safeguards/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Guidance for Schools

Department for Education, 2020, Actions for Schools during the Coronavirus Outbreak, 2020, (online), available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures

Department for Education, 2020, Coronavirus (Covid19): maintaining education provision, 2020, (online), available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision 

Department for Education, 2020, Coronavirus (COVID-19): safeguarding in schools, colleges and other providers, (online), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-safeguarding-in-schools-colleges-and-other-providers/coronavirus-covid-19-safeguarding-in-schools-colleges-and-other-providers

Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), 2020, Covid-19 Prevention and control in schools, (online), available at: https://www.unicef.org/media/66216/file/Key%20Messages%20and%20Actions%20for%20COVID-19%20Prevention%20and%20Control%20in%20Schools_March%202020.pdf

May, A. 2020, Citizens UK, Schools face huge challenge to reach hard hit families, (online), available at: https://www.citizensuk.org/schools_face_huge_challenge_to_reach_hard_hit_families     

NSPCC Learning, 2020, Coronavirus briefing: safeguarding guidance and information for schools, (online), available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/2154/coronavirus-briefing-safeguarding-guidance-and-information.pdf

Stokes, C. 2020, TES, Coronavirus closures: 9 key safeguarding areas, (online), available at: https://www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-closures-9-key-safeguarding-areas

Safeguarding vulnerable adults

Ann Craft Trust: https://www.anncrafttrust.org/safeguarding-and-the-coronavirus-info-tips-and-resources/

Disability Rights: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/coronavirus

Social Care Institute for Excellence, SCIE, 2020, Safeguarding Adults during the Covid19 Crisis, (online), available at: https://www.scie.org.uk/care-providers/coronavirus-covid-19/safeguarding-adults 

Safeguarding online

Gibbons, A. 2020, TES, Coronavirus: teachers warned of zoombombing risk, (online), available at: https://www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-teachers-warned-zoombombing-risk 

New York Times, 2020, ‘Zoombombing’ becomes a dangerous organised effort, (online), available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/technology/zoom-harassment-abuse-racism-fbi-warning.html

NSPCC Learning, 2019, Protecting Children from Online Abuse, (online), available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-abuse-and-neglect/online-abuse 

NSPCC Learning, 2020, Undertaking Remote Teaching Safely, (online), available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2020/march/undertaking-remote-teaching-safely

NSPCC Learning, 2020, Undertaking remote teaching safely, (online), available at: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2020/march/undertaking-remote-teaching-safely

Safe Lives, 2020, Staying Safe online, (online), available at: https://safelives.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Staying%20safe%20online%20guide.pdf

Zoom, Best Practices for Securing your Virtual Classroom, 2020, (online), available at: https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/03/27/best-practices-for-securing-your-virtual-classroom/ 

Domestic Abuse 

Burgen, S. 2020, The Guardian, Women killed in Spain as coronavirus sees rise in domestic violence, (online), available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/apr/28/three-women-killed-in-spain-as-coronavirus-lockdown-sees-rise-in-domestic-violence 

Fraser, E. 2020, Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Violence against Women and Girls, VAWG Helpdesk Research Report No. 284. London, UK: VAWG Helpdesk: http://www.sddirect.org.uk/media/1881/vawg-helpdesk-284-covid-19-and-vawg.pdf

Grierson, J. 2020, The Guardian, UK domestic abuse helplines report surge in calls during lockdown, (online), available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/09/uk-domestic-abuse-helplines-report-surge-in-calls-during-lockdown

Lee, J. 2020, BBC News, Coronavirus: the parents in lockdown with violent children, (online), available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52363197 

Open Letter to the Prime Minister from 22 organisations working to address violence against women and girls, Parliament.UK, 2020, Domestic abuse and risks of harm within the home, available at:   https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmhaff/321/32105.htm

Safe Lives, 2020, Domestic abuse and covid-19, (online), available at: http://safelives.org.uk/news-views/domestic-abuse-and-covid-19 

Surviving economic abuse, 2020, Spotting the signs of economic abuse during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, (online), available at: https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Spotting-the-signs-during-coronavirus.pdf

General:

Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE): https://inee.org/covid-19/resources