The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

Safeguarding

Jamie Bartlett

See no evil, fear no evil? Let pupils face dangers online!

I spent a year of my life immersed in the internet's darkest corners. Young people will do the same, and we need to let them learn from their mistakes. When it comes to teaching about the internet and media literacy, there are few words I dislike more than ‘safeguarding’. Not because the aspiration...
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Abi Clay

Prevent: a year in review

As we reach the end of the first year since the introduction of the Prevent duty, it is time to review the lessons learned and consider the changing landscape of expectations. For me and many colleagues across the country, inclusion of Prevent as part of the counter-extremism strategy and...
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Jack Procter-Blain

My day at the SRE conference: new insights for effective teaching

With Tuesday's one-day conference still fresh in my mind, here is some of the guidance our speakers had to offer for delivering effective, age-appropriate SRE. Our Relationships and Sex Education conference on Tuesday was (as event chair Jane Lees put it) a day of ‘little steps’ and ‘giant leaps’...
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Jack Procter-Blain

Online pornography: prevent or educate?

The Digital Economy Bill takes the government’s preventative approach to online safeguarding a step further. However, is restricting access the right way to go? One childhood memory I have is of lingering in the back aisles of Blockbuster, waiting for my mum to buy me the new Grand Theft Auto video...
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Jack Procter-Blain

Are you clear on consent? Take the quiz!

Do you know the law when it comes to sex and relationships? Test your knowledge with this short quiz. The law clearly states that sexual intercourse without consent is illegal, and failing to make pupils aware of this can often put them at risk of becoming victims of rape or sexual assault. RSE...
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Dai Durbridge

Child Protection in Education: your top 5 questions answered

From safeguarding records and new KCSIE guidance to policies and risk assessment, lawyer Dai Durbridge provides answers to the most popular questions asked by delegates at our recent conference. 1. Does the duty of passing on safeguarding records when a child moves schools rest with the old school...
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Davide Pochi

Dear diary: my day at the Child Protection conference

From one-to-one legal advice and strategies on implementing safeguarding procedures to... a tinsel-green coloured Lamborghini? Here's what I took away from the Child Protection in Education conference. It’s 5.30am on Thursday 15 th of September when my alarm goes off. The day is finally here. It’s...
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Dai Durbridge

Lawyers learn too: 5 reflections on Child Protection in Education 2016

With the outstanding London conference fresh in my mind, I thought I would offer five things I learned and useful and insightful snippets from last week. Serious Case Reviews (SCR) SCRs are changing but the recommendations within SCRs are something of a constant: better multiagency working more...
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Davide Pochi

Child Protection in Education 2016: the school year will have a great start

15 th September, 2016. Save this date. Why? Because it’s when over 450 school leaders from all over the country will meet at our next Child Protection in Education conference . That’s right: over 450 school leaders, from headteachers, principals, DSLs and middle leaders, will meet for this national...
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Alan Mackenzie

Understand privacy settings to set pupils free online

Watch Alan Mackenzie’s screencast to learn how to set privacy settings for a number of social platforms and keep pupils safe online. The world can be a scary place no matter your age, and each generation faces new challenges. Yet there is one great difference between the world I or my parents grew...
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