MASH-aligned safeguarding guidance for DSLs, teachers, parents, and young people across the UK. Covering knife crime, county lines exploitation, online grooming, Prevent duty, mental health safeguarding, and more — all aligned to KCSIE 2025 and Working Together 2026.
Knife crime rate per 100,000 population by police force area — explore the interactive choropleth.
Real-time safeguarding indicators drawn from ONS, NCA, Home Office, and NHS sources.
"Protecting Lives, Building Hope" — 8 Young Futures Hubs open (50 planned by 2029) · £34m County Lines Programme renewed
Sources: ONS · NCA · Home Office · OHID · Ofcom · Updated May 2026
Every number represents a life, a family, a community shattered.
Knife crime, county lines exploitation, Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE), Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), and substance misuse are deeply interconnected threats. Under the Children Act 1989 and 2004, every agency has a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 mandates multi-agency collaboration through Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships. Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 (KCSIE 2025) requires all school staff to recognise indicators of exploitation, serious violence, and online harm. The Serious Violence Duty (Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022) compels schools, police, health, and local authorities to work together on prevention. County lines operations constitute child trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Select your role to access tailored safeguarding resources
Information sharing tools, school liaison guides, referral threshold tool, Operation Encompass, CCE resources, and Prevent/Channel support for officers working with schools.
Access resources → 🏫 Schools & DSLs For Schools & DSLsKCSIE 2025 guide, DSL toolkit, 35 lesson plan packs, policy templates, MASH compliance tools, and CPD resources for Designated Safeguarding Leads.
Access resources → 👨👩👧 Parents & Carers For ParentsPlain-English safeguarding guides. Knife crime, online safety, county lines, substance misuse, and mental health — with conversation starters and referral pathways.
Access resources → 🌟 Ages 13–18 For Young PeopleSafe, accessible safeguarding information for young people. Your rights, staying safe online, recognising exploitation, and where to get help — without judgment.
Access resources →Tools and guides for officers working with schools and safeguarding partners
GDPR-compliant legal gateway analysis for police-school information sharing.
Same-day domestic abuse notifications to schools when children witness incidents.
Assess the correct referral threshold: Early Help, MASH, or Emergency.
Planning guides, safeguarding checklists, and consent frameworks for school visits.
CCE indicators, cuckooing, county lines involvement, and multi-agency response protocols.
Radicalisation referral guidance, Channel panel process, and Prevent duty support.
CME protocols, tracking duties, and school liaison procedures.
Governance, safeguarding structures, DSL roles, and liaison best practice.
Curriculum-aligned safeguarding lesson plans for primary and secondary schools. Each pack includes teacher notes, pupil worksheets, discussion guides, and statutory framework references covering PSHE, RSE, and KCSIE 2025 requirements.
Browse All Lesson Plans →Practical guides to help parents recognise and respond to substance misuse and exploitation
MASH-aligned, statutory-aligned guidance for safeguarding professionals, teachers, and parents
Statutorily aligned resources for schools covering knife crime prevention, the zombie knife ban (Sept 2024), criminal consequences, and peer pressure. Around 53,000 offences recorded year ending March 2025 (Commons Library, Oct 2025). Zombie knives and machetes banned since 24 September 2024.
County lines drug networks exploit children as young as 10 (NCA, 2024) to transport and sell drugs across the UK. 2,740 lines closed (calendar year 2025). Covers CCE indicators, cuckooing, the Modern Slavery Act 2015, NCA referral pathways, and school response protocols.
Online grooming incidents rose 89% in six years (since 2017/18). Covers CSE, CSAM, the PANTS rule, CEOP reporting, Online Safety Act 2023, and DSL response protocols. Resources for teachers, parents, and young people.
The dark web is increasingly accessible to young people. Covers Tor, illegal marketplaces, cybercrime risks, and how to have safe conversations with pupils about dark web dangers without sensationalising.
16,212 children in drug treatment in 2024/25 — a 13% rise. Covers legal and illegal substances, nitrous oxide, vaping, county lines links, OHID guidance, and DSL referral pathways to CAMHS and community drug services.
8,778 Prevent referrals in 2024/25 — the highest since records began in 2015. Education remains the largest single source of referrals. Schools have a statutory duty under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. Covers far-right, Islamist, and mixed radicalisation; Channel referral process; fundamental British values.
KCSIE 2025-aligned resources, toolkits, and guides for DSLs, headteachers, and governors
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 — a plain-English guide to the statutory changes for DSLs and headteachers. Part 1 duties, Part 2 safeguarding structures, Part 5 child-on-child abuse.
Interactive checklist and print-ready toolkit for Designated Safeguarding Leads. Covers statutory training requirements, safer recruitment, and term-start safeguarding priorities.
When does a child's emotional wellbeing become a child protection concern? Covers KCSIE 2025, self-harm protocol, suicidal ideation risk assessment, CAMHS pathways, and referral routes. 1 in 6 children have a probable mental health disorder (NHS Digital, 2023).
KCSIE 2025 Part 5 duties on child-on-child abuse. Covers sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexting and IBSA, the 5-step school response protocol, and PSHE resources by key stage.
Persistent absence as a safeguarding indicator. Covers CME statutory duties, county lines attendance patterns, the 4-step DSL response protocol, and the 12-point persistent absence checklist.
Generative AI risks for children: deepfakes, AI-assisted grooming, CSAM generation, and ChatGPT misuse. DSL guidance aligned to the Online Safety Act 2023 and DfE AI in education framework.
Understanding and challenging misogynistic and incel ideologies in schools. Covers online radicalisation pathways, warning signs for staff, PSHE curriculum responses, and Prevent duty links.
Free printable safeguarding policy templates: Child Protection Policy, Concern Log, DSL Action Plan, Safer Recruitment Checklist, and Parental Notification Letter.
The full hub for DSLs, teachers, and police crime commissioners. MASH finder, KCSIE compliance tools, multi-agency working guides, and lesson plan libraries.
16 sections covering every category of abuse — from physical and emotional harm to CSE, CCE, trafficking, and FGM
The Know the Signs handbook is a MASH-aligned reference guide for safeguarding professionals. It covers physical abuse indicators, emotional abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation (CSE), child criminal exploitation (CCE), trafficking and modern slavery, female genital mutilation (FGM), honour-based abuse, radicalisation, domestic abuse impact on children, fabricated illness, online abuse, and substance misuse. Each section includes statutory references, warning signs, and referral pathways.
Read the Know the Signs Handbook →Plain-English safeguarding guidance to help you protect your children
Practical guidance for parents on talking to children about knife crime, online risks, county lines, and substance misuse. Includes conversation guides, warning signs, and who to call if you're worried.
How to keep children safe online. Covers social media risks, online grooming, the PANTS rule, parental controls, CEOP reporting, and the Online Safety Act 2023.
Warning signs your child may be being exploited by a county lines drug network. How to report to police and the NCA. Referral pathways including Childline, NSPCC, and local MASH.
Understanding your child's mental health. How to access CAMHS. What to do if your child is self-harming or expressing suicidal thoughts. Crisis lines including Samaritans (116 123) and PAPYRUS (0800 068 4141).
40+ in-depth articles written for safeguarding professionals, parents, and young people across the UK
Browse 40+ MASH-aligned articles covering knife crime, county lines, online safety, Prevent, mental health, and more. Cited with ONS, NCA, Home Office, and NHS sources.
Knife crime statistics 2024, zombie knife ban explained, school knife crime response, and talking to teenagers about knife violence.
Recognising county lines exploitation, cuckooing explained, how drug networks recruit children, and the Modern Slavery Act referral process.
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. For non-emergency concerns, use these referral routes.
If a child is in immediate danger. Always your first call.
24/7 helpline for adults worried about a child. Free, confidential.
Free, confidential helpline for children and young people.
Report online grooming and child sexual exploitation to the NCA.
Report concerns to police that are not immediate emergencies.
Suicide prevention for young people. HopeLineUK — 24/7.