Source: Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) published on this website Wednesday 19 November 2025 by Jill Powell

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is supporting Ann Craft Trust during National Safeguarding Adults Week to help organisations prevent abuse and create safer cultures through this year’s theme: ‘Prevention: Act Before Abuse’. 

DBS supports employers to make safer recruitment decisions by processing and issuing criminal record checks and by maintaining the Adults’ and Children’s Barred Lists. Barred Lists are records of people not permitted to work in a regulated activity with children and/or vulnerable adults. 

The Ann Craft Trust – which is hosting Safeguarding Adults Week from 17 to 21 November – is a leading UK authority supporting organisations to safeguard adults and young people at risk. 

DBS’ focus during Safeguarding Adults Week is to help organisations understand when DBS checks are required, what ‘regulated activity’ is, how to access free checks for eligible volunteers, and the application process. Throughout the week, DBS will be sharing guidance and resources on: 

• different levels of DBS checks (Basic, Standard, Enhanced, and Enhanced with Barred List(s) checks) 
• which roles require DBS checks and what regulated activity with adults at risk means 
• how volunteers can access free DBS checks and what counts as voluntary work 
• how to use the DBS Update Service to keep certificates current 

Activities provided by Ann Craft Trust include free online seminars and an in-person Safeguarding Adults Conference on Wednesday 19 November. Throughout the week, the Ann Craft Trust will explore a different safeguarding theme each day:   

Monday – Change the Conversation: focusing on proactive intervention and creating safer environments that actively work to prevent abuse 

Tuesday – Prevention in Practice: examining the role of leadership, good governance, values-based recruitment and meaningful training 

Wednesday – Creating Empowering Environments: exploring trauma-informed approaches through empathy, co-production and positive risk-taking 

Thursday – Trust Your Instincts: building courage and resilience to speak out, with tools to develop supportive safeguarding cultures 

Friday – Celebrate the Safer Cultures: showcasing examples of good practice and success stories 

DBS is also hosting a series of free online workshops across England during Safeguarding Adults Week. DBS Outreach Advisers will explain the role of DBS, including understanding DBS checks and role eligibility, what regulated activity means, the legal duty to refer, and the process for making a barring referral. Find out more. 

Susie Blamire, Associate Director Strategic Lead for Safeguarding for the Disclosure and Barring Service, said: 

"DBS performs a critical role in helping protect the most vulnerable. We support employers to make safer recruitment decisions informed by our different levels of DBS checks and by barring individuals who pose a risk to vulnerable groups from working in certain roles.  

Prevention must be at the heart of safeguarding, and safer recruitment is a key part of that. We are pleased to support the Ann Craft Trust’s Safeguarding Adults Week and encourage organisations to understand DBS check eligibility. Knowing when and which checks are required, and how volunteers can access free checks are all essential steps in preventing harm.” 

Stuart Sale, CEO of the Ann Craft Trust, said: 

The DBS is a crucial organisation when it comes to safeguarding, and particularly when we think about prevention. The Ann Craft Trust is proud of the longstanding relationship we have had with the DBS, over a number of years, and are delighted that they have once again prioritised Safeguarding Adults Week in their calendar with a number of fantastic events. We look forward to continuing working with DBS to ensure that safeguarding remains a priority for any organisation that comes into contact with adults.” 

DBS Regional Outreach Advisers provide year-round free support to organisations across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The team can help organisations understand DBS check eligibility and the legal duty to refer. They also provide tailored training and workshops. For more information, visit the DBS Regional Outreach service or contact dbsregionaloutreach@dbs.gov.uk.

Source: Department for Science Innovation and Technology published on this website Wednesday 12 November 2025 by Jill Powell

New legislation sees government work with AI industry and child protection organisations to ensure AI models cannot be misused to create synthetic child sexual abuse images.

Children will be better protected from becoming victims of horrific indecent deepfakes as the government introduces new laws to ensure Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot be exploited to generate child sexual abuse material. 

Data from the Internet Watch Foundation released Wednesday 12 November shows reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025. (note)

There has also been a disturbing rise in depictions of infants, with images of 0–2-year-olds surging from 5 in 2024 to 92 in 2025. (note)

Under stringent new legislation, designated bodies like AI developers and child protection organisations, such as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), will be empowered to scrutinise AI models, and ensure safeguards are in place to prevent them generating or proliferating child sexual abuse material, including indecent images and videos of children. 

Currently, criminal liability to create and possess this material means developers can’t carry out safety testing on AI models, and images can only be removed after they have been created and shared online. This measure, one of the first of its kind in the world, ensures AI systems’ safeguards can be robustly tested from the start, to limit its production in the first place.

The laws will also enable organisations to check models have protections against extreme pornography, and non-consensual intimate images. 

While possessing and generating child sexual abuse material is already illegal under UK law, both real and synthetically produced by AI, improving AI image and video capabilities present a growing challenge. 

It is known that offenders who seek to create this heinous material often do so using images of real children - both those known to them and those found online - and attempt to circumnavigate safeguards designed to prevent this.

This measure aims to make such actions more difficult by empowering companies to ensure their safeguards are effective and to develop innovative, robust methods to prevent model misuse.

It comes as new Internet Watch Foundation data also shows the severity of the material has intensified over the past year. Category A content - images involving penetrative sexual activity, images involving sexual activity with an animal, or sadism - rose from 2,621 to 3,086 items, now accounting for 56% of all illegal material compared to 41% last year. (note) 

Girls have been overwhelmingly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025.(note)

To ensure testing work is carried out safely and securely, the government will also bring together a group of experts in AI and child safety.  

The group will help design the safeguards needed to protect sensitive data, prevent any risk of illegal content being leaked, and support the wellbeing of researchers involved.  

These changes, which will be tabled today (Wednesday 12 November) as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, mark a major step forward in safeguarding children in the digital age. 

They reflect the government’s commitment to working hand-in-hand with AI developers, tech platforms, and child protection organisations to build a safer online world for children. 

We all want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, particularly for children, and this includes when using AI Models. This measure aims to help us achieve that goal by making AI models used by the British public safer and more robust at preventing offenders from misusing this exciting technology for criminal activity.

This proactive approach not only protects children from exploitation and re-victimisation but also reinforces public trust in AI innovation - proving that technological progress and child safety can go hand in hand. 

Source: The Charity Commission published on this site Friday 14 November 2025 by Jill Powell

The Charity Commission has set an expectation that the Archbishops’ Council should implement independent safeguarding structures as endorsed by the Church’s General Synod in February 2025 within 18 months from now – a year sooner than current plans indicate – and in the meantime, put robust interim measures in place to keep people safe.

The expectation is part of a Regulatory Action Plan issued to the Archbishops’ Council, a registered charity whose objects are to co-ordinate, promote, aid and further the work and mission of the Church of England. It follows the Commission engaging with the charity over whether its trustees are taking sufficient steps to address the safeguarding concerns and implement recommended changes raised in a number of safeguarding reviews.

Background

The Commission’s engagement with the Archbishops’ Council began towards the end of 2024, following the publication of an ‘Independent Learning Lessons Review’ into the case of John Smyth (the “Makin Review”). This followed other independent reviews in recent years, including the report by Sarah Wilkinson into the Church’s Independent Safeguarding Board, and the ‘Future of Church Safeguarding’ report by Professor Alexis Jay.

Public debate about the Church’s approach to safeguarding following publication of the Makin Review – and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation over the issue – exacerbated regulatory concerns that progress towards safeguarding improvements identified in the various independent reports was not happening with sufficient pace.

The regulatory compliance case was informed by information provided by bishops and Diocesan Boards of Finance, as well as the Archbishops’ Council, at the Commission’s request.

While the Commission does not investigate individual allegations of abuse, it does have a responsibility to assess concerns about the extent to which trustees are taking necessary action and ensuring their charity has appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place. The Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team is a department of the Archbishops’ Council and develops proposals for safeguarding guidance, processes and procedures for consideration by the General Synod which the trustees of other Church charities are required to follow.

Findings

In summary, the Commission has found that:

• there is insufficient urgency and pace in implementing responses to past safeguarding reviews, and the current approach to doing so is fragmented and overly complex. For example, the Council’s current timescale of 2028 to pass the necessary legislation to implement independent safeguarding is too slow, representing a four year gap since the publication of the Jay Review
• currently the Church does not treat allegations of abuse from an adult not assessed to be “vulnerable” as a safeguarding allegation. The Commission’s guidance is clear that trustees must take reasonable steps to protect from harm all people who come into contact with their charity

Conclusions

The Commission found no evidence of mismanagement or misconduct by the trustees of the Archbishops’ Council, and recognises that the charity has made progress and delivered some improvements to the Church’s safeguarding in recent years. However, the Commission has made it clear that it expects the Archbishops’ Council to take all steps within its powers to implement outstanding safeguarding reforms at a much faster pace.

Where legislative changes will not address safeguarding risks quickly, the charity’s trustees should facilitate interim arrangements sufficient to address identified safeguarding risks until the legislative changes are in place. These should reflect the Commission’s guidance to trustees as well as Church policy and procedure.

Next steps

The Commission has issued a Regulatory Action Plan setting out steps the trustees need to take to address the Commission’s concerns. These include closing the gap on how allegations made by a non-vulnerable adult should be handled in different circumstances, and quicker delivery of the new structures for independent safeguarding which the General Synod “endorsed as the way forward in the short term” in February 2025.

The Commission notes the recent appointment of Dame Christine Ryan as executive chair of the Church’s Safeguarding Structures Programme Board to lead work on the structural changes agreed by the Synod.

The Commission now expects the Archbishops’ Council to identify any safeguarding risks that may require interim non-legislative measures to keep people safe and to put suitable measures in place. Reflecting this approach, the Archbishops’ Council has told the Commission it plans to establish an interim independent scrutiny body for Church safeguarding ahead of legislation.

The Commission understands the risks associated with acting in undue haste, and notes that the Archbishops’ Council’s trustees need to consider how to plan for future engagement with victims and survivors in a meaningful, sensitive and structured way so that it supports the timely delivery of change needed to keep people safe in the future.

The regulator is monitoring the Archbishops’ Council’s progress against the Regulatory Action Plan. Should it receive evidence that raises new regulatory concerns, it will assess this in line with its usual process.

Source: Ofsted published on this site Tuesday 11 November 2025 by Jill Powell

On the 9 November Ofsted set out a renewed approach to education inspection that will give parents better and more detailed information, is fairer on professionals, and – crucially – will help raise standards for all children.

The Ofsted policy was updated on the 7 November. This policy sets out Ofsted’s approach to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. It applies to all aspects of Ofsted’s work and to everyone working for Ofsted, including permanent and temporary employees, contractors and self-employed contracted inspectors.

Ofsted has a duty to regulate and inspect how effectively providers keep children and adults at risk safe from abuse, neglect and exploitation, in line with statutory guidance.