Dear colleague
Over the past few months, many of you have been navigating some particularly difficult and distressing safeguarding situations across Bristol. We recognise the significant emotional and professional impact this can have on staff and children alike, and we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued commitment to safeguarding children through what have been challenging times. Your professionalism, vigilance and determination to do the right thing for children, even in the most complex circumstances, does not go unnoticed and remains central to keeping children safe in our city.
Please feel free to share this newsletter with colleagues and encourage them to sign up to or mailing list.
HAF Champions – one for every school!
Schools play a crucial role in reducing holiday hunger, increasing access to positive activities, and supporting children’s wellbeing outside of term time – HAF Champions are central to making this happen.
A HAF Champion is a member of school staff who:
Providers will begin adding bookable summer holiday sessions to the Your Holiday Hub website from 8th June. www.yourholidayhubbristol.co.uk
We will contact your named HAF Champion at that point with clear information and resources to share with families ahead of the end of term.
Our contact list is only used to share HAF programme updates, resources, and funding information.
Please provide the details of your HAF Champion by emailing name, school and email address to haf@bristol.gov.uk.
Your Holiday Hub Bristol - Your Holiday Hub Bristol
NEW Guidance about publishing photographs of children online - (UKSIC)
Schools rightly want to celebrate the achievements of their pupils, and photographs are a natural part of that. But new guidance from the UK Safer Internet Centre sets out why that instinct now needs to be balanced carefully against an emerging safeguarding risk.
The guidance follows a confirmed incident, reported to the Internet Watch Foundation by UK police, in which criminals harvested photographs from a secondary school's website, used AI tools to turn them into child sexual abuse material, and demanded money from the school with the threat of wider distribution.
Incidents of this kind are not yet widespread, but the working group behind the guidance is clear that it is only a matter of time before more schools are targeted. The practical steps are straightforward: avoid face-on, identifiable photographs, never pair names with images, remove EXIF metadata before uploading, and publish only low-resolution versions. Existing content on your website and social media is worth reviewing too.
The question is not whether to celebrate pupils, but how to do so without creating unnecessary risk.
The full guidance, including a checklist of actions, is available here: https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/image-guidance-for-education-settings
Image guidance for education settings - UK Safer Internet Centre
Guidance for education settings and organisations working with children and young people
Healthy Schools:
Could your school support us to understand the prevalence of illicit substances in vapes used by pupils in Bristol?
Research by the University of Bath across several English local authorities found that, nationally, about 1 in 6 vapes confiscated in secondary schools contain illicit substances.
This important research is being extended to Bristol. For 12 months, starting in September 2026, vapes confiscated from pupils in Bristol secondary schools will be collected and taken to University of Bath for testing.
Avon & Somerset Police and Bristol City Council will do most of the work for you – including collecting vapes from your school. You will just need to store the vapes safely at your school once confiscated, and we will give you simple guidance on how to do so.
The findings will guide future work including substance use education, staff training, school policies, and support for whole‑school approaches.
The research report will not include the details of the schools who have taken part.
To get involved or for further information, please get in touch: healthy.schools@bristol.gov.uk by Friday 5 June.
Bristol Pupil Voice Survey
A reminder that the Bristol Pupil Voice Survey is now live and open until 19th June. This healthy and wellbeing survey is targeted at Primary and Secondary, and it help us all understand the health and wellbeing issues that are significant to young people.
For more information on how to take part, please contact healthy.schools@bristol.gov.uk or add the relevant persons contact details here: The Bristol Pupil Voice Survey 2025/2026
Proms and end of year celebrations As in previous years, we recognise that our settings will be holding celebrations across the city to mark the achievements of children and young people at the end of the academic year. We want these celebrations to be as positive and safe as possible, with appropriate support from partner agencies.
To support this, it would be very helpful if you could provide information about any proms or end-of-year celebrations you are planning. This information will be shared with the police to support contextual safeguarding arrangements.
Please complete the survey using the link below. We would appreciate a response even if you are not holding an event: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/Proms2026/
Operation Bond We will be holding an Operation Bond briefing for education settings in Term 6 to review arrangements supporting proms and end-of-year celebrations, consider current contextual safeguarding concerns within the community, and look ahead to the summer holidays.
As a reminder, we wrote to all Headteachers/Principals and DSLs in Term 4 inviting settings to sign up to the Operation Bond Terms of Reference: Operation Bond: Terms of Reference – Fill in form
Once completed, you will be added as a key contact for all future routine Operation Bond briefings and any extraordinary meetings.
Additional Guidance for Education Settings: Calling 999 for an Ambulance
This guidance is intended to support education establishments by outlining what to expect when calling 999 for an ambulance. In an emergency, it can be stressful and difficult to know what information will be required. The points in these articles are shared to help make the process as clear and straightforward as possible.
Young Carers 2026 School Census Update In Bristol, identification is increasing but remains well below national estimates. The number of pupils recorded as young carers has risen steadily from 291 in 2023 to 783 in 2026. This reflects an increase in the proportion of young carers identified within the total school population, rising to 1.3% in 2026.
While progress is being made - 55% of settings are now identifying young carers (up from 41% in 2025) - a substantial proportion (64 out of 143 settings) still report none, suggesting under-recognition.
Bristol’s All-Age Carers Strategy highlights this gap, setting ambitious targets to increase identification to 5% of pupils and ensure 100% of education settings are actively identifying and recording young carers.
Schools can access targeted support from Young Carers Bristol and South Gloucestershire through their Young Carers in Schools programme, which provides practical tools, training and a framework to improve identification and support. Evidence shows that education settings engaging with this programme achieve stronger recognition and improved outcomes for young carers. Further information and resources are available at: Support for Young Carers in Bristol & South Glos.
Team news
Business Co-ordinator – We are delighted to announce that we have recruited Anisa Ahmed to the role of Business Co-Ordinator and we look forward to welcoming her to team.
Education Safeguarding Advisor Recruitment – This is underway for two posts, and we look forward to welcoming the successful applicants to our team in the very near future.
Generic e-mail addresses
We are still awaiting generic e-mail addresses from some settings.
Please note:
S.175 Audit
This is a reminder that the deadline for the S.175 audit for all settings is the 31st July 2026.
What do you need to do?
You are receiving this email as you have signed up to our mailing list and are working with a setting which is a relevant agency within the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership (KBSP).
Training
SET and LADO - Practice challenges regarding dealing with concerns about staff (ONLINE). 2nd June: booking link
Responding to Critical Incidents Training (FREE). 16 June: booking link
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UKHSA essential travel checklist for families
The UK Health Security Agency has published a travel checklist for families to help to support safe travel and minimise health risks.
Please ensure you include in your setting’s communication with parents/carers: The essential travel checklist to keep you and your family healthy on holiday – UK Health Security Agency