According to reports commissioned by Barnardo’s, child victims of exploitation are ‘invisible’ during school holidays as critical opportunities to spot warning signs are more easily missed. The NSPCC has also recently reported that a surge in domestic abuse cases involving children is set to continue over the Christmas period and into 2025.
This is a reminder that the reality of school holidays for many children can mean being immersed into difficult, unpredictable and sometimes unsafe environments—and highlights the importance of maintaining effective safeguarding and supporting children all year-round, particularly during any school holiday periods. It also highlights the need for educational settings to be mindful and, most importantly, prepared to spot any changes and concerns around children’s wellbeing when they return to school.
Below are three key ways CPOMS software solutions can help you maintain pupil safeguarding needs around school holidays:
1. Identify At-Risk Students for Safeguarding During School Holidays
No two concerns around the safeguarding of a child are likely to be the same—and some children may be at a higher risk of safeguarding challenges than others. As of March 2024 there were over 620,000 children referred to social care in England, according to figures published by the government. As the holidays put increased pressure on families, it’s important that professionals working with children remain vigilant for all signs of abuse at this crucial time.
Financial strains around the holidays can lead to an increase in poverty-related concerns, from malnutrition to possible signs of neglect. It can be difficult to recognise the difference between poverty and neglect, however England-based charity Services for Education have provided guidance for DSLs and similar roles in understanding the key differences. It is also important that any safeguarding concern, whether as a result of poverty or possible neglect around the holidays, is appropriately captured.
CPOMS StudentSafe features powerful concern monitoring and reporting tools which can help to identify at-risk students early on. This functionality helps to compile incident reports, behavioural observations and pastoral care records to build a holistic chronology of each student’s wellbeing. With Premium Cases and Forms capabilities, easy-to-use customisable case management transforms the way safeguarding cases are managed with better information to enable positive outcomes.
2. Ensure Effective Communication Between Schools and Local Authorities for Holiday Safeguarding
Effective communication among school staff and local authorities is crucial to ensuring concerns around students’ safeguarding are addressed promptly. For example, if something were to occur at home while a child is on holiday, it is imperative that school staff can access that information in a timely manner when the child returns to school, so they know how to best handle the situation and look for signs if the student is struggling.
Domestic abuse cases have been shown to rise by as much as 15% during the festive season, with increased risks brought about by financial pressures, alcohol consumption and isolation from support networks over the holidays. For children growing up in an abusive household, experiencing physically or emotionally abusive behaviour can lead to long-term psychological issues.
With CPOMS Engage safeguarding information, such as reports of domestic violence, can be shared between agencies at the local authority and across educational settings via an agreed Share Contract, providing seamless, secure transfer of crucial information between systems. The simplicity and speed of communication this provides ensures a timely, collaborative approach to pupil safety and wellbeing.
3. Supporting Student Wellbeing Around School Holidays
The holidays can see changes in routine for many students which can impact the ability to effectively safeguard children, particularly those attending alternative provisions or referred to children’s services. Disconnection from school environments can leave these children more vulnerable and open to exploitation, as they miss out on the safety and structure education settings provide.
Maintaining safeguarding measures during this time is essential to ensure continuity of care and protection. A key aspect of this is the secure and efficient sharing of child protection records between all settings and agencies involved in looking after a given child.
For safeguarding dual-registered pupils attending APs (Alternative Provisions) like PRUs (Pupil Referral Units), virtual schools and other arrangements throughout the holidays, seamless communication between all settings is critical to ensure concerns do not fall between the gaps. CPOMS Engage software ensures safeguarding records are accurately and securely shared all year round, reducing the risk of vital information being overlooked and allowing consistent monitoring of each child’s wellbeing at each setting they attend.
Enhancing Safeguarding Processes Throughout the Holidays with CPOMS
Ensuring safeguarding concerns are communicated and addressed in a timely manner can be a complex and multifaceted task.
CPOMS software helps thousands of safeguarding leads to proactively identify vulnerabilities amongst children, create efficiencies and streamline communication—ultimately helping to create a safer and more supportive environment for students around school holidays and throughout the course of the year.
To find out more about how StudentSafe and Engage can benefit your setting, get in touch with our team for a free demonstration.
