E-petition relating to a minimum age for social media
There will be a debate on e-petition 700086 relating to a minimum age for social media on 24 February 2025 in Westminster Hall, led by Tony Vaughan MP.

Information on the safeguarding duties of English schools, governing bodies and staff, including during recruitment, and in dealing with allegations
Safeguarding in English schools (483 KB , PDF)
Schools are an important part of the wider system for safeguarding children in England and are in a position to identify concerns early and prevent them from escalating. Under the Education Act 2002, local authority maintained schools have a duty to carry out their functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of their pupils. A similar requirement is placed on independent schools (which includes academies and free schools) by the Independent School Standards Regulations.
The Department for Education’s statutory guidance on Keeping children safe in education, provides information on what schools are required to do to meet their safeguarding responsibilities. In large part, this briefing summarises the guidance. It should not, however, be considered a substitute for it, or for professional legal advice, when looking for detailed guidance on specific cases.
As part of their safeguarding responsibilities, the governing bodies of maintained schools and the proprietors of independent schools are, among other things, responsible for ensuring that:
School staff are expected to know about the systems in place in their school to support safeguarding, and to be aware of the types of abuse to look out for so that they can identify where action, including a referral to children’s social care, may be needed. Section two of the briefing provides further information on the safeguarding responsibilities of governing bodies and school staff.
Schools are required to adopt recruitment practices that help deter, reject or identify people who might abuse children. They should act reasonably when deciding on the suitability of new employees based on a range of information, including criminal record checks, barred list checks and prohibition checks, together with references and interview information. Section three provides more detail on the checks that should be carried out.
Section four provides information on how schools should manage allegations against a member of staff that might indicate they pose a risk to children. The procedure followed will depend heavily on the circumstances of a particular case and can range from no action being taken, to a multi-agency strategy discussion, a criminal investigation and/or dismissal of the staff member concerned.
The briefing relates to the situation in England only.
Safeguarding in English schools (483 KB , PDF)
There will be a debate on e-petition 700086 relating to a minimum age for social media on 24 February 2025 in Westminster Hall, led by Tony Vaughan MP.
Find out what funding is available for students wanting to do a master’s degree in the UK.
A briefing on reporting child abuse in England, including the government's plans to introduce a mandatory reporting duty.