1. Domestic abusers to be marked and tracked in boost to victims’ safety
Domestic abuse is already recognised as an aggravating factor in a wide range of offences, such as assault or stalking, but until now there has been no consistent way to record this once an offender is convicted. This makes it harder to identify abusers; manage the risks they pose and identify patterns of repeat offending.
Under the new measures, which were introduced 05 October 2026 the courts must now state in open court when an offence involved domestic abuse, creating for the first time a single, clear court record that can be shared across the criminal justice system. This will ensure perpetrators are identified and managed more effectively by enabling more tailored interventions to address abusive behaviour.

Court flags are now shared with relevant partners and agencies, and visible on police, probation and prison digital systems. This gives frontline staff a clearer picture of an offender’s history, helping them assess and manage risk effectively and better identify repeat domestic abuse offenders.

More widely, victims are being supported through a new Victim Support helpline, funded as part of an £18 million support package, while the Prime Minister has blocked offenders convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from benefiting from upcoming sentencing changes.

Victims will also be better protected through the expansion of electronic monitoring, including world-first restriction zones designed to keep the highest-risk offenders away from those they have harmed.

2. Domestic abusers face eviction as survivors gain housing rights
A new measure introduced for the Social Housing Bill on Tuesday 20 October 2026 will stop survivors having to prove abuse again where a protection order is already in place. The proposals strengthen reforms in the Bill that will protect joint tenancies from abusive partners, helping end the choice between staying in danger and losing a home and support network. Council tenants will also get stronger support to take charge of repairs, maintenance and communal services through a simpler Right to Manage, giving residents a clearer route to demand better when services fail.

Together, the reforms will put tenants first, raise standards and protect social homes, alongside the biggest investment in new social and affordable housing in a generation.

Recognising that affordable homes can be particularly difficult to replace in rural communities, councils will have more control over protecting eligible areas from the Right to Buy, with the wider package of reforms expected to keep an additional 18,000 homes in the social sector over the next decade.

Alongside the £442 million investment to tackle rough sleeping, the Bill will also help tackle homelessness earlier by requiring councils and public services to identify people at risk and work together before they lose their home, while housing associations will be required to offer suitable homes to households referred by councils unless there is good reason not to. Veterans will also face fewer barriers to getting help, with plans to ensure they can seek homelessness support from any council in England regardless of local connection rules.

Persistent themes in safeguarding reviews
The Child Safeguarding Review Panel’s persistent themes bring together national learning from child safeguarding reviews where children have died or suffered serious harm from abuse or neglect. They focus on recurring challenges that continue to feature across safeguarding practice and the wider safeguarding system.
These themes are not new but their continued appearance in safeguarding reviews makes them impossible to ignore. Tackling them is a shared responsibility. Practitioners, managers, leaders, safeguarding partnerships and the wider safeguarding system, including the Panel, all have a role to play in understanding why these challenges persist and what needs to change. The themes reflect the complexity of family life, safeguarding practice and the organisational and multi-agency systems in which safeguarding takes place.

Designed for practitioners, managers, leaders and safeguarding partnerships, the themes provide an opportunity to reflect, challenge existing practice, consider how these themes are addressed strategically, and discuss what can be done differently. We want them to support conversations at every level about the changes we can make locally, alongside the action needed nationally to help tackle them together.

Ofsted

Ofsted to pilot new Independent Complaints Review service
Under the pilot, state-funded schools that have complained about an inspection will be able to request a review of how Ofsted handled their complaint and – for the first time – whether the outcome was fair and reasonable, including where it related to the inspection process and findings.

Soon after taking up the post of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) in 2024, Sir Martyn Oliver introduced several changes to the complaints process, including a provider helpline to help resolve concerns as they arise, a national complaints hub, and new panels, including external sector and Trade Union representatives, to scrutinise a sample of recently closed complaints.

This new pilot aims to further increase trust and confidence in the inspection system by introducing another level of independence to Ofsted’s complaint arrangements. It comes in response to recommendations made by Dame Christine Gilbert’s ‘Independent learning review for Ofsted’, and Sinead McBrearty’s ‘Independent wellbeing impact assessment of the revised Ofsted framework’.

Currently, schools that are unhappy with how Ofsted has handled their complaint can appeal to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted (ICASO). ICASO will determine whether their complaint was handled properly by Ofsted, but it cannot consider whether the outcome of the complaint was fair and reasonable.

Under the pilot, the ICR service will have access to the original complaint and Ofsted’s response. But, unlike current ICASO arrangements, the ICR will also be able to consider the original, unredacted inspection evidence to reach a view on whether Ofsted’s complaint response was fair and reasonable, including aspects related to the inspection process and grades awarded.

Schools will be able to contact the ICR following the conclusion of Ofsted’s internal complaints process, and after the publication of their inspection report card.

The ICR will report their findings and recommendations back to the complainant and HMCI. If they find mistakes have been made, or that Ofsted has not acted fairly and reasonably, the ICR will be able to recommend that Ofsted looks at the complaint again, including where it relates to the inspection process.

HMCI will personally consider and respond to every ICR recommendation.

If the ICR makes a recommendation around a grading decision, HMCI can set aside the published report card and arrange for a new inspection to be carried out as soon as possible. This could lead to the same, or different, grades being awarded. Under the law, only His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (delegated through Ofsted’s inspectors) can make grading decisions. 

Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS)

OPSS has issued a safety alert for certain baby sleeping bags because of the risk of overheating and suffocation.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued a Safety Alert for certain baby sleeping bags because of the risk of overheating and suffocation.

The alert concerns baby sleeping bags that do not have arm holes or include a hood. They are marketed or intended to be used as bags for babies to sleep in unsupervised when in a crib or cot.

Without armholes to retain a baby in position, the child might slip into the sleeping bag which could result in overheating, suffocation and potentially death. Sleeping bags with hoods may also cover a baby’s nose and mouth and cause similar harm.

The Safety Alert has been issued following nearly 50 recalls or product safety reports for dangerous sleeping bag products in the UK since 2023.

OPSS is advising parents and carers not to buy – and to stop using – any sleeping bag products that lack armholes or which include a hood for unsupervised baby sleep. Parents and carers who have these products should contact the business that supplied them as they may be entitled to redress.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has also today issued a warning to parents and carers to be on high alert for online ads promoting baby products that claim to help with colic, reflux, sleep and soothing. The warning follows a large-scale monitoring exercise in which the regulator identified ads promoting potentially dangerous products and practices that could put babies at risk of serious harm or death.

Stop using pimple popping toys with needles, says OPSS
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has told the public to stop using Pimple Popping Squishy toys with needles or syringes with sharp points.

The warning comes after OPSS launched an urgent investigation following reports these dangerous toys have been sold on the UK market. OPSS has already told online marketplaces to remove any listings of this type from their platforms. They must continue to remove dangerous products from their platforms and warn consumers of the risk.

While many of the products are marketed as ‘adult stress toys’, they clearly fall within the scope of UK Toy Regulations and present a risk of injury to people of all ages including children. The advertised function of the toy is to use a sharp pointed needle or syringe to produce a bubble in the toy or inject a substance for the user to squeeze, pop or burst.

OPSS has issued a number of Product Safety Reports to help consumers identify these toys and is asking anyone who may have one in their home to stop using them immediately. Needles should be placed in a puncture-resistant container to prevent them from causing injury until they can be disposed of safely.

Access your local authority’s website, or contact your local authority, for guidance on the safe disposal in your area. Your local pharmacy or GP surgery may accept sharps for disposal but please check in advance.

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Help CQC to develop new guidance on what good dementia care looks like
CQC are developing new guidance on what good dementia care should look like across health and social care services. Before they launch a planned formal consultation on the guidance in early 2027, they would like your views to help shape the guidance before we start to write it.
This work aims to improve people’s experience of dementia care and their outcomes from care, including people who are living with dementia, their families and carers. Everyone should be able to expect to receive care that treats them as an individual person – recognising what matters most to them, and responding to their needs with dignity, compassion and understanding.

Why CQC are developing this guidance

The guidance will form part of the Dementia Strategy. It will be statutory guidance, which means that CQC-registered care providers must follow it. They want the guidance to create a clear, shared understanding of what people living with dementia should be able to expect from care services, and what good dementia care looks like in practice. 

Charity Commission

Care home and charitable trust charged following deaths of wheelchair-bound residents
The Crown Prosecution Service has announced corporate manslaughter charges for Burdon Grange Care Home and South West Lakes Trust following the deaths of two residents after a boat capsized in Roadford Lake Reservoir, west Devon.

Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Special Crime Division at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute Burdon Grange Care Home Limited and South West Lakes Trust with two counts of corporate manslaughter each.’’   

New Ofcom Research Reinforces the Need for Open Conversations Around Online Gaming
Online gaming remains one of the most popular activities for children and young people across the UK, offering opportunities for social connection. However, new findings from Ofcom’s Growing Up Gaming report highlight the importance of helping children navigate the social aspects of gaming safely and confidently.
The research found that 88% of children aged 3-17 play games on a device, while more than half (55%) of young gamers say they play online with people they have never met in person. One in five (20%) report doing this all or most of the time.

Alongside these findings, parents identified communication with strangers as their leading concern. Almost two-thirds (64%) said they worry about their child talking to unknown individuals through games or in-game chat features, placing it above concerns about bullying (60%), inappropriate content (59%) and spending pressures within games (51%).

• Turning Concern into Action
• Gaming Is About More Than Playing
• Creating Space for Meaningful Conversations
• Check, Chat, Change. To support this, Ofcom has launched a pilot campaign called Power Up, encouraging parents to adopt three simple actions: Check, Chat and Change.

1. More enriching activities for hundreds of thousands of children
Hundreds of thousands more young people in disadvantaged communities will get the chance to join sports teams, learn an instrument, or take part in debating and outdoor adventures, helping them build confidence, develop new skills and stay engaged both in and out of education.
More than 400 secondary schools will benefit from tailored support backed by £22.5 million through the government’s Enrichment Expansion programme.

The investment will help schools broaden opportunities for pupils by putting on more activities during the school day or after school ranging from music groups, engineering clubs and debating societies to football teams, volunteering projects and outdoor learning programmes. By building confidence, skills and a sense of belonging, these experiences can help keep young people engaged in education and set them up for future success.

The programme speaks to the findings of the State of the Nation survey of more than 14,000 young people, which found that young people want safe spaces, trusted adults, better mental health support and greater access to enriching activities. Yet too many are still missing out because of where they live or the barriers they face.

Without access to enrichment, too many young people miss out on the confidence, skills and sense of belonging that help them succeed. Those least likely to participate are also more likely to become not in education, employment or training (NEET), making these opportunities a vital part of helping young people stay engaged, raise their aspirations and prepare for future success.

In response, the government launched the Youth Matters Strategy in December last year and committed to halving the participation gap in enriching activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers by 2035.

Funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), delivered in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE), the Enrichment Expansion programme’s additional funding and support is part of this solution, helping those schools facing the greatest challenges to deliver a wide range of high-quality enrichment opportunities, in line with this year’s new benchmarks for every school.

Both the Enrichment Benchmarks and the Enrichment Expansion programme form part of the government’s mission to ensure that every young person has somewhere to go, something to do and sense of community – including through the recently announced expansion of Young Futures Hubs as well as the £132.5 million Every Child Can programme, which will increase access to a wide range of high-quality activities.

2. Statement from Bishop of Sheffield following the retrial of Chris Brain
Chris Brain has on the 2 October been found guilty on all remaining charges, following a retrial on the five charges the jury could not agree on in his original trial in 2025.
Brain was convicted in August 2025 of 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women who were members of the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield. This retrial concerned the charge of rape, and four further counts of indecent assault, on which the original jury could not reach a verdict.

3. National call to recruit more foster carers launched at Number 10
More children in the care system in England will get the loving, supportive homes they need as the government calls on people to open their hearts and homes to some of the most vulnerable children in society.
A new national recruitment campaign – the first of its kind in England – will encourage adults to consider fostering, highlighting the fact that all kinds of different people can foster.

The campaign launch was marked by a celebration event at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday 13 October, bringing together foster carers frontline workers and people with lived experience of care.

The new campaign will target adults in their 30s and 40s who have the values and capacity to foster but may never have seriously considered it, supporting the government’s ambition to create 10,000 new foster care places by the end of this Parliament

There are more routes into fostering than ever before, but recent DfE polling found that too many adults are ruling themselves out before they find out more. The polling found that two thirds (66%) of people believe they could be a good foster carer if practical barriers were removed.

To enable more people to become foster carers, the DfE is providing £88 million of funding to reform fostering, including £12.4 million for the fostering innovation fund which will trial new models of foster care, such as short term ‘respite fostering’ or fostering at weekends, to open it up to a wider range of people.

The number of approved foster carers has fallen by 12% since 2019, while the number of children needing care has increased. This is why the government aims to create 10,000 new foster places by the end of this parliament.

4. New, easier way to share your online basic DBS check result
Applicants can now share their basic DBS check result directly with an employer or other third party, helping to make recruitment checks quicker and easier.

Quicker, simpler sharing
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has introduced a new way for applicants to share their online basic DBS check result.

Previously, applicants had to forward emails and instructions themselves to anyone they wanted to view their result.

Now, applicants can choose who they want to share their result with during the application journey. DBS will then contact that person directly with a link to view the result online.

This gives applicants and employers a more streamlined and secure way to complete recruitment checks.

5. Series 3 of DBS' safeguarding podcast turns focus to barring
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has launched the third series of its podcast, DBS Discussions: Safeguarding in Focus, with all 6 episodes available to listen to from Monday 26th October.
Series 3 takes a closer look at the barring function of DBS, exploring how and when individuals are barred from working with children and vulnerable adults, and the evidence-based decision-making process behind it.
Across the series, the podcast features expert guests from DBS, alongside the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and cover topics ranging from the legal duty to refer, to how DBS defines harm, gathers information, and reaches fair and defensible barring decisions.

The 6 new episodes are:

• Episode 1: What is barring? This episode explains what the barring function does and how individuals come to the attention of DBS for inclusion on a Barred List
• Episode 2: When do you have the legal duty to refer to DBS? This episode breaks down the 2 conditions that trigger an organisation’s legal duty to refer, and common misconceptions around it
• Episode 3: What is harm and how to consider it? This episode unpacks the full range of behaviours DBS considers when assessing risk, including physical, emotional, financial and transferable harm
• Episode 4: Sharing information with DBS. This episode features special guest Viv Adams from ICO and covers how information gathering supports safeguarding decisions, and why data protection law enables lawful information sharing rather than preventing it
• Episode 5: How does DBS use your referrals to decide whether someone should be barred? This episode walks you through the 5-stage decision-making process, from legal tests and evidence evaluation to risk assessment and the right to make representations
• Episode 6: Your DBS Questions Answered – key themes from the series. This episode wraps up the series by answering the most common questions organisations ask about referrals and barring decisions, and reflects on the series’ key themes

How to listen

DBS Discussions: Safeguarding in Focus Series 3 is available free on Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube. All 6 episodes are available to listen to from 26th October.

1. Man jailed for attempted false imprisonment, trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence and actual bodily harm in Sussex, and child sex offences in Hampshire
A man from Hampshire has been sentenced for attempted false imprisonment, trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence, and actual bodily harm in Sussex and for child sex abuse in Hampshire.
Christopher Buxey, 43, broke into the home of a family known to him in Rogate in the early hours of Thursday 4 June.

Buxey was later charged with attempted kidnap (common law), knowingly or recklessly trespassing on a premises with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence, and actual bodily harm.

On 6 July, Buxey appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court and pleaded guilty to trespassing on a premises with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence, and actual bodily harm. He pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnap but instead admitted a charge of attempted false imprisonment, which was accepted by the court.

During the hearing, Buxey also pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 by penetration, two counts of taking indecent photographs of a child, and three counts of making indecent photographs of a child in connection with a separate investigation in Hampshire.

He was remanded into custody an appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday 15 October.

Christopher Buxey, 43, of Gosport was jailed for 18 years with a further five years on licence for a total sentence of 23 years.

2. Man jailed for multiple child sex offences
A 51-year-old man has been jailed after being found guilty of multiple child sex offences against two victims.
John Fordham, of no fixed abode but from Bury St Edmunds, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, 16 October, where he was handed an extended licence totalling 26 years, made up of 19 years’ imprisonment and seven years on licence.
Extended sentences are handed to those who are convicted of serious violent or sexual offences, where an additional period of post-release supervision is required to protect the public.

Fordham had denied the charges against him but was found guilty by a jury following an eight-day trial of the following:

• Four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 years
• Three counts of rape
• Three counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity
• Two counts of sexual activity with a child

The offences involved two victims – two girls.

The court heard that Fordham repeatedly sought opportunities to isolate his victims to sexually assault them and that the abuse was carried out separately to each other.

In addition to his sentence, Fordham was made subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention order and lifetime restraining orders in respect of his victims. He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

3. 'Lord of Fraud’ Hugh Rodley admits child sexual abuse offences
A self-appointed lord convicted of two multi-million-pound frauds has admitted child sexual abuse offences, following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.
Hugh James Rodley, 79, on 22 October 2026 appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court and admitted six counts of making indecent images/videos of children (IIOC) and one of possessing IIOC.
NCA officers arrested him at his home in Cheltenham, on 4 December last year for unrelated alleged offences.

Investigators found a Hewlett Packard laptop which contained 198 IIOC, including 19 at category A (the most severe), 12 at category B and 167 at category C.

In addition, Rodley had searched at least 806 times on his laptop for paedophilic content.

He was released on bail but officers arrested him again on 27 January this year when he claimed he did not have a mobile phone.

Officers searched his property and found an Apple iPhone which contained further IIOC material.

Examination showed he used the phone almost immediately after being bailed to continue searching for further child sexual abuse content.

The phone contained 295 indecent images of children: five at category A, 13 category B images and 277 category C images.

Rodley, who will return to court for sentencing on 22 November, was sentenced to eight years in jail in 2009 for trying to steal £229m from a Japanese bank.

In 2012 he was given an additional seven years behind bars after being convicted of conning more than 700 pensioners out of £6m.

In June 2016 he was sentenced to a further seven years in prison after failing to repay more than £1.2m.

Help and advice for children, parents and carers from the NCA’s CEOP Education Team can be found at www.thinkuknow.co.uk

4. Fraudster who stole a vulnerable pensioner’s bank card is jailed
A fraudster who befriended a vulnerable man has been jailed after stealing his bank card and going on a 48-hour shopping spree.

Rachelle Vincent has now been sentenced to 6 years in prison for her crimes.
On 30 March 2023, Vincent attended an address in Tonbridge. The home belonged to a man in his 80s, whom she had targeted at a local café.

After talking for a short while, Vincent returned home with the man, who invited her in to continue their conversation. During the visit, the thief asked to use the toilet and took the opportunity to search through bedroom drawers.

After she had left, the victim later noticed his wallet, containing a sum of cash and his bank card, was missing.

Over the next two days, Vincent was caught on camera using the stolen bank card to make many contactless payments at shops in Paddock Wood and Cranbrook for takeaway food, sweets, alcohol, tobacco, toilet roll, newspapers and magazines. Her spending totalled £349.47.

New website launched for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation
A new website providing victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation with information and support, as well as options in relation to requesting a review of a previously closed case, has been launched today.
“I Am Ready.org.uk” offers victims and survivors tailored pathways to specialist advice and guidance depending on their individual needs and requirements, to help them make informed decisions about their circumstances.

Designed in collaboration with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation, the new website – for the first time – provides consistent, trauma-informed and accessible information in one place. Users will be able to move through the website at their own pace, with natural breaks and options to save their progress and return whenever they feel ready.

As well as advice, guidance and support, the website offers victims and survivors the opportunity to request a review of their case if it was previously closed as a result of a Crown Prosecution Service or local police force decision.

By answering a series of questions, victims and survivors will be routed to the most appropriate review process based on their circumstances, which may include Operation Beaconport, the Child Sexual Abuse Review Panel (CSARP) and the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme (VRR). Information about reporting abuse to the police or specialist support services will also be available.

Set up following the publication of Baroness Casey’s audit of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation last year, Operation Beaconport is reviewing investigations between 1 January 2010 and 31 March 2025 where a decision to take no further action was made by police forces or the Crown Prosecution Service.
The new Operation Beaconport portal, which is part of the new IAmReady website, provides victims and survivors with an opportunity to submit information about their case if it was previously closed. Users will be asked to provide as much or as little information as they are able to – including dates and locations of possible offences – as well as any details about the possible perpetrators.

Any information provided will be received and reviewed by specially trained officers from Operation Beaconport, who will cross-check the information provided by victims and survivors with the cases already submitted by police forces, to help determine whether there are any viable lines of enquiry that could enable a case to be reinvestigated. But reinvestigations will only be conducted in liaison with the victim and survivor.

There may be situations where, following a review, the original decision to take no further action in an investigation is upheld. If this happens, and the victim and survivor has requested an update, they will be informed of the decision and provided with advice, guidance and support in relation to other options available to them.

Independent support from specialist organisations, Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) and victim support services are provided throughout the process, and victims and survivors have the opportunity to save their progress and return at a later date. There will also an opportunity for victims and survivors to provide contact details if they want to be kept updated on their request.