Devon Safeguarding Digest: September 2026

Welcome to the Devon Safeguarding Digest. This regular update will help you stay up to speed with safeguarding news and local policy changes.

Children’s Commissioner calls for reform of Prevent

The Children’s Commissioner for England has released a new report on children referred to the Prevent anti-extremism programme.

The majority of Prevent referrals in England and Wales are for children. The numbers of referrals for children has grown from under 3,000 in 2016 to over 4,700 last year. Most children referred have no specific overriding ideology identified. Many are referred based on a fixation with extreme violence. Referrals largely come from educational providers.

A number of recommendations are laid, including that all children who pose a risk of harm to others are referred to their local Multi-Agency Child Protection team, which could include Counter-Terrorism Policing where needed.

Meanwhile, Phase 2 of the Southport Inquiry is underway and will report in 2027 on the arrangements around violence-fixated individuals.

Report from the independent review of deaths among care-experienced young adults in England

The review examined the deaths of 112 care leavers aged 18 to 24 as notified to the DfE in 2025. Leaving the care system at 18 represented something of a cliff-edge, with more deaths at this age than at any other particular age. Over a third of the deaths were likely suicides.

Alongside particular and overlapping vulnerabilities, there is evidence that many of the young people were left lonely and isolated in adulthood, without stable relationships with trusted adults.

The review declares these high numbers of early deaths among young adults who have left care a ‘national tragedy’, and demands greater attention given to:

• The leaving care workforce
• Support around those in custody
• Supported accommodation
• Mental health services
• Learning following a death