Responding to the government’s announcement that mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse will be introduced, including in schools, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“School leaders take children’s safety incredibly seriously and invest time and funding in training and resources to support efforts to tackle all forms of child sexual abuse. They already have a range of statutory duties when it comes to safeguarding and are frequently inspected against these.

“However, schools rely on a wide range of other services when reporting concerns. We are concerned about the current capacity of services like children’s social care and the police to provide children with the help they need should mandatory reporting lead to an increase in referrals being made.

“It’s vital the government provides these services with sufficient funding to ensure they can cope with demand and are not forced to raise thresholds for intervention.”