A SAFEGUARDING partnership made up of council, police and healthcare staff which looks out for Barnsley’s most vulnerable youngsters is set to prioritise emerging issues such as the risks of the dark web and children sharing nude images online, a report has revealed.
The Barnsley Safeguarding Children Partnership revealed more than 400 ‘cyber-enabled’ incidents were recorded in 2024/25.
As a result, its updated multi-agency training programme which was discussed at a meeting on Tuesday now aims to better equip frontline staff with up-to-date skills to identify risks and intervene early.
Other new priorities include working with children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviour, understanding the dark web and educational neglect.
According to the partnership’s annual report, training attendance increased by more than 40 per cent over the past year, with 3,254 practitioners taking part compared with 1,836 the previous year.
Courses combine online sessions, e-learning and face-to-face workshops, and many are co-delivered with partner agencies such as Barnsley Hospital, South Yorkshire Police and local charities.
The report says practitioners who underwent training have reported higher confidence in recognising concerns, improved communication between agencies, and a stronger understanding of each organisation’s role in keeping children safe.
The partnership says the new programme reflects a ‘changing landscape’ in safeguarding and aims to ensure that local professionals are equipped to respond to emerging risks and to support children effectively.
The report said: “Data provided for child victims of online harm has shown 408 ‘cyber-enabled’ crime incidents recorded against individuals under 18 years old for the period of April 2024 to March 2025.
“It is important to treat this data with caution due to potential duplication of incidents.
“This suggests that the use of technology in crimes against young people may be greater than the bar chart indicates.
“Efforts are underway to enhance the overall robustness of the data.
“Sexual abuse and child exploitation remain important safeguarding issues.
“Most victims of child sexual exploitation are girls, while boys are
more often victims of criminal exploitation, such as ‘county lines’.
“Barnsley Council and South Yorkshire Police are trialling a joint protocol to ensure a consistent and child-centred approach to reported incidents of children and young people who have shared nude or semi-nude images with peers.
“This has included the roll-out of guidance based on national police advice, for schools and colleges, to address the issue of indecent images consensually shared between older teens of a similar age where there are no other concerns or safeguarding risk.
“It has provided an appropriate, educative response with relevant guidance of how to stay safe online.”
Chief Superintendent Simon Wanless, who is part of the partnership, said the partnership is making inroads into dealing with relevant issues.
“The year has been a really successful year,” he added.
“We saw the finalisation of the development board which had overseen
widespread improvements in recruitment, retention, staff development and practice which led to significant developments in our partnership.
“The eûective work in safeguarding children across the borough was recognised positively by Ofsted and is a testament to the hard work and determination of staû from all agencies tasked with important work.
“This will be hugely important as we head into the next couple of years and prepare ourselves for further changes in this arena.”
