Catch up with the latest in safeguarding for schools: best practice, thought leadership, and all the latest insights within single central record management.

Sign In Central Record Blog

Debt Awareness Week runs from 20th March- 26th March and it is extremely important to also discuss the current cost of living crisis and the impact this is having throughout the UK. The awareness week is promoted and run by StepChange who offer debt support.

The focus of the week is that debt can happen to anyone, and in the midst of a financial and cost-of-living crisis, we know this to be an extremely harrowing reality. Families are struggling to pay their household energy and food bills, fuel costs have increased, and council tax, mortgage, and rental rates have increased significantly. 

People are finding themselves faced with unmanageable payments and spiralling into debt and then of course the cycle continues without being provided with or accessing relief or support.

In May 2022, 7 million low-income households were going without at least one essential (such as a warm home, enough food, appropriate clothing or basic toiletries) and over 2 million families were neither eating properly nor heating their home adequately according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

With debt and financial crisis comes great impact. All households are seeing a huge rise in costs for most things, and this is bound to impact both emotionally and physically upon a person or family’s well-being and physical health. Education professionals are continuing to see an increase in child mental health issues and are still working hard to combat the impact from the covid-19 pandemic. Services are strained and waiting lists for support continue to grow. 

According to Barnardos ‘At what cost? The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on children and young people report’, “more than 1 in 4 of all children in the UK now live in poverty, with millions facing the risk of going hungry. Living in poverty can mean a child is living in a cold home, going hungry, or without everyday essentials.” 

A new poll of parents of children aged 18 and under in Great Britain by YouGov conducted for this report found that:

“More than half of parents (54%) have been forced to cut back on food spending for their family over the past 12 months, according to a new survey for this report.”

“1 in 5 parents in Great Britain said they have struggled to provide sufficient food due to the current cost-of-living crisis.”

“Over a quarter (26%) said their child’s mental health has worsened due to the situation.”

“1 in 5 (20%) have taken on new credit cards, extra debt or a payday loan.”

Young Minds have also completed some research to understand the impact on children and young people and their well-being in August 2022. They found that:

“The cost of living was the major worry for over half (56%) of young people (rising from 50% in May 2022). They reported disruption to daily life, particularly their diet and sleep.”

“Those aged 20-25 were particularly likely to feel concerned about money, with 80% always or often worried about earning enough.”

“This isn’t confined to older children: 21% of 11-year-olds said money worries had caused them stress, anxiety, unhappiness, or anger.”

Debt and money worries can have a significant impact on a person’s well-being and physical and mental health. A person may feel overwhelming stress, struggle to sleep, feel anxious or depressed, and triggered by small tasks or worries. It is also important to consider that for those who already experience mental ill health, debt and financial worries could be a build-up where the person may not be working to gain an income, or maybe they’re avoiding bills so debts are rapidly increasing, or they may not feel able to cope with the additional pressures of the cost of living. Those who are parents and carers could feel additional stress given the additional responsibility of their dependents. 

Gambling can also bring about further debt or financial worries. We have seen an increase in young people also taking part in gambling activities. The Gambling Commission estimated that “around 1.7% of young people aged 11-16 could already be classed as ‘problem gamblers’ – that could be as many as 55,000 young people across England, Scotland and Wales, and a further 2.7% could be at risk of developing gambling problems if we don’t make some changes.”

Working with children and young people affected by the crisis:

Listen to their worries and give them a voice.

Allow them to keep the communication going. It is much more beneficial to allow conversations to alleviate worries and concerns as they come up rather than to allow them to develop.

Some children will be feeling embarrassed or maybe being bullied due to not having food or clothing items. It is imperative that schools and parents/carers address this wherever possible and ensure this does not continue.

Some children and young people may be at further risk of abuse, exploitation, and neglect so it is vital that safeguarding continues to be of the utmost priority.

Educate children and young people to be aware of the impact of social media and comparing themselves to others and their lifestyles. 

Access the following guide by Young Minds for further guidance and advice for parents and carers: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/money-and-mental-health/ 

Access support at the earliest opportunity. 

Access services to ensure appropriate budgeting and spending habits are in place.

Attend local support hubs or various support services such as food banks.

Take time for yourself to prioritise some self-care.

Try to focus on what you can control and take smaller steps towards managing bigger tasks or concerns.

Know that there is support available to you and seek out some of the many services that can provide advice over the phone, face-to-face, or online.

Further information and support services:

StepChange- https://www.stepchange.org/debt-awareness-week.aspx 

Government- https://www.gov.uk/cost-of-living 

Citizen’s Advice- https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/get-help-with-the-cost-of-living/ 

Young Minds- https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/money-and-mental-health/ 

Barnardos- https://www.barnardos.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-10/At%20what%20cost_impact%20of%20cost%20of%20living%20final%20report.pdf 

Debt Awareness and the Cost-of-Living Crisis

Watch our latest webinar 'Stress Management in Schools' in light of Stress Awareness Month'.

During this webinar, Rachael Bishop from RLB Safeguarding Ltd. discusses the following topics:-

Rachael Bishop has over 18 years of experience, paired with an extensive training record within the safeguarding field. Rachael has worked in a variety of sectors, including Child Protection in the Social Care sector, Charity organisations, Schools, Apprenticeships and Employability, The NHS, Mental Health Inpatient and Community Services, The Police, Substance Misuse, and Youth Offending Teams. Her true passion in life is for promoting well-being and mental health and helping to keep children and adults safe so they can thrive in life.

To find out more about Sign In Central Record, safeguarding development, or our webinar host please click here.

If you work in the education sector, it's imperative that you know how to keep your staff and students safe and well by knowing how to recognise and deal with key issues around stress management. 

Watch the recording of this webinar as Rachael Bishop discusses various topics, including awareness, prevention, coping mechanisms/support and best practices.

Stress Management in Schools Webinar

Our safeguarding specialist Rachael Bishop joins us to discuss 'Stress Management in Schools' in light of Stress Awareness Month' on April 5th.

Sign In Central Record | Stress Management in schools webinar

Stress Awareness April Webinar.pdf

Stress Management in schools slides

Over the past four years, we have grown and established our position in the Edtech market space, and we are now delighted to join forces with Sign In App, part of the Sign In Solutions group. SIS is a global provider of cloud-based visitor management and risk mitigation software, with the collective aim of helping its customers to adapt to the challenges of the ever-changing workplace and the associated risks that can accompany it.

We have always planned to expand into visitor management as it's the next logical step to provide our customers with a complete end-to-end solution for safeguarding, and ensuring that the Single Central Record is fully utilised before contractors and visitors even get on site. By joining Sign In Solutions, we can now skip the build steps, and go straight to having a complete integration with a fantastic leading solution, meaning we can integrate directly with Sign In App and offer incredible value to all current and future customers.

This means SCR Tracker and Sign In App customers can ensure that contractors and visitors have full DBS clearance before they are on-site, or if they don’t have the necessary clearance, it will mean you can pre-arrange to have the proper supervision required when they arrive.  

There are many other fantastic features and benefits that schools can utilise by subscribing to Sign In App

Safeguarding - Sign In App stores all visitor information securely in the cloud, giving you real-time visibility and ensuring compliance with GDPR and safeguarding policies.

Integration - Intelligent connections with your existing MIS systems make it easier than ever to accurately record sign in activity on your site.

Fire Safety - Ensure everyone is accounted for in the event of an emergency with easy access to your fire list from a tablet, computer or smartphone.

Adherence - Attendance records are a key part of critical inspections and Sign In App can help you record this information easily, safely and accurately.

Easy to Install - Sign In App is a standalone system that’s simple to set up. All that’s needed is to connect the iPad to a stable WiFi connection and download the app.

Adaptable - From smartphone contactless sign in to RFID and QR code scanning, choose the sign in option that works best for your organisation.

Customer Support - throughout your subscription via live chat, phone and email is included in the cost. 

Affordable - An annual subscription to Sign In App costs just £310 per site*. This includes all features, unlimited devices and no limits on users or visitors.

SCR Tracker will pull all the staff and required visitors from a specific group from Sign In App directly into the SCR.

You will able to connect Sign In App with Wonde if you already use an MIS rather than directly in SCR.

Complete your SCR as you would normally and perform DBS and Social Media Checks.

SCR Tracker stores a complete list of everyone that is vetted and legally allowed (or not allowed) on-site.

Sign In App can prevent access to specific individuals. They will pull the compliance status directly from your SCR, denying visitors entry or notifying reception so they can be accompanied if required. 

We are currently in the beta testing phase, however, the integration is due to be completed by the end of March 2023.  

If you would like to find out more about how you can get your existing Sign In App account integrated with your SCR, or if you are in the market for a new visitor management system, please click here for a Sign In App demonstration or for further information about the integration.

New Visitor Management Integration with our sister company Sign In App

In light of Safer Internet Day this week it is important to bring further awareness to some of the online risks that exist.

Technology is a part of our everyday lives and especially for children and young people who are constantly exploring new ideas and socialising with their peers. Children have access to the internet from a very young age however this brings both opportunities and also challenges. We also live in an era of cyber insecurity and attacks are common, be it malware, viruses or hacking. People wouldn’t leave their wallets or personal belongings lying around in a public space, but have almost definitely clicked on a link that didn’t seem totally safe or downloaded something from an unknown source.

Within the world of education, we have a duty of care to ensure that student safety is at the heart of our policies and practices especially regarding staying safe online. It is essential that we teach children and young people to develop the skills they need to keep themselves safe, and secure, and to also behave appropriately when using technology in any setting. Online safety will always be an ongoing effort that requires education, awareness, communication, and understanding of technology.

We know that most young people and adults are aware of how to protect themselves online, however, it's important for us all to come together to protect ourselves and others from things like online abuse, radicalisation and fraud as well.

It is important for parents to understand how to educate their children about online safety and also how to monitor their activities where applicable. 

There are many risks that can present from online use such as:

What we post online can define what people see and think about us and our opinions and views can be shared at the touch of a button. Most people will treat their social media accounts as purely social outlets with updating statuses and sharing pictures. Nobody usually stops to think, especially as a child or young person that their actions could end up limiting their educational or professional prospects in the future. It is always important to think before you post and to carefully read things before you hit the share button.

Whenever we use the internet, we leave behind a trail of information known as our digital footprint. This can grow in a variety of ways such as what we post on our social media channels, leaving reviews or comments, shopping online and subscribing to websites or newsletters. Websites will track our information by installing cookies and information can then be shared with third parties.

Cyber ‘phishing’ has become one of the most successful methods that criminals will use to hack an individual or organisation’s personal information. Emails with links to fake websites try to trick people into disclosing usernames and passwords or other relevant information.

Online gaming is extremely popular for children and young people but also for a lot of adults. Annual reports from Ofcom tell us that online gaming is one of the top activities enjoyed by 5-16-year-olds. Gaming does have some great benefits however it can also impact negatively on a person’s well-being. People can be exposed to online risks such as in-game bullying, online grooming, radicalisation, and gaming addiction.

Online gambling has seen a huge increase in popularity for children and young people as well as adults. Gambling not only carries the risk of addiction but also has other associated risks such as pay-outs not being fair or open and the exploitation of people’s vulnerabilities particularly within a current financial crisis.

Online abuse can be any type of abuse that happens online on any device connected to the internet. The thing about online abuse is it can happen anywhere at any time. It can occur on:

Cyberbullying or online bullying can have a significant impact on the well-being of a child or young person.

Emotional abuse is any type of abuse that involves the continual emotional mistreatment of a person and this can happen both on and offline.

Sexual Abuse - A child or young person experiencing abuse online might spend a lot more or a lot less time than usual online, texting, gaming or using social media, seem distant, upset or angry after using the internet or texting, be secretive about who they're talking to and what they're doing online or on their mobile phone and have lots of new phone numbers, texts or email addresses on their mobile phone, laptop or tablet.

Grooming is when someone builds a relationship with a person so they can sexually abuse, exploit, or traffic them. Children, young people and adults at risk can be groomed online or face-to-face by a stranger or by someone they know. If you're worried a child is being groomed online you should report it online to CEOP and contact the Police.

Online Sexual Violence or Sexual Harassment is defined as unwanted sexual conduct on any digital platform. It includes a wide range of behaviours that use technology to share digital content such as images, videos, posts, messages, pages etc. on a variety of different platforms (private or public).

Sexting is when someone shares sexual, naked or semi-naked images or videos of themselves or others or sends sexual messages. It is online abuse if a child or young person is pressured or coerced into creating or sending these types of images.

Cyberstalking is persistent unwanted contact from another person – either someone you know or a stranger. Cyberstalkers have many different motives, including those who feel wronged by their target, ex-partners, those with misplaced sexual motives, or those who just derive pleasure from scaring other, often random people. They can exploit your digital footprint by snooping on your social media channels/apps to find out your every movement, who you are in contact with and your plans. As cyberstalkers become more determined, they intrude on more aspects of your online presence, sometimes including hacking or taking over your social media accounts.

Domestic Abuse- Perpetrators can cause distress and harm to another young person or adult by use of the internet, tracking devices, social media control, text messages and this can have a significant impact on a person's mental and physical safety. 

There are significant risks associated with radicalisation in respect to being online. Extremist content can be shared online using mainstream and non-mainstream social media and through chat platforms such as discord and gaming chats. Individuals and groups can share misinformation, conspiracy theories and extremist materials and be smart enough to bypass monitoring systems if they do exist. When people are also able to post anonymously it can increase the risk and opportunity for people to access extremist materials that can lead people into being radicalised and supporting extremist causes linked to terrorism and to even be coerced into planning or committing a terrorist act. 

Ensure you password protect things and use strong/different passwords.

Keep personal information safe and limited wherever possible.

Tell someone if you are being bullied or harassed.

Speak up if you are concerned about something you see.

Report inappropriate or concerning material.

Government Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-council-for-internet-safety 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/a-guide-to-the-online-safety-bill 

NSPCC: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/ 

Safer Internet: https://saferinternet.org.uk/ 

https://saferinternet.org.uk/report-harmful-content 

Internet Watch Foundation: https://www.iwf.org.uk/ 

In light of Internet Safety Day this week it is important to bring further awareness to some of the online risks that exist.

Online safety

Online Safety: What are the risks and how can we stay safe?

We are delighted to announce that we have partnered with Sign In App and are now part of the Sign In Solutions Group (SIS).  

Over the past four years, we have built an established position in the Edtech market, and today we are excited to join forces with Sign In Solutions - a global provider of cloud-based visitor management and risk mitigation software backed by PSG. As part of this international group, SCR Tracker will gain a broader geographical reach and be able to offer additional solutions in line with Sign In Solutions’ Visitor Management 2.0 (VM 2.0) vision.

SCR Tracker was founded by Gary Le Sueur, alongside Ben Gale and Luke O’Dwyer in 2018. Since then the company has gone from strength to strength, with over 1,350 UK schools and trusts now using our software nationwide.  Gary Le Sueur, CEO says “expanding into Visitor management was always a logical next step for us, to provide a full end-to-end solution for safeguarding where the Single Central Record is not an afterthought. By joining Sign In Solutions, we get to skip the build steps, and go straight to having a complete integration with a fantastic leading solution offering incredible value to all current and future customers.”

Deployed in over 17,000 organizations around the globe, from primary schools through to some of the world’s most recognized brands; Sign In Solutions is committed to mitigating risk and improving employee experience in workplaces of all sizes. 

“We are thrilled to welcome our new colleagues from SCR Tracker. As part of Sign In Solutions, SCR Tracker, soon to be known as Sign In Central Record, will enhance the safety that can be provided to schools, ensuring that people attending sites have the relevant background checks. We were a team of just twenty back in August 2021 and now we are two hundred strong, working from five countries as part of a truly global business. This confirms our commitment to evolving our technology and supporting our customers, including investing in specific sectors such as education and healthcare," said Dan Harding, COO of Sign In Solutions and CEO of Sign in App.

To find out more you can read the official press release by visiting www.signinsolutions.com/resources/press

Sign In Solutions is an innovative workplace enablement partner that goes beyond traditional visitor management, combining the comprehensive software and real-time analytics modern organizations need to mitigate risk, elevate experiences, and empower people. Launched in 2021 with support from PSG, Sign In Solutions acquired Sign In App, Sign In Enterprise (formerly Traction Guest), ThreatSwitch, Pronestor and 10to8, expanding its reach to more than 60 countries worldwide. To learn more about Sign In Solutions, visit www.signinsolutions.com.

Sign In App is a modern and fun way to sign in visitors and staff. With a variety of customisable features, Sign In App is perfect for schools, colleges and universities. With the ability to integrate safety and security features with your existing MIS system, it’s easy to start using Sign In App to sign in visitors, staff and students on-site.  From smartphone contactless sign in to RFID and QR code scanning, you can choose the sign in option that works best for your organisation. To learn more about how Sign In App can help your school, visit www.signinapp.com 

SCR Tracker Joins Sign in Solutions Group

The concept of ‘Blue Monday’ is an actual myth. “According to reports from various online sources, Blue Monday originated with psychologist Cliff Arnall in 2005, when he came up with the concept as part of a marketing campaign for the now-defunct company Sky Travel.”

Source- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324236 

Considering this, however, it is a great opportunity to spread further awareness about mental health and overall wellbeing in January as so many things are currently affecting mental health as a nation in both children and adults. 

We have seen a considerable amount of hardship recently in respect of a financial crisis and concerns regarding fuel poverty and the recent Christmas period. Families are struggling more than ever and with this, we have seen a rise in mental health crisis, particularly in schools. We know that with these challenges comes additional parental issues regarding poverty, crisis, mental health issues, domestic abuse, and many other parental concerns that can of course have a detrimental impact on children and their development. 

The month of January can bring an additional sense of dread including financial restraints in the recovery of Christmas, children and adults returning to work or school and having anxieties regarding this, and of course the dark days and cold weather.

People may find themselves conforming to the belief that January and ‘Blue Monday’ also makes for a difficult or challenging month and the pressure of new year’s resolutions and giving up everything that we might enjoy. It is so important that we take a self-aware and self-care approach rather than succumb to all of the pressures around us that we now have the ability to make us feel bad. Children and adults can be left comparing themselves to friends, family, colleagues, and even absolute strangers, which can have such an instrumental impact upon our self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence. This can also include the fact that children are aware that their families are struggling financially, and they cannot afford things such as gaming credits, clothing or mobile phones etc. which can result in bullying and cyberbullying. The pressure can be immense within this time period.

Currently, we are seeing that the mental health of adults has been impacted significantly however we are also seeing some concerning statistics for children’s mental health. There are staggering and heightened waiting lists for child-related mental health therapies and interventions currently and many schools are having to invest in additional pastoral support to alleviate some of this risk.

Data from Young Minds https://www.youngminds.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/mental-health-statistics/ reported that:

One in six children aged five to 16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem in July 2021, a huge increase from one in nine in 2017. That’s five children in every classroom.

The number of A & E attendances by young people aged 18 or under with a recorded diagnosis of a psychiatric condition more than tripled between 2010 and 2018-19.

83% of young people with mental health needs agreed that the coronavirus pandemic had made their mental health worse.

In 2018-19, 24% of 17-year-olds reported having self-harmed in the previous year, and seven per cent reported having self-harmed with suicidal intent at some point in their lives. 16% reported high levels of psychological distress.

Suicide was the leading cause of death for males and females aged between five to 34 in 2019.

Nearly half of 17–19-year-olds with a diagnosable mental health disorder have self-harmed or attempted suicide at some point, rising to 52.7% for young women.


Young Minds also report that “One-third of mental health problems in adulthood are directly connected to an adverse childhood experience (ACE)” and “adults who experienced four or more adversities in their childhood are four times more likely to have low levels of mental well-being and life satisfaction.” These findings really do highlight the enormous impact that child abuse and child traumas have on the future for some children in later life. School staff are currently dealing with an entirety of these issues whilst trying to deliver education.

So, considering the above, let’s concentrate on some of the steps that can be taken to combat the ‘so called blues in January’ and to acknowledge that child mental health is a huge concern at present, we must try to consider what can support children to increase their wellbeing and reduce mental health concerns.

It is so important that children have some down time. We can often get caught up in the rush of life and when attending school and after clubs, having hobbies or seeing family it may be that the child would really enjoy a nice film on the sofa or some downtime alone in their bedroom on occasion. 

Positive routines are also fundamental to creating structure and reducing anxiety for children. It is essential to prioritise routines to achieve good sleep, a healthy diet, and to prioritise some down time.  

It can be hard during the winter to get outside however there are some drier days that allow us to simply get outdoors and take a trip to the park, build something, have a picnic, or go on a local walk. When children can play away from technology it can stimulate their minds and the fresh air helps. 

Messy play or creative projects can be extremely stimulating for children. Enabling them to use their creative skills to make something, experiment, and express themselves. By being creative we can encourage a child’s interests and allow them to connect with others and themselves. 

Encouraging children to use emotional language can allow children to understand how they feel and what language they can use to explain this. This may also allow them to feel more able to express themselves rather than bottling things up or becoming frustrated when they are not sure how to explain. Children, just like adults need to be listened to at times, allow the child to know that they can come to you if needed. A child also needs to know that you will take what they say seriously and be there for them if they need it. 

Young Minds:  https://www.youngminds.org.uk/professional/ 

NSPCC: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/childrens-mental-health/ 

NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/supporting-others/childrens-mental-health/ 

MIND Charity: 0300 123 3393    https://www.mind.org.uk/

Anxiety UK: 03444 775 774    https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/

PAPYRUS: 0800 068 4141     https://www.papyrus-uk.org/

CALM: 0800 58 58 58    https://www.thecalmzone.net/

What is blue Monday and what can we do to help young minds combat these January blues?