We hope King's students are enjoying their global travels, and not affected by some of the climate related problems across Europe, or other hazards further afield. A lot of French travel is being disrupted by wildfires.
Up to 13 million people in the UK face the long-term risk of coastal flooding due to the climate crisis, scientists have warned, with a “reasonable worst-case scenario” suggesting the need for the large-scale movement of populations away from a dramatically reshaped coast.
KCSIE 2026 talks extensively about mental health, contextual risk, children potentially at greater risk, absence, information sharing, online harms, professional curiosity and whole-school safeguarding. Yet it still fails to name climate change as a foreseeable, context-shaping condition already affecting children’s physical welfare, emotional wellbeing, attendance, safety, learning environments and family circumstances.
Kit has stepped in and produced an illustrated set of guidance materials for DSLs.
As I enter the 2nd week of my school holidays already, I remember that some schools still haven't finished for the summer and next week sees another run of temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s.
My last week of term featured some very hot and uncomfortable temperatures in my classroom.
The guidance that Kit has produced (all free to use under CC license) includes scenarios to consider.
A heatwave is not automatically a safeguarding concern. A flood is not automatically a safeguarding concern. A drought warning is not automatically a safeguarding concern. A pupil expressing climate worry is not automatically a safeguarding concern.
But any of these can become relevant to safeguarding when they affect a child’s welfare, visibility, attendance, behaviour, safety, access to learning, home circumstances or mental and physical health. That is the point KCSIE misses.
Climate risks are not always safeguarding concerns in themselves. They are safeguarding amplifiers. They can intensify existing vulnerabilities or make hidden ones more visible: housing insecurity, domestic stress, poverty, food and water insecurity, transport barriers, medical vulnerability, SEND-related needs, sensory distress, caring responsibilities, absence from education, poor mental health, social isolation, exposure to misinformation, and unequal access to safe outdoor space.
Kit outlines why context matters here: both home and school.
She then provides a series of scenarios with illustrations and questions. For example:
What questions and decisions need to be made here:
The practical staff model can remain very simple:
Notice the context.
Respond proportionately.
Record factually.
Refer if concerned.
Review patterns.
That is KCSIE applied with context, and not an extra burden.
These resources should find their way into many schools - particularly those which faced difficult choices in late May and through June.
China has several towns which are famous for the production of particular items, just as cities in the UK used to be connected with particular industries e.g. textiles in Manchester, hats in Luton etc.
SHEIN is one of the most popular websites for buying low cost (and therefore low quality) items.
There is a town in China which dedicates a great deal of manufacturing to producing items for this website.
This is a useful video describing the impact this has:
Thanks to Fiona Sheriff for the lead to this particular video.
A new book was added to the library of books made freely available by UCL Press at the end of last week. The books are available on the UCL Press website, and JSTOR.
The latest books is about bringing powerful knowledge into the classroom.
The geography chapter has been written by Dr. Alex Standish. It explores the curriculum thinking of two heads of department, who consider how knowledge is explored in their classrooms.
