As of 6 November 2026, new provisions under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 came into effect across England and Wales. The Act creates specific criminal offences relating to pornographic material depicting strangulation or suffocation, as well as other harmful content. For Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), RSHE leads, and school leadership, this update requires more than a policy refresh - it demands a proactive, whole-school strategy to address how violent themes in digital media impact pupil safety, relationship norms, and digital literacy. Read on for clarification and practical steps to support your whole-school approach.
What does the Law say?
Under the Act, it is a criminal offence to possess or publish explicit, realistic pornographic images or videos depicting strangulation or suffocation, sexual activity involving individuals portrayed as under 16, as well as incest and step-family/foster-family sexual activity:
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Possession: Holding this material on a device, in app storage, or on cloud networks carries a penalty of up to 2 years’ imprisonment (up to 3 years for under-16 roleplay content).
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Publication (Sharing): Sending an image/video to a person, sharing it in a private messaging app (e.g., WhatsApp, Snapchat), or uploading it online carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment.
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Unsolicited Material: The legislation explicitly clarifies that if an individual is sent an unsolicited image covered by these offences, they must delete it within a reasonable timeframe to avoid committing an offence.
Considerations for Safeguarding Teams & DSLs:
Safeguarding leads must ensure school policies and practice reflect these legal thresholds.
- If a pupil is suspected of receiving, holding, or sharing material depicting strangulation or suffocation, do not download, forward, or view the explicit content across school devices or personal accounts. Isolate the physical device, disconnect it from Wi-Fi and mobile networks, and log the incident immediately as per your safeguarding policy. Refer to the Searching, screening and confiscation in schools DfE guidance for further information.
- It is essential to balance legal requirements with the welfare of the pupil. Has the shared content involved any coercion, bullying, or sextortion? Children who have been exposed to unsolicited content may need emotional support. Be mindful that children accessing and actively trying to view porn may need a safeguarding response, as this could link to other risks.
- Review threshold guidance with local Children’s Social Care. Remember that early intervention is essential to protect young people from unknowingly accumulating serious legal liabilities through peer distribution.
Implications for RSHE and Wider Curriculum:
The updated Department for Education (DfE) statutory RSHE guidance places a significantly strengthened focus on the harmful nature of pornography. It explicitly links exposure to online pornography with broader societal issues like online misogyny, "manosphere" subcultures, and Violence Against Women and Girls. Given that young people frequently encounter aggressive digital content prior to learning about healthy relationship boundaries, the new Act reinforces these expectations.
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Primary or Secondary? In the secondary phase of the RSHE guidance, schools should cover pornography as part of 'Respectful relationships', 'Online safety and awareness', and 'Being safe'. Whilst teaching in the primary phase focuses on foundational understanding that prepares pupils for addressing the potential harms of pornography in the future, it also states that primaries may, where appropriate for their pupils, teach more directly about pornography '...in a way that does not cause unreasonable alarm and does not appear to normalise risky behaviours or activities' when they know that pupils have seen pornography.' This is particularly significant as research continues to highlight growing numbers of young people accidentally accessing pornography as young as seven.
- Clarifying Strangulation & Suffocation: do your schemes of work teach clearly that applying pressure to the neck or blocking airways carries immediate risks of physical injury, brain damage, or death? Do lessons emphasise that consent cannot legally authorise actions causing bodily harm? As well as identifying risk, do lessons also explore gender and power, and facilitate opportunities where young people feel able to discuss uncertainty, curiosity, discomfort and pressure without fear of judgement?
- Challenging Normalised Harm: Do you address how violent online depictions distort expectations of intimacy and normalise harmful sexual behaviours?
- Digital Literacy: Do all pupils know what to do if they are sent illegal material? Do not forward, do not save, delete promptly, and report the incident to a trusted adult.
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Has Age Assurance made a Difference to Accessing Pornography?
Sadly, the issue has shifted, not gone away. While the implementation of mandatory age-assurance measures under the Online Safety Act has made it significantly harder for children to access traditional, dedicated adult websites, findings from Ofcom and safeguarding organisations highlight that under-18s still regularly view pornography online via:
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Social media and messaging apps - children and young people are able to access explicit content on social media platforms where adult content circulates through direct messages, private links, or unmoderated groups, as well as standard feeds and chat apps which provide access to pop-ups, teaser clips, and unsolicited links.
- Workarounds: tech-savvy pupils can bypass UK age-verification walls by using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to route their IP address outside the UK. As regulated sites enforce strict ID checks, young people (and adults unwilling to upload official ID) are pushed toward unregulated, illegal, or dark-web-adjacent platforms. These unmonitored sites are far more likely to host violent, non-consensual content (such as strangulation/suffocation) or child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
RSHE lessons should therefore continue to focus on digital literacy, teaching pupils how to react to unsolicited material, reject pressure, and understand consent.
Next Steps for Schools:
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Policy Revisions: Update your Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy, Online Safety Policy, and Acceptable Use Agreements (AUP) to reference the new offences under the Crime and Policing Act 2026. LGfL's policy templates and AUPs are customisable and free to schools.
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Staff Training/CPD: Consider running a briefing to remind staff to recognise signs of harmful sexual behaviour, understand updated digital risks, and respond correctly to disclosures involving explicit content. LGfL's Online Sexual Abuse and Harms training and Reimagining RSHE is free and suitable for DSLs, RSHE and Online Safety Leads.
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Curriculum mapping: Assess Key Stage 3, 4, and 5 RSHE to ensure consent, online harms, legal consequences, and strangulation risks are addressed progressively and safely. A selection of free, quality-assured and age-appropriate resources is available at http://pornography.lgfl.net
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Pupil Voice: Consider running anonymous surveys to assess student understanding of online safety, peer pressure, and relationship norms to tailor future lesson content effectively.
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Parent Awareness: Update parents in a newsletter with a summary of the legal changes, explaining how the school supports pupils. Find helpful resources and guides to help them here in our dedicated ParentSafe portal. If you're running a session at school, you can use LGfL's ready to use Parent Online Safety slide pack, which has a dedicated section on pornography, packed with discussion starters and activities to help parents understand the risks and support their child at home.
- Clarify Reporting Routes: Remind pupils and parents how and where to seek support in school, as well as externally, such as the Report Harmful Content site. Further reporting channels are available at reporting.lgfl.net