arting principle of referring to the police remains. The police will take a welfare, rather than a criminal justice approach, in these cases. 478. Ultimately, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) will have to balance the victim’s wishes against their duty to protect the victim and other children. 122 479. If the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) decide to go ahead and make a referral to local authority children’s social care and/or a report to the police against the victim’s wishes, this should be handled extremely carefully, the reasons should be explained to the victim and appropriate specialist support should be offered. 480. Additional information on confidentiality and information sharing is available at Safeguarding Practitioners Information Sharing Advice and NSPCC: Information sharing and confidentiality for practitioners. Anonymity 481. Where an allegation of sexual violence or sexual harassment is progressing through the criminal justice system, schools and colleges should be aware of anonymity, witness support, and the criminal process in general so they can offer support and act appropriately.145 Relevant information can be found in: CPS: Safeguarding Children as Victims and Witnesses. 482. As a matter of effective safeguarding practice, schools and colleges should do all they reasonably can to protect the anonymity of any children involved in any report of sexual violence or sexual harassment. Amongst other things, this will mean carefully considering, based on the nature of the report, which staff should know about the report and any support that will be put in place for the children involved. 483. Schools and colleges should also consider the potential impact of social media in facilitating the spreading of rumours and exposing victims’