Dear Colleagues,
PC Liz Stanton MBE
Youth Engagement Officer
Safer Schools & Young Person`s Partnership
Engagement Unit, Constabulary HQ
Clemonds Hey, Oakmere Road,
Winsford
CW7 2UA
Tel 01606364565 ( diverts to mobile)
Safer Schools & Young Persons Partnership News:
It’s not too late to take part in our free Cheshire Police, Safer Schools & Young Persons Partnership, be Aware Challenge.
A creative media competition in partnership with ucreate (Year 6 & Year 8)
The Competition
Cheshire Police – Safer Schools & Young Persons Partnership would like your school to create an empowering 60-second radio commercial to raise awareness to other children to think carefully about keeping themselves and their peers safe. You can choose from three categories – Healthy relationships on-line safety (focusing on sexting / sending inappropriate pictures) and Legal Highs ( New psychoactive substances)
This project is completely free and will provide an exciting creative outlet for your pupils and build on their literacy skills, persuasive writing techniques and communication skills. Cheshire Crimebeat and Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner have very kindly sponsored this initiative.
What you need to know?
The challenge will officially be launching on September 5th 2016 and running until November 4th 2016 giving your pupils 8 weeks to create and record an encouraging audio commercial. The project is divided into 2 age groups - key stage 2 year 6 and key stage three year 8. You can register your school to take part today or wait until you receive an invitation e-mail in September.
The Prize
The semi-finalists will be invited to Cheshire Police HQ (Winsford) on 29th November to aucreate Hub day for an opportunity to develop and record their adverts with a radio industry professional and be in with a chance of winning the ultimate prize of having their commercial broadcast on local radio!
What Do I Need To Do?
Call or email Rachel on the ucreate team to register your school
E: T:01925 251 876
Or head over to the ucreate site to register your school online
Once you’ve registered we will provide you with access to our ucreate e-learning platform which will provide all the resources you need to get your students creating their commercials.
We look forward to working with your school on this project with Cheshire Police Safer Schools & Young Persons Partnership
E-Safety Officers Programme Update
FREE
Parentzone have asked for our help ……… Could you please sign post your parents/guardians to the below and encourage them to go online and learn more about what their children are really doing whilst surfing the web …..It’s a new free, online programme for parents and carers that they launched just last Friday. Funded by the Prevent Innovation Fund, Resilient Families is comprised of three short guided presentations with voiceovers, hosted on our website. Currently, the voiceover is only in English but the Urdu and Somali version will be added this week. The programme covers:
•Your children’s online world - what children do online and where they go
•The dangers and where they lurk - how extremist groups use the internet to influence children and young people, the messages they give and what they miss out
•How confident digital parenting can help protect young people from this misinformation, and how to become the voice your children turn to
As this is a pilot, the evaluation is really important so that we can understand if our message and delivery is understandable and useful to parents and carers looking for information about online radicalisation. There is a short survey that appears at either the beginning or the end of the programme (depending on which day you view it) and we’re hoping that parents will fill this in to help us with the development of the rollout, should we be successful. We’d also be very interested to hear your thoughts on the content and delivery. The pilot only runs until the end of June so please do share widely as I’m sure the programme will be of interest to your networks.
The below has been put together by
Some brilliant advice that you may also wish to put in your news letters
Take your great offline parenting online.
Make these conversations and activities part of your routine family life.
•Ask your child where their favourite places are online and who they talk to.
•Ask them if they have ever seen any content that upsets them or promotes extreme views – of any kind. Open up the discussion and find out what they think.
•Talk to them about how you want them to behave online. Make sure they understand that the way they behave online should be the same as the way you want them to behave offline.
•Discuss with your partner and your children what the family tech rules are going to be in your house. And keep talking about them.
•Make sure you have set up the technology in your house the way you want to. Explore settings and parental controls and update them as your children grow. Do it as a family.
•Set some boundaries. Remember tired children don’t make good decisions
All new content from Parent Info!
How to help your child if they're being bullied
Tips for tackling bullying for children
Helping your child cope with exam stress
Do family habits affect childhood obesity?
Some very useful and informative sites
Setting safety and privacy settings for social media apps
PEGI games ages ratings explained in full
Where to go for help with problems your child is having online
How much time do children really spend online?
Should parents worry about what their children are doing online?
How does your child’s internet use compare?
Under 13s and social media
How old does your child have to be to…?
Social media - are young people addicted?
Help on gaming sites
Kik
ooVoo
ask.fm
Snapchat – FAQs
Making Snapchat work for you
Snapchat: what to do if you’re worried
Instagram – FAQs
Instagram: what are the issues?
FIFA16
Skype
YouTube Kids
O2 NSPCC Community Events
If you would like to register your interest for the O2 NSPCC team to attend a community event in your area, please e-mail
Your contact info (name, e-mail and mobile number)
The team can deliver workshops to parents about online safety (approx. 1hr) or attend in a different capacity, such as be on hand to show parents how to apply parental controls to their devices.
Any events the O2 NSPCC team attend must be aimed at parents.
Please note: registering your interest does not guarantee they will be able to attend – the team will respond within 5 working days to confirm the next steps.
For more information about the O2 NSPCC partnership, you can visit the O2 website here or NSPCC website here.
Partners News
KCSE 2016 it’s here!!! Dated May to be implemented from Sep 2016
Monday October 3rd 2016 will mark a major milestone in the development of Safety Central.
This is the date on which we’ll
Start taking bookings for our Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 programmes for the 2017/18 academic year. We’ll be writing to all schools this September with more information about how to book
Start recruiting and training the volunteer rangers who will help bring our centre’s scenarios and activities to life. Visit our website for further information.
Safety Central is set to open its doors from September 2017 once scenery fit-out and pilot testing with partner schools and other groups is complete.
National news
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults, chaired by Ann Coffey MP, has published the results of its inquiry into the safeguarding of ‘absent’ children. Key recommendations include: the ‘absent’ category for missing children should be abandoned and replaced with a new risk assessment response that assesses the level of risk to all missing children as either ‘low’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’.
Source: Guardian 26 May 2016
Further information:
Ann Coffey MP
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults – inquiry into the safeguarding of ‘absent’ children (PDF)
The Prison Reform Trust has published the executive summary of an independent review of looked after children in the criminal justice system. Findings include: 94% of looked after children in England and Wales do not get into trouble with the law, however around half of the children currently in custody in England and Wales have been in care at some point. Recommendations include: ensure that carers in all placements are able to support children’s social development and respond to challenging behaviour without involving the police formally.
Source: Prison Reform Trust 24 May 2016
Further information:
In care, out of trouble (PDF)
Hampshire Constabulary has launched a campaign to help people identify the signs of child sexual exploitation. This includes a blog written by 15-year-old ‘Alice’, her friends, family and teachers about how CSE happened to her.
Source: Hampshire Constabulary 25 May 2016
NSPCC
Children and Young People Now features a summary of key lessons from serious case reviews on the practice of returning children home from care. This was written by the NSPCC as part of its learning from case reviews series. Findings include: professionals need to carefully plan and prepare for the reunification, and continue to monitor the child’s safety and wellbeing before, during and after the return.
Source: Children & Young People Now (full access to subscribers only) 24 May 2016
Further information:
NSPCC: Learning from case reviews
Government
The Department for Education has published Alan Wood's review of the role and functions of local safeguarding children's boards. It sets out a new framework for improving the organisation and delivery of multi-agency arrangements to protect and safeguard children. Recommendations include: discontinuing serious case reviews and establishing an independent body at national level to oversee a national learning framework for inquiries into child deaths and cases where children have experienced serious harm.
Source: Department for Education 26 May 2016
Resources
The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, working with young people, parents, Royal College of Psychiatrists and YoungMinds, have produced 3 short films concern self-harm - These are very powerful and also offer printed downloadable handouts to give to young people , Parents / Carers and Professionals
Young Peoples Relationship Advice – CDAS Website
Cheshire Domestic Abuse Service are wishing to promote their website ‘ Act on it Now’ to young people, parents/carers and professionals. The website has been produced by Cheshire Without Abuse and is aimed at teenagers who are experiencing difficulties in their personal relationships. The website contains help, advice, information and resources for young people, parents and carers as well as professionals. The site receives regular weekly updates and is supported by both a Facebook account and a Twitter feed. The site can be accessed at
Other useful information / findings
Domestic abuse, child contact and the family courts: All Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence Parliamentary Briefing.
Summary: Briefing from the Parliamentary Hearing held by the All-party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Abuse, relating to the experiences of survivors of domestic abuse in the family courts. Discusses areas of concern including: safe child contact; understanding the impact of domestic abuse on children; and assessing the risk a perpetrator of domestic abuse poses to their child. Seven key recommendations are made including: expert safety and risk assessments in child contact cases should be carried out where there is an abusive parent involved.
Annual report 2015.
Summary: Highlights some of Internet Watch Foundation's (IWF) achievements throughout 2015 in receiving, assessing and tracing public complaints about child sexual abuse content on the internet. Key figures include: 112,975 reports were processed, 68,543 of which were confirmed as containing criminal content; 68,092 web pages were identified as containing child sexual abuse imagery; 38 per cent of webpages were removed in 60 minutes or less.
Spotting the signs of child sexual exploitation.
Summary: Provides health professionals with tips to identify the signs of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in vulnerable young people. A 15 minute film shows a range of health professionals in a variety of settings interacting with a vulnerable person presenting with the warning signs of someone at risk of CSE.
Improving empathy in the prevention of sexual abuse against children and youngsters.
Summary: Looks at whether empathy can be improved in child-care professionals, such as teachers, psychologists and social workers, involved in the prevention of sexual abuse against children. 42 professionals completed an e-learning training programme on the prevention of sexual abuse. Pre- and post-outcomes were measured using the situational Empathy and Interpersonal Reactivity index (IRI). Results showed significant progress in the scales of Situational Empathy and in some Coping subscales. Findings indicate that empathy can be increased through professional experience and situational involvement.
Social work and social media: online help-seeking and the mental well-being of adolescent males.
Summary: Investigates the efficacy of adopting more online approaches to social work practice by examining online help-seeking behaviours amongst adolescent boys. Surveyed 527 boys aged 14-16-years-old and found that they seek help online in different ways: 42 per cent looked for health information online, favouring social networks and search engines over quality health sites. Young males who sought help from friends online recorded higher levels of mental health wellbeing. Concludes that social workers need to recognise this generational shift in help-seeking behaviour.
Training
Free First Aid training available – CWAC & Cheshire East
The project consists of offering young people aged between 14 – 24yrs the opportunity to take part in a FREE 2 hour Basic First Aid Course which will give them new skills and knowledge so that they can support themselves, their families and their local communities in first aid situations. All who participate receive a certificate which is valid for 3 years.
If anyone is interested in finding out some more information please contact:
Kath Pollitt – Community Projects Coordinator
St John Ambulance, St John House, Crossley Road, Heaton Chapel, Stockport, SK4 5BF
M: 07894 937367 / T: 0161 443 0091 E:
Consultations / Surveys / Research
The University of Manchester has carried out a national study of suicide in children and young people in England. Findings include: the risk of suicide rose sharply from mid-to-late teens; experiences linked to suicide include bereavement, bullying, exams and physical health conditions such as acne and asthma; internet use related to suicide was found in 23% of the deaths (this was either searching for information about suicide methods, being a victim of online bullying or posting suicidal thoughts online).
Source: University of Manchester 26 May 2016
The Annual Bullying Survey 2016
Welcome to The Annual Bullying Survey 2016, the fourth and largest edition of our yearly benchmark of bullying in the United Kingdom. We surveyed 8,850 young people aged 12-20 in partnership with schools and colleges from across the country. Our free report has thousands of the latest bullying statistics and fully explores the reasons why young people bully others. Included in the report is the following:
• Key bullying statistics in the UK
• The motivations of bullying
• Frequency and nature of bullying experienced
• The impact of bullying
• Rates of young people bullying others
• Reasons why young people bully others
• The impact of family dynamics, stress and trauma and relationships on bullying behaviour
• Feedback for schools and colleges
• Recommendations
• Real stories and experiences
The report also comes with tips and advice for schools, colleges, practitioners, parents/guardians and young people.
Key Findings
• 1.5 million young people (50%) have been bullied within the past year.
• 145,800 (19%) of these were bullied EVERY DAY.
• People who have been bullied are almost twice as likely to bully others
• Twice as many boys as girls bully (66% of males vs. 31% females).
• 57% of female respondents have been bullied, 44% of male respondents and 59% of respondents who identified as trans have been bullied.
• 24% of those who have been bullied go on to bully.
• Based on their own definition 14% of young people admit to bullying somebody, 12% say they bully people daily.
• Twice as many boys as girls bully (66% of males vs. 31% females).
• 20% of all young people have physically attacked somebody.
• 44% of young people who have been bullied experience depression.
• 41% of young people who have been bullied experience social anxiety.
• 33% of those being bullied have suicidal thoughts.