It has been widely published that sexual harassment has become ‘normalised’ amongst teenagers within society. Sexual harassment is an example of peer-on-peer abuse. Incidents can include:
Verbal comments or comments made on social media:
Unwanted or inappropriate sexual comments
Rumours about sexual activity
Unwanted touching eg in school, on the bus, walking home, at parties
Feeling pressured to do sexual things they did not want to do
Being put under pressure to send sexual images of themselves
Social media incidents:
Being sent unwanted sexual pictures
Having pictures or nudes that they sent being shared more widely without their knowledge or consent
Being photographed or videoed without their knowledge or consent
Having pictures or videos taken without their consent circulated on social media
What parents/carers can do?
We ask parents/carers to be aware of these issues and encourage your children to talk to you about any worries. We would also encourage them to report to us these concerns too.
My advice to parents and carers is to create the culture before the crisis. Children have told us they want their mums and dads to create a safe, judgment free space for them to talk about these issues. It’s better to do that before you hit a problem rather than trying to create that mood while you’re dealing with one.
Digital Parenting is a partnership between Parent Zone and Vodafone. The free annual magazine is an online safety guide for families, providing parents and carers with practical information and advice directly from teachers, other parents/carers and online safety experts on a range of subjects.
The latest issue features a number of articles including the topics of:
Digital resilience and how to nurture it in children
PSHE and it’s role in keeping children safe online
Body image and social media
Cybersecurity: A parent’s guide
Spotting harmful sexual behaviour online
Age ratings and what they mean
Tools and controls
Staying Safe Online
At SJB we are committed to ensuring that students are safe when using the internet at School. Nonetheless, much of a child’s internet usage occurs outside of school, and we ask parents/carers to be interested, supportive and vigilant to their children’s usage. This page has been designed to give you information that will support you in this role.
What is my child doing online through social networking?
Children and young people go online to connect with friends, and make new ones, to browse the internet for information, chat with others and play games. They may:
Search for information or content on search engines like Google and Bing
Share images and watch videos through websites or mobile apps like Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, YouTube and Whatsapp
Use social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter
Write or reply to messages on forums and message boards
Play games alone or with others through websites, apps or game consoles
Chat with other people through online games, webcams, social networks and tools like Whatsapp.
When online, children and young people can learn new things, get help with homework, express themselves creatively and connect with friends and family. There are also risks, but by understanding and talking about the dangers you can help keep your child safe online.
What are the risks that my child could face?
Understanding the potential risks and encouraging safe and responsible use of the internet are crucial steps towards ensuring the safety of your child. Depending on the role that your child takes, whether the recipient, participant or actor, there are a number of potential risks.
Keeping your child safe online:
The internet is used every day in almost every home, we all know how useful it can be for research, gaming, keeping in touch with friends and even homework. But, as a parent, do you know what your child is researching, who they are playing games with and who their ‘online friends are.
A few tips to help keep them safe are:
Ensure you know who they are speaking to.
Do they know all their friends ‘online’ or are they “friends of friends”?
Do they have internet access all night in their bedrooms – do they need it?
Emphasise the danger of meeting someone they have only spoken to ‘online’.
Cyber-bullying is increasing – it is easier to type/text nasty things than say them face-to face.
Know how to report incidents and block unwanted contacts.
Parents and carers play a key role in supporting children to learn about how to stay safe online, and they are one of the first people children turn to if things go wrong. We know it can be difficult to stay on top of the wide range of sites and devices that young people use, so we hope that the following advice helps.
Have ongoing conversations with your children about staying safe online
Carry out spot checks on the devices that your children use, looking at images, videos, and social media
Use safety tools on social networks and other online services.
Use parental controls on your home internet
Understand devices and the parental control tools they offer. A useful guide can be found on the UK Safer Internet Centre’s website.
Support for Parents
To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.
Pope John Paul II
Parenting is an incredible privilege that brings huge responsibility and joy, in equal measure. Parenting provides so many moments of happiness and pride, however, it is not without challenge. As teenagers grow and develop they require support to navigate the challenges that today’s society can present.
In this section of our website we have provided some useful support/ guidance for parents on a variety of key themes.
Supporting your child with their Wellbeing
Through our curriculum, assemblies, form time activities and PSHE, we have a real focus on helping to develop resilience among our students. Resilient children are less afraid of making mistakes and more prepared to take risks – because they can cope if they get things wrong. They are also more able to be adaptable when they face challenges as they have developed a range of strategies to help them to overcome these. There are some fantastic resources you can access to help to support your child with this at home.
We do however understand that there may be times, for a variety of reasons, when your child is struggling and you may need some additional. We have a really clear structure of support at SJB with form tutors always being the first point of contact. Any additional support your child may need will be co-ordinated through your child’s Head of Year. We offer a wide range of additional support including:
Small group Wellbeing Sessions (for anxiety and self esteem)
Short term counselling sessions / support
Referrals to external / additional support
Should you feel like your child needs additional support please contact your child’s form tutor in the first instance. They will be able to pass on your concerns to the most relevant person.
As a school we are regularly asked by parents and carers for advice on how to best support children with their well-being at home.
So we thought it would be helpful if we put together a booklet with strategies and organisations that have been particularly helpful / effective in the past.
Whilst this is by no means a complete picture, of every method that can be used or every organisation that can be accessed, we do hope that you will find this a helpful starting point.
There are a number of organisations who offer support for families and young people covering a range of specialities. Below are organisations which have been successfully used by families and young people in the past year.
...Surrey is a website created by Surrey County Council to provide support for emotional wellbeing and mental health needs. The website has a range of self help resources, online help and details of where to access more help if you need it. Children and young people's mental health and wellbeing
Someone is available 24 hours a day to listen to any concerns without judgement or pressure. Website and phone service. www.Samaritans.org
...are an organisation who specialise in working with young people. They have a wide variety of resources on their website which cover a range of topics. https://youngminds.org.uk
...are an online service who provide digital support to young people who are experiencing issues with their mental health. They provide articles, wellbeing ideas and online community support. https://www.kooth.com
...has a wide range of resources which provide information to help your child understand how they might be feeling. They also offer a range of ideas of things that can be done to support wellbeing. Coming out of lockdown
...is a website produced by the NHS with a range of help and advice for parents who may be concerned about their childs mental health MindEd For Families