It's great that so many of our students cycle to and from school. Could parents and carers please remind all students to wear helmets when doing so, and ensure that they are equipped with lights now that the clocks have changed.
Kind regards,
Mr S Auckland
Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
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Internet matters provide a great deal of advice and support for parents navigating screen time and the use of phones and other devices. These include guides on:
Google has also introduced a feature on android devices to enable a 'school time' mode, to help students who may struggle with phones being banned in school.
A reminder that the following platforms have these age limits:
13: Whatsapp, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Omegle, Discord
16: Tumblr, Flickr, Periscope
18: Clubhouse, Monkey, Meetme, LiveMe, Tagged, Yolo
Kind regards,
Mr S Auckland
Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
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NHS 111 is offering crisis mental health support for the first time
The NHS have introduced a single phone line for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis. If any students are experiencing urgent mental health difficulties, this line may be of use.
May we please remind all carers and parents to keep the school updated with any changes to contact details and addresses. It is vital that we have the correct details in the event that we need to get in touch.
Best wishes,
Mr S Auckland
Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
There are increased warnings that the soliciting and sharing of nude imagery has become ever more normalised amongst young people and, as such, the Internet Watch Foundation has launched a new campaign called Think Before you Share which aims to help young people understand the harm of sharing such images of themselves and others. There is a guide for parents and carers here:
https://www.thinkbeforeyoushare.org/parents-and-carers
Best wishes,
Mr S Auckland, Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
With incidents of extortion significantly on the increase, it's important that parents know the signs and how to help and support their children. Although anybody can be targeted, the surge appears to be directed at boys aged 14+ and the motivation is usually financial. In the past, offenders would often threaten to share the victims intimate images with friends and family, but that very rarely happened. However, the police are now starting to see this happen more frequently, including threats made against victims.
You can find a web page to support from Internet Matters HERE.
Mr S Auckland, Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
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There has been considerable concern in relation to abuse and extortion around this app. After being contacted by the NCMEC (National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children), both Apple and Google have removed Wizz from their app download stores.
Social media influencers can have a huge impact on their followers. Research shows that approximately one third of children and young people think that because the influencer is a 'celebrity', what they share is always positive. However, there are, of course, many differing views and commercial interests at play in a largely unregulated world.
Internet Matters always offer parents and carers support with guiding young people online. You can find their article here on influencers.
Best wishes,
Mr S Auckland
Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
With the advances made in AI, parents and carers should be aware that children have unfortunately been the victims of online offenders, who have stolen and adjusted images from social media to be used criminally. We would therefore advise that all accounts are kept private and that security settings are kept high.
Should you encounter any incidents of this illegal behaviour, the Childline Report Remove Tool and the Police are the first places to turn. Do get in touch with us with any concerns.
Best wishes,
Mr S Auckland
Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
South West Grid for Learning have produced some great checklists for social media and regularly update them. The most recent updates are for Snapchat and TikTok which are helpful for parents and carers as well as students.
You can find the Snapchat checklist HERE and the TikTok checklist HERE.
Best wishes,
Mr S Auckland
Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
May we please remind all carers and parents to keep the school updated with any changes to contact details and addresses. It is vital that we have the correct details in the event that we need to get in touch.
Best wishes,
Mr S Auckland
Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead
13: TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Omegle, Discord
16: Whatsapp, Tumblr, Flickr, Periscope
18: Clubhouse, Monkey, Meetme, LiveMe, Tagged, Yolo
