Safeguarding

nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

Keeping Your Child Safe

Very few adults harm children deliberately and most often, when harm does happen, families need support, not punishment or the removal of their children.

Many myths exist, so for the record:

• Parents are responsible for their children’s safety.
• Children’s Social Services become involved once concern is shared.
• Decisions about abuse need careful assessment.
• Children are best cared for by their own families.
• Professionals want to work in partnership with families.
• Very few children are removed from home following abuse.

Birmingham social workers and other professionals get involved when parents may be unable to protect their child from harm and need some help. In some cases Birmingham Police Child Protection Units will investigate with social workers to help protect children and decide whether an offence has been committed against a child.

If you have concerns regarding a child please contact the Children’s Advice and Support Service on 0121 303 1888 or via e-mail:  CASS@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk

Outside of normal office hours call the Emergency Duty Team on 0121 675 4806.

WM Managing Aggressive Behaviour in the Home Self Help leaflet

A little understanding as to why this maybe happening……

You are not alone, and West Midlands Police are receiving many phone calls about this.  ​

Have you got to the bottom of the triggers for this behaviour with your son/daughter?  A lot of teenager’s struggle with explaining their feelings and this can lead to frustration that they direct at you(those closest). It could also be that something is happening with your son/daughter, could they be being bullied online, struggling with their mental health or issues within the family home?  ​

It can be very difficult to identify these and is very likely to not be anything you are doing wrong.

If you are a parent/carer experiencing domestic violence you may have many concerns over your children, including being:

• Worried that you will be prevented from taking your children with you if you leave a violent relationship
• Worried over contact your children may have with the abuser
• Worried that you need financial or practical support to look after your children
• Worried that your children have been traumatised by domestic violence and want extra support for them.
• Worried that your children may be abducted.

If you are affected by domestic violence, you are not alone. You can talk over these concerns, confidentially, with a number of specialist, sensitive services. Services such as Birmingham Women’s Aid will listen to you, support you and give you time and space to decide what you want to do. They won’t judge you because of what you say or force you to make a decision you do not want to make.

It is important to remember that the abuse you have experienced, and your children have been exposed to, is not your fault.

Listed below are some of the organisations that can support you:

Birmingham & Solihull Women’s Aid (BSWA)

BSWA offers a range of services including advice, information, temporary accommodation and a counselling support service to women and children affected by domestic abuse.

The telephone helpline offers a listening ear, emotional support and practical information on BSWA services and other agencies.

If a woman decides that she no longer feels safe to remain in her home, Women’s Aid can arrange for her and her children, to move to a refuge. They have refuge accommodation in Birmingham and Solihull which is accessible 24 hours a day. Refuge space can also be found elsewhere in the country if this is what a woman chooses

• Helpline/ Refuge: FREEPHONE 0808 800 0028
• Minicom: 0121 685 8519
• www.bswaid.org

Birmingham Crisis Centre

Birmingham Crisis Centre is an independent charity offering refuge to 23 women and their children  fleeing abusive relationships. Trained Staff are available 24 hours a day and can be contacted through our helpline on 0121 507 0707.

Families each have access to a fully furnished bedsit with its own kitchen and bathroom . The refuge has communal facilities namely a residents lounge, laundry, children’s play area and an ‘outstanding’ nursery provision. We provide professional counselling Support and facilitate a rolling Freedom Programme in addition to providing tailored housing related support.

Our motto is “Return to Happiness”

Please let me know when the website has been updated as we are the only refuge in Birmingham that provides a 1 24 hour helpline and this should be readily publicised.

• www.birminghamcrisis.org.uk

Birmingham Women’s Advice & Information Centre (BWAIC)

Free counselling, information and support and self help groups for women.

• Tel: 0121 212 1881

Ashram Reducing Domestic Violence Project

RDVP is a specialised, but not specific, service for South Asian women living with or fleeing domestic abuse Provides comprehensive support, advocacy, information and advice to empower women to live more independently.

Ashram also runs a new counselling service for children and young people

• Tel: 0121 764 3817

WAITS (Women Acting in Today’s Society)

Support, advocacy & befriending for all women who have experienced domestic violence at some point in their lives. There is a particular focus on black and minority ethnic women.

www.waitsaction.org

Tel: 0121-440 1443

National Domestic Violence Helpline 24 hour freephone

• www.womensaid.org.uk
• Tel: 0808 2000 247

If you are a male victim of domestic violence, contact:

Victim Support Men’s Helpline

• Tel: 0800 328 3623

Services available: Helpline for male victims of sexual and domestic abuse. Provides an opportunity to talk in confidence and anonymously

M.A.L.E: Mens Advice Line & Enquiries

Confidential helpline for male victims of domestic violence whether in straight, gay, bi sexual or transgender relationship

• www.mensadviceline.org.uk
• Tel: 0808 801 0327

Children go missing for a number of reasons, but in general, the factors leading up to missing episodes are:

• Arguments and conflicts (whether at home or in placement).
• Difficulties within family relationships.
• Abuse and neglect.
• Pushing boundaries and challenging parental/carers control.

What to do:

• Call, text and message your child via mobile, social media or apps. Stay calm, show them you’re concerned and just want them home safe.
• Check your house, garage and any outdoor spaces. Ask friends or family if anyone knows where they are.
• Call the police on 101 or call 999 if you think someone is in immediate danger. Tell them you are reporting your child as missing and give any other information you have about any recent concerns.
• The police will provide you with a crime Reference number. Record their name, collar number and ask for details of who will be dealing with the matter.
• Check to see if your child has taken anything like their phone, money or clothes. Look on their tablet, social media and laptop to see if there is any helpful information or if they have had contact with people recently. See if any of their friends have also gone missing. Share any new information with police.
• The police will come out and take a full report, asking for details about your child, a recent photo and information like when they was last seen and if there are any reasons why your child has left.
• Keep your phone close to you in case they contact you and check any other ways they may get a message to you e.g apps, social media. Make sure someone stays at the house in case they come back.

Why it matters:

Children who go missing are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and violence, and need to be kept safe.

The immediate risks associated with going missing include:

• Becoming a victim of abuse/crime (e.g. sexual assault or exploitation).
• Increased vulnerability.
• Alcohol/substance misuse.
• Deterioration of mental/physical health.
• Missing out on schooling and education.
• Involvement in criminal activities.
• No means of support or legitimate income – leading to high risk activities and people of concern taking advantage of this.

Questions to consider:

• What do we do when children go missing?
• Does our response depend on age, gender or other factors?
• Are there things we could change in our behaviour and responses to reduce the risks of young people going missing?
• Are there things we can do with young people to reduce the risk of them going missing and help them understand why we are concerned when they are missing?
• Do we know what is expected of us when children go missing and when they return?
• Do we promote return home interviews where young people have opportunity to talk to an independent person about why they went missing to help stop it happening again.

The internet has revolutionised and has incredibly changed how we communicate and socialise with people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  With access at our fingertips, it can be even more challenging to keep children and young people safe online, especially when they have their own computers, laptops, smartphones/mobile phones, tablets and games consoles.

As a parent, carer or a professional, it is important to educate yourself, children and young people that as well as the endless opportunities available through the internet and technology, there are also associated risks to be aware of.

Potential online risks can include:

• Access and exposure to inappropriate /disturbing images and content
• Access and exposure to racist or hate material
• Sexual grooming, luring, abuse and exploitation by/with strangers
• Sharing personal information with strangers that could identify and locate a child offline
• Online bullying (cyber bullying) by peer and people they consider their ‘friends’
• Being encouraged take part in violent behaviour such as ‘happy slapping’
• Sending or receiving sexually explicit films, images or messages of themselves or others (this is known as sexting when sent by mobile phone)
• Glorifying activities such as drug taking or excessive drinking
• Physical harm to young people in making video content, such as enacting and imitating stunts and risk taking activities
• Leaving and running away from home as a result of contacts made online.

Keeping your child safe

There are several way to help keep child and young people safe online:

• Educate yourself and children and young people know about the dangers online
• Tell them what they should do if anything goes wrong online or upsets them i.e. tell someone about it
• Explain that anything shared online or by mobile phone could end up being seen by anyone
• Ensure computers and laptops are used where you can see and not out of sight in a bedroom
• Use parental settings, filtering software and privacy setting to block inappropriate sites and content

Useful sites for further information and advice:

• NSPCC – National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children: Advice and support for adults concerned about a child.
• CEOP – Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre: Organisation that works to stop child abuse on the internet.
• Childnet: Information on benefits, risks and safety on the internet.
• Which?: Information and advice on child internet safety.

Child sexual exploitation, or CSE as it is often referred to, is a form of sexual abuse against a child or young person (under 18) by an adult.  CSE is a criminal offence.  Perpetrators use lots of different ways to groom their victims, including using social media via mobiles or online to gain the trust of a child or young person before emotionally and sexually abusing them for their own gain.

Violence, coercion and intimidation are common features.  Exploitative relationships are characterised by the child or young person having little chance to seek help.  In many cases their social and economic circumstances add to their emotional vulnerability.

A common feature of CSE is that the child or young person does not recognise the coercive nature of the relationship and does not see themselves as a victim of exploitation.

The Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board supports the regional see me, hear me campaign to raise awareness of CSE.

Visit www.seeme-hearme.org.uk to access campaign resources, gain an insight of the warning signs, read real-life case studies and watch videos which help both adults and young people to be more alert to the risks.

MindEd for Families

MindEd for Families, is an interactive online resource offering evidence based advice and information for families in crisis, as well as advice and top tips on how parents can support themselves and their child through challenging circumstances.

The site is free to access and provides access to a wide range of online information and practical advice across areas such as:

• Supporting a child in difficult circumstances
• Coping strategies and building resilience
• When to get help
• Nurturing and building healthy family relationships
• Coping in crisis situations
• Feelings of isolation.

Developed in partnership with YoungMinds and co-written with parents and carers, the resources are engaging, interactive and accessible on all mobile and tablet devices. MindEd for Families is accredited by the NHS Information Standard.

www.minded.org.uk/families

The following websites can give you advice on keeping young people safe in a variety of different situations:

Relate – a Children & Young People’s counselling service.  A relate counsellor is independent from school and home life and provides counselling for children and young people with issues as far apart as depression and mental health to issues with parents or people at school.  Visit https://www.relate.org.uk/what-we-do/counselling-services/young-peoples-counselling

Kooth – is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and free at the point of use. Visit https://www.kooth.com/

Social Media Age Restrictions

• The age limit for Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter is 13.
• Currently, the ability to send and receive direct messages on Tiktok is restricted to registered accounts ages 16 and older. This is because of bullying, indecent exposure, anonymous/inappropriate comments, messages and contact.
• Tiktok is even considering making all users who are under 16 have private accounts.
• It may be advised that parents do not allow their children to take devices to bed. It can cause increased screen time, tiredness for school and a lack of control over what the child is doing online.

Dangers of Trends

• Trends are fun and exciting and make you feel involved in current social media.
• But most people who catalyse trends have large followings on social media (so they are highly influential) and are also commonly 16+ years old. It is important to think about how age appropriate trends are. If you watch someone much older than you doing a trend online, consider whether that trend would be appropriate for your age group.
• Trends can also be very dangerous and misleading. Past and present trends have caused serious injury and even cost young users their lives.
• Commonly, dangerous trends are set up by people who have bad intentions and who want to influence young and vulnerable users into doing ‘challenges’ that they would never do themselves.

Bullying / Trolling

• Online bullying is more common than ever before. Most people can say that they have received nasty comments at least once before.
• Trolling is a term used when a person intentionally upsets others on the internet. This can range from one nasty comment to consistent bullying against someone.
• You should never post nasty comments about someone else online or via private message. Comments may mean a lot more to someone than they do to you and they can cause lots of damage to their mental health.
• If you don’t like someone’s content it is much better to not comment at all – even unfollow them, than to comment something mean.
• If you are receiving online trolling, always keep a record of it and don’t reply. Replying fuels trolls and will only make them engage more.
• The most important thing to remember is that trolling ONLY shows a problem with the bully, not with you.

Protecting Your Information / Talking to Strangers

• It is always important to keep your passwords and sensitive data private, except from your parents.
• Change your passwords every now-and-again to make sure it is safe. Hackers can gain access to lots of information if they manage to guess your password.
• Don’t use things like your name, age or birthday in your password. These are too commonly used and too easy to figure out.
• Links aren’t always safe – check the URL: does it look right? Has a company text (such as Royal Mail) come from a legitimate named company or from a phone number? Are there any spelling mistakes in a link?
• Be careful what you post online. Never post your address, school or any bank information.
• Talking to strangers may feel safe and fun, but too often it has caused danger to users. Strangers can learn a scary amount about you from your social media. They can see who your friends are when you tag them, they can see what town you live in when you tag it. They can see what school you go to if you post a photo in your uniform and much more.
• Strangers can also secretly be very manipulative and get you to give up information about yourself in a casual conversation. You must be aware of the possible intentions people may have when chatting online.
• If a stranger speaks to you online and is persistent or pressurising, you must tell a parent or adult immediately. It is not your fault if you have received messages from a stranger, so it isn’t embarrassing or wrong to let an adult know.
• You must realise that you can never really know who you are speaking to when you talk to strangers online. Fake profiles are very easy to make and strangers can lie about their entire identity.

Who to Talk to in School About Any of These Issues

Designated Safeguarding Lead – Calum Hill – calum.hill@theedgeacademy.co.uk

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead – Jas Greene – jas.greene@theedgeacademy.co.uk

Designated Safeguard Persons – Adam Smith – adam.smith@theedgeacademy.co.uk and Charlotte Poynton – charlotte.poynton@theedgeacademy.co.uk

SENCO – Helen McClane – – helen.mcclane@theedgeacademy.co.uk