Safeguarding
Kooth - Your Online Wellbeing Community
Kooth is an online chat and emotional well-being support service available to all children and young people in the area. Kooth is a completely safe and anonymous website where young people can go to gain advice and support, 365 days a year.
Kooth can offer lots of support through our moderated message forums, magazine, live forums, mini activities hub and youth support. Our qualified youth workers and counsellors are available to chat everyday 12:00pm - 10:00pm Monday to Friday & 6:00pm -10:00pm Saturday & Sunday.
Kooth can also provide support for vulnerable young people who may experience isolation during lockdown helping them to build their resilience. To sign up or login to Kooth now please click onto Kooth Sign Up/Loginpage.
DOMESTIC ABUSE / ABUSE IN THE HOME
Please see below a poster from Hampshire Constabulary as part of their ‘Safe at Home Initiative’
Please be aware that if the QR code is scanned it will provide you with a link and options for support. Please also be aware that this may also remain on your phone in your search or browser history.
If you have a concern over your safety at home and want to speak to someone at school for support this can be done by contacting the school and asking for the school DSL (Mr Strange) to contact you.
If you are at home and immediately worried for your safety please call 999.
Use these resources to support parents and carers to keep their children safe online:
- Support for parents and carers to keep children safe online, which outlines resources to help keep children safe from different risks online and where to go to find support and advice.
- Guidance on staying safe online which includes information on security and privacy settings
- Thinkuknow provides advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) on staying safe online.
- Parent info is a collaboration between Parentzone and the NCA providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations.
- Childnet offers a toolkit to support parents and carers of children of any age to start discussions about their online life, to set boundaries around online behaviour and technology use, and to find out where to get more help and support.
- Internet matters provides age-specific online safety checklists, guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, and a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world.
- London Grid for Learning has support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online, including tips to keep primary aged children safe online.
- Net-aware has support for parents and carers from the NSPCC, including a guide to social networks, apps and games.
- Let’s Talk About It has advice for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation.
- UK Safer Internet Centre has tips, advice, guides and other resources to help keep children safe online, including parental controls offered by home internet providers and safety tools on social networks and other online services.
How to Use your technology to help in an emergency
There has been lots of information that can make technology feel like a risk or danger for young people. However following the National outcry following the Sarah Everard death, many people want to know they can feel safe when they are out in public.
Please see the document below that shows how you can use an iPhone to make an emergency call:
In addition there are other hints and tips that you can use to help feel safe and keep in contact with your children/parents:
Did you know there is a little known location link that you can use with the ‘paperclip’ in WhatsApp – which if a message is opened and you press and hold the paperclip – you can send live location to people of your choosing for example if walking home.
If you want to find more details on this and using technology to help you then please follow the link below:
How to Make an Emergency SOS Call on an iPhone | Free Online Safety Guide | National Online Safety
Simple and straightforward advice for parents on how to help keep your children safe online at home
Services for Families
Southampton Directory of Services for Families 1
Southampton Directory of Services for Families 2
Eating Disorder Awareness
Young People with Eating Disorders - Knowing the First Signs:
Since COVID there has been a seen a significant rise in presentations of young people with Eating Disorders nationally, and locally in Southampton this is no different. The CAMHS team are noting both an increase in referrals for young people with eating disorders, alongside an increase in late presentations which means we are seeing young people for their first assessment with a higher level of physical compromise.
Below is a poster on Eating disorders: Know the first signs? and a range of very helpful resources for both awareness raising, and support for young people and parent/carers.
These national organisations do not replace the need for a CAMHS referral and all young people with a suspected eating disorder should be referred to Specialist CAMHS. Direct Line 023 8103 0061 or email the team at NHS.CAMHSWestNewReferrals@nhs.net
E-SAFETY ADVICE FOR PARENTS
Southampton City Council would like to share the following article to with practitioners and parents about what to do if a child sees something which has/ may upset them online.
www.saferinternet.org.uk/blog/advice-parents-what-do-if-your-child-sees-something-upsetting-online
We also would like to share some advice and checklists for both Facebook and TikTok, which provide instruction on how to report content and manage security settings.
https://swgfl.org.uk/resources/checklists/tiktok/
https://swgfl.org.uk/resources/checklists/facebook/
Useful guidance around Apps and Social Media can also be found on the NSPCC and O2’s Net Aware Website - https://www.net-aware.org.uk/
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
If you are concerned about the mental health and wellbeing of yourself, a friend, or a member of your family please see below some links that may be able to provide quick support if you feel there is a crisis or worsening situation:
Local services and training
- If someone is in a mental health crisis, 111 offers a mental health liaison service 24/7.
- Shout provides a free support line for young people in crisis. More information is available here: Give Us A Shout
- No Limits provides support over the phone, email and Web Chat, more information can be found here: No Limits
- GP practices are providing remote consultations via telephone or e-consult (a link for e-consult will be on each practice website) and can also arrange face to face consultations in a safe way if needed.
To better understand the ‘signs’ that someone might show when thinking about suicide, as well as basic top tips about how to open conversations about suicide, we are recommending a free online training course. This has been created by the Zero Suicide Alliance and takes about 20 minutes to complete.
You can find it here: Relias
Practical Advice for Parents on Mental Health:
The resources accessible via the link below are designed to offer practical advice on how parents can safeguard their mental health and promote their wellbeing.
The resources are available as a document and short video presentation.
The link to both resources is:
https://ssscpd.co.uk/education/parentsandguardians/your-mental-health-10-tips-for-parents
SAFEGUARDING ADVICE - CORONAVIRUS
Face Masks - Children Under 2 Info
Coronavirus Safeguarding Information
USEFUL LINKS:
Regents Park is committed to an ongoing culture of supporting, informing and keeping children safe. Please see the information below and the attached links to parent information and advice and guidance from the safe4me.co.uk website on a range of safeguarding topics.
Peer on Peer / Child on Child Sexual Abuse & Harassment:
Regents Park Community College recognises that children can harm children. Peer on peer abuse must not be considered “banter” or be ignored as “jokes” and “kids being kids”. In line with the recently updated Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance, Regents Park aims to inform and support children and families against this abuse.
https://www.safe4me.co.uk/parents/
TEEN RELATIONSHIPS AND ABUSE:
Whilst it is normal for children to explore relationships with others as they grow older, Regents Park recognises that these relationships may not always be healthy and that abuse in child relationships can occur.
The information provided in the link below gives parents, carers and guardians advice and support relating to teenage relationship abuse. The link and support is sourced from safe4me.co.uk as part of their commitment to working in partnership to keep children and young people safe.
https://www.safe4me.co.uk/parents/
SEXTING:
Many children now have access to a range of personal technology devices. Many of these devices now include cameras and the ability to connect to the internet and social media. Whilst this in itself is not unhealthy it has opened the door for an increase in “Sexting” or “Youth Produced Sexual Imagery”.
Regents Park takes care to educate and inform young people on the safe use of their technology and works with students to prevent and resolve issues where “Sexting” has occurred.
The information provided in the link below gives parents, carers and guardians advice and support regarding the issue of ‘sexting’ as part of our commitment to working in partnership to keep children and young people safe. It is sourced from safe4me.co.uk
https://www.safe4me.co.uk/parents/
NATIONAL ONLINE SAFETY - SEXTING ADVICE FOR PARENTS AND CAREERS:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/natonlinesafety/status/1057602549619089408
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/NationalOnlineSafety/photos/a.1681508315488685/1910972532542261/
SELF HARM - A SUPPORT GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND CAREERS:
Regents Park Community College recognises self harm can be a response that students have taken in attempting to cope with an issue. We will endeavour to support all students and their families with this difficult subject alongside other mental health issues.
Please see the guide that had been issued from the Southampton Mental Health Forum that aims to inform and support parents and carers about Self Harm. It has been produced by the University of Oxford and was developed from talking to parents and carers of young people. It is aimed at helping parents, carers, other family members and friends cope when a young person is self-harming. It includes information on the nature and causes of self-harm, how to support a young person when facing this problem and what help is available.
Should you wish to speak with someone from school regarding self harm, please phone and ask to speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (Mr D Strange).
