Safeguarding Support

Anti-Bullying

Should you have any concerns relating to an incident in which your (or another) child may be being bullied then please contact your child’s Tutor in the first instance.

What is bullying?

Bullying is behaviour that hurts someone else. It includes name calling, hitting, pushing, spreading rumours, threatening or undermining someone. It can happen anywhere; at school, at home or online. It’s usually repeated over a long period of time and can hurt a child/young person physically and emotionally. [NSPCC]

Recognising the signs of bullying:

Belongings get ‘lost’ or damaged
Physical injuries, such as unexplained bruises
Being afraid to go to school, being mysteriously ‘ill’ each morning or skipping school
Not doing as well at school
Asking for, or stealing, money
Being nervous, losing confidence, or becoming distressed and withdrawn
Problems with eating or sleeping
Bullying others

Below are links that parents/carers may find useful:

Anti-Bullying Alliance:
https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/
NSPCC:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/bullying-and-cyberbullying/

Child Exploitation and Online Protection

CEOP is a command of the National Crime Agency and is dedicated to tackling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. CEOP helps children and young people under the age of 18 who have been forced or manipulated into taking part, or are being pressured to take part, in sexual activity of any kind. This can be both online and offline. The CEOP Safety Centre offers information and advice for children and young people, parents and carers and professionals. You can visit the CEOP Safety Centre and make a report directly to CEOP by clicking the Click CEOP button.

Online bullying or other online concerns should not be reported to CEOP and children and young people should be directed to speak to an adult they trust, and/or referred to Childline, if they would like to speak to someone about how they are feeling.

Child Sexual Exploitation

Sexual exploitation is a form of sexual abuse, in which a young person is manipulated or forced into taking part in a sexual act. This could be as part of what seems to be a consensual relationship, or it could be in return for attention, affection, money, drugs, alcohol or somewhere to stay.

The young person may think that their abuser is their friend, boyfriend or girlfriend, but the abuser will put them into dangerous situations, forcing the child or young person to do things that they don't want to do. The abuser could threaten them or be violent towards them.

Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (BSCP) is raising awareness of CSE – How to identify it and how to report it.

Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership
https://www.buckssafeguarding.org.uk/childrenpartnership/

Signs of CSE can be difficult to identify, varying greatly, but can include:

going missing from home or care
physical injuries
misuse of drugs or alcohol
involvement in offending
repeat sexually-transmitted infections, pregnancies or terminations
absenteeism from school
deterioration in physical appearance
evidence of online sexual bullying
evidence of vulnerability on social networking sites
emotional distance from family members
receiving gifts from unknown sources
recruiting others into exploitative situations
poor mental health
self-harming
thinking about or attempting suicide
involvement with gangs, gang fights, gang membership
involved in abusive relationships, intimidated and fearful of certain people or situations.

Please also see the NSPCC site for more indicators: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/child-sexual-exploitation/

Reporting

SafeCall: A new national helpline for young people to call or text if they have concerns about friends or even themselves – it’s free, anonymous and is open 24 hours, 365 days per year: Call or text 116 000

Police: call 999 or 101

Buckinghamshire Council – First Response Team: Telephone 01296 383962 between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.

If you need an urgent response outside of these hours, contact the Bucks Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 0800 999 7677.

What is 'grooming'?

The process known as 'grooming' is designed to isolate the child, break down the relationship with parents, carers and friends and so make the child easier to manipulate.

Signs of 'grooming' can be hard to spot. Children may:

be very secretive, including about what they are doing online
have money, cigarettes and new things such as clothes or mobile phones that they can't or won't explain
go to unusual places to meet friends
have access to drugs and alcohol.

In older children, signs of grooming can easily be mistaken for 'normal' teenage behaviour, but you may notice unexplained changes in behaviour or personality, or inappropriate sexual behaviour for their age.

Download the 'CSE Toolkit for parents and carers' produced by the Children's Society.

Further information can be found on the Barnardo’s website.

Domestic Abuse

Women’s Aid defines domestic abuse as - ‘an incident or pattern of incidents controlling, coercive, threatening degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer. It is very common. In the vast majority of cases it is experienced by women and is perpetrated by men.’

Domestic abuse can include but is not limited to:

Coercive control
Psychological and/or emotional abuse
Physical or sexual abuse
Financial or economic abuse

Witnessing any form of abuse can be damaging to children, with long-lasting effects to their emotional and mental wellbeing.

Links to external support services:

Buckinghamshire Domestic Abuse:
https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/community-and-safety/safety-and-crime-in-your-community/domestic-abuse-violence-against-women-and-girls/report-domestic-abuse/report-abuse/

Women’s Aid:
Web - www.womensaid.org.uk Live Chat

Early Help Assessment (EHA)

EHA helps to identify the needs of children and families and sets out a plan for those needs to be met. The EHA is designed as a shared tool to be used by agencies in Buckinghamshire who are delivering early help; with a standardised approach children and families have the same experience to explore their needs, strengths and challenges.

The EHA is the first stage of Buckinghamshire's early help pathway and will be used to support children and young people aged 0-19. It can also be used (with consent) up to the age of 24 where a young person has a learning difficulty or disability.

The EHA does NOT replace any social care assessment or EHC processes for children with disabilities or additional needs.

For further information please follow link: https://familyinfo.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/advice-and-support/raise-a-concern/early-help/

Forced Marriage / Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Forced marriage

is when pressure or abuse is used to make someone marry against their will.

Pressure used on young people may include:

Physical harm – threats or actual physical and/or sexual violence
Emotional and psychological – being made to feel they are bringing shame on the family
Financial – wages may be taken or money restricted

The Law states that the youngest age at which you can marry is 16 – but you must have your parents’ permission. When you are 18, you can marry without your parents’ permission. The Law also states that both of the people who are getting married must agree to it.

Reporting:

If you are, or you are concerned about someone, being forced into marriage against will – you can:

Speak to our DSL, a tutor, teacher – someone you trust
Contact the Forced Marriage Unit who have specially trained staff to help and work out an action plan
Call on (in UK) 020 7008 0151
or (outside UK) +44 20 7008 0151
or email fmu@fcdo.gov.uk

Links to external support services:

Karma Nirvana
Offers support, information and help with rehousing to victims of forced marriage, domestic abuse and honour based crimes. Offers a bi-lingual service.
Confidential helpine – 0800 5999 247

Childline
Provides help and advice to young people on all matters of abuse, exploitation and forced marriage.
Call – 0800 1111 (calls are free from most networks)
Web - https://www.childline.org.uk/ (there is a ‘cover my tracks’ facility if you do not want your visits to this site showing on your search history)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

is also called ‘female cutting’ or ‘female circumcision’ and is described by the WHO as any procedure involving the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

FGM is illegal in the UK and carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.

FGM is classed as child abuse [Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003] and it is illegal to:

perform FGM in the UK
assist or arrange for anyone to carry out FGM abroad on girls who are British Nationals or habitual
UK residents
assist a girl to carry out FGM on herself.

Warning indicators:

significant changes in behaviour
absenteeism from school, particularly after a trip to an FGM practising country
spending long periods of time out of the classroom
spending longer than usual going to the toilet
avoiding going to the toilet
discomfort when sitting down
avoiding physical exercise and PT classes
frequent menstrual or urinary infections

Note - Often children are unaware that FGM is going to take place and this may mean that very few warning signs before it occurs.

Reporting:

NSPCC FGM Helpline: 0800 028 3550

Police: 101

Links to external support services:

National FGM Centre: http://nationalfgmcentre.org.uk/

NHS Choices: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/

NSPCC: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/

Introduction to Mental Health

Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. We all have mental health. Our mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It also impacts on how we cope, interact and form relationships with others, as well as our daily functioning. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as:

Being able to cope with life's stresses
Realising your abilities
Learning well
Working well
Contributing to your community

Mental health is an essential part of health. Some characteristics of good mental health include:

Being able to learn
Being able to feel, express, and manage a range of emotions
Being able to form and maintain good relationships
Being able to cope with change and uncertainty

Sometimes our mental health can cause us problems - when our emotions become increasingly overwhelming and difficult to manage, they can affect our ability to live life as we normally would do.

Immediate sources of support for Mental Health

If you feel that your child is in need of immediate support, the NHS are the best people to consult.

Your GP
Call 111 or consult NHS 111 online NHS 111 online

Call 999 if it is an emergency and your child needs urgent help

It is best to talk to your child about your concerns if you can.

Talking about Mental Health – Difficult Conversations

Talking about mental health can be very difficult, both for parents/carers and children. While it is a challenging topic, there are sources of support which you can all access. Remember to be honest, understanding and non-judgmental. Listen carefully to what your child is saying to you and then be ready to support them, possibly by accessing additional help where appropriate.

Sources of support for Mental Health

CAMHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Your GP or the school can make a referral. The website has links to other services you may find helpful as well as information on what to do in a crisis and different types of mental health concerns CAMHS Buckinghamshire
Bucks Mental Health Support Team (MHST) - supports children and young people who have difficulties with their mental health and emotional wellbeing, including anxiety, low mood and challenges with behaviour, confidence and self-esteem. Provide support both individually and in groups to young people and parents. Referrals are made via school so please speak to your Head of Year or Raising Achievement Officer Bucks MHST
Young Minds - a charity that offers information and advice to young people, parents and carers. Their website includes an A-Z guide to mental health and a parents helpline, as well as numerous resources aimed at providing direct support to young people. Includes support for parents concerned about their child’s gaming habits YoungMinds
Bucks Mind - not specifically for young people but offer a range of different services including self referral to a counselling service for young people Bucks Mind
Cruse Bereavement Support - providing help in dealing with bereavement Cruse Bereavement Support
Beat Eating Disorders - providing support and information about dealing with eating disorders Beat Eating Disorders
Childline - providing support on a wide range of topics. Call 0800 1111 Childline
NSPCC - providing support on a wide range of topics around keeping children safe. Call 0808 8005000 NSPCC
BBC Bitesize - useful wellbeing tips and advice for parents Family wellbeing BBC Bitesize
GamCare - support for anyone affected by gambling GamCare
The National Centre for Gaming Disorders - provides treatment for young people who have difficulty controlling their gaming. Their website includes a number of self help resources National Centre for Gaming Disorders
Youth Enquiry Service (YES) - provides free and confidential support, information and counselling to young people living in the High Wycombe area. Call 01494 437373 YES Wycombe
Action4Youth The Junction - in High Wycombe, the Junction is a multi service drop in centre designed for young people aged 11-18 years. Provides specialist support to help young people with their problems and activities for young people to get involved in Action4Youth The Junction
Here4YOUth Buckinghamshire (Cranstoun) - a drug and alcohol service for children and young people in Buckinghamshire Here4YOUth Buckinghamshire
Kooth - an online mental wellbeing community which can provide counselling support Kooth
Mindfulness - this is a technique you can learn which involves noticing what's happening in the present moment, without judgement. You might take notice and be aware of your mind, body or surroundings. Mindfulness aims to help you:

become more self-aware
feel calmer and less stressed
feel more able to choose how to respond to your thoughts and feelings
cope with difficult or unhelpful thoughts
be kinder towards yourself.

Many people find practising mindfulness helps them manage their day-to-day wellbeing. Our year 7 students learn some mindfulness techniques in their PSHE lessons and many find it useful. There are different apps and websites offering mindfulness practices.

Online Safety

Keeping your child safe online while they are off school

Please see our IAT Filtering and Monitoring Guide here for parents, carers and students.

A Parent's Guide to Social Media

Students at PRS use the internet on a regular basis as part of their learning. In school, we teach 'e-safety' through the ICT curriculum to remind children of the importance of keeping themselves safe online.

At home, sometimes children can be given unsupervised access to the internet. This, potentially, allows them to access all kinds of society (both good and bad) and bring them virtually into their homes.

Here are some tips and useful links to help you to keep your children safe online:

ParentZone

You can read about setting up safety features on lots of commonly used platforms by clicking this link.

If you have any concerns about grooming, sexual abuse or exploitation on any online app or site, Report to CEOP (the National Crime Agency's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command) at www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre (link is external). If you are concerned that your child is in immediate danger, call 999.

Note: The different apps regularly update both privacy and safety settings. Go to the app’s help section to check the current procedures. The positions of the settings may also differ on mobile and desktop versions.

At school we try to ‘educate’ our youngsters, encouraging them to use and exploit the fantastic resources but to also be aware of the potential dangers and pitfalls. To help in this aim, the school provides learning opportunities about cyberbullying/cyber safety in a series of lessons and assemblies. All year groups have received this information.

Research shows that a school’s influence though is only about 20%. Your role, in talking through your child’s digital ‘behaviours’ is vastly more influential and we would really encourage you to be having regular conversations, debates and ‘show and tells’ with your children.

You will find some information and suggestions below and we would strongly advise you to attend one of our regular internet safety evenings. Please be as involved in your child’s virtual life as you are in their real one; the dangers AND the benefits are just as important.

Preventing Radicalisation

All staff at PRS receive annual Prevent training to help them identify signs of radicalisation.

The NSPCC states ‘Children can be exposed to different views and receive information from various sources. Some of these views may be considered radical or extreme.
Radicalisation is the process through which a person comes to support or be involved in extremist ideologies. It can result in a person becoming drawn into terrorism and is in itself a form of harm.’

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection/radicalisation

The process of radicalisation may involve:

being groomed, either online or in-person
exploitation, including sexual exploitation
psychological manipulation
exposure to violent material and other inappropriate information
the risk of physical harm or death through extremist acts

Indicators of radicalisation:

Children at risk of radicalisation may have low self-esteem, be victims of bullying or discrimination; extremists target them, telling them they can be part of something special – gradually brainwashing them and isolating them away from family/friends. Day to day behaviour can become increasingly centred around an extremist ideology, group or cause and the child/young person may:

spend increasing amounts of time talking to people with extreme views – both online and in
person
change their appearance/style
lose interest in friends and activities that are not associated with the extremist ideology, group or cause
have material or symbols associated with an extreme cause
try to recruit others to join the cause
have a sudden disrespectful attitude towards others
display increased levels of anger
display increased levels of secrecy, particularly around their internet use

Reporting:

If you think a child/young person is involved in radicalisation and there is an immediate risk of harm – call 999.
If you are concerned but the child/young person is not in immediate risk of harm -
- call the police anti-terrorism hotline 0800 789 321
- call NSPCC (anonymously) 0808 800 50

Sexual Abuse

The Department for Education has commissioned the NSPCC to launch a new helpline called Report Abuse in Education.

The helpline will provide support to:

children and young people who want to share current and non-recent experiences of sexual abuse and harassment
children and young people who want to talk about being involved in or witnessing any incidents
anyone who works or volunteers in a school setting and needs support and guidance
adults who have experienced non-recent abuse
parents and carers who are concerned about their own child or other children.

Young people and adults can contact Report Abuse in Education on 0800 136 663 or email help@nspcc.org.uk

IF YOU HAVE A CONCERN

CONCERN? CLICK HERE TO EMAIL CHILD PROTECTION

Student Well-Being Support Over Weekends and Breaks

Please see our Mental Health section page on our website that has useful links and resources

http://www.princesrisborough.bucks.sch.uk/Parents/Mental-Health/

If you have any concerns about your own or someone else’s welfare or safety, you must report it. It is better to tell someone, rather than failing to tell anyone and you or the person you are worried about possibly being exposed to further risk of harm.

Please email Childprotection@prsbucks.com