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This section of the website is dedicated to helping parents and carers understand how to keep their children safe.
Latest guidance from the DfE – Keeping your children safe online during COVID-19
Call the NSPCC helpline for support and advice if you have a concern for your own or another child’s safety on 0808 800 5000.
If you feel that your child is in immediate danger, call the police on 999. You can report concerns to the police on their non-emergency number, 101.
You can also contact the relevant social care team at your local council to report a concern about a child or adult.
Visit the See, Hear, Respond service or call on 0800 157 7015 for additional support, advice and information during this period (England only).
This includes online and face-to-face support for children and families, help for children at risk of harm outside of the home, and support to help vulnerable children successfully return to school or college.
The government’s stay at home instruction does not apply if a person needs to leave their home as a result of domestic abuse. Refuges have remained open throughout the lockdown period to provide safe accommodation for victims and their children.
Domestic abuse can have devastating consequences for children, and can have lifelong impacts on their mental and physical health and behaviour into adulthood.
Domestic abuse occurs between those who are, or have been, in relationships. It can also occur between family members, such as between teenagers and parents (known as adolescent to parent violence and abuse (APVA)).
Find out how to recognise and spot the signs of domestic abuse.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse:
If you are in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. If you are unable to talk on the phone, listen to the questions from the operator and respond by coughing or tapping the handset if you can. Follow the instructions depending on whether you are calling from a mobile or a landline.
For help with parental conflict and relationship abuse:
Call 999 and ask for the police if your child has been a victim of child sexual abuse – online or offline – and you believe they are in immediate danger.
When a child or young person is sexually abused, they are forced or tricked into sexual activities. They might not understand that what is happening is abuse or that it is wrong. They might be afraid to tell someone.
Sexual abuse can happen anywhere – and it can happen in person or online. It’s never a child’s fault they were sexually abused – it’s important to make sure children know this.
See the government’s definition of child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation.
These are resources that can help:
Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) offer support services for children who have experienced sexual abuse or sexual violence, either recently or in the past.
Specially trained medical and support staff care for the child in a safe and comfortable environment and can arrange for ongoing support to help them recover physically and emotionally.
Steps are taken to ensure the child is protected from immediate harm and from any future harm. Partners, such as the police and social services, support the process and may be involved in arranging the initial referral to the SARC.
For additional advice and support, find your local sexual assault referral centre.
Call the police on 999 if you feel that your child is in immediate danger. You can report concerns to the police on their non-emergency number, 101.
Children and young people involved with gangs, county lines and criminal exploitation need help and support. They might be involved in violence, be pressured into doing things like stealing, carrying drugs or weapons or be abused, exploited and put into dangerous situations.
Call the police on 101 or contact your local authority safeguarding team if you are worried that a loved one is being radicalised – you can get advice or share a concern so that they can get safeguarding support.
Although rare, increased online activity and feelings of stress and isolation may be exploited by online groomers to target vulnerable children and young people – including extremist influences seeking to radicalise vulnerable people.
Extremists may use the coronavirus outbreak to promote hateful views, for example through conspiracy theories blaming a particular group for the virus, or through spreading misinformation about these groups’ responses to it.
Online exploitation is often hard to recognise. Sometimes there are clear warning signs – in other cases the changes are less obvious. Although some of these traits may be quite common among teenagers, taken together they could indicate that your child may need help. The Let’s Talk About It lists some of these signs.
You know your child best and you will want to speak with them first. Check in with them and ask about what they are viewing, who they are speaking to and how they are feeling.
These are resources that can help:
Prevent can help your child get support to move away from harmful influences. The support can include help with education or careers advice, dealing with mental or emotional health issues, or digital safety training for parents.
Call the police on 101 to get advice or share a concern so that they can get safeguarding support through Prevent, if you are worried that a loved one is being radicalised.
You can also contact your local authority safeguarding team for help. Receiving support through Prevent is voluntary, confidential and not any form of criminal sanction.
You can report terrorist content you find online. More information about what to report and what happens when you make a report can be found on the Action Counters Terrorism campaign.
It is important for children and teenagers to stay safe online, especially as they will be spending more time online than usual. Parents and carers may be particularly concerned about the safety of their children online.
Headteacher: Ms S Holden
