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Jan 12, 2021: Year 8 Parents Evening Download Attachment |
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Jan 11, 2021: Letter to All Parents from Liverpool City Council Download Attachment |
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Dec 31, 2020: Return to School Arrangements |
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Dec 18, 2020: Staggered Return |
St Julie’s Catholic High School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, governors, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment
St Julie’s Catholic High School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, governors, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment.
The school policy regarding safer staff recruitment can be found here.
On this page you'll find updates and news items that we have received regarding safeguarding information, which we would then like to pass on to you for your information.
You might also be interested in the regularly published 'Digital Parenting' magazine that you can find here, as well as the online safety advice issued by Merseyside Police.
Click on each items headline for further details.
There is clear evidence that nationally and locally the frequency of incidences of domestic abuse have increased during periods of lockdown. If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic abuse then the following resources will be of use:
Members of the Safeguarding Team are in school every day during lockdown and can be contacted in the usual way, with the safegaurding@stjulies.org.uk email address being the best way to make contact out of hours.
TikTok has been around for a while now and most people are aware of it, yet it is one of the (if not ‘the’) fastest growing social media platforms around the world.
Early in February 2020 TikTok introduced a new feature, Family Safety Mode, which it refers to as ‘digital wellbeing’ features. Family Safety Mode allows a parent to link their TikTok account to their child’s account. Once enabled parents will be able to manage the digital wellbeing features, which are:
• Screen management - control how long your child can spend on TikTok each day.
• Direct messages - limit who can send messages to the connected account or turn DM’s off completely.
• Restricted mode - restrict the appearance of content that may not be appropriate for all audiences
1. To enable Family Safety Mode you first of all need to have the TikTok app on your (parent/carer) device and be logged in to your account.
2. At the top right you will see 3 dots. Tap on these which will take you into the Privacy and Settings menu.
3. Scroll down to Digital Wellbeing and tap, you will be presented with the 3 options.
4. Firstly, tap on Family Safety Mode in order to activate the feature. Tap on parent and your child will then need to scan the QR code in order to link the two accounts.
5. You can now activate the screen time management feature, where you can manage the amount of screen time you allow (40, 60, 90 and 120 minutes). You will then set a password which prevents your child going over their allocated time.
6. Once this is done you should activate Restricted Mode which is a feature to try to prevent your child seeing inappropriate content.
7. You should limit who can send messages to the connected account or turn off Direct Messaging completely and also ensure your child’s account is set to Private.
Everyone should know how to report harmful content online and raise concerns directly with each provider:
With TikTok surging in popularity, including children deliberately increasing their followers to 1,000 so that they can go live, it's good to see TikTok making more controls available for parents. The features, which are available via Family Pairing, include the ability to prevent the child searching and preventing strangers from seeing the childs' post.
THIS link explains the new and the older features.
Network Rail have contacted all schools in relation to concerns about a very high level of trespassing on the tracks by young people in the local area.
In partnership with Learn Live, Network Rail are working to help raise awareness to students across the UK educating them about the dangers of the train tracks through interactive digital delivery.
Please click on the link below to view a short safety video:
Age 7- 11
https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-primary-school-safety-talk/
Age 11-16
https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-secondary-school-safety-talk/
Age 17 plus
https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-college-safety-talk-lnw/
You may wish to view the clips first to gauge suitability for your child. The clips are less than 15 minutes and explains why it is important to stay safe near the railway.
Please be aware of an app, popular with some young people, of which we have been aware this week. The app is called Sweet Snap and there is an upgrade called Sweet snap lite.
This is a dangerous app to download. If downloaded it has been reported to also download additional software to your phone siltently. There have been instances of student's photos being uploaded from the phone silently too. There are multiple adults accessing the chat and trying to talk to the chilldren in a sexual manner.
The relevant authroities are aware of this App but we are dvising that all parents/carers check their child's phone and remove this app if they have it.
Please can you speak to your child about online safety.
If you would like additional resources to support this, then click the link below.
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Support-tools/home-activity-worksheets/
If you have any concerns regarding any apps or online safety, then please inform the Police and school.
Kind regards,
St Julie's Catholic School Safeguarding TeamDomestic abuse during national lockdown is a real concern, and the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership are circulating the following important advice:
For support:
In an emergency always, ring 999. Using a silent 999 call followed by 55 (or tapping/coughing into the phone) will enable police to respond.
National Domestic Abuse 24 hour Support Helpline: 0808 2000 247
RESPECT National Helpline, perpetrators (9am to 5pm): 0808 802 4040
Support directories:
https://www.victimcaremerseyside.org/home/who-can-help.aspx
http://respect.uk.net/contact-us/
Or ring:
Liverpool Domestic Abuse Services 0151 263 7474
Merseyside Domestic Violence Service 0780 272 2703
South Liverpool Domestic Abuse Services 0151 494 2222
Ruby Project 0771 428 9180
Savera UK (honour based abuse & harmful practice specialist) 0800 107 0726
Worst Kept Secret Helpline (Merseyside) 0800 028 3398
Support for children:
Young Persons Advisory Service (YPAS) 0151 707 1025
NSPCC
Support for men:
Men’s Advice Line (Freephone) 0808 801 0327
18th March is National Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day. Alongside Child Sexual Exploitation sits Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines.
We will be circulating information over the next month on all areas of child exploitation. County Lines is the name given to dedicated supply lines to traffic drugs around the country
County Lines is an issue in Liverpool, with many young people recruited. Young middle class girls are the top choice for the drug runners as they are not likely to be stopped by the police or draw attention to themselves.
An information sheet on County Lines can be found here, with an informative video here.
Sexting is sending an explicit image or video of yourself to somebody else. It can also be called ‘pic for pic’ or ‘nude selfies’. Once you send an image/video you no longer have control of it, it could be posted online or shared with others. Remember that even if you use a webcam or an app like Snapchat to share it, somebody could take a screenshot of it. Sexting can also leave you exposed to potential bullying and blackmail.
We understand that some conversations can be awkward but it’s important to chat to your child about the potential risks of sharing explicit images, the law and where they can get help. Perhaps start the conversation by relating it to something in the news. Ask them why they think people do it and if they have ever seen it happen in school. Emphasise that they should never feel pressure to share images of themselves and that they should never share images of others. Ensure that they know they can talk to you if anything ever goes wrong.
Whilst sexting can be seen by teenagers as harmless fun it is actually illegal to create or share an explicit image, even when the person doing so is a child themselves. It’s important to remember that whilst the age of consent is 16, the age in relation to explicit images is 18. You are breaking the law if you:
If under-18s are found to be engaging in sexting, then whilst the matter will be investigated, police can choose to record that a crime has been committed but that taking formal action isn't in the public interest.
ChildLine have created ‘Zip-It’ which your child can use to help them if someone is trying to pressure them into sexting: https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/sexting/
Stay calm! If your child talks to you about an incident then you may be shocked but it is important to remain calm and listen to your child. Try to find out who the image has been sent to and who it has been shared with. Ask your child to delete any images from their phone and any social media accounts (if they have uploaded them to there). You can also do the following:
Report to any individual sites where possible and ask then to remove the image.
If you need help in getting a sexual image of your child removed from the internet, you can get in contact with Childline or the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).
If your child is being threatened as a result of sharing a sexual image or someone online is asking your child to share an image then you should report it to CEOP: www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre
Your child can use the Childline ‘Report Remove’ tool: https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/sexting/report-nude-image-online/
Further information
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/sexting/
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/Has-your-child-shared-a-nude-selfie-subtitled/
https://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/hot-topics/sexting
https://parentinfo.org/article/when-teens-share-nudes
The tragic suicide of Caroline Flack has reminded us all of the need to continue to reach out to those
experiencing difficulties with their mental health and consider who around us, both young and old, needs support.
There is considerable guidance on each local area’s CAMHS website, including how to seek support if a young person is in crisis:
We would advise all parents to read the following link in relation to the TikTok App that has become popular with young people:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok
In summary:
As parents and carers, you will be well aware of the stresses and pressures facing young people and sometimes it can be hard to know how best to support them.
The Childline website has lots of valuable information and their Calm Zone provides a range of activities that aim to help children feel better when they're feeling anxious, scared or sad.
Although children could be encouraged to visit the website themselves, these are good techniques for adults use with children. Ideas include: breathing exercises, a 'let it go' box and creating a 'sense drawer'.
Go to the Childline website here: https://www.childline.org.uk/toolbox/calm-zone/
Does your child attend an 'Out Of School Setting' such as community and youth centre, sports clubs or out of school tuition?
If so and in order to reassure yourself that this is a safe an appropriate environment, please be aware of this linked document:
The document gives guidance about questions you may want to ask of this provider in respect of things such as employment checks on staff, supervision arrangements, staff training, data protection and a range of others issues. It also identifies a number of 'red flags' that might give rise to concern about a provider and what you should do if you were to have concerns.
Please also be aware of the following website: https://www.safeguardingresourcehub.co.uk/Resource-Hub?user_group=3
This is a free hub of national safeguarding resources to em,power children, young people and all adults supporting them.
The Safeguarding Resource Hub is
Find out more at www.safeguardingresourcehub.co.uk
There has been much recent research into the detrimental impact on young people when either or both of their parents/carers is affected by any one of the three issues referred to by professionals as the ‘Toxic Trio’, namely:
Where any two or all three of these factors are present, research demonstrates that young people are at a greatly heightened risk of coming to significant harm.
A report into 139 Serious Case Reviews (conducted when a child dies or suffers significant harm) carried out between 2009 and 2011 shows that in 95% of all cases, at least one of the ‘Toxic Trio’ was a contributory factor.
In 63% of all cases, two of the Toxic Trio were contributory factors.
All three issues were present in 24% of cases.
Please click here to for more information and to read about our response.
West Yorkshire Police and Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership have launched a campaign warning young people to be wary of invites to free parties from older people who they know little about.
A tactic used by perpetrators of child sexual exploitation is to lure children to parties through social media and word of mouth, where they then ply them with drinks and drugs before pressuring them into sex. They may also bribe them into doing things they aren't comfortable with in return for a lift home, as the 'party' is often held in an area that the young person is unfamiliar with.
Advice to Young people
If you do accept an invitation to a party or gathering there are things that you need to do keep yourself safe:
For use at home and in school, Swiggle is a child-friendly search engine developed by South West Grid for Learning and built on the Google Safe Search technology. It is free, ad free, has a reporting page for children and adults, active blocking of inappropriate search strings and even a Swigglebot to give advice.
For more information go to the link below and look at the menu (top right of page)
Google Family Link has been around for some time, but has recently had a much-needed update. You can now limit screen time per app (instead of the whole device) as well as track activity, set daily limits, view device location and more.
See here for more information:
Guidance for children and young people, families and professionals facing unwanted or hurtful online messages
Social Media apps can be a great way for children and young people to talk to friends, but cyberbullying is a growing issue that many children and young people face.
There are a few simple steps children can take to protect yourself themselves.
Most social media platforms allow you to block any comments and report and block profiles that are sending you negative or unpleasant messages.
When you block someone, it means they are unable to see anything you post, and you can’t see their profile, comments or messages either.
You can do this in the “settings” section of whatever app you are using. If you’re not sure how to do this, ask a trusted adult to help you.
If you’re being added into group chats that you don’t want to be in, block the numbers which are adding you and exit all the groups.
It can be hard but try not to get involved in the chats. Take screenshots of any hurtful messages instead.
Make sure you screenshot everything said to you before blocking anyone as you might need this as proof, to evidence what’s happening.
If you feel unsafe, always tell someone. Make sure you take these concerns to an adult you trust and let them know what’s been going on.
If you’re being threatened with violence, either online or offline, you should contact the police.
The most important thing is to not suffer in silence.
Consider Ignore, Block, Report when dealing with unwanted or hurtful messages.
There are excellent resources that you should take a look at:
‘Own It’ App
‘The BBC is launching a new app to try and help the wellbeing of young people online. It's called Own It and it encourages young people to stop and think before they hit the send button.It monitors how they interact with their friends and family online and uses artificial intelligence to try and see how a child is feeling.’
The APP can be found here: https://www.bbc.com/ownit/take-control/own-it-app
“Being Bullied? Five things you need to do RIGHT NOW!”
https://www.bbc.com/ownit/curations/bullying-and-trolling
Internet Matters, step-by-step guides to set controls on popular social media apps
https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/social-media/
The Safeguarding Resource Hub provides additional resources that can support children, young people, parents/carers and professionals:
https://www.safeguardingresourcehub.co.uk/
And don’t forget you can also contact Childline on 0800 1111
https://www.childline.org.uk/ - a free, private and confidential service where you can talk about anything. Whatever your worry, whenever you need help, we’re here for you online, on the phone, anytime.
https://www.rlss.org.uk/Pages/Category/water-safety-information
https://www.capt.org.uk/drowning
As the summer approaches, please remind you children of the dangers around water. Sadly each year more than 700 people drown in the UK and Ireland and many more have non-fatal experiences, sometimes suffering life-changing injuries. The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), work to educate people to enjoy water safely, to keep their families and friends safe and to know what to do in an emergency.
http://www.juniorcitizen.org.uk/kids/railsafety/
Please also remind your children of the dangers of playing around railways and perhaps use this resource to remind them of some dos and don'ts.
Stem4 is a teenage mental health charity aimed at improving teenage mental health by stemming commonly occurring mental health issues at an early stage
Young people have just as much right to accessing facts about good mental health as they do good physical health, and yet there is a lack of accurate information. Embarrassment or social stigma surrounding mental health issues can so easily lead to confusion with what may be normal development, as opposed to the early development of a mental health issue.
By raising awareness, sharing information on how to recognise early warning signs and by providing effective strategies in how to deal with them, it can be possible to identify and stem these conditions early on. Find out more at https://stem4.org.uk/
If you are considering booking your daughter into summer camps, activity days and child-care settings then you may wish to give consideration to the draft DfE guidance 'Safeguarding questions for parents and carers (DfE, 2018) so that you can ask the appropriate questions of the people they intend to leave their children with.
Key questions include:
More information can be found here:
| Headteacher: Mr. T. Alderman | |
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Speke Road, Liverpool, L25 7TN |
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0151 428 6421 |
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0151 421 1399 |
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reception@stjulies.org.uk |
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@StJulies | @StJuliesNotices |
Our aim is to provide the highest quality education. School staff have a right to work without fear of harassment, intimidation or abuse. If you have a query, concern or complaint please let us know by phoning school on 0151 428 6421 or use our feedback form below.
All original content © St. Julie's Catholic High School 2015
