Safeguarding for Parents/Carers
Useful Safeguarding Links for Parents/Carers
I am worried that my child might be taking drugs or drinking alcohol
It is important to be informed about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and to know who you can turn to for additional support.
The school will always offer a non-judgemental approach to supporting families in need, but should you need further support please see the below links.
Honest information about drugs | FRANK (talktofrank.com) for information about drugs and to talk to someone confidentially.
Kent registration and booking form (google.com) for referring for drug and alcohol support from trained staff in Kent.
I am worried that my child might be involved in gangs or 'County Lines'
County Lines it is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs from urban areas into rural areas. The leaders of these gangs will try to exploit children and vulnerable adults, often without them realising it. They often use other people to move and store drugs and money. They can use some very harsh measure to make young people or vulnerable adults help them. You may notice changes in your child’s behaviour:
- Returning home late, staying out all night, or going missing
- Being found in areas away from home
- Increasing drug use, or being found to have large amounts of drugs on them
- Being secretive about who they are talking to and where they are going
- Unexplained absences
- Unexplained money, phone(s), clothes, or jewellery
- Increasingly disruptive or aggressive behaviour
- Using sexual, drug-related, or violent language that you wouldn’t expect them to know
- Coming home with injuries or looking particularly dishevelled
- Having hotel cards or keys to unknown places
If you feel your child is at risk of exploitation, please do inform the school. We are here to support and have access to additional services. For more information on county lines please visit: Specialist county lines support pilot offered cost savings to public services - St Giles (stgilestrust.org.uk)
I am worried about my child's safety online
Our children have access to almost anything in their devices, which can sadly also open them up to risks online. If you feel your child needs more support around online safety, please let your Head of House know who can signpost you to specific support. Alternatively, the below has been very beneficial for parents in educating on online safety:
I am worried about grooming and youth produced sexual activity
Young people can be manipulated or coerced into sending sexualised images of themselves; there is often deep shame associated to this and a child is likely to find this difficult to talk about. If a child does disclose this, please reassure them they have done nothing wrong. Your Head of House can support too in this situation, as can the below links. Please do inform the school should your child disclose this, as we will want to ensure we are supporting their emotional well-being too.
Radicalisation
If you are worried about a student/young person/friend becoming radicalised, we can help. Radicalisation is the way in which a person is drawn into extreme and harmful views and behaviours. This could happen in many ways, but is particularly prevalent online or through the accessing of extreme materials. If you are worried about a student/child/friend, please follow the below link to report a concern:
Radicalisation and child protection | NSPCC Learning
Child Abuse - What do I do if a child makes a disclosure to me?
What do I need to know about Chat GPT?
Launched on 30th November 2022, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot which can be found online. Similarly to a robotic customer service often found on the corner of a website or app, ChatGPT generates content and answers based on a user’s question.
https://www.childnet.com/blog/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-chatgpt-a-guide-for-parents-and-carers/