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Safeguarding Briefing - 7th December 2020
Dear Colleague
Image Consents
Recently, I've had a few questions about image consents. In answering the question, I realised that I’ve rather changed my mind on this topic because of the 'visual expectation' that exists today. This is just my view and other people may well differ. Let me know what you think.
There is no statutory guidance on this, save to say that there should be consent. I now think the only real control on images is whether the young person has given consent to be in the image or not. After that once an image is published, it can end up anywhere. This could mean a lengthy ‘investigation’ as to who ‘leaked’ it. For example, an image used 'only' in school on a poster, could be photographed on a phone and put on social media. A website image can be downloaded or a screenshot saved.
I think this means that consent can be simplified into the reason for the images to be taken, rather than where they are published. The consent would refer to:
- photographs/video taken solely for assessment/learning purposes (not published) – yes/no
- photographs/videos taken for information, publicity or marketing purposes – yes/no
- images may be used in print media, or digitally online
- images will not be published using the names of the students
- please contact the school if you wish to discuss this further
Personally, I think that pupils should be asked each time they are to be filmed/ photographed and be allowed to opt-out of the photo. Teenagers especially can be become 'photo-shy'. Retention timescales should also be included.
I’m not a data protection specialist, so you may wish to follow this up with advice from your legal provider.
County Lines game app
A new game for both apple and android phones has recently been launched. The game play is based on running a County Line and players have to build up points by making drug deliveries, staying in trap houses and outrunning the police.
Although the game may be in poor taste, it doesn't seem to be as risky as it sounds. The e-safety advisor, Alan Mackenzie, has downloaded the game. He says it is 'a very poor 1980's 2D graphic depiction of a character being chased by a police officer. There are no communications features in it (despite reports that people are able to chat and concerns over the risk of grooming - which is non existent)'.
As ever the challenge for all of us is in ensuring that we keep a balance between being aware of risks, whilst at the same time not sparking a surge of interest from the young people we aim to protect.
Alan Mackenzie's e-safety website and resources can be found here: https://www.esafety-adviser.com
Alan is a founding member of the Association of Adult and Child Online Safety Specialists (AACOSS) who aim to ensure the delivery of high quality education, advice and support to all schools and organisations around online safety – keeping children and adults safer online.
Safety plans and helpline lists
Although 2020 has seen an increase in domestic abuse and reports of abuse to children and young people, Christmas often brings with it extra stresses. It is often a time where support services can be closed, or the strategies young people us to alleviate the family issues may be unavailable.
For some of the most vulnerable or at risk students in your school, it can be useful to discuss with them a [safety] plan for if things get really difficult. What helplines are available? What excuses can be made to leave the house for a little while? Does music help block out the shouting and arguments?
Young Minds has a Crisis Messenger service which provides free, 24/7 crisis across the UK. Young people can access the text-message based service by texting YM to 85258.
This list of helplines can be a starting point for finding suitable resources: https://6282.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Helplines+Directory+-+December+2020.pdf
Relationship abuse and keeping safe at parties
The response to Covid-19 will mean that there are far fewer gatherings, however it is still worth mentioning the importance of consent in relationships.
Staffordshire County Council has created a resource-rich website called 'know about CSE' (Child Sexual Exploitation), part of this can also be 'peer-on-peer' abuse'
The website has information for professionals, parents and carers, and young people themselves. There is also advice for businesses like hotels and taxi drivers.
The website can be found here: http://knowaboutcse.co.uk/
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Cybersecurity Update Webinar (Secure Schools)
Friday 15 January 2021 at 13:30
The Department for Education and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have been made aware of an increasing number of cyber-attacks involving ransomware infection affecting schools and the education sector.
In response, cybersecurity has been highlighted by the DfE, who recently wrote to school leaders with guidance on ransomware. The ESFA has issued new directives and cybersecurity has been added as a new governor responsibility in the Governance Handbook 2020.
Secure Schools has set up a webinar for Safeguarding Briefing readers on Friday 15th January 2021 to help you understand the new responsibilities, the implications for your school and to find an easy way forward.
You can register for the webinar here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aRdSsZyuQQqafC-s3245uw
Prolific male sex offender convicted after posing as a girl
This week a 36 year old man from eastern England was convicted of 96 sex offences against 51 boys aged from four to 14. The National Crime Agency (NCA) say he is one of the most prolific child sexual abuse (CSA) offenders it has ever investigated. The offender created dozens of fake social media accounts pretending to be a girl, encouraging boys to send videos and images of themselves by sending sexual images of young women.
The National Crime Agency said they had evidence up to 500 victims had sent images and that Wilson had approached more than 5,000 children worldwide.
The man will be sentenced on January 12, 2021
TikTok Update Parental Controls with Family Pairing Feature (SWGfL)
TikTok is used by many teenagers and sometimes children younger than that 13 despite its terms and conditions. Using the new Family Pairing feature can allow parents to guide their child’s TikTok experience in a safer way. Features include:
- Search: Decide what can be searched for. This includes content, users, hashtags, or sounds
- Screen Time Management: Sets how long your teen can spend on TikTok each day
- Discoverability: Decide on the account being private (you decide who can see their content) or public (anyone can search and view content)
To find out more information about TikTok's Family Pairing feature and to download a helpful poster to share with pupils and parents, go to: https://swgfl.org.uk/magazine/tiktok-update-parental-controls-with-family-pairing-feature/
Positive Mental Habits poster (BelievePerform)
BelievePerform, a source of performance psychology, well-being and mental health content for the sport community has a number of paid-for posters and infographics. One of their free resources is '10 positive mental health habits that will help you deal with challenging events'.
Download the poster here: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/En-oEBnXIAAN42W?format=jpg&name=large
Stormbreak
Stormbreak is a charity which 'aims to improve children’s mental health through movement, equipping them with sustainable, transferable skills and coping strategies to thrive during the complex demands of growth into adult life'. The charity is led by Dr Martin Yelling in partnership with Bournemouth University, University of Winchester, Dorset CAMHs, Public Health Dorset, DragonFish, schools, teachers and children.
The Stormbreak challenges help primary-aged children develop resilience, relationships, self-worth, self-care and hope and optimism.
Find out more here: https://www.stormbreak.org.uk/
Teacher training for the PSHE curriculum (DfE)
The DfE have released a new training pack of practical training materials for primary and secondary schools to use to train staff to teach about families. The module contains key knowledge and facts to help teachers understand what they must teach.
The DfE says that the slides should be adapted to suit an individual school's context, including adding their own videos and resources to make the teaching more visual and interactive.
Special note about safeguarding
The resource says 'let your designated safeguarding lead...know what you are teaching. This will enable them to identify and speak to relevant pupils, especially those who they know may have been directly impacted by issues covered in the lessons and those with adverse childhood experiences'.
The module can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-training-families
Forthcoming Courses
Advanced Safeguarding for DSLs
ONLINE Wednesday, 9 December 2020 BOOK NOW
ONLINE Thursday, 14 January 2021 BOOK NOW
...and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience BOOK NOW
Safeguarding for Everyone
Excellent as an online safeguarding session for all staff. Set up for your school on request.
For more information, go to: Whole School Safeguarding Course (Online)
Until next time, keep safe.
Best regards,
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