Safeguarding

Safeguarding team Serious safeguarding concerns Staying safe online and safety apps Statement from Hampshire Constabulary

Report online safety concerns to CEOP link

From time to time parents, carers or neighbours may become concerned about the safety of a child who attends The Henry Cort Community College if you:

  • Are concerned that a child is not safe; 
  • Are concerned that a child may not be safe;
  • Think a child might be being abused. 

You should contact the college and ask to speak to one of the Designated Safeguarding Leads:

Mr Carroll

DSL

Dr Evans

 DSL

Mrs Johnson

Operational DSL

Mr Lane

Deputy DSL

Mrs Plumridge

Deputy DSL

 

Ms Selfe

Deputy DSL

Mrs Warner

Deputy DSL

 

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Serious safeguarding concerns

If you have serious concerns because you think that a child might be being abused (physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or neglect) you should contact the Children’s Services Department at Hampshire County Council: 

  • During office hours (8.30am to 5.00pm) you should contact Children’s Services either by phone on 0300 555 1384 or email childrens.services@hants.gov.uk
  • At all other times you should contact the Out of Hours Service: 0300 555 1373 

For all emergency situations please call 999.  Should a person be a victim of this crime, our advice is to report it immediately to police.

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Staying safe online

It can be challenging for parents to know whether children are spending too much time on their devices.  Furthermore, it is even more challenging to know whether a child is addicted to the internet or social media.  The National Online Safety team have produced some Top Tips for Parents dowload icon.

The Children’s Commissioner has launched a guide for parents and carers on online sexual harassment and how they can support children to stay safe online: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/report/talking-to-your-child-about-online-sexual-harassment-a-guide-for-parents/ external link

“The things I wish my parents had known” draws together advice from 16 to 21 year olds on how parents should manage tricky conversations around sexual harassment and access to inappropriate content, including pornography.

The Commissioner’s office began a programme of work focussing on peer-on-peer abuse following the avalanche of testimonies on the Everyone’s Invited website, which laid bare an epidemic of sexual violence among teens. This was picked up in Ofsted’s June 2021 review of sexual harassment in schools and colleges: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges external link

A surprising, but overriding message from young people is that parents should start these challenging conversations early. They suggest broaching topics before a child is given a phone or a social media account, which is often around the age of 9 or 10.  The Children’s Commissioner hopes that her guide will serve as a useful starting point to raise awareness and understanding of online harassment, and to complement key messages on the new relationships and sex education curriculum.

Safety Apps

We would like to make you aware of two apps to help keep your child safe:

Our Pact logo OurPact - https://ourpact.com/ external link is a simple family locator and parental control app that allows parents to locate family members and limit screen time by blocking internet and app access from your own phone.
HollieGuard logo HollieGuard https://hollieguard.com/ external link icon is a personal safety app and useful for when teenagers are out and about on their own, particularly if walking home at night.  Hollie Guard can help children stay safe, if in danger a simple shake or tap activates Hollie Guard, automatically sending your location and audio/video evidence to your designated contacts.
R;pple logo R;pple is an interceptive tool designed to present a visual prompt when a person searches for harmful keywords or phrases relating to the topic of self-harm or suicide. These phrases include any words or terminology which have been identified as displaying potentially damaging online content.  This offers an additional layer of protection and support for young people.
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Statement from Hampshire Constabulary 

Hampshire Constabulary will carry out thorough investigations into matters of children sharing explicit videos or photos of another child on social media, and will speak to anyone who has a connection with these incidents.

The advice from the police remains the same; if a child or young person receives an inappropriate image or video on any social media platform, be it Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp or any other channel, they should delete it immediately and tell a trusted adult, for example a teacher or parent.
It is really important that they understand that if they show an indecent image or video to someone else or forward it on to other people, they could be committing a crime and we want to stop that happening. We have been clear that we do not want to criminalise children and that they will not be in trouble if they have made a genuine mistake.

Sadly, we are seeing more offences where children and young people are being targeted by offenders who conceal their identities, and know where to go online to access and initiate false friendships with children. Unfortunately, no-one is immune to the dangers and so it is vital we support children and young people in knowing how to keep themselves safe on-line and to minimise risk. Please discuss this with your children and encourage them to talk to you or another trusted adult if they have any worries or concerns. They can also call ChildLine if they really don’t feel comfortable talking to someone face-to-face.

If you have any concerns about the safety of your children online or would like to know more, there is further support and advice for children and parents available on the CEOP website http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ external link icon.

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