Author: Sean Jones (Page 8 of 8)

Topics for this month:

Mental Health Awareness – Free Resources

Virtual College have a range of free resources for Employees to help develop and promote strong mental wellbeing. Resources include: Activity Tracker and Planner; Work-life Balance Tracker; Warnings Signs Assessment; Stress management and many more. https://goo.gl/3uTW6a

Young People and Gambling

The Gambling Commission submitted its annual report last week focusing on young people and gambling for 2018. 2,865 young people aged 11-16 took part and results show that:

• 14% of 11-16 year olds had spent their own money on gambling, which is up from 12% in 2017 but still lower than rates seen prior to 2017
• This compared to 13% who had drunk alcohol in the past week, 4% who had smoked cigarettes and 2% who had taken illegal drugs
• The principal forms of gambling are placing a private bet for money with friends (6%), National Lottery scratch-cards (4%), fruit/slot machines (3%) and playing cards for money with friends (3%)
• Just in the last week it was discovered that nearly 90% of the pubs across England that were tested, failed to prevent children from gambling on their fruit machines. These are businesses that are not gambling companies but nevertheless have a duty to protect young people from being harmed.

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/survey-data/Young-People-and-Gambling-2018-Report.pdf

Knife Crime – The Knife Angel

There were 40,147 knife offences in the 12 months ending in March 2018 in England and Wales, a 16% increase on the previous year and the highest number since 2011.

A memorial has been designed by the artist Alfie Bradley, to those whose lives have been affected by knife crime. Alfie has created the ‘Knife Angel’ single-handedly at the British Ironworks Centre from 100,000 knives which were surrendered and collected during nationwide amnesties in 2015/2016.

The Knife Angel is a national monument against violence and aggression to highlight the issue’s impact of people’s lives. The sculpture has been placed outside the Liverpool Cathedral and will be there until 31^st January 2019. The latest figures record more than nine hundred serious crimes involving knives on Merseyside last year.

Awareness of Forced Marriage

It is estimated that approximately 8,000-10,000 forced marriages of British citizens take place every year often resulting in devastating long term consequences for the victims. The following online course has been developed with the Forced Marriage Unit of the Foreign Office and aims to raise awareness, challenge perceptions and inform you of the correct actions to take should you suspect someone is at risk.

Find the course here: https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/resources/free-courses/awareness-of-forced-marriage

Citizens Advice
Citizens Advicepreviously known as the Citizens Advice Bureauis a network of 316independent charities throughout the United Kingdom that give free, confidential information and advice to assist people with money, legal, consumer and other personal problems. Research conducted has found that 4 in 5 of citizen’s advice clients felt stressed, depressed or anxious and 3 in 5 clients felt their physical health decline as a result of their practical problem.

There is a growing body of evidence which shows that tackling practical problems through advice can considerably improve ‘health and wellbeing’. The national citizen’s advice impact research project reports that 70% of clients said they felt less stressed and 46% said their physical health improved after seeking advice. Of other citizen’s advice clients experiencing long-term conditions, 57% said they were able to manage their condition easier resulting in a better quality of life.

Further information can be found at: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Did you know?…

The Citizens Advice can offer advice on the following: Debt and money; family Law; benefits; health; housing; work; immigration and consumer rights.

Topics for this month:

Are you familiar with the term ‘County Lines’?

Criminal exploitation is also known as ‘county lines’ and this can happen when gangs and organised crime networks exploit children to sell drugs. These children are often made to travel across counties, and they use dedicated mobile phone ‘lines’ to supply drugs. Gangs are deliberately targeting vulnerable children i.e. those who are homeless, living in care homes or trapped in poverty. These children are unsafe, often unloved, or unable to cope, and the gangs take advantage of this.

The criminals and gangs groom, threaten or trick children into trafficking their drugs for them. They might threaten a young person physically, or they might threaten the young person’s family members. The gangs might also offer something in return for the young person’s cooperation i.e. it could be money, food, alcohol, clothes and jewellery, or improved status, but the giving of these gifts will usually be manipulated so that the child feels they are in debt to their exploiter.

What are the signs of criminal exploitation and county lines?

• 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 from school, college, training or work
• Unexplained money, phone(s), clothes or jewellery
• Increasingly disruptive or aggressive behaviour
• Using sexual, drug-related or violent language you wouldn’t expect them to know
• Coming home with injuries or looking particularly disheveled
• Having hotel cards or keys to unknown places.

The Children’s Commissioner estimates there are at least 46,000 children in England who are involved in gang activity. If you think a young person is in immediate danger ensure you contact the police. If you are concerned about a young person or vulnerable adult’s welfare, please contact JTM’s Safeguarding Officer on 0151 336 9340.

Wirral Safeguarding Board – Survey

The WSCB recently carried out a survey of young people to identify their safeguarding priorities. 602 responses were received and the top 8 priority areas identified were:

1. Mental ill health received the highest number of votes with 96
2. Combatting physical abuse received 95 votes
3. Online Safety received  90 votes
4. Combatting sexual abuse and exploitation got 70 votes
5. Bullying and online bullying received 69 votes
6. Combatting domestic violence received 66 votes
7. Self-Harm also received 66 votes
8. Sexting received 51 votes

Young Minds Crisis Messenger

If a young person is experiencing a mental health crisis, they can text the YoungMinds Crisis Messenger for free, 24/7 support, by texting YM to85258. Texts are free from EE, O2, Vodafone, 3, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile and Telecom Plus.

Young Minds aim to connect every texter to a trained volunteer in less than 5 minutes to provide support in a crisis. They will listen to the young person and help them to think through how they are feeling, and will aim to help them take the next steps towards feeling better. 

https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/get-urgent-help/youngminds-crisis-messenger/?mc_cid=4117809a36&mc_eid=52c3e86d31#how-does-it-work?-

Halloween Safety Tips: Wednesday 31^st October 2018

Lots of people decorate their doorsteps and paths with candlelit pumpkins for Halloween. They look great, but are an obvious fire hazard. One way to reduce this risk is to

• use battery operated tea lights. They provide the same effect and substantially reduce the fire risk. LED tea lights are widely available at high street shops.
• You could also try placing glow sticks or flashing bike lights inside pumpkins to give a more ghostly and spooky effect.
• Choose the costume carefully. Avoid billowing, long trailing fabric, plastic capes or using bin liners as costumes. It’s a good idea towear natural fibres (such as wool, cotton or viscose) next to the skin, underneath a synthetic costume.

During a fire, synthetic material melts on to the skin and whilst natural fibres are still flammable they do provide further protection between the skin and synthetic material.

• Keep flowing items like fake hair and capes away from candle and other flames.

• Keep an eye on children at all times when around lit candles.
• Teach children how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire.
• If you like to decorate your garden and paths then use flashlights instead of garden candles and lanterns.

Firework Safety: Bonfire Night – Monday 5^th November 2018

It is important that fireworks are purchased from a reputable shop to make sure that they conform to British Standards. This means that they should have BS 7114 written on the box. Sometimes shops open up for a short time before Bonfire Night but these may not be the best places to buy fireworks from. Staff in these shops might not be very knowledgeable about using fireworks safely and their fireworks might not meet British Standards.

Don’t buy fireworks from anywhere you’re not sure about, such as the back of a van or from a temporary, unlicensed market stall.

Did you know?…

• It is an offence to let fireworks off during the night hours of 11pm-7am, except on Bonfire night (midnight), Diwali, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year (1am)
• If you are under 18, you can’t: buy the types of fireworks which can be sold only to adults or, have fireworks in public places. If you do, the police can give you an on-the-spot fine of £80.
• It is against the law to: set off or throw fireworks in the street or other public places. If found guilty by the courts, you could be fined up to £5,000 and can be imprisoned for up to three months. You may be liable for an on-the-spot fine of £80.

Topics for this month:

A new update (iOS 12.0) for IPhones – Screen Time

One of the new features recently released by Apple, focuses on ‘Screen Time’.  Screen time monitors how much time a person is spending on their device, from what apps they are using, to the number of times throughout the day they are picking up their phone to glance at the screen. Screen time can be used to set time limits on apps, set content filters and restrict app usage. The update also breaks down the time spent on different categories of apps, such as social networking, productivity and games.

For more information regarding the update, please access the following link: https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2018/06/ios-12-introduces-new-features-to-reduce-interruptions-and-manage-screen-time/

Screen time is a good tool for learners, staff, and parents/carers to use to be mindful of how much time they are spending on their devices.

E-Safety: Did you know?…

Almost 1 in 4, of 8 to 11-year-olds and 3 in 4, of 12 to 15-year-olds has a social media profile (Ofcom 2017)

1 in 3 internet users are children (NSPCC 2015)

Healthy and unhealthy relationships – NSPCC

Childline has released figures which show that it held 3,878 counselling sessions about peer on peer sexual abuse in 2017/18 – a 29% rise since 2016/17. Childline has relaunched its #ListenToYourSelfie campaign about healthy and unhealthy relationships and is promoting the online tool ‘Looking out for Lottie’ to help young people recognise when a relationship doesn’t feel right.

For more information, please access the following link:

https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/friends-relationships-sex/sex-relationships/healthy-unhealthy-relationships/

Increasing concerns regarding KIK messenger

Kik messenger has been around since 2010, and has round 300 million users worldwide which is popular with children and young people. The NPCC (National Police Chiefs Council) reported last week that the number of Child Sexual Exploitation reports over the last 2 and a half years has quadrupled. It is important that everyone is aware of the dangers of this app and that if learners’ engaging in the app have any concerns, to contact JTM’s Safeguarding Officer on 0151 336 9340

Prevent and British Values

British values are a set of four values introduced to help and protect children and young people’s safety and welfare. They also help to ensure young people understand the importance of respect, and leave education and training fully prepared for life in modern Britain.The four values are democracy, rule of law, respect and tolerance and individual liberty.

British Values are an important part of the Prevent strategy, and it is the duty of all providers to follow these values and put them into every day practice; specifically to counter extremism.

Topics for this month:

World Suicide Prevention Day: 10^th September 2018

Unfortunately one person dies every 40 seconds by suicide and up to 25 times as many again make a suicide attempt. There are also many more people who have been bereaved by suicide or have been close to someone who has made an attempt. This World Suicide Prevention Day event is about the global community, encouraging people to engage with each other and to join together to spread awareness of suicide prevention, by collectively ‘Cycling Around the Globe’.

Click here for more information;

For more information about how you or someone you know can get involved, please click the following link: https://iasp.info/wspd2018/cycle-around-the-globe-participants-and-distances/

The importance of ‘taking a minute’ to reach out to someone, whether it is a friend, colleague or family member to ask how they are, can make a huge difference. Read the attached leaflet for more information, or visithttps://iasp.info/wspd2018/ or visit https://www.samaritans.org/media-centre/our-campaigns/world-suicide-prevention-day

World Alzheimer’s Month: September 2018

Every year, World Alzheimer’s Day takes place on 21st September, and is the focus of ‘World Alzheimer’s Month’ in September. Globally, dementia is one of the biggest challenges, with nearly 50 million people living with dementia worldwide. You can help fund vital research by joining 100,000 people on a memory walk, united against dementia.

To find your nearest memory walk, click on the following link: https://www.memorywalk.org.uk/find-a-walk/

What are Parental Controls?

Parental controls are features that may be included in new technology such as personal computers, laptops, tablets, computer and video games, computer software, mobile phones and digital television services. These controls can be used to limit access to only age appropriate content, to set usage times and limits and to monitor activity.

Click here for more information;

The 4 big internet providers in the UK: BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, provide their customers with free parental controls which can be activated at any time. Guides for these can be found at: https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers/parental-controls-offered-your-home-internet-provider

Domestic Abuse Toolkit for Employers

1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men suffer from domestic abuse in their lifetime, and an estimated 1.9 million adults aged 16-59 experienced domestic abuse in the last year. There was an average of less than one disclosure to employers within medium and large organisation over the past 12 months, which suggests not enough employees feel supported to raise the problem. Please access the attached toolkit

Click here for more information;

Did you know?…

95% of teen social media users say they have a Facebook profile, 50% have a Instagram account  and 33% of teens use Snapchat. However, 35% are worried about people tagging them in unattractive photos and 27% feel stressed about how they look in posted photos.  It is important that we discuss with young adults the use of social media and the pressures they may feel that they are under to portray a ‘perfect’ image. This can have implications on their mental health and affect their wellbeing. For more information please follow: https://youngminds.org.uk/

Five ways that you can help young people feel good about themselves:

• Avoid social comparison
• Focus on their own talents and strengths
• Improve and maintain physical activity for their own wellbeing
• Believe in themselves
• Help and be kind to others around them

Topics for this month:

Sun Safety

The Teenage Cancer Trust found that 61% of young people aged 13-24 have avoided using sunscreen in order to get a ‘better tan’. As the weather gets hotter, we need to be more knowledgeable about keeping safe in the sun than ever before.

The damage done to young skin can lead to skin cancer developing in later life, so it’s vital to help young people protect themselves in the sun. The teenage cancer trust have launched a safety campaign to help raise awareness of how to stay safe in the sun. https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/support-us/spread-word/shunburn-stay-safe-sun?mc_cid=ef21693c4e&mc_eid=52c3e86d31 

Safety at Music Festivals

Many of our learners may be spending time over the summer attending festivals. Going to a festival can be an amazing experience, but there are hazards and people need to be aware of how they can keep themselves safe. A website called Festival Safe has information for whether it is their first time and what they are to expect, camping advice, alcohol and drugs advice and much more.

Please access this link and information so that you know how to keep yourself safe. https://www.festivalsafe.com/?mc_cid=187a85b3dd&mc_eid=52c3e86d31

#NoMoreKnives Campaign

As knife crime in the UK continues to rise, there are a number of campaigns launched around the UK, particularly in Liverpool, to help prevent Knife crime in the city. After Sam Cook’s death and the fatal stabbing of Adam Ellison; Police, local radio stations and newspapers, Liverpool City Council, local boxing and sports clubs, Liverpool John Moores University and many more, are all supporting the campaign to help raise awareness around the city.

ITV news worked with Aintree hospital to produce a short film to show how the emergency services are handling the troubling increase of knife crime. The film was broadcast and can be found here: https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/1020024306926047233

Radicalisation

An overview leaflet has been designed to help capture the information of;

• Protecting Children and Young People from radical influence
• How radicalisation occurs
• What are the warning signs
• Sign posting and useful contacts

Click here for more information;

Did you know?…

According to a 2017 report, online jihadist propaganda gets more clicks in Britain than in any other European country. (The New Netwar: Countering Extremism Online – Policy Exchange Sept 2017)

Updated Guidance: Working together to Safeguard Children 2018

The guidance for ‘Working Together to safeguard children’ has now been updated to reflect changes in the law, including the Children and Social Work Act (2017). This guidance should be read alongside the ‘Keeping children safe in Education’ which both set out the responsibilities and duties schools, colleges and educational providers have when safeguarding children and promoting their welfare.

Topics for this month:

World Cup 2018:

Researchers from Lancaster University studied incidents of domestic abuse during the World Cup matches in 2002, 2006 and 2010, and found a 38% rise on days when the England team played and lost, and a 26% rise when England won or drew. In 2016, BBC Radio 4 covered this issue during their ‘Thinking Allowed’ programme and a researcher from the University of Chester spoke about her findings which included that her study revealed that women endured a range of harms, including physical, sexual and economic abuse as well as coercive and controlling behaviours. While the abuse wasn’t limited to sport, sport was a means through which their fanatical partners exerted power and maintained control over them.

To raise awareness of domestic abuse, anti-social behaviour and racist abuse, Suffolk police have designed posters which may help if we need to help individuals or sign post them to relevant help and support.

Sign posting:

Website and also a 24 hour National Domestic Violence Freephone Helpline:0808 2000 247

Click here for more information;

Click here form more information;

http://www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk/?mc_cid=5f002a46cb&mc_eid=52c3e86d31

Women’s Aid have created this website to help children and young people to understand domestic abuse, and how to take positive action if it’s happening to them

Updated Bullying Definition

A YouGov poll revealed that 72% of GB children, aged 13-17 years, agreed that the definition of ‘bully’ should be updated. After campaigning by the Diana Award, Google, Collins, Dictionary.com, Oxford Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary, have changed their definition of bullying.

The original definition described bullies as being ‘strong’ and their victims being ‘weak’, but the new definition instead, highlights ‘vulnerabilities’.

Original definition: Bully – A person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker.

New definition: Bully – A person who habitually seeks to harm or intimidate whose who, they perceive as vulnerable.