Topics for this month:
Pride month
Celebrated in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots which instigated an international gay rights movement, Pride Month is a time to honour and call for the increased equality and visibility of LGBTQIA+ people around the world.
We recently shared some very useful resources focusing on the awareness of LGBTQIA+ and the importance of sharing information with learners and employers to ensure it is a focus within the curriculum. We have attached the slides delivered by West Yorkshire Learning Providers via GMLPN as a reminder, as well as important definitions for you to be aware of and understand.
FutureLearn also offer an array of online courses designed to educate, inform, and start vital conversations around LGBTQIA+ diversity, inequality, and inclusion.
To view the selection of courses, please visit:
Click here for the LGBT Awareness Webinar
Click here for the Definitions
Affinity Health at work
Workplace wellbeing is becoming more and more relevant as businesses begin to understand the links between wellness, productivity, attraction, and retention. Promoting wellbeing can help prevent stress and create positive working environments where individuals and organisations can thrive.
Good health and wellbeing can be a core enabler of employee engagement and organisational performance.
Founded in 2006, ‘Affinity Health at Work’ is a niche occupational health psychology consultancy and research group. Their aim is to make a tangible difference in the way workplaces function – to humanise the workplace by improving levels of employee health and wellbeing and by enhancing people’s management and leadership skills.
They have always believed that the knowledge, tools, and guidance that their research and work generates should be freely available to all. This belief, along with their awareness that so many people face challenges in accessing good, evidence-based information to steer their practice and decisions, led to their conviction and commitment to create affinity in the workplace.
There is a free access ‘Health and wellbeing Hub’ on their website which provides materials on a range of health, wellbeing, and engagement topics. For each topic, the materials included will be organised into three categories:
- Evidence
- Tools and Guidance
- National Policy Implications
The unique expert resources, tools and guidance are easy to find, access and read. Whether you are an employee, academic or Apprentice, with an interest in rigorous solutions to health and wellbeing in the workplace.
There are many topics to choose from, just pick your topic of interest (such as stress at work) and then explore the best, most up-to-date literature, tools and guidance for individuals, managers and for organisations, saving hours of time searching for information. And thanks to their sponsors the hub and guidance is free!
For more information visit the link:http://affinityhealthhub.co.uk/add-evidence-and-tools
Having a conversation with parents and carers about mental health (Young Minds)
Mental health is a very emotional subject to talk about. This is especially true of conversations between teachers and parents and carers. Sometimes it can be difficult to know how to approach the first conversation. Young Minds has created a guide to help navigate these conversations.
The guide can be downloaded here: https://youngminds.org.uk/resources/school-resources/having-a-conversation-with-parents-and-carers-about-mental-health/
The Young Minds Parents Helpline can be contacted on 0808 802 5544 (Monday to Friday 9.30am – 4pm, free for mobiles and landlines)
Self-generated images and taking back control – Ineqe Safeguarding Group
Self-generated child sexual abuse material (also referred to as self-generated sexually explicit material) can be understood as naked or semi-naked images or videos created by a child or young person depicting sexual activity. These may be shared consensually at first, then forwarded onto or obtained maliciously by offenders who will coerce and/or groom children online.
What to do if you’re worried a child or young person has shared an image online
It’s helpful to have a clear understanding of what you can do if a child or young person in your care loses control of an image before it happens.
You might want to talk to the children in your care about who they would talk to if they were worried about something online. You might have heard ‘what goes online stays online’ – this is not true. There is always something that can be done, and statements like these can remove all sense of hope from a vulnerable child.
Taking back control
Ineqe Safeguarding Group have identified some practical steps you can use if a child tells you that they have lost control of an image:
- Support the child in your care by helping them understand what’s happened. Thank them for telling you and calmly explain that there are some steps you can take together to ask for the image to be removed
- You should encourage the child to seek support from Childline, who can explain the process to them. Adults can speak to the NSPCC Adults Helpline for support.
- Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation have released an online tool to help children and young people regain control of any nude image of themselves online. You can access this here
- Try to gather a list of where the image has appeared or who has received it
- Adults can make an online report to CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command) or contact the local police force for support if they have concerns a child is being groomed or sexually abused online
- Adults can also report the URL of images for removal directly to the Internet Watch Foundation
- Always save the URL instead of the image. It is important not copy or send the image to anyone, even the police – the image will constitute an indecent image of a child and should not be shared or saved.
- Young people can upload their own image or URL to the Internet Watch Foundation’s Portal via their Childline account for removal
- If you have concerns about the immediate safety of a child, you should call 999 (emergency number)
More information can be found at:
Click here for some mental health tips
7 minute briefings:
This months’ 7 minute briefings focus on ‘County Lines’ and ‘Social Media and Mental Health’.
County Lines – is the term commonly used to describe the approach taken by gangs and criminal networks to supply class A drugs from urban to suburban areas across the country, including market and coastal towns, using dedicated mobile phone lines known as ‘deal lines’ or ‘graft lines’.
The 7 minute briefing provides valuable information on County lines such as how it works; why it matters; recognising vulnerabilities; spotting the signs; and what you can do if you think an individual is being groomed.
Social Media and Mental Health – Social Media has transformed the way society communicates. However, the speed at which the online environment has evolved has also magnified existing safeguarding issues, including those associated with Mental Health & Wellbeing. The 7 minute briefing covers why it matters; information on social media and how it is used; what to do as professionals; and questions to consider.
Click here for the social media briefing
Click here for the county lines briefing
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