Child Protection and Safeguarding

The atmosphere that I usually experience from and with my colleagues on this PGCE course is usually one that could be described as energetic, fun, enthusiastic and light-hearted.

This was not the case at 10.15 this morning.

We had a lecture today about child protection and safeguarding. It was the first in a series of two lectures, delivered by very qualified and interesting experts in the field.
It doesn't really matter that I have now forgotten the name of the woman who gave today's lecture, it is infinitely more important that I remember what she told us.

I have completed training on child protection before. When I worked as an LSA in a primary school, there was an inset dedicated to this. I am also a mentor for the national charity, Chance UK. Part of their intensive training is on safeguarding.

I am very glad to say that it hasn't become any easier to hear the statistics and facts that were mentioned again today. I truly hope that it never is.

There are 11.4 million children in the UK

Children deemed 'In Need'  - over 400,000

'Looked after' - 83,381

with a child protection plan - 42,330

Deaths

from abuse or neglect, in the UK - 

50 - 100 per year

2 children every week

The average sexual abuser is a 13 year old boy, who is known to the victim.

My colleagues and I felt very subdued by what we heard. Personally, I have seen only a small amount of what might be considered neglect or abuse. Putting my experiences into the context of the statistics above is extremely sobering.

I have heard cases where a child was punished for using 'bad' language at home. This I'm sure happens to many children. In this case, however, the mother would heat up a spoon over the flame of a gas burner on the stove until it was glowing hot, and then put it on the child's lips.

I was told about a case where a parent used a horse whip on his daughter and niece to keep them compliant.

A young girl, in year six, told a teacher that her brothers had been abusing her for the last 7 years. Her parents knew nothing about it.

I have seen a 5 year old displaying sexual behaviour that is utterly inappropriate,because that is what he has seen at home.

One boy in secondary school never did his homework. He never handed it in, and would sometimes miss school to avoid going through the punishment. After weeks of reprimands, detentions and sanctions, the school found out why. Every night, the boy would get home from school and begin, very diligently, to set about the homework tasks for that day. Sometime after that his father would return from the pub, and rip up every piece of work the boy had done, telling his son that there was 'no point' in doing any of that stuff; that he was 'stupid' for thinking that he would ever amount to anything, regardless of the homework he did.

I am reminded by these stories (and everyone has them, in various degrees of severity) of a couple of things:

1. I am very lucky for having the upbringing I had, and will always be thankful for it.
2. In most cases, we don't know the full story. We need to be vigilant, we need to think, and we need to report things as they happen.

What we can't do, is assume the worst in children. We CANNOT assume that kids are 'just bad' for no reason at all. There is very often an explanation, a reason.

I hope that I will always remember these things, these stories and these statistics.

There is a huge responsibility on all teachers, to keep children in our care safe. If we remember these few things, we may save a life in the future.

someone else's story, someone else's pain

http://yououtnow.wordpress.com/

Here is a blog that has been written by another PGCE student.

I advise all people who read my blog to read the blog linked above. It is exactly this sort of thinking that will make you hate your job within months. The writer thinks of kids as a battle, as the enemy.

How can you hope to enjoy the children you teach, enjoy your role as a teacher and therefore give your class the energy, insight and fun they deserve, if you think in this way.

This is a cautionary tale: it is NOT cool to ‘hate’ children if you are a teacher. It is NOT what ‘everyone’ thinks. Do not be dragged down with the haters – the ones who think of the staffroom as the most enjoyable, safest and best place in the school.

We are teachers for many reasons. Disliking children should not be one of them. If you think this might be you, GET OUT NOW. LEAVE. Leave the course, get another job. Do something else that will make you happy.

Health and Safety

When uttered together, these three words can bring forth images of mind-numbing office training days. We all know exactly the thing: A David Brent character, named something appallingly irritating like Nigel, will come to our place of work and bleat at us about the importance of the correct chair height and the perils of carpal tunnel syndrome. Or maybe that is just my experience?



BUT

For the purposes of our discussion in today’s seminar, we took these three words out of that context, and put the two important words into a very different one: our school environment.

Very specifically, we are talking here about the health of children when using ICT, and their safety while doing so.

Let me be very clear at this point – as jovial as a workplace seminar can be, there is nothing more serious than a teacher’s responsibility for the health, safety and well-being of the children in his or her care. As a teacher, I will consider it one of my highest priorities to ensure that I am appropriately informed and skilled in all aspects of Health and Safety, to guarantee that the kids in my class, and in my school are given the best care possible.

HEALTH

The Health aspect can be seen in a number of ways. The questions that come to mind here are more to do with the appropriateness of resources, and the supervision of children using them. But there is another point here. I didn’t know until today that if I sat staring at a computer screen for longer than 40 minutes, this can be unhealthy. (I must admit at this point, that this is something of which I am guilty of, both in the past and indeed the very very present!)

Children should be encouraged to take regular breaks. Eyestrain can cause a number of issues, including short sightedness. When teaching a session in an ICT suite, we can ensure children focus on both the screen in front of them, as well as looking into the distance.

Using the correct equipment goes a long way to avoid the other health issues. Ergonomically designed chairs, wrist supports and keyboards can be made available to prevent RSI or carpel tunnel and back strain.

The following websites are produced by Local Authorities, and contain more information on these health issues, and others, and how to prevent them:

Warwickshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
Kent Web Trust


Other websites include BBC Bitesize, which offers this advice for combating health issues in an ICT setting for GCSE level. Yes, this is pointed at an older age group, but is a useful snapshot resource for teachers.

SAFETY

Keeping our children 'safe' online is a HUGE issue. When we give children access to the internet, we are exposing them to one of the best, most efficient and diverse resources in history. And it's growing every day. The advantages are huge. It is an amazing learning resource. It is fun, it is totally up-to-date. It is dynamic, and it lets kids see so many things that they previously had no or very limited access to.

But with all of these great points, come some dangers. There are risks for all of us when using the internet, and there are risks that are very particular for children.

DATA

Keep it safe, keep it a secret!
Make sure your passwords for EVERYTHING are kept to yourself. An analogy I really liked was, if someone else used your toothbrush, would you get a new one? Of course, children will register their disgust with this idea and say "Of course!". Well, the same applies to all your passwords.



Think U Know have a great resources section for teachers on how to keep you class informed and safe online.



The London Grid for Learning has a great flyer for parents on e-safety and how to ensure this is maintained in the home, as well as at school.



CEOP - the police developed this site so that children could report anything they
encountered online that they were worried about.



Beat Bullying, the national charity dedicated to eradicating bullying in our schools, has developed the CyberMentors website. It gives advice to schools, pupils and parents on how to keep safe online, and what to do if they feel worried, or in danger about anything they have seen on the internet. Their Safety Centre is certainly worth a look.



Pupils at Oaks Park High School in Redbridge London made their special E-safety version of Little Red Riding Hood, which was designed to explain e-safety in a child-centric and -friendly way.

http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/beingsmart/

Introducing...

Introducing this blog is a funny business.

I have blogged before, and always for pleasure. In previous jobs, I have set up blogs to discuss my work in charities, and progress with the various initiatives I was working on. Around 100 people viewed it in total over the course of a year or two. They were generally helpful and kind with their reactions and comments.

I have also written guest blogs for another organisation, of which I was a board member. I wrote up the conversations we had at our roundtable dinners, where guests were invited to speak on subjects such as sustainability, the global economy and business/charity partnerships.

THIS blog is part of the assessment for the ICT module of my PGCE. It will be assessed by my peers, and my tutors. It is not being informed and populated by anything but my own work and my own thoughts.

So… there is quite a bit of pressure.

Pressure?

For what? To entertain? to inform? Or maybe just pressure to pass?

I guess I’ll go for the first two, and have a crack at the third as well. If I can, I will try to write more than is required – update every few days about the issues that come up, and how the course is going.

And of course, I will need to make sure I complete all that is set out in the ICT module handbook, all the requirements for this element of the assignment. If I am allowed, I won’t limit this blog to that – it will be more fun to discuss the year as a whole.

Also, this will give me an opportunity for self reflection during my progress on the course. It will allow me to vent, to talk about how excited I am about the course, and to record all of the great things that I hear from colleagues and academics.

Finally, what a great thing to look back on in one year’s time!