Mental Health and Wellbeing
If you are concerned about your child’s mental health or wellbeing, talk to a member of the safeguarding team or their tutor in the first instance.
Students can also access support directly by speaking to their tutor, the safeguarding team or any trusted member of staff.
The quiet room is another good place for students to go to begin to seek support about mental health and wellbeing issues. Jane Gibbs is a member of the Safeguarding Team and our Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead and is based in the quiet room. She will be able to provide initial advice and signpost students for extra support.
Counselling
We offer a confidential student counselling service two days a week at Sands. Students can book in with either of our counsellors Kate Day or Lizzie Katz via the Safeguarding Team. If you would like to refer your child for counselling, speak to the DSL, Nathan Gribble. Demand for counselling is always high, once we receive a request you will be added to the waiting list, we’ll book your first appointment as soon as a space is available.
In order for counselling to be beneficial the child must want to choose to engage with it. A child cannot be forced to attend or counselling should not be a requirement of any behavioural plan.
Counselling poster
Counselling leaflet for students
Counselling policy
Mobile Phone Policy
At Sands we take a common sense approach to mobile phones. We recognise that mobile phones and the internet are a big part of young people’s lives today and their future. There are many benefits from mobile phones and the internet such as:
- being able to keep in contact with family when out and about
- keeping in contact with family and friends
- helping them organise their time
- research
- educational apps
- entertainment from games and content
However, there are also many risks associated with having a mobile phone or going online including:
- distraction from school work
- online bullying
- being exposed to inappropriate and/or harmful content
- online abuse
- sharing inappropriate images/content or having it shared with them
- scams and gambling
- unhealthy life balance from spending too much time online
We believe the best way to support our students to use mobiles and the internet safely is to educate them about the risks and have a supportive open relationship with them and to put in place appropriate boundaries for use of phones at school.
The vast majority of our students who choose to bring a phone to school with them use it responsibly, and when things do go wrong our students inform us quickly so we can support them. We feel this is much safer than having a blanket ban on phones in school. However, we are constantly reviewing our policy and discussing as a whole school how we can tackle risks and inappropriate usage.
Parents should know that permitting phones, is not the same as being pro-phones. Many of our students do not have a mobile phone or only have a ‘dumb’ phone that they can use to contact family with. If you choose not to give your child a phone or not to allow them to come to school with one, they will not be alone and we would fully support that decision.
Where parents do give their children a smart phone we encourage you to pay an active interest in how your child is using their phone and to monitor the suitability of the apps and websites they use. As you will see below most social media apps/sites have an age limit of 13+ and so will not be suitable for students in our youngest year groups.
Parents are strongly recommended to make use of the parental controls and safety settings on their child’s phone, mobile network, home internet and in the apps they use. We would always advise communication with your child about why you are putting these protections in place. The following link has advice on how to set up controls nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/parental-controls. This webpage provides a useful guide to navigating parental controls for most commonly used devices, networks and apps: internetmatters.org/parental-controls. Our Online Safety Lead also offers regular parent meetings to support parents in working to protect their children including navigating parental controls.
Online Safety
Reporting harmful content
If you or your child find harmful content on social media, you must first report it to the social media platform. After 48 hours, you can then make a report here:
https://reportharmfulcontent.com/report/
For a comprehensive list of ‘harms’, please follow this link https://reportharmfulcontent.com/harms/
If you or your child discover child sexual abuse images online, you can report it to the Internet Watch Foundation here:
https://www.iwf.org.uk/en/uk-report/
If you are unsure on where to report harms that do not fit into the categories above, please follow this link for detailed information https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-reporting/
NSPCC helpline: 0808 800 5000
NSPCC email: help@NSPCC.org.uk
Nude and semi-nude images
Young people sometimes share nude or semi-nude images of themselves with friends or people they are in a relationship with. They do this for a variety of reasons, such as to feel closer to the other person, to flirt or sometimes just for a joke. However, it is illegal to possess or share a nude or semi-nude image of a young person, and once an image is shared the young person loses control over where it can end up. Whether it gets further shared or not, worrying about what might happen to an image they have shared can impact a young person’s mental health.
The videos on this webpage give a good overview of the reasons young people share these images, how to talk to your child about it and what the dangers are.
https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/parents/articles/Nude-selfies-a-parents-guide/
You can use the Childline removal tool to try to get an image that a young person has shared removed from the internet.
https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/report-remove/
Social Media
While social media can be a powerful tool for communication, education and entertainment, there are age restrictions in place to protect our young people. However, social media platforms often do not check the details of those that create accounts, so there are many young people under the age of 13 accessing content that may be harmful to them. Please find below an overview of the age requirements for different social media apps.
13 years old and upwards
16 years old and upwards
Not suitable for under 18 year olds
Common Sense Media is a website that reviews films, books, games and apps and provides age guides and content guides to the media to help parents make an assessment of whether particular media is suitable for their child. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews
Video games
Video games sold in the UK and Europe have the following PEGI system to help you make an informed decision on whether it is appropriate for your child. Online and physical copies will display the following symbols:
The first row identifies the age suitability, the second row contains content warnings. It’s important to understand the age ratings don’t relate to the level of complexity of the game but to the content within the game. Children should not play games that are rated above their age.
PEGI 3 – suitable for all ages
PEGI 7 – suitable for young children
PEGI 12 – suitable for children 12 and over
PEG 16 – suitable for children 16 and over
PEGI 18 – Only suitable for adults
The Video Recordings Act 1984 only makes it illegal to supply a PEGI 12, 16 or 18 rated games to a person under those ages. It doesn’t make it illegal for a younger person to play a game if their parents let them.
Common Sense Media is a website that reviews films, books, games and apps and provides age guides and content guides to the media to help parents make an assessment of whether particular media is suitable for their child. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews
Internet Matters provides more information about game ratings and how to choose games that are suitable for your child.