This week in assemblies we have been considering “Keeping Safe”. We have looked at some of the different risks young people need to know to protect themselves against. This included looking at staying safe online and making sure that they take care with the information they share online and using all digital media. We looked at the “Bill Board Test”, which is if you would not want your post, comment or picture shared on a huge billboard for everyone to see, then don’t post it. thinkuknow.co.uk is an excellent source of advice on staying safe online.
We thought about sources of support if something is worrying us, ranging from parents and family through to tutors and heads of year.
We shared with students that if they are concerned for their own or someone else’s safety then they should speak to one of our Safeguarding leads in school, Mrs Buckley, Mrs Pearce or Mrs Woods. The message clearly was talking about things that worry us can help us reach solutions and help us feel better and more able to manage the challenges we all face.
However, the biggest risk to young people remains road safety, we recapped the good old rules of crossing in a safe place, Stop, Look and Listen. Crucially we considered the distraction of mobile phone and headphone use when near or crossing roads. As we move to the darker mornings and evenings we would encourage parents to purchase some of the excellent and good value for money mini lights and visibility strips which can be attached to bags and coats to ensure that children can be seen in low light levels.