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Safeguarding and support for pupils

 
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NAHT members are at the forefront of safeguarding children. School leaders are committed to keeping children safe, so they can learn well. NAHT believes that all pupils should receive the support they need to maintain their well-being and achieve their potential, both within school and from wider services including health and social care.

NAHT is campaigning to:

Enable schools to play their part in supporting pupils' well-being

  • Lobby for pupils and schools to get the support they need from wider services including health, social care, police and youth services
  • Influence the implementation of the proposals from the mental health green paper, including the senior lead for mental health and mental health support teams
  • Support schools to access relevant, high-quality training and resources to enable pupils to exercise their right to support for their mental well-being.

 

Support schools to safeguard and protect pupils

  • Engage with the DfE over proposed changes to the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
  • Influence changes to Keeping Children Safe In Education, Working Together and Sexual Violence and harassment guidance
  • Campaign to improve online safety for children and young people
  • Press the government to ensure home educated children are adequately safeguarded
  • Promote guidance and resources to support schools to protect children at risk of harm including involvement with violence and other crime.

 

Enable schools to support vulnerable groups of pupils

  • Campaign to ensure pupils with SEND can receive the support they need from schools and wider services
  • Press for improved alternative provision and collaborative approaches across communities to support pupils excluded from school
  • Provide information to schools to help them to support disadvantaged children
  • Enable schools to make informed decisions regarding parental requests to home educate
  • Ensure reforms to behaviour guidance and networks is evidence-based and appropriate for all schools and a diverse pupil population. 
 

Five tips for 'switched on' conversations about technology

We recognise that some adults lack confidence or knowledge when it comes to technology. Along with other organisations, NAHT recommends that parents and children have open and constructive conversations about the use of technology.

We have suggested five tips for families considering an internet-enabled gift, so that they are as ‘switched on’ as possible when they talk to their children:

  • Make sure your children feel confident they can come to you if they need help or are unsure about anything that happens online.
  • Have open and open regular conversations with your children about technology and their use of it. Agree a set of family rules, including around screen time.
  • Check the capabilities of the devices your child uses including toys. Does it have internet access? Can it be used to communicate with others?
  • Be aware of and follow the age requirements of many social media apps and services, as well as games.
  • Help your child get started. Find out what safety tools or parental controls are available, and how they work and set them up as appropriate. For younger children, supervise their use. 

These guidelines have been drafted in cooperation with Childnet International, a non-profit organisation working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children.

With internet-enabled toys and online devices being popular gifts for children and young people this time of year, NAHT general secretary, Paul Whiteman said “We would never suggest that parents completely avoid buying smartphones, tablets or games consoles but we would urge them to think carefully about the right gift for their child and to talk to them about what boundaries and permissions will be set.”

First published 11 December 2019
First published 11 December 2019
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