Safeguarding and & E-safety
If you have any concerns, please email us: safeguarding@twa.kmat.org.uk
Staying Safe Online
Young people are a part of a digital generation who are experiencing a different landscape of communication to anything we have seen before. Embracing that technology is a key part of their development in readiness for the working world today, but it comes with it's challenges and its dangers. At the Westwood Academy, we are committed to ensuring that young people have all of the knowledge that they need to stay safe online, set healthy boundaries for their screen time and internet use, and that they know how to protect their personal information.
Much of this is explored through regular safeguarding briefings and through our Computing and PSHE Curriculum.
Advise and Guidance for parents and carers
Here are some points to follow to help keep your child safe online:
Set up parental controls
Parental controls can be used to block harmful or upsetting content for children and are really easy to set up. They are also a key strategy for parents to use to limit the apps that children are downloading, limit screen time and ensure that parents have complete oversight of what their children are accessing through their phones
Control your search engine
Search engines have controls that you can set up to limit what will be retrieved when they search. Activate and lock the safe search settings on the sites that they use.
Protect your device
Every device they have access to should be protected. Controls should be installed on every device your child uses – this includes their games consoles.
Safety measures
Activate the safety measures offered by different sites – make it your responsibility to pro-actively do this.
Pop ups!
Block pop-ups as this will help control what adverts they see.
Do your research
Find good sites and agree as a family that your child can access these. Make sure you continually review these and check the content your children are seeing.
Useful links
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‘ThinkUKnow’ advising children, parents and carers on how to stay safe on the internet
Vaping and E Cigarettes
Unfortunately, we are seeing a growing number of young people using Vapes- In March/April 2023 the proportion of children experimenting with vaping had grown by 50% year on year, from one in thirteen to one in nine. Children’s awareness of promotion of vapes has also grown, particularly in shops where more than half of all children report seeing e-cigarettes being promoted, and online where nearly a third report e-cigarette promotion.
The longer term impact of vaping are yet to be filly understood but what we do know is the some of the short term effects include:
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dizziness
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headache
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racing heart
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nausea/possible vomiting
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stomach cramps
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weakness
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coughing
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dry mouth and throat
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shortness of breath
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mouth and throat irritation
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headaches
It is illegal to sell nicotine vaping products to anyone under 18 or for adults to buy them on behalf of under-18s.If you find a retailer selling either nicotine vapes or tobacco products to under-18s, you can report a retailer to local authority Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice online portal.
You can find more information about Vaping and E Cigarettes using the links below.
Young people and vaping - Better Health - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Vapes | FRANK (talktofrank.com)
Staying Safe, Happy and Well over the summer
As we approach the summer holiday, we want to make sure our children and families have key information that you may need during the 6 week break.
Below, you will find some links to key information and websites that can support.
Staying safe and well:
Vapes | FRANK (talktofrank.com)
Things to do in the summer:
Kids Pass | Family Days Out Deals and Discounts
Coventry Holiday Activities and Food Programme – Coventry City Council
Coventry Holiday Activities and Food Programme – Coventry City Council
Children's mental health – Coventry City Council
Children's Summer Holiday Activities - CVLife
Please see attached key information about staying safe online and guidance if you have any concerns about a child's safety.
Parents Helpsheet to Online Safety Secondary SchoolWorried about a child childrens partnership poster
