Child on Child Abuse

Our school policy on Child on Child Abuse

Talking to your child about online sexual harassment: A guide for parents

In recent years, young people are spending increasing amounts of time on social media, and this has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. As a consequence, this has increased their exposure to the risk of online harm. I am writing to you to share information about a recent report published by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza. In March 2020 many young people took part in a survey called ‘The Big Ask’ where they were invited to share their experience of harassment, online abuse, and child on child abuse. The findings showed that many young people encounter harmful behaviour including sexualised comments and sharing of nude pictures.

The report found that many young people do want the support of their parents but can find it hard to start the conversation. As a result of this the Children’s Commissioner has produced a report called ‘The things I wish my parents had known’. It has been written in partnership with young people and is aimed at supporting a conversation at home about this type of abuse. The key message from the report is to talk early and talk often.

I have included a link below to the report and attached the documents to this information so that you can access what is very useful guidance.

Talking to your child about online sexual harassment: A guide for parents | Children’s Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

PACE is an organisation that supports Parents and Carers whose children are being exploited. They provide information and support around issues such as child sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation.

https://paceuk.info/

In addition to this guidance, I would like to coordinate an information-sharing event where professionals who work daily in online abuse can share further information and ask questions. Furthermore, as a school, we want to devise a parents forum to address online safety issues. If you would like to participate in the forum and/or attend the information-sharing event please use the link below;

Child on Child Abuse Parent Survey

Yours sincerely

Mrs Sharon Hall

Headteacher