Safeguarding and Wellbeing

During these difficult times, all members of our community – pupils, parents and staff – quickly become aware of the challenges to our wellbeing. These can be due to the physical situation itself, of being much confined to home, for example. They can also be due to the need to spend much of the day online, for learning and socialising. On occasion, these may extend to concerns of a safeguarding nature.

In all instances, the school is here to support its community. Our pastoral and safeguarding teams are available throughout lockdown and will continue to support pupils and families as needed. We are pleased to say, too, that this includes our new school counsellor – Miss Abi Hazel – who is now in post and can provide support by arrangement via either Mrs Sanderson (Pre-Prep) or Mr Butcher (Prep).

The information below indicates the different routes through which support can be sought:

Pupils

If you are a pupil at Hallfield and you have any worries at all, the teachers are all available to support you. You can email your Form Teacher or, if you would like, you can email Mrs Sanderson (Pre-Prep) on lsanderson@hallfieldschool.co.uk or Mr Butcher (Prep) on tbutcher@hallfieldschool.co.uk .

Pupil conduct

We expect the same high standards of behaviour online as we do at school. Pupils are reminded that their ‘digital footprint’ can never truly be deleted. If you get upset or concerned about the behaviour of another pupil online, you should try to take a screenshot (not if it’s of them ‘live’ on a video feed)  and email it as an attachment to the appropriate member of staff.

You should also know that these websites can lead you to expert support too. You can click on the names:

• Childline – for support
• UK Safer Internet Centre – to report and remove harmful online content
• CEOP – for advice on making a report about online abuse

Parents

We know that this can be a very stressful time for parents. If you have any concerns about your child, please do email their Form Teacher or, if you feel it appropriate, Mrs Sanderson or Mr Butcher (see above).

We should emphasise the importance of securing online support from a reputable organisation/individual who can provide evidence that they are safe and can be trusted to have access to children.

The links below are all such organisations and provide some excellent resources that can help with a range of concerns, particularly online safety:

• Thinkuknow provides advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) on staying safe online.
• Parent info is a collaboration between Parentzone and the NCA providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations.
• Childnet offers a toolkit to support parents and carers of children of any age to start discussions about their online life, to set boundaries around online behaviour and technology use, and to find out where to get more help and support.
• Internet Matters provides age-specific online safety checklists, guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, and a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world.
• London Grid for Learning has support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online, including tips to keep primary aged children safe online.
• Net-aware has support for parents and carers from the NSPCC and O2, including a guide to social networks, apps and games.
• Let’s Talk About It has advice for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation.
• UK Safer Internet Centre has tips, advice, guides and other resources to help keep children safe online, including parental controls offered by home internet providers and safety tools on social networks and other online services.

The government has also provided:

• Support for parents and carers to keep children safe from online harms, includes advice about specific harms such as online child sexual abuse, sexting, and cyberbullying.
• Support to stay safe online includes security and privacy settings, blocking unsuitable content, and parental controls.

Specific to providing support in Birmingham and the surrounding area, from mental health, to bereavement, to financial circumstances – to name but a few – many useful links and services can be found here:

Coronavirus (Covid-19): Help and support