Digital Footprint Snapshot Study Bromley Safeguarding ... · DIGITAL FOOTPRINT SNAPSHOT STUDY 2018 INTRODUCTION This report explores the important issue of children’s welfare online

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BROMLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD DIGITAL FOOTPRINT SNAPSHOT STUDY 2018

Digital Footprint Snapshot Study

Bromley Safeguarding Children Board

March 2018

Making People Safer

BROMLEY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD DIGITAL FOOTPRINT SNAPSHOT REPORT 2018

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FOREWARD

In Bromley, we are committed to ensuring that our children are seen, heard and

helped. We know that understanding the context of children’s lives is key to

delivering the safeguarding response individual children need, whether at home

or in care, education, health or amongst their peers and not least in all the public

spaces they frequent.

We know that the world is always changing and that our young people can be at

the cutting edge of that change. Nowhere is that more relevant than in their access

to, and adoption of, new technology and their use of social media. Therefore, we

are determined to ensure that we understand their experience; their hopes, fears

and expectations in these new online public spaces and places they visit and

frequent.

The online environment represents challenges but also opportunities to reach,

educate and empower safeguarding professions, parents, carers and our young

people.

In Bromley, we have embraced technology, updating our BSCB website and by

developing and delivering smart phone Apps for safeguarding professionals. So

far these have focused on multiagency safeguarding arrangements, policy and

practice, as well as Private Fostering. This approach has put the information

people need on the phone in their pocket. In fact, in the pockets of over 6000

members of our safeguarding community.

Educating and empowering professionals is one thing but we know that reaching

families is key. We have utilised our community engagement sub-group and

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Ade Adetosoye OBE, Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director of Education, Care & Health, Bromley Council

Jim Gamble, QPM, Independent Chair, Bromley Safeguarding Children Board.

through their hard work, communicated directly with over 3000 parents, carers,

children and young people. We used technology to reach them at home in and

through their schools, asking them to tell us how they go online, where they went

and what they experience whilst there. The results are published in this first

snapshot study.

Our challenge now is to use the positive power and reach of new technology to

engage our entire community. First we are sharing the information with all our

safeguarding professionals but soon we will reach every pupil parent, carer and

teacher via Bromley’s new Safer Schools App, part of Zurich Municipal’s Safer

Schools Package. The App will provide support for many of the issues highlighted

in the report, it will alert and test parent, carer and pupil awareness of risks

whilst promoting safer practice. It will also help us maintain our high standards

by delivering CPD accredited Safeguarding training to our dedicated team of

professionals across the Borough.


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CONTENTS

Executive Review 5

Key Findings 6

Future research objectives 8

Introduction 9

Research aims 10

Methodology 11

Findings 12

Recommendations 21

Limitations 25

Appendix 26

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EXECUTIVE REVIEWThis report aims to understand the online footprints of Bromley’s children and young people;

their exposure to potential harmful content or behaviour and their ability to create smarter digital

footprints in response.

The findings from primary, post primary school children and young people provide a valuable

insight into their online and social media activity. Children and young people’s knowledge on how

to deal with exposure to inappropriate behaviour online was also gauged.

Detailed findings gauging parent/carers awareness of their children’s online behaviour and their

ability to activate the correct safety measures were also included.


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KEY FINDINGS

• Children access the internet and social media from multiple devices.

• 44.1% of parents and carers surveyed did not know how to set the parental controls

for the devices their children used.

• 29% of 7-11 year olds own a mobile phone. 93.3% of 11-18 year olds own a

smart phone.

• Children as young as 4-5 years are beginning to own smart phones.

• On average, 50% of children have access to additional devices owned by family.

• 74% of 7-11 year olds are accessing the internet and social media via the privacy of their

bedrooms.

• Parents and carers are not fully

aware of their children’s membership

of social media sites.

• Children as young as 4-5 years have

been granted parental consent to

use social media (1.7%).

• Facebook (30.8%), Snapchat (18%)

and Instagram (13.4%) are the

sites parents and carers are most

concerned about their children using.

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• 24% of 17-18 year olds admitted that their parent/carers were unaware

that they had joined social media sites.

• Children’s awareness of online safety needs raised. 61% of 7 year olds

share their passwords with close friends. 3% of 7 year olds

share passwords with everyone.

• 44.6% of parents and carers surveyed allow their children to access digital media prior to

completion of homework.

• Parents and carers are confident (85%) in discussing online security

measures and how to implement them with their children.

• Majority of parents and carers say they are aware of how to set privacy controls. 69% of

parents/carers have social media privacy settings activated. However,

their privacy settings differ per account.

• Parent/carers awareness of negative implications of internet and social media usage by their children

is surprisingly low.

• Potential negative effects of using social media include - children’s difficulty stopping games and

acceptance of losing games, viewing inappropriate content/games,

grooming, bullying, low self-esteem and behavioural issues,

including anger and use of swear

words.


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FUTURE RESEARCH OBJECTIVESThis work provides a building block for future research. As technology continues to advance, online risks to children will continue to evolve, therefore it is necessary to continue to explore children and young people’s exposure to online risk and their ability to respond.

Further research in Bromley LA could consider the pathways to harm facilitated or accelerated by young people’s access to technology and use of social media. This could include Child Sexual Exploitation, criminalisation and radicalisation.

Future researchers will consider regions, gender and socio-economic issues. Continued exploration of younger children’s use of internet and social media is encouraged.

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INTRODUCTIONThis report explores the important issue of children’s welfare online and the creation of a smart digital footprint. The increasing integration of the internet and social media within children’s daily lives makes this an important issue not only for professionals but also for parents/carers.

Every time someone accesses the internet, they leave a digital footprint (trail of their activity online). The purpose of this snapshot is to provide professionals and parents/carers with information that that they can use to help advise and encourage children to leave smarter digital footprints.

Smart digital footprints will help protect children online by encouraging them to take steps that make them safer online.


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RESEARCH AIMSAn exploratory study was conducted by Ineqe Group in partnership with Bromley Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB). Ineqe Group are a consultancy firm producing technology and training helping to make children safer online. Bromley (BSCB) includes the local authority, schools, health commissioners and providers, the Metropolitan Police, probation services, CAFCASS and voluntary sector as well as lay members.

Their collective purpose is to safeguard local children.

The study aimed to;

1. Explore the range of devices children and young people are using to access the internet and socialmedia at school and at home.

2. Investigate children and young people’s internet and social media behaviour.

3. Assess children and young people’s current digital footprints. Are they using the internet and socialmedia safely?

4. Assess parent/carers awareness of their children’s internet and social media behaviour.

5. Assess parent/carers knowledge of and their ability to safeguard their children whilst they createsmarter digital footprints.

6. Assessment of children, young people and their parent/carers knowledge of how to correctly deal withinappropriate behaviour online.

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METHODOLOGYWithin the Bromley local education authority (LEA) 967 primary school children (7-11 years), 1383 secondary school children and young people 11-18 years and 872 parents with children in education from preschool to Year 13 were surveyed online from July – October 2017.

Comparison was made with previous studies and although methodology differed, they provided a useful benchmark to help contextualise the findings and enable inferences to be drawn with wider national picture.

The findings are presented followed by the conclusions/recommendations. The limitations of the snapshot are acknowledged.


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FINDINGSSection 1: Range of devices that children & young people use to access internet & social media sites

Children use multiple devices to access the internet and social media. This section includes data on children and young people’s use of devices at school and home. Due to the ubiquity of mobile phones, ownership is explored first. Findings are also included from parents and carers.

1.1 Mobile phone ownershipAs a result of the ubiquity of mobile phones and their impact in daily lives, ownership amongst children and young people was explored. 29% of primary school children own a mobile phone. Ownership increases with age (Figure 1). The biggest rise in ownership was between 9-10 years with an increase of 17.3%. In comparison 93.8% of secondary school children own a smart phone. The number of children owning smartphones increases once they enter secondary school.1 Very young children are beginning to own their own smart phones. Of the parents/carers surveyed, 5.1% said that their children in reception year at school owned an iPhone.

Figure 1 Mobile phone ownership of primary school children by age.

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Bromley Primary School Questionnaire 2017, Q5 Do you have a phone. Yes, No.

Smart phones are predominately used to access social media by 15-16 year olds (95%) in the evenings (91%). The use of smart phones for Facebook dramatically increases from 12-13 years (58%).

1.2 Range of devices children and young people use at schoolThe use of desktops is nearly double in secondary schools. On average 6 out of 10 (62%) of primary school children use laptops to access the internet, whist on average 8 out 10 (84.2%) of children and young people use desktops. The biggest increase in the use of laptops was from 7-11 years (15%).

1 Ofcom (2016)

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Figure 2 shows that the use of laptops decreases from 62% to 10.4% as children move into secondary education. Mobile phone usage increases from 3.3% to 51.9% and is highest for 17-18-year olds (79%). This is attributed to increased usage (44.2%) of mobile phones during break times at school by 11-18 year olds.

Children’s usage of mobile phones has increased from 2015.2 This can also be attributed to the high ownership of smart phones identified in our snapshot study.

Figure 2 Use of devices in schools by age

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Bromley Primary School Questionnaire 2017, Q2 Tick if you use these at school, desktop PC, iPad/Tablet, laptop, mobile phone, none.

1.3 Devices children use at home

98% of UK households with children are connected to the internet.3 Mobile phone (54.7% v 3.3%) and tablets (84.9% v 52.3%) are more likely to be used at home. On average 50% of the children aged 7-11 use gaming consoles.

Usage was mostly for homework (59.4%). The use of devices for homework was highest for 11-year olds (90%).

36% of children were also using devices to make videos. Making videos was most popular amongst 8-year olds (86.6%).

Almost half of 11-18-year olds also use family member’s devices. Figure 3 (overleaf) shows that the likelihood that children will use other family member’s devices remains constant for all age groups and is therefore not attributed to age. However, 11-year olds are more likely to use family member’s devices (55.2%).

2 Ofcom (2016)3 Office for National Statistics


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Figure 3 Additional usage of family members devices by age

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Bromley Post Primary School, Q9 Do you use the personal devices of other family members? Yes, No.

Parents/carers identify laptops as the most popular devices children have additional access to in the home. This may be due to children sharing Laptops of other family members such as their siblings. This additional usage was also revealed to be dominated by mobile Apple devices reflecting Apple’s dominance within the market place. 35.5% of all children had additional access to iPhone and 44% to iPads they did not own.

Children are accessing multiple devices at home those they own and those owned by other family members yet 44.1% of parents and carers did not know how to activate the privacy settings on devices that their children had access to.

Figure 4 shows that 8 out of 10 (81%) children aged 7-11 years are accessing the internet in the family living room. A further 74% are accessing the internet via the privacy of their bedrooms. 83.3% of 11 year old used the internet in their bedrooms.

Figure 4 Home access to internet primary school children (7-11-years old)

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Bromley Primary School Questionnaire 2017, Q4 Tick if you use these at home, desktop PC, DS/PlayStation/Xbox, iPad/Tablet, laptop, mobile phone, none.

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SECTION 2: Children and young people’s use of websites and social media

This section explores children and young people’s internet and social media usage. Findings are also included on the level of awareness of parents and carers regarding their children’s usage.

2.1 Primary school children (7-11 years)Figure 5 Children’s usage of internet and social media (7-11-years)

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Minecraft Roblox

Bromley Primary School Questionnaire 2017, Q6 Which of these sites do you use? Ask FM, Clash of Clans, Club Penguin, Instagram, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, FIFA, Habbo Hotel, Kik, Live.ly, Minecraft, Musical.ly, Google Hangouts, Google+, GTA, Omegle, ooVoo, Periscope, Pinterest, Roblox, Snapchat, Skype, Tinder, Tumblr, Twitter, Viber, Whatsapp, Whisper, YouTube, Others.

Despite 11% of parents expressing concern over their children’s use of YouTube it is clearly the most popular social media site amongst 10-year olds (83.4%) followed by Minecraft, (50.6) and Roblox (45.4%).

Social networking platforms was also popular despite the minimum age requirement for most being 134. Snapchat was favoured amongst 7-8-year olds (52%) and WhatsApp 10-11-year olds (76%). 18% of parents and carers expressed concern at their children using Snapchat.

Minecraft is most popular amongst 9-year olds after which its popularity decreases from 9-11 years by 20%.

2.2 Parent/Carer consent

Parents and Carers are allowing children as young as 4-5 years to access social media. Figure 6 (overleaf) shows 1.7% of parents allowed their children in reception year (4-5 years old) to use social media. A small number of parents/carers allow their children to use social media in primary school and consent dramatically increases once children enter their first year of secondary education (year 7, 62.4%), whilst they are still beneath the common age threshold for use of age 13.

4 Ofcom (2016)


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Figure 6 Parent/Carer consent for use of social media by school year group

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Bromley Parents Questionnaire 2017, Q5 Do you allow your child to use social media on these devices?

2.3 Daily usage Primary school children aged 7 -11 years gradually increase their usage of apps and games from less than one hour (34%) to 1-2 hours daily. In secondary schools, usage is highest; 45% of 17-18-year olds stated

they used social media for at least 2-3 hours daily.

Figure 7 illustrates parent/carer awareness of their children’s usage of devices. 68% of parents/carers with younger children (preschool to year 4) believe that their children use devices for less than one hour a day. Parents and carers are aware that as children age their usage increases on average to 2-3 hours daily (73.4%). Those with children in years 11-13 are aware that they are more likely to increase their usage to more than 4 hours a day.

Figure 7 Parent/Carer awareness of their children’s daily device usage

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Bromley Parents Questionnaire 2017, Q8 How many hours per day would your child use digital media? Less than 1 hour, 1-2 hours, 2-3 hours, 3-4 hours, More than 4 hours.

DavieK02

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DavieK02

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DavieK02

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2.4 When do children access websites and social media?Children in primary and secondary education tend to access websites and social media at home during evenings and weekends (Figure 8). Of interest, 44.6% of parents and carers surveyed allow their children to access digital media prior to completion of homework.

Secondary school children access websites/apps and games at the weekend (100% - secondary school). Over half of secondary school children surveyed (57.1%) accessed websites/apps and games to and from school and at break times in school (46.5%).

Figure 8 Primary and secondary school children’s access to internet and social media (7-18 years)

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To/from school

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Percentage

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Bromley Primary School Questionnaire 2017, Q10 When do you use these sites/apps/games? During school hours, break times, travelling to and from school, in the evenings/weekends at home.

SECTION 3 Children’s awareness of online safety

Children’s awareness of online safety is explored. Detailed findings are provided on who they share their passwords with, the sharing of personal information, cyber bullying and how to report it.

Children aged between 7-11 years old have an awareness that they should not be sharing their passwords with everyone. 9-year olds (60%) and 11-year olds (60%) are the most aware.

As children age, their awareness of online safety appears to increase. Figure 9 (overleaf) shows the instances of sharing personal details decreases 9% from 7 to 11 years old.


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Figure 9 Children’s sharing of password (7-11 years)

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Bromley Primary School Questionnaire 2017, Q14 Who did you tell your password to? Everyone, close friends, no-one.

Children’s awareness of safety online is highest for 11-year olds. 40% believe they should not share their passwords online.

85% of parents and carers feel confident in talking to their children about staying safe online. Whilst the majority of parents/carers have their own accounts set to private (69.8%), 12.7% have no security measures in place and 7.2% have some but not all accounts set to private (Figure 10).

Figure 10 Parents privacy settings

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Bromley Parentsl Questionnaire 2017, Q15 Do you have your own social media account set to private? Yes, No, Not sure, Some of them.

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Cyber bullying is present in 7-11 years (Figure 11). Instances increase from age 10 – 11 years by 27%. Comparison with Ofcom (2016) reveals that Bromley’s rate of cyber bullying is higher than the national average (8-11 year olds, 10%). Occasions when cyber bullying is reported are low, however they increase slightly with age.

Figure 11 Reporting of cyber bullying (7-11 years)

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Bromley Primary School Questionnaire 2017, Q17 Did you report cyber bullying? Yes, No

Reasons for non-reporting include fear and lack of knowledge on how to report. Example comments include, “I was afraid to report it” Child 1, “I didn’t know how to” Child 10

3.1 Parent/Carer awareness

45% of parent/carers with children in primary school and 46% of those with children in secondary school do not know how to set the parental controls on the devices that their children have access to.

Parent/carers awareness of the impact on their children of using technology when not in their care is generally low. When asked if there had been any negative implications of their children using digital technology outside of their care (for example a sleepover with a friend) 11% of parents indicated that there had been implications.


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Table 1 (below) presents the situations parents and carers identified outside of their control and the negative behaviour subsequently witnessed.

Table 1 Impact of children using technology when not in the care of their parent, carer or guardian

Situation Frequency (f)Accesses content not appropriate/not allowed at home

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Played age inappropriate games 12

Parental controls at friend’s house not the same as at home

4

Played games all night long at a sleepover 4Witnessed friend wishing to self-harm 1

Negative implications observed by parents Frequency (f)Negative self-image/low self esteem 3Anger displayed when losing or stopping game at home

2

Tired 2Grumpy 1Nightmares due to unsuitable videos watched 2Use of swear words 2Grooming 2Bullying 1

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RECOMMENDATIONSThe findings of this snapshot study have multiple implications for children and young people, their parents and carers and the safeguarding professionals charged with helping to keep them safe. For Ineqe Group and Bromley (BSCB) the findings continue to inform the development of technology and training programmes aimed at encouraging and helping children create a smarter online footprint for themselves and their families.

As children continue to access the internet and social media from a range of devices at home and at school, staff, parents and carers all need to develop the knowledge and skills to proactively help make our children safer online.

Recommendation 1: ‘Think Family’ Approach

Parents and carers should adopt a ‘Think Family’ approach; devising a home safe and device safe strategy.

At home, children have access to additional devices and a substantial proportion of children aged 7-11 are accessing the internet from the privacy of their bedrooms in the evenings. Therefore, care must also be taken when allowing younger children to borrow devices.

Guidance on how to set age-appropriate restrictions with the relevant service providers both at home and on devices, can be found in the ‘Need to Know’ section of Bromley’s Safer Schools App. For those outside the Safer Schools Package, search online or contact your Internet Service Provider to learn which controls can be put in place.

Recommendation 2. Social Media Awareness for Staff, Parents and Carers

Professionals and parents/carers must continue to monitor children and young people’s use of social media. They must bear in mind that younger children are actively creating profiles for sites which they are too young to use. For those in receipt of the Bromley Safer Schools App (part of the Zurich Safer Schools Package),



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information on over 12 of the most popular Social Media Apps and Websites can be found in the ‘Social Media’ section of the App. Ensuring that even if staff, parents or carers don’t use the platform themselves, they will have an awareness of what it is and access to advice on how to block, mute and report where such facilities are available.

For those outside of the Safer Schools package, visit the Online Safety Centre to learn how to block and report on different platforms.

Online Safety Centre | How to Block and Report

Recommendation 3. Raised awareness on Sharenting

Ofcom’s 2017 report coined the term ‘Sharenting’; whereby Parents and Carers share images of children in their care online.

An Ineqe Insights video into Sharenting can be viewed on the h2b Safer Facebook Page;

Ineqe Insights video | Sharenting

Guidance on privacy settings can be found in the Safer School ‘Online Safety Centre’;

Online Safety Centre | Privacy Settings

Recommendation 4. Think about Screentime

Spending too much time looking at a screen, whether it be a phone, computer or TV, can be detrimental to a person’s mental health and wellbeing.

For those who have access to it, guidance and advice on Screen Time can be found in the ‘Need to Know’ section of the Bromley Safer Schools App.

Recommendation 5. Safer Search Settings

The main search engines have systems in place to filter out inappropriate content from searches. These restrictions should be put in place on every device children have access to, including at home and at school. Younger children should use age-appropriate search engines such as ‘Google Junior’

More information on how to set restrict and use SafeSearch Filters can be found in the Safer School ‘Online Safety Centre’:

Online Safety Centre | SafeSearch Filters

https://zurichsafetycentre.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/h2bsaferonline/videos/939896859482519/



https://ineqe.com/professionals-service/#sharenting


http://zurichsafetycentre.co.uk/



https://zurichsafetycentre.co.uk/h2privacy/

https://zurichsafetycentre.co.uk/h2safetysettings/

https://zurichsafetycentre.co.uk/h2safetysettings/

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Recommendation 6. Streaming Online

As children and young people are more likely to stream content online than watch TV, it is important to protect them from being exposed to inappropriate content. Apps such as YouTube Kids will help filter out inappropriate content

Older children and young people need to be educated in how to control the content they are exposed to. The YouTube video in the ‘Social Media’ section of the Safer Schools App provides Staff, parents and carers with advice on how to keep children safer on YouTube.

YouTube restricted settings can help minimise inadvertent access to inappropriate content. For more information on keeping children safe on YouTube, watch the video at Ineqe’s Professionals Service at:

Ineqe’s Professional Service | YouTube Video Briefing

Recommendation 7. School Policy on Device Usage

School policies must move away from a scripted e-safety approach. They should be adapted with a focus on safeguarding children and young people in the context of their real lives, the access they have to technology and the impact this use of social media has on them.

Recommendation 8. School Policy on Digital Image Consent

School policies should also be adapted and reviewed to ensure they allow for consent in the ‘Digital Era’, including use on Social Media Platforms.

For those who have access, guidance on Consent, including principles outlined by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, can be found in the ‘Digital Images’ section of Bromley’s Safer

Schools App. It can also be found at the link below.

Office of the Children’s Commissioner | Consent

Recommendation 9. Year Specific Digital Footprint Audit

Creation of year group specific digital footprints audits are encouraged to ensure children and young people know how to block, report and configure safety settings on the apps they actually use.

For those who have acess to them, downloadable ‘Safety Settings Audits’ for four of the most popular apps can be found in the ‘Resources’ section ofBromley’s Safer Schools App, part of Zurich Municipal’s Safer Schools Package. An example of the‘Facebook Audit’ can be found at Appendix 4.

https://ineqe.com/professionals-service/#video-briefings






http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/15202/1/Children_and_Young_Peoples_Voice_in_OCC__FINAL_25_07_12%5B1%5D.pdf


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Recommendation 10. Reacting to Inappropriate Behaviour

With many of the most popular apps exposing children and young people to content which they may find upsetting, it is vital to educate them on how they can control what they see online and who can contact them.

The Safer Schools ‘Online Safety Centre’, contains frequently updated, in-depth advice on how to Block and Report on popular apps and websites, as well as how to set privacy and safety settings on Desktops and mobile devices.

Lots of popular platforms allow people to block other users. Guidance on these functions can be found on the Online Safety Centre at:

Online Safety Centre | How to Block

Recommendation 11. Online Bullying Awareness

As social lives move online, so does bullying. Staff, parents and carers need to be vigiliant to the signs of bullying. For those who have access to the Bromley Safer Schools App, the ‘SOS’ mnemonic (What children say about School, Observing their behaviour and things they Say about themselves) can be found in the ‘Bullying’ section of the Safer Schools App. It highlights indicators to look for, we have also included a copy in the Appendix 1.

The Safer Schools App also contains advice for children and young people on what bullying is and what to do if it happens. Our ‘Cyberhero’ document can be found at Appendix 2.

Recommendation 12. Online Security

Children and young people should feel safe and secure to explore and express themselves online. Teaching them the importance of passwords is vital; they need to understand complexity, that longer passwords are stronger and the importance of changing them frequently.

Ineqe have created a colouring in sheet for primary pupils, to help them create their own safe and secure passwords. A copy of this can be found at Appendix 3.

https://zurichsafetycentre.co.uk/h2block/




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LIMITATIONSWhilst the snapshot study produced valuable and insightful findings the limitations are acknowledged.

Sample size varied for primary, post primary school aged children and parents. Also, composition of children and parents surveyed differed for all age groups.

The snapshot was focused on the Bromley area. Gender and socio-economic conditions were not considered.

The high level of consistency between children’s and their parent/carers awareness of usage regarding primary school children suggests that these results should be interpreted with level of skepticism. It may be the case that parents helped children complete the surveys during homework time.


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APPENDIX 1 SOSIf you think a child may be a victim of bullying, think SOS.

The following prompt focuses on 3 areas; children’s attitudes to SCHOOL, a parent or teachers general OBSERVATIONS and things a child might SAY.

School

• Is frightened of walking to or from school or changes route• Doesn’t want to go on the school/public bus• Refuses to go to school• Suddenly starts asking to be driven to school• Begins to truant• Performance in school work begins to drop• Has dinner or other monies continually ‘lost’• Comes home ‘starving’

Observations• Becomes withdrawn, anxious or lacking in confidence• Becomes aggressive, abusive, disruptive or unreasonable• Starts stammering• Changes their usual routine• Feels ill in the mornings• Comes home with clothes torn, property damaged or ‘missing’• Has unexplained cuts or bruises• Bullying others• Changes in eating habits• Changes in a child’s attitude to accessing technology• Afraid to use the internet or mobile phone• Nervous or jumpy when a cyber message is received

Say: Things They Might Say?• Threatens or attempts suicide• Threatens or attempts self harm• Threatens or attempts to run away• Cries themselves to sleep at night or has nightmares• Asks for money or starts stealing money• Is frightened to say what is wrong• Gives improbable excuses for their behaviour.

If you are worried because you are witnessing these behaviours – then take action! Talk to the child, their parents and the designated safeguarding lead. Bullying is very rarely a complete secret.

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APPENDIX 2


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APPENDIX 3

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APPENDIX 4


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© Ineqe Group Ltd 2018

Date of Publication 13/03/18

Address: Ineqe Group Ltd3A Heron WharfBelfast BT7 1NT

Website: www.ineqe.comEmail: [email protected]: +44 (0) 2890 232 060 Twitter: @IneqeGroup

http://www.ineqe.com

mailto:enquiries%40ineqe.com?subject=BSUH%20Review

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