School and council policy in supporting vulnerable children and reducing abusive and poor peer relations
Evidence will be received from:
- Cybersmile
- Safe ‘N’ Sound
- Speakerbox
Minutes:
5.1 The chair invited Scott Freeman and Dan Raisbeck from Cybersmile to present.
5.2 They explained that Cybersmile is a service for children, young people and adults. There is a website, a helpline and Cybersmile offer counselling and do workshops in schools.
5.3 Cybersmile explained that when they go to schools they tackle emotional detachment, by making children aware of the emotional damage they can cause.
5.4 They work with parents and reported that there is often a huge generational gap, and parents who don't understand social media may just confiscate equipment, rather than supporting the child in dealing with the problem.
5.5 Cybersmile reported that when they first approached Brighton the local authority originally said that cyber-bullying was not a problem. There first priority is emphasising the scale of problem and how incidents of cyber-bulling are leading to self harm, eating disorders and suicidal ideas.
5.6 There is a Cyber-bullying awareness day coming up on 21 June. Cybersmile summarised their approach by explaining that they work to raise the profile of the problem and help organisations such as schools deal with the issue effectively through workshops and by helping schools to develop appropriate policies.
5.7 The chair thanked Cybersmile for their presentation and invited the committee to ask questions. A member asked how prevalent the problem is in the UK and Cybersmile said that there has been a recent survey and results are due out in about a month.
5.8 Cybersmile were asked if they had worked in Southwark and they responded that they had not but they would like to promote their services locally, including the education pack and workshops. The Head teacher representative offered to help promote this to local schools.
5.9 A member asked about their work with parents and Cybersmile said that there is a section just for parents on the website and they also do workshops, however attendance is a bit hit and miss. Members suggested going via the relationship with schools and Cybersmile reported that they are working with a schools in Brighton where parents and teachers are working together to tackle the problem. They explained that they have the volunteers and the most update to date research with a big push for this work coming soon.
5.10 Cybersmile were asked about their online presence and they explained this includes online training teacher and a social media following. They reported that a designer is working on t shirts which will be promoted online.
5.11 A member asked at what age children become vulnerable to bullying and Cybersmile said that young people can start going online as early as 6, and remarked that it is worth thinking about privacy settings at a young age. Cybersmile explained that problems with sexting and sexual blackmail often relate to privacy settings. Bullying can take place on lots of different sites, including gaming and social media. There are some particularly problematic sites where children are encouraged to do something sexually explicit and then unknown to them a video is recoded and the target is later blackmailed.
5.12 Cybersmile commented that often there is a need for very time consuming work to be done liaising between parents and schools to resolve incidents and consider policies. Cybersmile reported because this such time consuming work a special role that is needed, which they are looking to create. The chair and members thanked Cybersmile for their presentation
5.13 The chair invited Jennifer Blake from Safe ‘N’ Sound to present. Jennifer explained her project is based in based in Peckham and provides support to young people involved in knife crime and other anti-social behaviour.
5.14 She explained that she is a mediator and works with Trident. She explained that young people who are involved in gangs are also involved in types of bullying, whether as victims or perpetrators or both. She reported that there is a high level of bullying in schools and that there are instances of boys using sex with other boys to intimidate. Girls are also subject to intimidation to join gangs. There are also instances where children are bullied to hold knives.
5.15 Jennifer reported that it is difficult to work with schools as many do not want to admit the existence or scale of the problem. She said she understands that schools have more and more emphasis on social work, when they often see their core role as academic.
5.16 A member asked what age range her project works with and she said that Safe ‘N’ Sound work with 7 to 16 year olds or 18 year olds if the young people are in college. A member asked her what activities Safe ‘N’ Sound undertake. She said that she talks to schools about the scale of the problem and emphasised that many schools do not want to recognise the problem: the first hurdle is admitting the problem then they can get support.
5.17 Jennifer explained that the project works with schoolchildren on a one to one basis, often with young people not going school. A member queried the extent of boys raping boys and asked how long this has been going on for and how pervasive she thought it was. Jennifer said she works close to the ground and is aware of instances, these are not new and this has been happening in prisons for a while.
5.18 A member commented that often young people feel that the perpetrators are not punished enough and witnesses and targets also have concerns about being identified. Jennifer said that there are protocols to protect young people and went on to refer to a case recently where a young man was murdered. She said that the project worked to support young people to give evidence. She agreed that the punishments should be more serious.
5.19 Jennifer was asked how many young people the project worked with and she said they receive a referral once a day. This will often involve a number of issues, such as sexual abuse. Members asked how young people know about the service and she explained that young people often come through word of mouth and self refer. Quite often they present as housing problem but as Safe ‘N’ Sound delves deeper they find this is not really the case.
5.20 A member asked if the young people Safe ‘N’ Sound works with go on to help in the project and Jennifer said that many do progress to become mentors.
5.21 Jennifer was then asked if Safe ‘N’ Sound have done any work with Southwark Youth Council (SYC) and she responded that SYC are a new cohort and she is always trying to work with young people who are vocal. A member pointed out that they are young people who are in schools and suggested they might be bridge. Jennifer agreed. Another member suggested that some of the Safe ‘N’ Sound young people could get on SYC.
5.22 Jennifer was asked about Safe ‘N’ Sound’s relationship with the council and she explained that the project used to be in a Southwark building, but they are no longer there. She said that they could not get funding and afford the rent, however now the project is subletting and has obtained funding from the Safer Southwark Partnership. She said that the project works closely with Southwark police – she would like to replicate this close working relationship with the council.
RESOLVED
Cybersmile will forward a survey on the extent of cyber-bullying when this becomes available.