safeguarding

2/3/23 Roundup – Safeguarding (all year groups)

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Andrew Tate

You may have seen this name pop up in the news, or you may have heard about him from your children. Find out who he is, why he’s in the news, the risks he poses and how to talk about him at home.

Who is Andrew Tate?

  • Social media influencer with over 5 million followers on Twitter
  • Former professional kickboxer
  • Previous Big Brother contestant

Why is he in the news?

In 2022, Andrew Tate was banned from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok due to his controversial and misogynistic (hatred and discrimination against women) posts.

In December 2022, he was arrested in Romania along with his brother on suspicion of human trafficking, organised crime and rape.

How does this affect our children?

Andrew Tate, sometimes referred to as the ‘king of misogyny’, is a famous and influential figure on social media, even after being banned. He draws a lot of attention to his extreme wealth, luxury lifestyle and possessions, such as his expensive cars.

Children may still see his content (as other people can still share his posts) and may believe that acting and thinking like he does will lead to fame, fortune and success.

He promotes ideas such as:

  • Men are more important and more powerful than women
  • Violence against woman is okay
  • Men shouldn’t show emotion

He has said things like:

  • “I think the women belong to the man”
  • “[Women are] intrinsically lazy”
  • “[There is] no such thing as an independent female”
  • “Depression isn’t real”
  • “The hallmark of a real man is controlling himself, controlling his emotions, and acting appropriately regardless of how he feels”

We know children are talking about Andrew Tate, and boys in particular are being influenced and ‘groomed’ by his views, with concerns that his power and influence could lead to radicalisation and violence against women. Girls are also in danger of accepting that what he says about women is true (i.e. that they’re worth less than men).

What can we do as parents?

We are talking about topics raised by Andrew Tate in school, for example:

  • In our THOMAS Character programme during form time, we tackle misogyny and toxic masculinity.
  • Our behavior policy also makes it clear to students that we will not tolerate such behavior and students will face sanctions accordingly.
  • Our Child on Child abuse policy clearly outlines the school stance and whole school culture in managing these behaviors

However, children are less likely to listen to influencers such as Andrew Tate if they are having similar conversations reinforced at home.

We recommend you:

  1. Read recent news articles about Andrew Tate
  • Ask your child what they’re getting up to online – show genuine interest, don’t judge them or tell them what they should and shouldn’t be doing. Children are more likely to share if they feel you’re interested, rather than trying to check up on them.
  • Have open discussions about Andrew Tate – don’t tell your child how to think, but question their thinking and understanding. Ask if they believe what Andrew Tate says, for example his comments that women “belong” to men, and how that might make the women in their lives feel, or they themselves feel. The charity Bold Voices have a great toolkit to help with this, which you can find in the ‘Sources’ box below.
  • Be role models – encourage your child to be open with their emotions. Teach them that it’s okay to cry if you’re sad. Show respect for women and girls, and encourage your child to model this behaviour.

7/2/23 Roundup – Safer Internet Day (all year groups)

/ hadfieldj / 1 Comment

Safer internet day has now arrived and we would like to share our top tips with you. This years theme is “Make room for conversations”.

These top tips are on display all around the school so gives you a starting point for a conversation should you be able to.

If you are still unsure about what Safer Intenet day is, the description from the organisers can be found below or follow this link to find help on different topics.

“Safer Internet Day (Feb 7th 2023) is joined by organisations worldwide in approximately 170 countries in an effort to make the internet a safe place for children and young people

In the UK, Safer Internet Day unites millions of young people, schools and organisations to spark conversations on key issues around online safety.”

1/2/23 Roundup – 7/2/23 Safer Internet Day (all year groups)

/ hadfieldj / 1 Comment

With safer internet day just around the corner (less than a week!) I thought this would be a good time to let you know what we have done, what we have planned and how you can get involved.

What’s happened so far

Living in the technological world that we do, I feel it’s important that safer internet is forever present in our young peoples minds. To do this we have:

  • All year 9 have had a Computing lesson around Safe Online and E-Safety. In this they have been reminded who to contact if they need help, how to block an account if they need to and how to keep their data safe including their passwords.
  • All year groups have safe online lessons via our Thomas Character Curriculum. One example is with year 10 this half term we have focused on what laws apply to social media and how their posts could effect theirs and others future.
  • Key alerts have been shared through Roundup when an event has come to our attention. We really appreciate your support in sharing these and will continue to do so as new events come to our attention.

What we have planned

We are finalising plans for next week being our safer internet week. All year groups will be invited to celebrate this years theme of “Together for a better internet” and explore some e-safety reminders.

How you can get involved

Ourselves and the team at Safer Internet Day understand what a key role parents, carers and the wider community play in empowering our students in using this resource (the internet) effectively, responsibly and safely in all that they do. I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you the wide variety of tools available to you on the Safer Internet Day website. A massive 235 pages of resources to cover a wide variety of E-Safety needs. https://www.saferinternetday.org/resources