Safeguarding
Safeguarding and Alternative Provision
Helping students with emotional or behavioural support
As the Safeguarding team we continue to be here if you need any additional support. Please just pop and see us before school, during break or lunch time and after school. You can also email us on SSC@brakenhale.co.uk if you would like to arrange to speak to anyone.
Getting Help Team – Mental Health Support
www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/mash
A team of Child Wellbeing Practitioners based within Bracknell Forest Council working under the CAMHS Getting Help Service, here to help you directly or put you in touch with people who can support you further.
Brakenhale works closely with the Getting Help team and can support referrals to them.
Below are links to the referral form which you can complete yourself and send into the Safeguarding Lead (jmanisier@brakenhale.co.uk) or directly to the email address Early.Help@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
MindEd
https://www.mindedforfamilies.org.uk/young-people
Are you a parent or carer who is concerned about the mental health of your child or teenager?
Do you just want some hints and tips on parenting?
MindEd for Families has advice and information from trusted experts and will help you to understand what problems occur, what you can do to best support your family, and how to take care of yourself. MindEd for Families is written by a team of specialists and parents, working together.
Childline
Contact: 0800 1111
You can contact Childline about anything. Whatever your worry, it’s better out than in. Childline are there to support you and help you find ways to cope.
You can call them, chat online or email them.
Kooth
Want someone to understand or advice to help a friend? Kooth are there for you. Kooth provide free, safe and anonymous online support for young people.
On Kooth you can chat to friendly counsellors, read articles written by young people, get support from the Kooth community and write in a daily journal.
Young Minds
Are you a young person in crisis? Text the YoungMinds Crisis Messenger, for free 24/7 support across the UK if you are experiencing a mental health crisis.
If you need urgent help text YM to 85258All texts are answered by trained volunteers, with support from experienced clinical supervisors.
Texts are free from EE, O2, Vodafone, 3, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile and Telecom Plus.
Youthline
Contact: 01344 311200 or form on website
Youthline provides a free, confidential counselling service for young people attending secondary schools and adults who care for and support young people.
Counselling at Youthline offers a safe space to talk privately with someone who is skilled in listening about whatever is troubling a young person. The counsellor will listen without making judgements and help to explore personal thoughts, feelings and experiences.
Brakenhale has counsellors who visit each week and direct referrals can be made to attend out of school. The nearest Youthline is at 7 Portman Close, Bracknell, RG42 1NE. There is a link to their brochure below and visit their online resources where you will find fact sheets, videos and links to other organisations.
Youthline Brochure
BBC 'Own It' App
Please click for more information:
“The digital world is a fantastic place for people to learn and share, but we know many young people struggle to find a healthy online balance, especially when they get their first phones,” said Alice Webb, director of BBC Children’s, in a statement.
A new app has been launched in November 2019 by the BBC called ‘Own It’. It is a free app which has been designed to support youngsters with using their first smartphone and would be useful for Key Stage 3 students in particular. You may have heard the adverts for it on the BBC.
It is an app and interactive keyboard which alerts the teenager if they have written something that could be interpreted as offensive by someone else and asking them if they really want to send this message.
The app that the BBC has created is a “wellbeing” smartphone app called Own It, aimed at children.
It monitors how young people interact with friends and family online and through messaging apps and uses AI to evaluate a child’s mood, so it can offer advice or encourage them to talk to trusted adults.
The app is designed to offer help and support, especially if children are about to share sensitive data or send an upsetting message.
BBC’s Ms Webb said the app would act as a “helping hand” to guide children into developing good habits when using their first phone and avoid some of the potential pitfalls of digital life.
The app is built around a special software keyboard that pops up when kids type messages and monitors the tone of the words being typed and language used.
The Own It app also has its own content that aims to help children manage the amount of time they spend looking at their screen and passes on other advice about responsible online interaction.
The BBC said the app would also regularly encourage children to talk to parents and guardians about good and bad online experiences and their phone use.
Parents should note that the BBC have said that the app has no reporting system that parents can consult to oversee phone use.
To find out more about the app you can go to the BBC’s website here:
https://www.bbc.com/ownit/take-control/own-it-app
You can also find the BBC ‘Own It’ parent step by step guide here:
Partners include the Mental Health Foundation, the Anti-Bullying Alliance, the NSPCC, the Diana Award and Childnet.
Youth Experiences of Image-Based Harassment and Abuse on Social Media
A particularly significant part of many young people’s lives is social media. Sometimes, as adults, we are unaware of the mechanisms used and also the impact on young people- especially in relation to sexual harassment and abuse. A really informative report written by Professor Jessica Ringrose (in collaboration with others), addresses a specific issue with image-based sexual harassment and abuse. I would urge you to read to further your understanding. Please find the link to the executive summary and full report below.
Summary of Report Download PDF
Full Report Download PDF
Social Networking Information
Websites, forums and apps all present teenagers with certain pressures and choices. Many of the disciplinary issues we deal with in school stem from misuse of phones and computers out of school yet often lead to distressing social confrontations within school.
As parents it is often difficult to keep up with the current trends and sites being used by teenagers and indeed by wider organisations, be they political, religious or more sinister.
We provide information for parents regularly.
Download PDF ‘A Parent Guide to Social Media Technology and Parental Controls’ from our Social Media Information Evening
Download PDF ‘React & Prevent’ from our Social Media Information Evening
Here are some tools and knowledge to help parents support their child in using these different media in a responsible and socially acceptable way.
Parent General CEOP Guide Download PDF
Parent Guide to Cybersecurity Download PDF
Parent Instagram Guide Download PDF
Instagram Quick Guide Download PDF
Parent Snapchat Guide Download PDF
Cyberbullying Quick Guide Download PDF
Passwords Quick Guide Download PDF
Roblox Quick Guide Download PDF
Cybersecurity Quick Guide Download PDF
Sexting Quick Guide Download PDF
Twitter Check List Download PDF
Facebook Check List Download PDF
Tik Tok: 6 Safety Settings from the NSPCC Go to Web Page with a further link to their Guardian Guide
Social Media Information from the NSPCC Go to Web Page
Talking to your child about online safety from the NSPCC Go to Web Page
CEOPS Parent Information Feed
The Student Support Centre (SSC) is a key part of the school and is a special and unique place. The SSC is designed to support all students who from time to time need extra emotional support. The team that works in the SSC consists of the Safeguarding Lead and Deputy, the Family Support Worker, Intervention workers, an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant, accredited Nurture staff and specially trained parenting workers. There is also a trainee therapy dog spending time with the team a few days a week.
What actually happens in the Student Support Centre (SSC)?
The SSC is multipurpose space which consists of a main support area and separate intervention rooms. Students can visit the SSC from 08:30am in the morning, break times, lunch times and after school. There will always be a specially trained member of staff there ready to listen and work to support the student.
The SSC supports students by offering a safe space to visit when needed or by completing some specialist intervention work. Students can self-refer to small group interventions on managing anxiety, developing resilience, understanding and managing emotions, building self-esteem and communication skills to name but a few. We will also work closely with outside agencies to link students to counselling support, child and adolescent mental health services, youth workers and social workers.
The SSC is open every break time and lunch time to provide a quiet and nurturing environment to students who wish to spend their breaks there. A member of staff is always on duty and there lots of games available to play and to support developing friendships.
Parenting Support
We understand that parenting a child who is entering adolescence can come with a range of new challenges. We have specially trained parenting workers who are on hand to provide guidance and support on a 1:1 and group basis. We regularly run the ‘STOP parenting’ course and parents can self-refer to this.
Year 6 Transition
The SSC team will liaise closely with all the primary schools where students are transitioning from. We will work with students and their families to make the transition as successful as possible and provide bespoke support where needed. Our transition support is very successful and held in high esteem.
