The rise of digital technologies has seen children and parents / carers facing challenges not faced by previous generations. It is essential that schools and families are aware of the risks involved and the actions that can be taken to reduce these risks. To enhance your knowledge of the risks children face and how you can help them to deal with these challenges, your child’s school has arranged for you to have access to access OSA online safety training for parents. View the Online Safety for Parents and Carers Training includes: Social media management, Online risks to children and Keeping children safe The training, completed online, should take up to an hour to complete but does not need to be completed in one sitting. Complete the online training – CLICK HERE Net aware: Parents review kids’ social networks, apps & games This is a good link to put on your school’s website or parents’ newsletter. Netware is a parents’ guide to the social networks children and young people use. Stay up to date and keep your child safe in today’s digital world. www.net-aware.org.uk Parenting a moving target: Understanding how young people’s lives are changing Every two years, the Association for Young People’s Health (AYPH) publishes a collection of statistics about young people’s health, which provides a fascination picture of their lives. Interestingly, the data shows that smoking, drinking and drug use is now at the lowest rate since the 1990s. The rate of teenage pregnancies has halved since the late ‘90s and continues to decline. Whilst there is a lack of good data on mental health, there is growing evidence of rising levels of anxiety, depression and stress in young people, particularly among teenage girls. Parenting a moving target: Understanding how young people’s lives are changing http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2016/10/19/parenting-a-moving-target/ Association for Young People’s Health www.youngpeopleshealth.org.uk Self-harming Following the completion of a research project, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has published a new guide for parents about self-harming, which will be useful for teachers too. Self-harming affects 10 – 15% of young people, and parents can feel overwhelmed. The guide has information on topics including understanding self-harm, managing injuries, sources of help and looking after parents’ own needs. The guide is available at the link below and it might be worth printing a few copies off ready to pass to parents when needed. www.psych.ox.ac.uk/news/new-guide-for-parents-who-are-coping-with-their-child2019s-self-harm-2018you-are-not-alone2019/coping-with-self-harm-guide.pdf This one is more for primary parents Staying safe on Mine craft | Parent Info http://parentinfo.org/article/staying-safe-on-minecraft