Please click on this link eNewsletter – To view SPTC November 2017 Newsletter
NSPCC – App helps teenagers say ‘no’ to sexting
Childline app helps teenagers say ‘no’ to sexting
An anti-sexting app from Childline is using humour to help teenagers deal with unwanted requests for sexual images of themselves.
The Zipit app has been updated as new figures from Childline reveal the NSPCC service held 2,634 counselling sessions about sexting and self-generated explicit images in 2016/17. Sexting was also the most viewed topic on the Childline website last year with 221,840 page views.
The free app offers young people a gallery of images and animations called GIFs they can send in response to requests for sexual pictures and to deal with difficult sexting situations.
NSPCC is also looking to educate adults about sexting after a survey by the charity showed that almost half of parents in Scotland are unaware that it’s illegal for a child to take nude selfies.
The 2016 survey also confirmed that while over a third of parents fear their children will be involved in sexting – only 33 per cent spoke to them about the risks.
Counsellors heard how some teenagers felt pressured by peers into sending nude selfies. Some young people were worried that images they had sent would be shared with others or uploaded on to the internet.
One 14-year-old girl told us: “I sent some naked pictures of myself to a boy that I was talking to online. I really regret it now because he took screenshots and says that he’ll show them to all my friends. I don’t know how to report him, I really don’t want my family to find out.”
Head of NSPCC Scotland Matt Forde said: “Many young people tell Childline that they feel pressured into sending sexual images of themselves and don’t always have the confidence to say no.
“Once a teenager sends an image of themselves they have no control over where it is shared or who sees it, and sometimes images can end up online.
“This can leave a child feeling humiliated and even lead to them being bullied or blackmailed. By using humour Zipit helps young people take control of online chatting that becomes awkward or pressurised and support them if something goes wrong.”
Childline founder and President Dame Esther Rantzen said: “The online world is full of opportunities for young people but also presents dangers like sexting which they need help to withstand. Senior police tell me that sexting has become normalised for far too many young people, so many teenagers feel pressurised into sending explicit pictures of themselves.
“There is a real danger that they feel desperately humiliated, and it can sometimes result in them being abused or bullied into handing over money to prevent these images being shown to school friends or family members.
“Zipit gives them the weapon of humour so that they can resist this pressure in a way that feels appropriate and cool. Many parents have told me they feel helpless when they try to protect their children against these dangerous pressures, so I’d encourage families and professionals to take a look at Zipit and share it with the teenagers they know.”
Zipit, originally launched in 2013 in partnership with creative network Livity, has now adapted to technology popular with teenagers and introduced GIFs co-created with 11-17-year-olds to help empower young people to defuse difficult and potentially damaging conversations.
The app also includes advice on safe online chatting and what young people should do if they feel threatened or if an image becomes public. If a young person is worried about an image they have shared, they can visit MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from “contentreporting.childline.org.uk” claiming to be childline.org.uk/remove and follow the steps to have the image taken down from the internet.
Zipit launches today with a Facebook Live event called ‘GIF Me A Response’, featuring a live GIF studio presented by Julie Adenuga with You Tubers Phil Green and Niki n Sammy creating real time responses to the audience’s unwanted sexting situations.
Zipit is free and available to download for Android and Apple smartphones.
Childline is available 24/7 on Freephone 0800 1111 or at www.childline.org.uk for counselling chat, emails or message boards.
ENDS
For further information please contact the NSPCC Scotland Press Office on 0141 212 3846 or email joe.wallace@nspcc.org.uk
Notes to editors
Childline held 2,634 counselling sessions about sexting and self-generated explicit images in 2016/17.
There were 221,840 page views to the Childline sexting page in 2016/17. It was the most viewed topic.
All names and potentially identifying details have been changed to protect the identity of the child or young person. Quotes are created from real Childline contacts but are not necessarily direct quotes from the young person.
Reviews of Zipit taken from the App store:
“I love this app it’s helped me so much. I love being able to feel confident when weirdos try to act flirty with me!”
“This is a great app, as it gives you perfect and FUNNY comebacks to send if a person was to ever be in this situation. This app would help a person to always be in control of the situation and not be pressured as the memes make light of the situation itself. Easy to use app as well as clear images and to the point funny jokes.”
About the NSPCC
The NSPCC is the leading children’s charity fighting to end child abuse in the UK and Channel Islands. Using voluntary donations, which make up around 90 per cent of our funding, we help children who’ve been abused to rebuild their lives, we protect children at risk, and we find the best ways of preventing child abuse from ever happening. So when a child needs a helping hand, we’ll be there. When parents are finding it tough, we’ll help. When laws need to change, or governments need to do more, we won’t give up until things improve.
Our Childline service provides a safe, confidential place for children with no one else to turn to, whatever their worry, whenever they need help. Children can contact Childline 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0800 1111 or by visiting www.childline.org.uk
Our free helpline provides adults with a place they can get advice and support, share their concerns about a child or get general information about child protection. Adults can contact the helpline 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0808 800 5000, by texting 88858 or visiting www.nspcc.org.uk
About Livity
Livity is an award-winning youth-led creative network and social enterprise based in Brixton.
We help our clients grow by earning them a place in youth culture. We are a creative partner, a publisher and a talent network for our clients, which include NSPCC, Google, Netflix, PlayStation, Dyson, Sony Music, the Government, Channel 4 and the BBC.
While our work benefits from young people’s insights, the young people we mentor receive training, experience and support into employment and education.
Founded in 2001, Livity has three offices worldwide, in Brixton, London, and Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa.
Joe Wallace | Media Executive | NSPCC Scotland
Parent & Carers Handbook
Please click on the link below to view Handbook for Parents and Carers on New Psychoactive Substances and Club Drugs.
National Parent Forum of Scotland
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Forfar Academy Parent Council Minute
Please click on the link below to view the minutes of Forfar Academy Parent Council meeting held on Tuesday 13th June 2017
SPTC eNewsletter – August 2017
Back to School
Welcome back! The summer has flown by and it’s almost time for the new school year to begin. This month, our new look eNewsletter is packed full of useful things for the year ahead. Simply click on the menu buttons below to jump down to the article you want to read.
Exam results
Exam results came out this week – we hope your teenager got what they were hoping for! Nationally, the results held steady for the third year in a row. There was a drop in the number of pupils being presented for Highers and National 4’s, however, passes for Higher stayed at over 150,000. Click here to read more.
Exam Results Helpline
If your child didn’t quite achieve what they were hoping to, or did better than expected, the Skills Development Scotland Exam Results Helpline is open until Wednesday 16 August. Trained advisors are on hand to help your young person decide on their next steps. They can also offer advice to you as a parent. The number to call is 0808 100 8000. You can find more information about the service here.
Understanding your child’s qualifcations
Do you fully understand your child’s exam results and the meaning of their qualifications? The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework can help you compare your child’s qualifications to your own, and enable you and your teenager to make decisions about future learning and progression routes. Click here for more information.
Help for Parent Councils & PTAs
If your parent council or PTA has new members or office bearers, or maybe your whole group is new to the world of parent councils, fear not. SPTC has a huge resource of leaflets and guides for every role, every event, every eventuality. Find them here.
Using the SPTC website
Some of our resources are visible for members only on the website – to log in and view these just pop on to our website, click on the member login box on the right hand side and fill in your details. Any parent at a member school can create an account: register one for free as part of your SPTC membership!
easyfundraising
easyfundraising is an easy and effective tool for parents and supporters to raise money for your parent group. When shopping online at most retailers, if you use your easyfundraising link, you can raise money for your parent group. Find out more about this here.
Free Information & Training sessions
SPTC offers a variety of different information and training sessions for members, face-to-face and online depending on your membership level. Sessions we offer include: Parent Council Essentials, Helping to Improve your School, Involving All Parents and many others. Find out more here.
If you are on our mailing list, you’ll receive an email when there is an information session happening in your local area. You’ve received this email, so you’re already on our mailing list, but if other members of your group would like to join, they can do so here – www.sptc.info/news-events/e-news-sign-up/
We’re Hiring
We’re looking for a new Regional Adviser in West and South West Scotland. This is a sessional post for someone passionate about parental engagement. Click here for more information.
Scottish Learning Festival
Registration is now open for this year’s Scottish Learning Festival. Taking place on the 20th and 21st of September from 9am – 4pm, the SLF is the annual exhibition for the education sector in Scotland. It is free to attend and parents are welcome to come along. You can register for your free place here.
National Parent Forum of Scotland – June News
Please click on the link below to view the June update
http://mailchi.mp/d863f1e58bf9/national-parent-forum-of-scotland-june-news?e=7654db15d2
Friends of Arbroath High – Minute of 6 March 2017
Please click on the link below to view the minute of the meeting held on 6 March 2017
Friends of Arbroath High – Minute 6 March 2017
Carnoustie High School Parent Council Minutes – 30 January 2017
Please click on the link below to view the Minutes of the Parent Council meeting held on 30 January 2017
CHS Parent Council – Minute of General Meeting 30 January 2017
SPTC eUpdate – April 2017
Hello! We hope everyone had a restful and/or fun-filled Easter break. We’re heading in to the final term for this school year. Here is your April news for parents and carers.
For daily updates on what is going on in Scottish education and the latest news for parents and families, make sure you’re connected with us on Facebook and Twitter.
We hosted our AGM & Lecture on 23 March and it was a fantastic evening! Thanks to all who came along and to those of you who listened online to our live broadcast of Dr Janet Goodall’s lecture. If you missed it, you can listen back to the lecture on RadioEdutalk online and Dr Janet Goodall’s slides are available for download on that page as well.
Usually we only have one event a year, but this year is special – it’s our 70th Birthday! We’re planning something special, so keep an eye out for news about that in the next few months..
What does your school run look like? For April’s Parents survey, we’re working with Sustrans, a national transport charity, who are conducting a survey to better understand the concerns and challenges of school travel faced by parents. They will use your answers to shape their services, resources and initiatives.
Click here to take part
Please take this opportunity to have your say. For more information about Sustrans and what they can do for your child’s school please contact: schools-scotland@sustrans.org.uk
This survey will close on Monday 24 April.
If your child has access to Glow, they will now be able to download all the Microsoft Office 2016 applications for free, through their Glow account. This offer is available for use on up to 15 personal devices; up to 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets (Windows, iPad and Android) and 5 phones.
The Office apps – which include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote provide a learning platform that translates beyond school and into the world of work.
To download the Office 2016 apps, log in to Glow and either click on the Download Office Now tile or go to the Office 365 Home tile and once in O365, click on “Install Office 2016” at the top right of the page. Click here for more information.
It’s almost membership renewal time again! If the contact details of your parent council have changed since August 2016, please get in touch with us and let us know! We will shortly be sending out renewal information and membership packs for the upcoming year.
Things to look out for
We’re hiring in Edinburgh and the Lothians. We’re looking for a new Regional Adviser to deliver our Information and Training Sessions in schools in the area.
Full training will be given, we’re just looking for someone who is confident and organised. A background in training or education would be beneficial, an interest in parental engagement is essential.
If this sounds like you, contact Eleanor at eleanor@sptc.info or call 0131 474 6177. Click here for more information and a full job description.
Remember to keep an eye out on our EventBrite page to see if any of our free training sessions are happening in your area.
Bikeability Scotland is a cycle training programme that supports more than 33,000 children to develop an essential life skill every year. This national scheme is designed for delivery within the school setting (typically P5-S1), and comprises of 3 main levels, aimed at supporting the next generation of confident and responsible cyclists.
When your child takes part in the Bikeability Scotland cycle training scheme at
school, they’ll learn how to ride confidently and safely; skills that will stay with them forever.
Bikeability Scotland cycle training is happening now in schools across the country. Join the Revolution – Find out more at bikeability.scot
Our Partnership Schools Scotland project has been featured in the April-May copy of Children in Scotland magazine. Read the article here.
Over on the SPTC Blog, Nick Thorpe from Fathers Network Scotland is looking at the evidence around the importance of father-child relationships, and our Executive Director Eileen has been trying to clear up some of the confusion around what is really happening with National 5 next year.
Our Annual Report for 2015-2016 and the Our Year in Numbers summary are now available to view on the SPTC website. You can find them here.
