Category Archives: Pupil Council

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How you can keep young people safer online over the Christmas period … and beyond!

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No doubt you’ll be working with a young person who has asked for some form of technology that links to the internet for Christmas, be it a new smartphone, tablet or games console.

While their device will provide them with hours of entertainment, it can also present new risks. Here are 4 steps you can take to make sure that young people are safer online over the Christmas period and beyond.

1. Set up parental controls

Parental controls can be a great tool to help protect young people online, and should be installed on any new device that they use. Give parents and carers the information they need to use these controls effectively by signposting them to this Thinkuknow article.

Let them know that they’ll find plenty of further advice and support on how to keep their child safe online on our parents website.

2. Start a conversation about communicating safely online

A new device enables young people to gain access to new communities through online gaming and social media.

If you can, make time before the end of term to start a conversation with young people about how they use online technology and what it means to them. You can use this as a way to remind them of some key strategies for safer internet use, for example:

  • Be careful with what they share, including images, videos and personal information.
  • Take control of who sees what they post by using privacy settings.
  • Be mindful of who they are chatting to and gaming with – do they really know and trust them? If not, don’t share personal details or agree to meet them in other online spaces.

3. Remind young people how to report anything worrying

It’s important that young people know where to go if they come across something online that worries them or makes them feel uncomfortable – especially as contact with trusted sources of support may not be available over the holidays.

You should:

  • Help them to identify a trusted adult that they can approach during the holiday period, and encourage them to the speak to the adult immediately if they have any concerns.
  • Talk them through how they can make a report to CEOP if something has happened to them online or they’re worried about what a friend is doing online.
  • Remind them that they can contact Childline if they have any other worries, for example if they are being bullied.

 

Throughout, remember that your focus shouldn’t be to put young people off using their new device or encourage parents not to buy it in the first place. Scaremongering is not effective and makes young people far less likely to ask you for help if they encounter a threat online. A balanced view encourages them to share their thoughts and engage with new ideas about staying safe.

Language Centre, Nursery, P7-6, Parents and carers, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 3-2, Primary 4, Primary 5, Primary 5-4, Primary 6, Primary 7, Pupil Council, Rights Respecting School, Uncategorized

Supporting gender balance and equality

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This page provides ideas to help ensure your child has equal opportunities to develop a range of skills and confidence regardless of their gender.

Gender stereotypes

Stereotypes are based on an assumption that all boys will be the same and like the same things, and all girls will be the same and like the same things.  This can lead to children being restricted in the interests, skills and behaviours they develop.

This page focuses on different expectations that can be placed on girls and boys.

Gendered messages

Children receive and absorb gender stereotyped messages about what they can and cannot do as a girl or as a boy from a very early age.

For example, toy manufacturers often market more aggressive toys to boys and more passive toys to girls, construction activities to boys and creative ones to girls. In picture books, women and girls are often portrayed as performing more domestic tasks while men are largely under-represented as parents. These stereotypes are unhelpful for both boys and girls.

Stereotypes suggest that girls and boys are very different and naturally like different things. For example, that girls are better at being carers and are not as good at maths, and boys are less emotional and are better at science or construction. Research suggests, however, that this is not the case. There is overwhelming evidence that there are no inherent differences between girls and boys which should limit a child’s interests or ambitions. Genders are more alike than different.

Gender stereotypes can affect:

  • The toys and games a child chooses and therefore the skills they develop
  • How children learn to express emotion
  • How important a child feels the way they look is
  • Whether a child feels they want to work hard at school
  • How a child feels about sport
  • What kinds of jobs a young person considers

 

There is, of course, nothing wrong with making choices along traditional lines, as long as those choices are not being limited by ideas about gender.

Challenging gender stereotypes

  • Talk with your child about how girls and boys, women and men are shown in books, TV shows or films.
    • What does it mean to be brave? Can girls be brave?
    • Is it ok for dads to stay at home and look after the baby?
    • Can women be firefighters? Can men be teachers?
    • Would the story change if the main character was a boy or girl? What would the story be like if you didn’t know what gender any of the characters were?
  • With older children, you could talk about how men and women are portrayed in adverts and social media. You might discuss jobs, roles at home, expectations of behaviour and appearance.
  • Look together at toy advertising:
    • How are they marketed? What messages are being given?
    • What makes something a girls’ or a boys’ toy?
  • Talk about different jobs and the skills needed for them. Few jobs can only be done by just men or just women.

Unconscious bias

We all have unconscious biases that can lead us to treat people differently without us realising we are doing it.

Research shows that adults tend to play differently with babies dressed as boys compared to those dressed as girls. Adults tend to offer ‘girl’ babies dolls and tend to hold them gently. They are more likely to offer ‘boys’ toy cars and balls and tend to play in a more rough and tumble way.

Things to think about

  • Praise: we often praise girls for appearance rather than their efforts or achievements. This can lead girls to thinking that how they look is the most important thing about them.
  • Crying: boys are often encouraged to stop crying quickly. This can lead to boys having difficulty sharing emotions when they are older.
  • Reading: research suggests we read to girls more than we do to boys. This can lead to girls being more likely to read themselves and having better literacy skills.
  • Chores at home: when you ask your child to help in the home, consider whether the tasks are reinforcing stereotypes.

Related links

Let Toys be Toys: Why it matters

Girls toys vs boy toys: The experiement – BBC Stories

Language Centre, Nursery, P7-6, Parents and carers, Peer Mediation, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 3-2, Primary 4, Primary 5, Primary 5-4, Primary 6, Primary 7, Pupil Council, Rights Respecting School, Uncategorized, Vertical Groups
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Safer Internet Day 2019

Safer Internet Day 2019 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 5th February with the slogan: ‘Together for a better Internet’.

Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre the celebration sees hundreds of organisations get involved and join a national conversation about using technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively.

The day offers the opportunity to highlight positive uses of technology and to explore the role we all play in helping to create a better and safer online community. It calls upon young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers, and wider, to join together and help to create a better internet.

Each year for Safer Internet Day the UK Safer Internet Centre creates a range of resources to help educational settings and wider to celebrate the day. This includes:

  • Lessons plans, assemblies and films tailor made for all ages
  • Resources to support social media involvement on Safer Internet Day
  • Registration as a Safer Internet Day Supporter
  • National research looking at young people’s use of technology

The UK Safer Internet Centre invites everyone to join Safer Internet Day supporters across the globe to help create a better internet on Tuesday 5th February 2019, and throughout the whole year!

UK Safer Internet Centre

The UK Safer Internet Centre is a partnership of three leading charities – Childnet International, the Internet Watch Foundation and South West Grid for Learning, (SWGfL) – with a shared mission to make the internet a better place for children and young people.

The partnership was appointed by the European Commission as the Safer Internet Centre for the UK in January 2011 and is one of the 31 Safer Internet Centres of the Insafe network.

The UK Safer Internet Centre delivers a wide range of activity to promote the safe and responsible use of technology by children and young people:

  • coordinates Safer Internet Day in the UK, reaching millions every year. In 2018 Safer Internet Day reached 45 of young people and 30% of parents in the UK.
  • founded and operates an online safety helpline for professionals working with children in the UK, including teachers, police officers, GPs and more
  • operates the UK’s hotline for reporting online child sexual abuse imagery
  • develops new advice and educational resources for children, parents and carers and teachers to meet emerging trends in the fast-changing online environment
  • delivers education sessions for children, parents, carers, teachers and the wider children’s workforce, including free events across the UK
  • trains children and young people to be peer educators and champions for the safe and positive use of technology
  • shapes policy at school, industry and government level, both in the UK and internationally, and facilitates youth panels to give young people a voice on these issues.

For more information visit www.saferinternet.org.uk and the websites of the partners: Childnet, the Internet Watch Foundation and SWGfL.

Language Centre, Nursery, P7-6, Parents and carers, Peer Mediation, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 3-2, Primary 4, Primary 5, Primary 5-4, Primary 6, Primary 7, Pupil Council, Rights Respecting School, Uncategorized

Murrayfield Primary School Website launched

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Murrayfield Primary School, Catherine Terrace, Blackburn – School Website

At Parents Evening, we showed you our Murrayfield website and promised that we would share the link with you.

Here it is!

http://www.murrayfieldprimary.westlothian.org.uk/

As always, please feel free to share any feedback.  We hope you find it helpful.

P7-6, Parents and carers, Peer Mediation, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 3-2, Primary 4, Primary 5, Primary 5-4, Primary 6, Primary 7, Pupil Council, Rights Respecting School, Uncategorized, Vertical Groups

Euroquiz postponed

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Unfortunately the West Lothian heats of this year’s EUROQUIZ which were due to take place tomorrow have had to be postponed due to the snow.  Hopefully a new date will be set soon and our Euro-tastic team will be able to put all their hard work to use.  Thank you all for all your hard work and commitment so far Lewis, Mia, Zac, Robbie, Emma and Eryn!  It has been a pleasure to work with you all – and fun too!

Language Centre, Nursery, P7-6, Parents and carers, Peer Mediation, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 4, Primary 5, Primary 6, Primary 7, Pupil Council, Rights Respecting School, Uncategorized, Vertical Groups
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Safer Internet Day 2018

Key messages

Safer Internet Day (SID) is organised by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network, with the support of the European Commission*, each February to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology, especially among children and young people. Celebrated on the second day of the second week of the second month, each year on Safer Internet Day millions of people unite to inspire positive change and raise awareness of online safety issues and participate in events and activities right across the globe.

Safer Internet Day aims to not only create a safer internet but also a better internet, where everyone is empowered to use technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively.

Safer Internet Day aims to reach out to children and young people, parents and carers, teachers, educators and social workers, as well as industry, decision makers and politicians, to encourage everyone to play their part in creating a better internet.

By celebrating the positive power of the internet, the 2018 Safer Internet Day theme of “Create, Connect and Share Respect: a better internet starts with you” encourages everyone to join the global movement, to participate, to make the most of the internet’s potential to bring people together.

With a global, community-led approach, Safer Internet Day 2018 encourages everyone to join and play their part. There are many ways to do this:

  • Children and young people can help to create a better internet by being kind and respectful to others online, by protecting their online reputations (and those of others), and by seeking out positive opportunities to create, engage and share online.

 

  • Parents and carers play a crucial role in empowering and supporting children to use technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively, whether it is by ensuring an open dialogue with their children, educating them to use technology safely and positively, or by acting as digital role models.

 

  • Teachers, educators and social workerscan help to create a better internet by equipping their pupils and students with digital literacy skills and by developing their critical thinking skills, which will allow them to better navigate the online world. They can empower them to create their own content, make positive choices online and can set a personal example of online behaviour for their pupils and students.

 

  • Industry can help to create a better internet by creating and promoting positive content and safe services online, and by empowering users to respond to any issues by providing clear safety advice, a range of easy-to-use safety tools, and quick access to support if things do go wrong.

 

  • Decision makers and politicians need to provide the culture in which all of the above can function and thrive – for example, by ensuring that there are opportunities in the curriculum for children to learn about online safety, ensuring that parents and carers have access to appropriate information and sources of support, and that industry are encouraged to self-regulate their content and services. They must also take the lead in governance and legislation, and ultimately ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people through effective child protection strategies for the online world.

 

  • Everyone has a responsibility to make a positive difference online. We can all promote the positive by being kind and respectful to others and seeking out positive opportunities to create and connect. We can all respond to the negative by reporting any inappropriate or illegal content.

 

We invite everyone to join us, and Safer Internet Day supporters across the globe, to help create a better internet on Tuesday, 6 February 2018 and, indeed, throughout the whole year. A better internet starts with you!

 

Find out more about the global campaign for Safer Internet Day at www.saferinternetday.org.

Find out more about the UK campaign for Safer Internet Day at www.saferinternetday.org.uk

 

* Safer Internet Day would not be possible without the support of the European Commission. Currently the funding is provided by the Connecting Europe Facility programme (CEF). Find out more about the EC’s “European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children” on the European Commission’s website.

Language Centre, Nursery, P7-6, Parents and carers, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 4, Primary 5, Primary 6, Primary 7, Pupil Council, Rights Respecting School

Christmas Jumper Day – Friday the 15th

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Hi Parents/Carers,

On the 15th of December we are having a non-uniform day.  We would like children to come to school in Christmas Jumpers and donate a £1 towards Save the Children.

You do not need to splurge on a new jumper,  you can get the children to be creative and make their own unique Christmas jumper!  There will be a prize for the best “SUPER SILLY SWEATER”! 🙂 This means get your tinsel, baubles, pom poms at the ready! At Murrayfield we are always encouraging our pupils to be creative so lets get our silliest sweaters on for December 15th! 🙂

By taking part in Christmas Jumper Day we as a Rights Respecting school are looking out for the rights of children in need, who require their rights to be protected.  [UNCRC article 2: All children have these rights, Article 3:  Adults must do what is best for us,  Article 6:  I should be supported to live and grow, Article 24: I have the right to good quality health care, to clean water and good food, Article 27: I have the right to have a proper house food and clothing]

“Make the world better with your sweaters. By joining in on Christmas Jumper Day, you’re helping to save children’s lives. Together we can be there when children need us most. When they’re in danger we can keep working to keep them safe. When they’re sick, cold and hungry we can keep working to bring them food and water, medicine and shelter. Because of your help, we can keep making the world better
for children everywhere.” (Save the Children)

Discover more about the work of Save the Children visit:
savethechildren.org.uk/about-us

P7-6, Parents and carers, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 4, Primary 5, Primary 6, Primary 7, Pupil Council, Uncategorized

Eat your heart out, Gustave Eiffel!

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Well done Callen Johnston, who ate his breakfast at the Breakfast Club and then moved on to create his own Statue of Liberty, using ZOOB construction pieces!  Here he is, proudly displaying his work.   For those of you who didn’t know, Gustave Eiffel also helped to build the Statue of Liberty in New York.  Callen is showing great promise as a future engineer.

If you would like to come along to Breakfast Club and take part in making exciting models, building with Lego, catching up with friends or taking part in our Wednesday morning exercise group, come along and join us at 8.15am every morning!  Everyone is welcome, from P1 – P7.  (Sorry Mums, Dads and Carers – you will have to get your own breakfast!)