This is a CONFIDENTIAL way to help YOU, a FRIEND or SOMEONE ELSE.

We know its not always easy to talk to an adult face to face – so if you want to share something with us you can do it on here by clicking the ‘make report’ button below.

You can report something happening in school, at home or in the community; it could be telling us about your situation, a friend or family member.

Remember – We have highly trained caring staff who can support and look after you.

Even if you are not ready to talk yet but want us to know you’re having a tough time you can use the ‘make report’ button above.

There is no problem too big or too small

To make a report you can:

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Talk to a teacher

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Talk to a trusted adult

Get more information on....

Abuse

Abuse is anything another person does that’s meant to cause harm.
But it’s not always easy to know what abuse is or what to do about it.

Emotional Abuse

If someone always puts you down, shouts at you, ignores you, or makes you feel bad about yourself, it’s emotional abuse.

Physical Abuse

If someone deliberately hurts or injures you or another person, it’s physical abuse. You might be told that it’s your fault, or that they’re punishing you. But nothing makes it okay for someone to hurt you. Abuse is never your fault.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is when someone is forced, pressurised or tricked into taking part in any kind of sexual activity with another person.

Neglect

Every child and young person has the right to be looked after properly. If you’re not getting the important things you need at home, you could be being neglected

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol, and getting drunk affects the way you think and feel.

Some people might try to cope with worries by drinking alcohol.

But it can be dangerous so it’s important to know the facts.

Domestic Abuse

It might not always be obvious if what’s happening at home is domestic abuse.

But if somebody in your family uses bullying or violence to get another adult to do what they want, that’s domestic abuse

Drugs

There are lots of reasons why people take drugs.

Some people try drugs because friends are doing it or to look popular in front of people. Some people think drugs can help them forget about feeling sad or hopeless, problems at home or problems at school. And some people may like the thought of doing something dangerous or illegal.

Sometimes people are forced to take drugs or are put under pressure to take drugs as a dare.

Exploitation (Crime)

Criminal exploitation is child abuse where children and young people are manipulated, forced or tricked into committing crimes. You might find that:

you are subject to threats, blackmail and violence

you are being exploited and forced to commit crimes

you are not able to leave or cut off ties with the gang

you are having your safety or the safety of friends and family threatened

you feel at risk of physical harm, rape and sexual abuse

you risk risk of severe injury or being killed

you are abusing drugs, alcohol and other substances.

Exam Stress

If you’re feeling stressed about your exams being cancelled, you aren’t alone. Get advice from us and other young people.

Eating

As well as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating there are other eating problems. If your relationship with food is worrying you, we’re here to help.

Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting

FGM is a very upsetting and distressing experience and it’s important to remember that it’s wrong and you don’t need to suffer alone. FGM happens when a girl’s private parts are removed or altered. FGM is abuse, and it’s illegal in the UK. If you or someone you know is worried about FGM, you can talk to us

Help a Friend

It can be really difficult to know the best way to help a friend.

But you don’t have to support them on your own.

Especially if their problems are really serious.

Often it’s helpful to get some advice from someone else.
This doesn’t mean you’re letting your friend down or that you’re breaking their trust. It’s natural for your friend not to want to tell anyone.

They might be scared of what happens next.

But it’s a good idea to get some advice from a teacher or parent.

Mental Health

Mental health is all about: how you feel about yourself you’re feeling how much you believe you can overcome challenges in your life whether you feel able to interact with other people. Everyone has times when they feel better or worse. Sometimes you might feel positive or full of confidence, other times you could be stressed or anxious. If your thoughts and feelings never change or they start to negatively affect you, then that could be a sign of a mental health condition. Whatever’s happening, talk to us

Online Safety

Going online is great for lots of reasons. But it’s important to be aware of the dangers too. Learn how to stay safe online.

Prison

Having a parent or carer in prison can leave you feeling all sorts of things. It’s normal to feel torn between loving your parent and hating what they’ve done. This can make you feel confused, and like you need someone to talk to. Whatever the reason your parent is in prison, it’s not your fault. And if somebody blames you for your parent being in prison – that’s emotional abuse. It’s wrong and it shouldn’t be happening.

Racism and Racial Bullying

It’s illegal to treat people differently because of their race or culture.

If it happens to you, remember – no one has the right to make you feel bad or abuse you for who you are.

Report It

Suicidal Thoughts

Many people have suicidal feelings at some point. You could feel alone and it might be hard to know what to do. But we can help you find ways to cope. Things might not change straight away. But you can start to feel better.

Sexual Harrassment

Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature which, whether intended or not; violates your dignity and/or creates an uncomfortable environment. Sexual harassment can happen from a stranger but more commonly with boyfriends/girlfriends, friends and family. It’s not your fault None of this is your fault, you deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You don’t deserve to be made to feel uncomfortable by anyone’s unwanted sexual behaviour. They may make you feel guilty and blame you for their behaviour, but you are not responsible for them or their behaviour. Some of you may not want your parents to find out, but your parents should support you as you haven’t done anything wrong. You may feel like what happened goes against your culture as someone was sexual with you before marriage, but that wasn’t your fault. You could be feeling guilty because you felt you had to go along with what happened for example by sending nude images of yourself. Unfortunately some people can manipulate other people in to doing things like this. Some people could also be using these images to blackmail you.

Young Career

A young carer is someone who looks after another person. Caring for someone might involve things you do every day like cooking and cleaning. Or you might have to do much more if your family member can’t do some things themselves. A young carer might look after someone because they’re sick, or have a disability or mental health issues. Or, if a parent or family member has an alcohol or drug problem, they may be unable to care for themselves or anyone else. Some young people tell us they aren’t sure if they can actually call themselves a ‘young carer’. But even if you aren’t the only one who is doing the looking after, you can be a young carer. Especially if you’re doing a lot more than just helping out occasionally and it takes up a lot of your time. It’s never your fault if someone is having problems and you have to look after them.

Anxiety

It’s normal to feel anxious, stressed or panicked in certain situations.

These feelings are our bodies natural ‘fight or flight response’ to a perceived dangerous or risky situation.

However if continuous feelings of anxiety impact your ability to carry out life as normal you need to talk to somebody

Bullying

Bullying exists in many different forms.

It can happen to anyone and it can happen anywhere.

While some forms of bullying may not be as obvious as others, they can be just as damaging.

Divorce

Everyone in a relationship disagrees sometimes. But when you’re hearing your parents or carers argue, it can make you worried that they might split up.

Parents and carers can get a divorce or split up for lots of reasons, and your parents fighting doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll break up.
But if you’re worried, it’s important to talk about it. If your parents do decide to split up or divorce, you’re never to blame.

You might worry about what happens next, but you’re not alone

Death

The death of someone you care about can be very difficult. These feelings are sometimes called grief.

It’s natural to have strong reactions when someone you love or are close to dies. You might feel: like you can’t handle things confused scared numb or that you’ve lost control worried that you may never feel okay again.

Try not to put too much pressure on yourself to feel better straight away. These feelings will change over time. It’s important to try to accept how you feel. You might also be upset about the death of an animal or pet. Or when someone’s still alive but you’re not able to see or talk to them anymore. This can hurt as much as a relative or friend dying.

Extremism

The news can be a great way to find out more about what’s happening in the world.

But some of things you see, hear or read can be upsetting, or even make you feel angry.

Some stuff can be hard to make sense of, like politics, wars, climate change, natural disasters or other world events like terrorist attacks.

But there are things you can do if you’re worried, confused or scared..

Exploitation

Exploitation is when young people are tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes and are moved and then exploited, forced to work, or have sex. Child trafficking and exploitation are types of child abuse. Children and young people can be trafficked into the UK from other countries, and also within the UK. They could be moved to a different country or even within the same town or village. If you’ve experienced sexual exploitation and are being exploited it can be really hard to recognise what’s happening. You may feel trapped and like you have to do something you’re uncomfortable with or don’t want to do.

Feeling Lonely

It’s normal to feel lonely or isolated sometimes. If it feels like these feelings are taking over, make a report.

Forced Marriage

Because forced marriage is illegal, it can happen in secret and can also be planned by parents, family or religious leaders. It may involve physical abuse, sexual abuse or emotional abuse..

Homeless

Being homeless can mean living on the streets, but you can also be homeless if you have a place to stay. You can be considered to be homeless if you’re: sleeping rough on the streets staying temporarily with a friend or family or ‘sofa surfing’ living with your family in temporary accommodation living in a B&B squatting in a property. You could also be considered homeless if you’re able to stay at home but are unsafe if do because you’re being hurt or abused.

Nudes

Sexting is when you send a sexual message, photo or video to someone else. It could be a picture of you, but sometimes people send pictures and videos of other people. Messages could be to a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend or someone online. Sexting includes: being partly or completely naked, or in your underwear posing in a sexual position, sending ‘nudes’ or ‘dick pics’, talking about sexual things you’re doing or want to do, doing sexual things on a live stream

Online Grooming

Online grooming is when someone uses the internet to trick, force or pressure a young person into doing something sexual – like sending a naked video or image of themselves.

This is wrong. Someone who’s grooming others online will sometimes build their trust before talking about doing anything sexual. It’s not easy to know if someone’s trying to groom you, but no matter what’s happening, we can help.

Peer Pressure

It can be really tempting to do everything you can to fit in with your friends.

But if you don’t feel comfortable, it’s okay to say “no” and make your own choices.

Sexual Identity

Sexuality and sexual orientation is about who you’re physically and emotionally attracted to.

Everyone is different, and sometimes understanding your sexuality can be confusing.

You might be heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual or you might not want to put a specfic label on your sexuality.

Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is abuse. This can be done by a stranger or more commonly a boyfriend/girlfriend, freiend and family. Sexual violence is when someone is forced, pressurised or tricked into taking part in any kind of sexual activity with another person. Examples of sexual abuse include: being touched or looked at in a way you don’t like without giving permission or consent someone flashing or exposing themselves to you online or offline being forced to have sex (intercourse), look at sexual pictures or videos, do something sexual or watch someone do something sexual. Sexual abuse can include lots of things like rape and sexual assault, sexual harassment, online grooming and domestic abuse or violence. It can also include sexual exploitation (being pressured into having sex with someone in return for getting something like money or drugs), sexting or child pornography.

Self Harm

Self-harm means hurting or damaging yourself on purpose. There are lots of ways to cope with feeling the need to self-harm.

Talk to a teacher when you are in school or click ‘Report It’ at the top of this page to let us know what is going on with you.

You can report something or just tell us you need to chat about something when you are next in school.

Where to get help and advice

Visit Kooth.com to speak to trained counsellors

Get lots more advice from the childline website

Online Safety Lead & Provision

Online Safety at Birchensale Middle School is oversoon by our Online Safety Co-ordinators, Ms S Pugh (DSL) and Mrs Vernon our CEOP Ambassador.

We use Senso and Smoothwall (with Smoothwall Monitor in trial) to filter and monitor all school network activity and device use; any inappropriate or concerning content searches automatically generate real-time alerts to our Pastoral Manager for immediate review and action.

Our Governing Body ensures these filtering and monitoring systems are in place and regularly reviewed, and that leadership and all relevant staff are fully trained to manage them effectively and know how to escalate any concerns.