Many schools ‘routinely disregard’ safeguarding principles on gender identity
- According to a new report by Policy Exchange, only 28% of secondary schools who responded to Freedom of Information (FoI) requests are informing parents as soon as their child questions their gender identity.
- Some schools suggested that doing so would breach the child’s confidentiality.
- 28% of schools who responded do not provide single-sex toilets and 19% do not maintain single-sex changing rooms.
- The report concludes by stating there is a “safeguarding blind spot when it comes to the issue of sex and gender” and “schools are compromising both the law and statutory safeguarding guidance.”
- For more please see the Independent’s website.
Talking to children about school shootings
- Following the school shooting in Nashville which left three children and three adults dead, the Independent has released information on how to talk to your children about school shootings.
- Dr Robin Gurwitch from Duke University Medical Center’s Center for Child and Family Health said that most children will already know or have heard about school shootings from friends, social media or TV.
- Dr Gurwitch tells parents to “assume they have heard, rather than they haven’t”.
- For the full advice, please visit the Independent’s website.
‘Happy’ boy died ‘copying Snapchat video of friend with ligature around neck’
- A ‘happy and popular’ 13-year-old called Mustapha was found in his bedroom in Hampshire in May 2022.
- The boy was admitted to paediatric intensive care and was confirmed dead the next day.
- The final video on his Snapchat was accessed 15 minutes before he was found.
- It was a video clip of his friend with a ligature around his neck.
- No other videos or internet searches for suicide or hanging were found on his phone according to the Inquest.
- His mother believes that her son did not try to hurt himself and said Mustapha “wanted to repeat the video they did before and record himself and things went out of hand”.
- For the full story, please visit the Independent’s website.
Belfast Council to direct £220,000 underspend to antisocial behaviour in parks
- A £220,000 underspend at Belfast City Hall resulted in a disagreement between the parties over whether to spend it on antisocial behaviour in parks or on glass recycling.
- Some parties stressed the need for more park wardens to address antisocial behaviour.
- After a vote at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, the money was reallocated to addressing antisocial behaviour in parks.
- A pilot scheme that ran in Dunville Park saw a significant decrease in antisocial behaviour at the park.
- The areas identified as high on the antisocial behaviour list to have park wardens introduced is yet to be disclosed.
- For more on this story, please visit the Belfast Live website.
