“I’m sorry, son. I should have done better.”
The heart-breaking final words of Eddie, the father of the 13 year old murderer, Jamie, in the outstanding fictional Netflix series, Adolescence.
No parent would ever want to be in Eddie’s shoes. Yet far too many could be.
Think we’re exaggerating? We wish we were.
For day in day out we support schools and colleges across the country who are working to counter the adverse impact of what children – some of them as young as six – are seeing and experiencing online.
Children witnessing sexual acts they are not old enough to process. Children being bullied by peers and undermined and having their self-esteem crushed by WhatsApp groups which even adults would find hard to belong to. Paedophiles finding back door access to children via games chat functions. Ready access to weapons and ideas for cruelty.
And you think the developing brain won’t try to make sense of this chaos and hurt by lashing out? Highly sexualised behaviour, cruelty, meanness, dissociation, carrying weapons. Injuries to self and others. We hear about it all and support and advise those bearing the brunt and carrying the load of how that shows up in education.
We hear about it from the most dedicated, passionate and committed Designated Safeguarding Leads, their deputies and teams. The burden of legal, ethical and emotional responsibility that they carry for children, young people and vulnerable adults is enormous. But they can only do so much.
Those of us who are parents and carers must take ultimate responsibility for what our children are witnessing and experiencing. As parents, we know it can be daunting. But facing up to facts and being equipped with the information, advice and guidance to take positive steps to protect our children, their mental health and their futures is a darn sight easier than ever being Eddie.
We are on a mission to not only support DSLs in schools and colleges but to empower parents and carers too. By schools signing up to our Empowering Parents Workshops, which started last month with ‘Managing Mobile Phone Use’, they are enabling hundreds of parents to benefit from our specialist insights into what’s really going in the lives of Britain today, and how we can work together to safeguard their future.
Our next workshop runs on 3 April. Want to join us?
If you’re a parent, let your child(ren)’s school(s) know and we can send them sign-up details. If you’re a school, email us at emma@safeguardingco.co.uk and we’ll send you our latest online fact sheet and let you know how to sign up to Empowering Parents.
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