Mental Health and Safe Guarding

What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

It is everybody's responsibility and duty to safeguard children. As parents, this is one of our most important roles and with knowledge we have power...power to protect and support our children to thrive in this ever changing world.

Safeguarding means:

protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
preventing harm to children’s health or development
ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.

What the link between mental health and safeguarding?

Being mentally healthy is also about having the strength to overcome the difficulties and challenges we can all face at times in our lives - to have confidence and self-esteem, to be able to take decisions and to believe in ourselves. It is quite normal to sometimes feel worried, anxious or upset when things don't go as you hope - everyone faces pressure in their lives at certain times.

However, if children are exposed to emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse or neglect, there is a much higher risk of them suffering from poor mental health. So, in order to support you as parents or carers, here are some helpful sites which you may wish to access . These provide support and guidance on how to promote mental health and deal with some types of abuse.

However, we would always encourage you to speak to a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) at school, as they will be able to help you to access services and agencies your child and family might need.

Here are links to helpful sites and services which are available to support you:

Parent Zone work in partnership with the National Crime Agency of which CEOP are part of. CEOP's role is to tackle the sexual abuse and exploitation of children (CSAE), both online and offline.

Parent Zone are the experts in digital family life. They provide support and information to parents, children and schools, working globally to help families to navigate the internet safely and confidently. They work with parents, schools, governments and businesses to study, understand and address the impact of emerging technologies on young people.

They are partners with a variety of charities and businesses to improve children's well being and safety.

An example of this is 'The Dove Self-Esteem Project' which is all about boosting children and young people’s self-esteem and body confidence – and supporting you as parents to start important conversations at home. Click the image below to find out more.

2. Women’s Aid is the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children.

This charity aims to empower survivors by keeping their voices at the heart of their work, working with and for women and children by listening to them and responding to their needs.

On the site, they have published "The Survivor's Handbook" which provides practical support and information for women experiencing domestic abuse, with simple guidance on every aspect of seeking support.

Importantly, it also contains a section on speaking to children about domestic abuse called "The Hideout". Please click on the image below to access this support.

Here are some useful links to help you with supporting your children:

>How can I help my children?
>Children and domestic abuse
>Taking children with you to refuge

3. Mankind supports men suffering from domestic abuse from their current or former wife or partner (including same-sex partner).

This can range from actual violence or object throwing to mental abuse such as constant bullying or constant insults.

The helpline provides both emotional support and practical information.