For families that live in Richmond the family hub service offers online and outreach support. They offer a wide range of parenting support and courses designed to help parents and carers build strong, positive relationships with their children. Whether you’re navigating the early years or facing challenges with older children, our support includes evidence-based parenting programmes, group workshops, and one-to-one guidance. Find out more here Email them direct: familyhubrichmond@achievingforchildren.org.uk

Our school has access to the MHST (Mental Health Support Teams).  The MHST is a school based CAMHS offer for early intervention and prevention work to support positive mental health and wellbeing. The team works in partnership with local schools to offer a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing. See leaflet here

They work within both primary and secondary schools across the borough providing evidence-based interventions to support children and young people with mild to moderate mental health difficulties. They work closely with our Mental Health Lead to develop our whole school approach to mental health, providing consultations and sign-posting guidance.

If you feel concerned about your child’s mental health please contact Susie Lord or Sophie Macartney, Collis’s Designated Mental Health Leads, via the School Office. 

To learn more about what the MHST is, please visit their website.

In our school they can work with parents to support children with mild to moderate anxiety or behavioural difficulties and offer regular parent webinars on a range of topics linked to children’s emotional wellbeing. They also offer groups for children around issues such as Resilience, Friendships or Transition to secondary school. 

If you would like to make a parent self-referral for your child's emotional needs to be discussed with your school in a consultation, please follow this link. 

The MHST holds regular coffee mornings in our school.

Children and young people spend a lot of time on the internet. They may go online to research information for homework or to play games and chat with friends. The internet holds a huge amount of useful information and is a great way of learning about new things and keeping in contact with friends and family. It can also be a very dangerous place so it is important that children are protected and monitored when they are online.

Here are links to parental controls for popular apps or websites your children may use

• Discord app settings - HERE. 
• TikTok parental controls - HERE
• Snapchat parental controls - HERE
• Instagram parental controls - HERE
• WhatsApp privacy guide - HERE

Other useful websites

• NSPCC talking to to child about online safety - HERE
• CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) has lots of information about how to keep your children safe online HERE

If you are separating or divorcing, thinking about it, or want to look again at child arrangements made in the past then we recommend looking at this website https://www.midmediation.org.uk/

MiD is a charity who has been offering mediation to separating and divorcing couples. They specialise in the field of family breakdown, with their main focus on the children who are caught, through no fault of their own, in the middle of family conflict.

The counselling services are for both adults and children originally evolved from the needs of our mediation clients and their families.  They aim to reduce conflict, misunderstanding and bitterness so the effects on children are reduced.  

Grief can be overwhelming and affect all aspects of life. Experienced, professional, caring support can help to acknowledge and explore feelings about these changes. If your child is experiencing a bereavement you may find support at Space to Grieve They are a charity who can support children and young people and support parents parenting through Grief to anyone that lives in Richmond borough. Get in touch by visiting their website or call 0751 937 6363 or email support@space2grieve.org.uk

Winston's wish also support grieving children, young people and parents. They now do this through working together with Child Bereavement UK

Domestic Abuse is defined as any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence, or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.

Abuse can be perpetrated by partners, ex-partners, and family members, including children under the age of 18, adult children or siblings. It may include one or more of physical or sexual abuse; violent or threatening behaviour; controlling or coercive behaviour; economic abuse; psychological, emotional, and other forms of abuse.

Children who witness domestic abuse are at risk of both short and long-term physical and mental health problems. Every child will be affected differently to the trauma of domestic abuse.

Help and advice is available see the following resources:

Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline for free, confidential support, 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247 or visit Homepage - Refuge, the UK's largest specialist domestic abuse organisation

Operation Encompass

Collis Primary School is part of Operation Encompass which is an initiative between the Metropolitan Police, parents and school. If there is an incident involving your children and the Police are in attendance then the school will be informed.

It is important to understand the difference between healthy and developmentally expected sexual exploration and play in children, and behaviour that is not appropriate and can cause harm to others or increase a child’s vulnerability. These leaflets from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation explain the differences and suggests ways of responding to these behaviours.

Children – ages 5-11 years

P.A.N.T.S: Teach your child the Underwear Rule  The NSPCC suggest this simple way that parents can teach their children to look after their own bodies and help keep them safe from sexual abuse.

You can also report you concerns to the NSPCC who will offer you support and advice if you are feeling worried about a child’s safety: HERE

Child Sexual Exploitation, or CSE, is a form of sexual abuse which sees children/young people being manipulated or coerced into sexual activity for receiving something such as gifts, money, food, attention, somewhere to stay etc.

Technology is very often used to groom victims. This may occur through social networking sites and mobile phones with internet access. CSE has gained a large amount of media attention over the last few years as lots of services involved with children and young people have noticed a big rise in cases involving CSE.

The NSPCC  has been campaigning to raise the profile of this form of child abuse.

PACE (Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation) is a national charity that works with parents and carers whose children are sexually exploited. PACE offers one-to-one telephone support, national and local meet-ups with other affected parents and information on how parents can work in partnership with school, police and social care.   Information regarding CSE can be found here by following the link to PACE.

www.paceuk.info

Female Genital Mutilation is classified as a form of Child Abuse in the UK. It therefore makes the procedure of it a serious Child Protection issue. It is illegal for anyone to perform FGM in the UK or to arrange for a child to be transported to another country for the procedure. The maximum sentence for carrying out FGM or helping it to take place is 14 years in prison.

If you think that a girl or young woman is in danger of FGM, you must contact the Police. You should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (020 7008 1500) if she’s already been taken abroad. The Daughters of Eve website helps to raise awareness of this issue and sign-posts those affected by it to supportive services. The NSPCC offers a free and anonymous FGM 24 hour helpline. Call 0800 028 3550 or email fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk

Radicalisation

The reasons why people are susceptible to radicalisation are complex, unique and can be closely connected to emotions. Radicalisation feeds off these emotions, and it is important to understand the full context of the situation.

Extremism

Extremism is not the same as terrorism as not all extremist groups will commit terrorist or violent acts. Instead, extremism is the vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values.

Terrorism

Terrorism starts with radicalisation. The objective is to incite someone to support terrorism or become a terrorist themselves. It is more than an attack, below the surface is hidden activity that builds up leading to violence.

Where the person you are concerned about is under 18 years of age, referrals should be made via the Single Point of Access on 0208 547 5008.

https://actearly.uk/

You can call the national police Prevent advice line 0800 011 3764, in confidence, to share your concerns with our specially trained officers.