Child Internet Safety

Source: https://www.nstlaw.com/child-safety/internet/

KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE ON THE INTERNET

It should come as a surprise to no one that the Internet can be a dangerous place. Sure, the Internet allows you to access information at your leisure and connect with people in faraway places easily; however, you never know who may try to access you for harm. These dangers are magnified when children utilize the Internet, as they often are not aware of warning signs of danger. Children can easily stumble upon fake news, pornographic content, scams, and seedy individuals, even when their voyage into the cyber world began with an innocent search. Nowadays, the Internet is easily accessible to people of all ages, especially as smartphones and tablets continue to increase in popularity.

HOW TO PROMOTE CHILD INTERNET SAFETY

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a federal law designed to protect those under 13 years of age on the Internet. Websites must follow specific rules and privacy policies. While the government wants to protect children, parents can take steps at home as well. Before allowing your child to access the Internet, here are some things to keep in mind:

ALWAYS SUPERVISE THEIR ACTIVITY

First, make sure that you always have access to your child’s computer. Ideally, young children should only be able to access computers in common areas of the home. Although older children may require personal laptops for school, do not allow them to set their own passwords for the computer operating system, social media sites, or e-mail. Check in with your children frequently about their interests and the websites they are visiting or posts they are “liking” or making online. Review their webpage history through their Internet browsers. If you see something that gives you pause, talk to them about it. If you notice cyber bullying, contact the school or local law enforcement authorities. If you see that your child is cyber bullying others, discuss why that is unacceptable and inappropriate behavior, and restrict their computer and Internet access accordingly.

TEACH THEM TO PROTECT THEIR PRIVACY

Many children are easily trusting and do not understand the full consequences of sharing information online. If you start teaching children while they are young, they will be better prepared to resist sharing certain information from an early age. Make sure your children know:

Never provide sensitive information, like their name, address, phone number, e-mail address, password, school name, nor any pictures to anyone for any reason without your permission, and never agree to meet up with anyone they meet online. Advise them that they never know who they may be talking to online, and dangerous people from the Internet who pretend to be children may try to find them and hurt them.
Never open e-mail messages from people they do not know. Advise them that certain e-mail messages contain viruses that may harm the computer or steal certain information contained on the computer.
Never respond to hurtful or disturbing messages. Advise them that if they see a hurtful or disturbing message, to let you know immediately.

The Internet is mainstay in our society, so it makes sense to teach our children how to access such a crucial resource safely. If you suspect that your child may be in danger through Internet usage, contact your local law enforcement authorities immediately.

RESOURCES:

parenting.com – Keeping Your Child Safe on the Internet
KidsHealt – Internet Safety

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Inclusion Week 2021

Source :

Our top tips for National Inclusion Week 2021

As National Inclusion Week draws closer, we are gearing up back at Inclusive Employers to ensure we can celebrate, showcase and further influence our members’ inclusion journey.
In true Inclusive Employers style we are here to help and are going to be sharing with you some of our consultants top tips for making the most of the week.
Register now for National Inclusion Week 2021

Person giving a talk about National Inclusion Week plans, with United For Inclusion button hanging in the background

A little bit of planning in advance of National Inclusion Week can really help to optimise the benefits of being involved in this national programme, as we commit to being #UnitedForInclusion and ensure that your whole organisation is engaged.

Like all initiatives and programmes we hope that National Inclusion Week will be an extension of your everyday commitment to inclusion and provide you with a catalyst for taking the next steps. Key to getting this right is ensuring the focus is not just on the week itself but upon how it can really add value and impact in your organisation. The recent horrific racism demonstrated after the Euro2021 final has shown us how far we still have to travel, we hope National Inclusion Week can help to solidify your commitment to an inclusive society where we are all #UnitedForInclusion.

So where do we start?….

1. Consider how Inclusion Week can support you to progress your inclusion objectives

Understanding where you are in your inclusion journey and your key inclusion and diversity focus moving forward how can you use the Inclusion Week 2021 theme, #UnitedForInclusion, to shine a light on these areas? We want to inspire you to see how the small actions of many can lead to much greater cultural change in your organisation.

2. Use our National Inclusion Week toolkit

Not sure where to start? Explore and utilise the Inclusive Employers Inclusion Week Daily Actions as a guide and inspiration for your own events. You will find an overview of the Daily Actions in the Toolkit resource ‘#UnitedForInclusion: A guide to the 2021 theme’. These actions can help you make some tangible commitments and don’t forget to include your staff networks or Inclusion advisory groups, there will be some brilliant ideas and inspiration you can draw upon.

3. Further your knowledge

Don’t forget to book your places on Inclusion Week events hosted by Inclusive Employers. There will be a series of events highlighting a range of inclusion topics, including events that relate to the Daily Actions. Most importantly, don’t forget to consider how you can share some of your learning and ideas throughout your organisation. You might want to consider webinars, physical events (where possible), online activities through your staff Intranet, newsletters and social media channels. Develop a communications plan so that everyone is kept up-to-date with your Inclusion Week activity and don’t forget to use the #UnitedForInclusion so we can share some of the great things going on throughout National Inclusion Week.

4. Ensure your National Inclusion Week activities are communicated outside of your organisation

A recent Forbes study Identified that 83% of employees say they’re engaged at work when they believe the organization fosters an inclusive culture. Make sure you celebrate your National Inclusion Week work to make your organisation stand out to prospective talent. Thousands of organisations will be uniting for National Inclusion Week 2021 and by communicating beyond our organisations we will collectively strengthen our commitment to be #UnitedForInclusion. You can use the Press Release Template in the Toolkit to support your external communications. Remember to use the campaign hashtags #UnitedForInclusion and #NationalInclusionWeek2021 and tag @InclusiveEmployers on LinkedIn and @IncEmp on Twitter.

And finally, if you haven’t registered yet for National Inclusion Week 2021 now is the time! Registering is free and it gives you full access to the NIW Toolkit, with plenty of tools and resources to support you to make the week a success, including further information on How to Prepare for National Inclusion Week.

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Very moving anti knife crime exhibition opens in Barking

Souce:

Yesterday Wednesday 29 September saw the launch of the third Ben Kinsella Trust exhibition. Based in Barking, the exhibition is the largest of the three and explains the tragic and heartbreaking story of Ben Kinsella. It also hosts pictures and stories of other local teenagers who have lost their life to knife crime- Champion Ghanda 17 years old, Duran Kajiama 17 years old and Jody Chesney 17 years old.

Present at the event in Barking was Champion’s mum Peguy who runs All Champions Charity to support other bereaved families. Peguy is a very inspirational lady who has dedicated her life helping other families.

Beatrice Mushiya Duran’s mum was there to give her support to families of knife crime alongside Peter Chesney who was also at the event.

Supported by Barking and Dagenham Council, Councillor Darren Rodwell Leader of the council addressed the large crowd to introduce everyone to the evening’s events.

The Ben Kinsella exhibition aims to educate young people on the dangers of knife crime and help them to make positive choices to stay safe. The workshops follow the journey of both the victim and the offender through a series of unique and immersive experiences to show young people how choices and consequences are linked.

Their workshops change young people’s attitudes to knife crime; debunking the myth that carrying a knife will protect you. They strengthen peer values; ensuring young people give better advice to each other and challenge peers who are carrying (or thinking of carrying) a knife.

They currently have two exhibitions, which are based in Finsbury Library in Islington and in the National Justice Museum in Nottingham.

Ben Kinsella was a 16-year-old boy from Islington who was stabbed to death in a horrific act of senseless violence on 29 June 2008.

Ben had been out at a local pub to celebrate the end of his GCSEs with his friends. On their way home, he and his friends realised they were being followed by three older teenagers. Scared and worried, they decided to run home.

But the older teenagers chased after them. They were seeking revenge for an altercation in the club that had taken place earlier that evening. Ben and his friends had absolutely nothing to do with the altercations, but when the older boys caught up with Ben, in an entirely unprovoked attack, they stabbed him to death.

Also present at yesterday’s launch was DC Anoushka Dunic the East Area Police Gangs Engagement Officer who does fantastic work across East London helping parents and teenagers, PC Michael Wallace from Kick off@3, who does amazing work with teenagers across London, Quinton Green, the very talented spoken word artist who works with many educational organisations helping teenagers and Shirley Jackson the founder of Youth Unity who supports teenagers across east London.

This is a very moving exhibition that highlights the horrors of knife crime and the choices we make and the consequences they provide.

DC Dunic one of yesterday’s tour guides in the Ben Kinsella Room.

Shirley Jackson, Peguy Kato and Quinton Green.

SC Anthony Peltier with Spoken Word Artist Quinton Green.

A Letter written by 16 year old Ben Kinsella to the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown- Ben was killed a few weeks after he wrote this letter.

Thank YOUth – Romford Town, Havering

Youth Unity are worked with Havering Council to deliver an event which is to celebrate and to say thank you to young people for coping through the lockdown.

The event is a mini festival of and for young people living in Havering showcasing young talent focusing on youth performances, and featuring DJ Pebz who will play between intervals.

DJ PEBZ

I am a up and coming female DJ, from East London with musical knowledge way beyond my years! I am 20 years young. Music is the key to happiness

HANR

Hanr is a 16 year old singer, songwriter & performer. She has performed her own songs; cover songs all over the UK & in many cities throughout Europe. She is an accomplished trained singer with a natural talent. Hanr’s recently released single, “Missing you”, a contemporary RnB song, is available now on all platforms.

LIT YOUTH DANCE

LIT YOUTH are an amazing street dance crew who we have worked with in the past. Their energy and enthusiasm is infectious

Sayso

From a young age His love for playing football got him noticed by various football scouts and landed him a place at West Ham football academy. A bad injury abruptly stopped that from continuing and a spell of bad company allowed him to get into trouble, which in turn made him homeless at 16. These turn of events lead to a meeting at a hostel with an up and coming rap drill artist called Max who forged a good friendship and music partnership that created his first music venture The Smokey Boys.

After a few years and a few released videos the 2 parted company and Boy Sayso became solo and is working on his debut album ‘African London’. Another turn of events led home to play a small part in The first film Blacks can’t swim but now plays one of the leading roles in the 2nd edition Blacks Can’t Swim the Sequel’

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Summer Mobile Project Mobile – Lambeth

The Summer Mobile Project Mobile – Lambeth working in Lambeth Larkall community in a bid to promote and enable the reduction in Serious Youth Violence. The bus is also a good visual way of alerting young people that there is a unit placed in a specific area at a specific time during the entire summer break.

By locating the mobile outreach in these wards, we are better equipped to reach the young people that are most at risk. The outreach unit will offer a variety of activities during the designated times in the selected areas.

Each activity is designed to educate and enhance responsibility among youth. Young people will be able to engage in:

Short film screenings specific shorts that address subjects such as mental health and wellbeing. Mentoring engaging with experienced youth workers and organisations
Motivational talks designed to help with goal setting and communication etc.
Interactive games designated gaming console for two players at a time.
Film project learning how to use mobile phones to create positive content. Social media awareness advice and help on how to stay safe online

Increased confidence

1 %

reduced anxiety

1 %

inspired

1 %

motivated

1 %

51st State Festival: What advice would you give your younger self?

The promoters of 51st State supported Youth Unity by giving a stand to promote the work we do to help young people and the community.

We asked festival goers “What Advice Would They Give Their Younger Self?” we had some great comments.

We had so much fun!!

Thank you to our sponsors

MS Webb, Cornerstone Group and Tesco Bags of Help, most importantly, thank you to 51st State for the opportunity!

51st State Festival August 2021

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Mind Over Matter – Domestic Abuse

Mind Over Matter

Source: Kerry Mussington

Has your past belief kept you in unhealthy circumstances?

A school photo but nobody saw this little girl abuse, they never saw her being taken advantage of (groomed by the family friends)

They never told her she was living in domestic abuse, as a little girl parents so wrapped up in drink drugs and own issues she was abused right under their noses, she went on to gain a diagnosis in her late 20’s then she was manipulated and her mental health was used as an excuse against her, to mask the heinous crimes.

47 years of abuse throughout her life, even the system failed her and never protected or offered support without victim blaming, just given her a label borderline personality disorder but writing down a paperwork abuse her abuse.

So why did she not get help in the correct departments no just chucked tablet and told to get in with it that label is (a reward for abuse, now she has this label for life hell.

people picked on her year after year until she learned to say no to abuse, only because someone told her it was wrong to be treated like that and stuck by her to expose NEGLECT for what it was from child abuse to domestic to even those so-called Friends bullying and humiliating her

Rejection and abandonment

Online cyber bullying to add in the most horrific way resulting to her getting police involvement to cease the unwanted behaviour from those who saw her as a threat, when she stood against abuse she was targeted online and a photograph placed on a group so she would be target more

This stopped when she took action against this form of abuse it stopped. But year after year she suffered Degrading treatment Until one day someone else saw what she went through and helped her to fight back against abuse that caused her mental health to crumble.

Making those abusers pay for what they did she took them to a higher authority and won cases that had written context such as (she throws a tantrum and always complains. They protect the abusers; it was not a tantrum it was A CRY FOR HELP she was drained and had nothing left to live for so you can imagine she tried once again to take her life never knowing how to tell the story so it would be understood without persecution.

She never got to tell on her child abuser as he died, this is when she felt free.

An opportunity came up to create a business and she thought this is the way to express to tell the whole world what she’s been through so they too could prevent their own children from going through what she went through she wanted to empower other women who went through sexual abuse and domestic violence and also suffered with mental health complications due to stress, so she built the MOM Project Suicide Prevention as a way to raise awareness on those subjects to help others prevent and to forgive themselves a abuser is the only one who tries to have power and control and grooms you into submission he or she are responsible for their actions. NOBODY FORCED THEM TO ACT THIS WAY.

They were raised in a belief system. Reinforced by society and the belief such as MEN own women and women should do as they are told. “

We are not a slave; we are a human who has rights and the right to say no to abuse. And the right to say no to sex

Kerry Mussington helps many people understand the patterns and raises awareness on mental health and now Is a trained Facilitator in Domestic Abuse, she took everything she could to empower herself and other. her mission is to save life and prevent others from the dreaded depression that’s mask so much abuse…. That even if they can identify they are being abused or neglected.

It has come to my attention through research that many people who suffered abuse end up with labels such as borderline personality disorders ADHD bipolar and many other disorders such as PTSD Trauma affects children and adults ripping life from them stealing childhood stealing adulthood because you are treated like a child told to do things you don’t want to made to put up with harmful behaviour and if you don’t there is consequence now this part is scary because you stop TRUSTING people and even Yourself…. Isolating yourself from others. You develop Low self-esteem lack of confidence and even injury to one’s self using possibly drugs and alcohol to manage daily life.

Trust and good communication play a big part of life but when you are being controlled, you’re just existing like a puppet on a string.

Mental health can get better with knowledge and understanding and the right support from someone who understands this cycle.

Domestic abuse can cease if you are educated in understanding the patterns of behaviour spot the abuse even down to Cheating and belittling power and control is what the abusers want and let me tell you this it’s not Because of drink drugs mental health depression unemployment why they do what they do to their victims it’s simply

POWER AND CONTROL

To the victims out there it is not your fault your children need to know that this behaviour is wrong. Nobody has the right to sexually abuse you or help themselves and nobody has the right to put their hands on you.

A bully will sulk to hide or deflect from his or her actions

They will call names, lie and degrade you for own gain

Many mothers blame themselves when children are caught up in the middle but are also conditioned many are blame victim blaming has become a huge issue because people don’t want to listen to our painful struggles it just too hard for them to believe

Gaslighting for one’s own gain

Say NO to domestic abuse and please get some support the freedom program will help you in this area and has a program (living with the dominator) it will help women and children understand better of this cycle. bad fathers to good role models

I understand abuse happens to men also and you may want to get some support there are programmes that can help you to understand.

Change that belief because it’s damaging.
Speaking out saves lives support saves more
Understanding is key

You friends most probably can relate to this post and may never of gotten help or support and end up in controlling relationships

Offering you knowledge that there is a program that they can book themselves in today it’s called the freedom program.

Let’s start raises our standards not our hands

Mr Wrong to Mr Right check it. https://www.freedomprogramme.co.uk/online.php

Youth Unity: Challenging Narratives and Empowering Young People

An interview by YouthTime Magazine

Youth Unity are working hard in the UK to change the story of young people and help them with their issues. We spoke to them to find out more.

Youth Unity CIC is an innovative space for youth empowerment, and a non-profit organisation established to provide effective help and support to vulnerable young people and adults affected by group violence (gangs), drugs and other forms of exploitation such as human trafficking, child sexual exploitation and extremism.

With offices in Kent, London and Essex, the organisation works successfully in close collaboration with statutory organisations, commissioned services and charities, by offering workshops, projects and training for young people and professionals.

In this piece, Youth Time features its contribution for young people’s wellbeing by speaking to Paul McKenzie, Youth Unity’s Head of Communications.

Introducing Youth Unity

At the beginning of our conversation, McKenzie talks about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in their activities, whereas further in the interview, he sheds light on their key activities and the 4Ps (Pursue, Prevent, Protect and Prepare).

“With the current rise in serious youth violence and the impact of COVID-19, we created a dedicated hub for the overall wellbeing of young people from all ethnicities,” he explains, whilst adding that the organisation challenges the narrative portraying young people as bad.

Youth Unity’s focus is early intervention and early identification of those ‘at risk’ from gangs, serious youth violence, criminal exploitation and associated vulnerability strands.

To better understand this, McKenzie adds that this is something consistent with the Government’s 4P approach and contained within the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy.

“This strategy effectively coordinates national joint working to reduce the level of serious and organised crime affecting our local communities.

“It uses the framework often referred to as the 4Ps and strengthens a partnership approach to safeguarding our most vulnerable and tackling offenders.”

Prevent, Prepare and Protect

As McKenzie explains, their key objectives are consistent with this strategy and approach:

Prevent: To stop people becoming gang members, being exploited or taking part in violence.

Prepare: To effectively mitigate risks through preventative measures and innovative, creative media early intervention. With the aim to kick start conversations, build resilience and inspire change around complex social issues.

Protect: To strengthen adults and young people by building their emotional and cognitive (thinking) resilience, better enabling them to ‘say no’ to gangs, violence, drugs, crime and other forms of exploitation and vulnerability themes.

Youth Unity works with schools, colleges, police forces, social services, LSCBs, charities, borough councils, county councils, private businesses, national government agencies to deliver productions, workshops and training for young people and adults across the United Kingdom.

Raising Awareness About Mental Health

Currently, it is also working with several organisations to raise awareness around mental health.

“We feel the pandemic has had a massive impact on youth. With this in mind, we set out to deliver specific online workshops that are interactive and informative for all.

“We selected several professionals to work alongside parents and young people.”

Paul McKenzie 3 — Working Hard: Paul McKenzie

The workshops raised awareness and helped to enable participants to understand the early signs of a mental health issue.

“We are also delivering valuable support to young people challenged with grooming and county lines.

“There is an increase in the deliberate manipulation of young people, and we feel that more than ever before, we need to inform young people of the dangers etc,” McKenzie says.

The workshops explore topics such as criminal exploitation, social media misuse, grooming, building positive relationships, and the law.

GroomSafe

Youth Unity also offers advice, and guidance to many families and individuals affected by Criminal Exploitation and grooming.

“Although because of a lack of funding, we are only available via telephone. Soon we will include a mentoring provision that will enable more one-to-one work with young people and their families.”

GroomSafe has recently worked on a film project with several young people at risk of Criminal Exploitation and serious youth violence.

“During the pandemic we could create a short film that addresses manipulation and grooming, we engaged young people in basic film making and editing, to produce William an awareness film to help others facing the challenges above.”

“We have entered the short film into several film festivals, we are expecting outstanding success on this. We also intend to duplicate this process to produce another short film about online abuse.“

To date, McKenzie goes on, Youth Unity believes young people need advice and awareness to enable them to make more informed decisions in life.

“By actively raising this awareness and reaching out to young people on a grassroots level, we effect the change that they need to help avoid exploitation and grooming,” he concludes.

About Paul McKenzie

Paul McKenzie is Professional Public Speaker, Life Coach/NLP Master Practitioner, Film Director/Producer and Author.

Paul has enjoyed changing the lives of hundreds of people over the last 20 years.

Through his filmmaking he has developed a platform designed to provide a space for individuals within the community to express their brilliance, speak their truth and encourage the lives of others.

This is achieved by producing short powerful films that highlight specific issues and capture the unique essence of everyday people’s stories, which are now award winning.

These films and documentaries are shared internationally and contain inspirational, thought provoking material, and reaches out to the heart of the community.

Paul remains proud to have contributed to some major changes in the way Youth Unity addresses specific issues that challenge communities, especially the issues that affect the youth.

Follow Youth Unity on Facebook and Instagram to find out more about the company and support their work.

HAD IT YET? Film Documentary in the pandemic

This short film highlights some of the concerns and challenges that a community has faced living through a pandemic along with their thoughts on the vaccination.

With the increasing demand for an answers to how we can all remain safe in the current climate of COVID-19, and the need for clarity in regards to the vaccination requirements, we took to the streets of Havering to ask people in public how they experienced the various lockdowns and also to ask them what they thought about the vaccine.

I have already had the vaccine

1 %

definately would

1 %

would not take

1 %

unsure

1 %

CODE 1 Community Group

Youth Unity has been working with CODE1 for the last year and are in talks on how we can work in collaboration to deliver more amazing projects

Code1 Community Group, are committed to investing their expertise and resources in order to further achieve their causes. They aim to support community members in a variety of ways and measuring our success not by monetary size, by more qualitative measurements such as the scale and effectiveness of our efforts.

Just imagine what we can achieve together!

https://www.code1communitygroup.co.uk/

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