Advice for Children and Young People
Safeguarding should be something that we do with young people, not 'to' young people. There are many resources available that we recommend you introduce to the young people to whom you minister:
- Childline is the most obvious resource and a very important one to make available to children, young people, parents and carers. As well as posters and other resources, please make your young people aware of the 'For Me' smartphone app which gives a huge amount of advice and support to young people. Details of that app can be found on the Childline website, here.
- Kidscape is also an important resource that focuses on the issue of bullying. It provides very useful information for young people, parents, carers and those who work with young people. Please promote this alongside Childline to the young people to whom you minister, and to their parents.
- Thinkuknow is a website we've already mentioned under the 'Online Safety' section, but you should be aware of it in this section as well as it provides excellent advice and resources for children and young people. Please make them aware of it.
Advice for Families
It is important that churches help the families to whom they minister to keep their own children safe. The website that we recommend above all others is Parents Protect, which focuses specially on child sexual abuse, and on what parents can do to keep their own children safe. It is an excellent website that churches should make the parents to whom they minister aware of.