Welcome back to Term 3.  I trust that the holidays were relaxing and some warmth was found in the cold weather.

In 2019 the introduction began of Child Safety standards across schools in Australian and this involved a person established in schools as a Child Safe Advocate.  As the Childsafe Advocate at Carroll College, it is my responsibility to ensure that students and parents are aware of who they can approach with concerns about student safety and provide awareness of issues that are currently facing students.  At the College, the contact for concerns or complaints regarding student safety is Mrs Heffernan or myself.

One of the biggest issues facing students at present revolves around Cyber safety.  SBS has a new drama starting on 1 August called The Hunting which explores the experiences of teenagers as they traverse the complexities of relationships, identity and sexuality via technology.

Following the lives of four young Australians, their teachers and families throughout the lead-up, revelation and aftermath of a nude teen photo scandal, the timely series aims to promote discussion and awareness to enable positive experiences for young people online.

Young people are increasingly exploring their sexuality online, with 26 per cent of teens admitting to sending a nude or sexual image or video of themselves to someone else.

Further research from the eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) reveals one in 10 Australians have experienced image-based abuse (IBA). This includes intimate, nude or sexual images that are sent without the consent of those featured. Intimate images may also include images or videos that have been altered (i.e. photoshopped), or that depict a person without attire of religious or cultural significance which they would normally wear in public.

For every victim, the experience is different, but often it causes anger, depression, anxiety and feelings of humiliation, and affects their families, social relationships, and overall wellbeing.

Experts suggest conversations about online safety should start in the home, as soon as we hand over devices to children, and be reinforced through their educational journey.

In partnership with eSafety, SBS has created resources aligned to themes explored in the series. Available through SBS’s education portal, SBS Learn, the materials are designed to provide families, carers and the school community with conversation starters that help address image sharing and cyberbullying with young people, and promote safe and positive experiences online.

The Hunting will air on SBS and SBS On Demand from 1 August, and the SBS Learn resources are available now via the SBS Learn portal.                                                                            (source SBS)

There are excellent resources for parents found on the e-safety Commission website https://www.esafety.gov.au/ which provide resources for parents and students to support them.  Later this year the College is trying to organise a joint K-12 Parent Cyber safety talk by the Australian Federal Police and issues that are facing students and what we can do to further support them at home and school.  Please keep an eye out of for this date.

Thank you again for all the support at home that you give our students, never hesitate to get in contact if there is anything we can further do to support members of the College community.

Nathan Mansfield

Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care