This is a report regarding the 2015 Schools Safeguarding Survey. In June 2015, the Leicestershire & Rutland Safeguarding Boards Business Office sent out Safeguarding Surveys, via post, to schools in Rutland with the aim of capturing the voice of children/young people and understanding the worries and concerns of students. The headline results (including A little bit worried and Worried answers) show that: Over 46% of Primary School children are worried about nobody listening to them Over 43% of Primary School children are worried about their future Over 62% of Secondary School students are worried about feeling stressed and not coping Over 51% of Secondary School students are worried about being approached by a stranger when out Schools were asked to hand out the surveys to a form group or in a Personal, Health & Social Education (PHSE) class so that students had the chance to fill them in on their own and be as honest as possible. The deadline for returning the completed surveys to the Safeguarding Boards Business Office was the last day of the Summer term. However, in order to capture further responses, the survey was sent out to schools again, this time electronically, in September 2015. The deadline was the last day before the Half Term holiday. Two different versions of the survey were sent out to Primary Schools and Secondary Schools/Further Education Colleges, with extra questions added to the latter version that covered topics that could specifically affect older children and young people. The questions asked of all children and young people were: Which of the following worries you? (answer options: not worried, a little bit worried, worried ) Being bullied at school Being bullied online Family quarrels Family money worries Not doing well at school Being told off at school My future Being approached by a stranger online Being approached by a stranger when out
Spending too much time online Nobody listening to me Feeling stressed, can t cope Being left out from online groups Parents telling me off Health worries about my family People doing drugs Worries about my own health People family drinking too much Being hurt by people If you or your friend was being harmed, who would you tell? Do you look after someone in your family because of illness or disability? Tell us about this if you wish. Any other comments? The additional questions asked of the Secondary School/Further Education College students were: Which of the following worries you? (answer options: not worried, a little bit worried, worried ) Primary Schools Worried that you sometimes hurt yourself or feel like hurting yourself Being made to do something you don t want to do in a relationship. Do you want to say a bit about what worries you? Results 39 individual surveys were submitted, with an almost equal number of boys and girls completing one. Children between the ages of 9 and 11 years old provided responses, with the majority of these being 11. The top five situations/events that led to the most Worried answers were (with 2-5 producing the same number of Worried answers):
In response to the question If you or your friend was being harmed, who would you tell?, most students stated that they would talk to a teacher, their parents or a responsible adult that they know. Only 1 student took the opportunity to use the Any Other Comments box to express their concerns. If any comments were included on a Safeguarding Survey that caused an immediate concern to the Safeguarding Boards Business Office, they contacted a safeguarding lead from the school from which the survey was submitted to alert them of the issues with a child. Secondary 45 individual surveys were submitted, with an almost equal number of male and females completing one. Children between the ages of 12 and 13 years old provided responses, with the majority of these being 13. The top five situations/events that led to the most worried answers were:
As evident from the pie charts above, the percentage of older children who answered Worried to questions, even those in the top 5, was higher than the percentage of primary children who responded in this way. In response to the question If you or your friend was being harmed, who would you tell?, secondary students answered similarly to primary students with most stating that they would talk to a teacher, their parents or a responsible adult that they know. The Police was also a common answer. The Any Other Comments box was rarely used. If any comments were included on a Safeguarding Survey that caused an immediate concern to the Safeguarding Boards Business Office, they contacted a safeguarding lead from the school from which the survey was submitted to alert them of the issues with a child. Further Education No surveys were submitted.
Rutland Youth Council & Youth Groups Rutland Youth Council & Youth groups from Uppingham, Ketton, Oakham completed the survey too. 43 surveys were completed by young people aged between 11 and 18 years, (23 males and 20 females). Over 58% were worried about their future Over 41% were worried about not doing well at school Over 32% were worried about feeling stressed and not coping Over 32% were worried about their parents telling them off If they or a friend was being harmed they would tell: parent/s, family member, police, youthworker, friend, teacher, form tutor, ChildLine, doctor or a trusted adult. Over 23% said that they looked after someone in their family because of illness or disability.