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Information and Updates for Parents

Every child has the right to be safe from harm and danger. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure every child is free from worry and able to learn and develop in a safe and secure environment.

Operation Encompass

  • Manland Primary School is part of Operation Encompass. This is a police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse.
  • Operation Encompass means that the police will share information about Domestic Abuse incidents with our school prior to the start of the next school day when they have been called to a domestic incident.
  • The Operation Encompass information is stored in line with all other confidential safeguarding and child protection information.
  • The key adults with access to Operation Encompass are Mrs Wicks and Mr Comer. 
  • When a notification is received, we are aware that we must do nothing that puts the child/ren or the non abusing adult at risk.

Support for Parents and Carers – Families First Portal

What is Families First?
 

Families First is the term used in Hertfordshire for services that work together to support families who need extra help. These are also known as early help services.  We all experience difficulties at some point. Families First can help you find early help and information to prevent issues from getting worse.  If you need more help than your usual support network – for example your health visitor, school, doctor or family centre – Families First can work with you and your family to create a package of support.

Who is it for?

Families First is available to all Hertfordshire families with children under 18 (25 if they have a learning need or disability).

Issues they can help with:

•parenting
•mental and physical health problems
•drug or alcohol dependency
•domestic abuse
•school related concerns – such as your child is not attending school
•debt problems
•risk of becoming homeless.
 

If you would like to access any support, please access this website for further links and information:

https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/families-first/families-first.aspx#parents

Playing Online

With so many children having access to technology nowadays, there are some useful guidelines for how to support 6-10 year olds with their online usage. These include: agreeing boundaries in terms of time limits and sites that can be browsed; exploring the internet together; staying involved; encouraging older siblings to model responsible behaviour. Further advice can be found at: https://www.internetmatters.org/advice/6-10/

Parking

It has been brought to our attention that some parents / carers are not using the correct side of the road when parking to collect and drop off their children. This can cause disruption not only for everyday road users but also for the residents in the area. It is crucial that we all park responsibly in order to ensure safety of our pupils, pedestrians and that emergency vehicles have access to the road easily should they need it. If driving, please ensure you are parking on the far side of Sauncey Avenue and do not block residents driveways.

Social Media

With the impact of social media on children in the news at the moment, it is worth being aware of the age guidance provided for use of these platforms. WhatsApp has minimum age guidance of 16, whilst Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat all set their minimum age guidance at 13. Further information on social media age restrictions can be found at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/onlinesafety/

Anxiety

Helping a child with anxiety or depression. Realising that your child may be struggling with their mental health and experiencing anxiety or depression can be hard to accept. Sometimes parents can feel like it’s their fault or want to know why their child is struggling with a mental health problem. This is completely understandable, but the most important thing you can do is to reassure your child and not judge them for how they’re feeling. Ways to help a child who’s struggling include: • letting them know you’re there for them and are on their side • try talking to them over text or on the phone if they don’t feel able to talk in person • being patient and staying calm and approachable, even if their behaviour upsets you • recognising that their feelings are valid and letting them know it’s okay for them to be honest about what it’s like for them to feel this way • thinking of healthy ways to cope you could do together, like yoga, breathing exercises or mindfulness • encouraging them to talk to their GP, someone at their school or Childline. Especially if they’re finding it hard to talk at home. • take care of yourself and get support if you need to. Try not to blame yourself for what’s happening and to stay hopeful about your child’s recovery.

Adverse Weather Conditions

Please find below some tips on how to keep you and your children safe through the bad weather. • Take extra caution when crossing roads. It might be hard for drivers to see you playing if they have snowy or frosty windows. • Plan ahead and give yourself enough time. Snow and ice makes everyone more cautious and therefore slower so give yourself extra time when setting off. There may be more people on the streets due to disruptions to public transport • Avoid shoes with heels as you’re more likely to slip. You can always change into them when you’ve reached your destination. • Pavements and roads will be extremely slippery so walk slowly when getting in and out of cars and up and down stairs.

Nut Policy

As a reminder, Manland Primary School has a no nuts policy and we require that pupils do not bring peanuts or tree nuts in to school as a snack or in their packed lunches. The following ingredients are considered nuts and are not allowed in our school: Almond, artificial nuts, black walnut hull extract (flavoring), beechnut, Brazil nut, butternut, cashew, chestnut, chinquapin nut, filbert/hazelnut, gianduja, ginkgo nut, hickory nut, litchi/lichee/lychee nut, macadamia nut, marzipan/almond paste, Nangai nut, natural nut extract (e.g., almond, walnut), nut butters (e.g., cashew butter), nut distillates/alcoholic extracts nut oils (e.g., walnut oil, almond oil), nut meal, nut meat, nut paste (e.g., almond paste), nut pieces, pecan, pesto pili nut, pine nut (also referred to as Indian, pignoli, pigñolia, pignon, piñon, and pinyon nut), pistachio, praline, shea nut, walnut, walnut hull extract (flavouring). Foods which include peanuts and tree nuts must not be brought in to school. These include, but are not limited to: • Packs of nuts • Peanut butter products • Fruit and cereal bars that contain nuts • Chocolate bars that contain nuts • Sesame seeds or sesame seed products, including rolls • Nutella • Muesli bars • Cakes with nuts in them If a food product says it “does contain nuts” or “may contain peanuts”, please do not bring these products in to school. However, products labelled “may contain nuts” are allowed. For clarity, coconut and coconut oil products are permitted in school as part of a snack or packed lunch.

Other ways to keep your children safe…

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