Policy and resource updates from the Safeguarding Team

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to our latest Safeguarding Bulletin. At Lancing, safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do. We know that the most effective support for young people comes when school and home work closely together, and this bulletin is one way we aim to keep you informed, involved, and supported.

In this edition, we are sharing updates and guidance on several important areas:

• The Wellbeing Hub – a new online resource available to all families, offering practical advice and support for children’s mental health and wellbeing.
• Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) – information following our recent PSHE work and parent discussions, including how we are supporting students to understand respectful relationships
• Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy – an overview of our approach to consultation and where you can access the full policy.
• Pupil Images – a reminder about how and why we use images of students, and how your preferences are recorded

 The Wellbeing Hub

We are pleased to share that Lancing College has recently signed up to the Wellbeing Hub—an online platform designed to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people and their families.

The Wellbeing Hub provides a wide range of accessible, evidence-informed resources to help you better understand and support your child’s emotional wellbeing. We appreciate that parenting can sometimes feel challenging, particularly as children navigate friendships, identity, and the online world, and this resource is there to support you every step of the way.

What the Wellbeing Hub offers:

• Short, practical videos and guidance from leading mental health professionals
• Advice on topics such as anxiety, sleep, friendships, behaviour, and resilience
• Support with online safety and managing screen time
• Guidance on how to start meaningful conversations with your child
• Resources to help you recognise when your child may need additional support

The platform is designed to be easy to use, with content that you can dip into at any time, depending on what feels most relevant for your family.

How to access the Wellbeing Hub:

To access the Wellbeing Hub: click here

Once logged in, you will be able to explore a wide range of resources tailored to different age groups and needs.

We strongly encourage all parents and carers to make use of this valuable resource. It is part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the wellbeing of our whole school community.

If you have any questions or need support accessing the platform, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

Following recent discussions in PSHE lessons in school and within our parent PSHE session on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), we feel it is important to keep the conversation going in relation to the government strategy to tackle VAWG.

You may be aware of the recent documentary by Louis Theroux exploring the rise of so-called “manosphere” communities online. These spaces can promote harmful attitudes about gender, relationships, and identity. While not all content is overtly extreme, some messaging can subtly reinforce negative stereotypes, encourage unhealthy views about masculinity, and, in some cases, normalise misogyny.

In school, we have been working with students to help them critically understand these influences. A key message we are reinforcing is that harmful behaviours and attitudes often stem from insecurity, low self-esteem, or a desire for belonging—something many young people naturally seek. By helping students understand this, we aim to build empathy, resilience, and critical thinking.

What parents and carers should look out for:

• Sudden changes in language, particularly around gender roles or relationships
• Dismissive or derogatory comments about women or girls
• Increased secrecy around online activity
• Overconsumption of certain influencers or content promoting “alpha male” narratives
• Withdrawal, anger, or frustration linked to identity or peer relationships

How to start conversations at home:

• Stay calm and non-judgemental—curiosity works better than confrontation
• Ask open questions such as: “What kind of content do you see online about relationships?”
• Encourage critical thinking: “Do you think that message is realistic or fair?”
• Reinforce positive values such as respect, equality, and kindness
• Share your own perspectives and model healthy attitudes

Practical strategies to support your child:

• Keep communication open and regular—small conversations often matter most
• Where appropriate, maintain visibility of online activity (e.g. devices used in shared spaces)
• Encourage a balanced lifestyle, including offline friendships and activities
• Remind young people that online content is often designed to provoke or influence

Further support and resources:

• NSPCC – Online safety guidance for parents
• Childline – Support for young people
• Internet Matters – Practical tools for managing online content
• UK Safer Internet Centre – Advice on digital wellbeing

RSE Policy update and consultation

The Department for Education introduced compulsory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) for secondary pupils from September 2020, in addition to compulsory Health Education. The purpose of these subjects is to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe – to equip them for adult life and to help support children to make a positive contribution to society. RSE does and will continue to form part of the PSHE curriculum.

The government has updated the RSE guidance with effect from September 2026. This means we have updated our RSE policy to reflect the changes in the guidance. Further details of the government guidance can be found here.

As part of this, all schools are required to consult with parents when developing and reviewing their policies for Relationships and Sex Education, which will inform decisions on when and how certain content is covered. Pupils and staff are also being consulted. The draft RSE policy can be found here.

Effective engagement gives the space and time for parents to input, ask questions, share concerns and for us to decide the way forward. We will listen to parents’ views and take them onboard in reaching final decisions. The consultation is not around the curriculum content, this is statutory.

The consultation will remain open until 17 April. Please click here to provide your feedback.

Images of Pupils

 Lancing College is very proud of its pupils’ academic, artistic, musical, dramatic and sporting achievements. We celebrate our pupils’ diverse talents and we welcome parents and families to our musical concerts, drama productions, Art and DT exhibitions and to sporting events, as well as to more formal occasions during the school year. The walls of Houses are decorated with House and team photographs, and photographs of trips and expeditions in which our pupils have participated. We make use of digital display screens inside the school. Our website, social media accounts and the Parent Portal are updated regularly, and we produce a termly magazine called The Quad.

The College recognises that emerging technologies, including AI and other digital editing tools, increase the risk of image misuse. The college sets out to mitigate against the risks. The benefits of sharing images of pupils’ achievements, activities, and day-to-day school life outweigh the potential risks, provided proportionate safeguards are in place. Images strengthen our community and celebrate success. The risks of identification or misuse are low and manageable through mitigations (low-resolution images, removal of metadata, limiting direct linking of images to full names and personal information).

We have updated the Taking, Storing and Using Images of Pupils policy to be clear on how images of pupils are used by the college, with parameters around emerging technologies such as AI tools. You can read the updated policy here.

A reminder that if you wish to withdraw consent for your child’s image to be used in accordance with this policy, then you should email the headmaster to make this request.

 I hope your child has a restful Easter break.

Yours,

Gary Bird

Assistant Head (Safeguarding) and Designated Safeguarding Lead