Supporting our young people to be known, safe and well is at the core of our roles as educators. We often hear statements from adults such as ‘back in my day’ or ‘when I was at school’, which reminds us that schools, children, and young people are evolving faster than they ever have before. This can often mean that educators and parents are faced with relentless challenges and uncertainty of how to ensure our young people grow and develop at an age-appropriate rate, are making positive choices and are aspiring to live happy and fulfilled lives.

One of the challenges that schools across the state – including Parklands – are currently facing, is an increased number of students using vape pens or vaping devices. Education is paramount in addressing these challenges and ensuring that our students are safe and well. However, we believe that it is imperative that these challenges are also addressed and monitored at home, by parents and carers, to ensure a wraparound support system is in place for our young people.

There are ways parents and carers can help protect their children from vaping:

• Whether you suspect your child is vaping or not, take the time to talk to them about it and help them understand all of the risks. It is never too late to have a conversation with your child.
• Try to start the conversation in a relaxed easy-going way. Use the environment surrounding your child to start the conversation, such as a note from school, a news story about vaping, or people vaping in public places.
• If you suspect your child is vaping, encourage them to stop and let them know that there is support available at school and outside of school to help them.
• Educate yourselves about the different types of vapes available and the risks associated with using these products. Vapes come in many different shapes and sizes – it is important that parents and carers know what to look for.
• Lead by example and provide children with a tobacco or vape free home.

Further information about the harmful effects of vaping for parents and carers can be sourced here: Information for parents and carers - Tobacco and smoking (nsw.gov.au)

Recently, the Department for Children and Young and People appointed a Safeguarding Children and Young People Lead in all schools across the state as part of the Royal Commission’s inquiry into institutional abuse of young people. The role of the Safeguarding Lead in schools will be to facilitate professional learning for staff on Mandatory Reporting and Protective Practices along with developing and consolidating a child safe culture at school. Fortunately for us, data from our recent Student Wellbeing and Engagement Survey, showed that 72% of our students identified that they have a trusted adult at school. This data can only suggest that we are well on the way to embedding a child safe culture at Parklands High School, where students feel safe to speak with adults in a supported environment.

Educating our students on age-appropriate media use is another pivotal opportunity we have to keep our young people safe. We know that our young people’s brains – specifically their pre-frontal cortex (their decision-making epicentre) – are not fully developed until they reach the age of twenty-five.

This means that staff and parents play an important role in educating our children on how to use media respectfully and responsibly, along with the potentially harmful effects material they view, and produce can have on their overall development.

How can I support my child to use digital media appropriately?

• Get involved with online content that you and your child can enjoy and share – in-person and online.
• Talk regularly to your child about what they are doing and seeing online and negotiate key rules about their online use together.
• Encourage your child to talk to you about any problems, issues or concerns they have, including if they have taken risks or made mistakes.
• Model safe and positive online behaviour and help your child understand how you manage online risks. This could include involving them in conversations about the types of photos and information you share online and what you wouldn’t share.
• Use parental controls, filtering software and safe searches to help block dangerous or inappropriate content.
• eSafety parent resources have been developed by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to help parents learn about the digital environment and how to help your child have safe and enjoyable online experiences.

More information can be sourced from Online safety | eSafety Commissioner

With four weeks left of Term 4 and a lengthy holiday break to follow for our students, we ask parents and carers, in conjunction with staff at Parklands, to continue to dive deep into those challenging conversations with their young people to ensure they are able to be the best version of themselves, because as it has been said before in the well-known proverb ‘it takes a village to raise a child’.

Bianca Munday

Assistant Principal