A county councillor has said his authority needs to do more to offer support to vulnerable young people and their parents after a report revealed a string of shocking statistics.
The figures showed that 28% of Year 11 girls - aged 15-16 - in Northumberland had been asked to post pictures of themselves online that were inappropriate, while 30% of boys and 46% of girls said someone had posted or sent them hurtful, unwanted or nasty comments online.
Presented to members of Northumberland County Council's family and children's services overview and scrutiny committee, the report used data gathered from the 2021 health and behaviour-related questionnaire, with around a third out of 9,000 pupils in year groups 6, 9 and 11 in five secondary schools and 29 middle and primary schools participating.
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Speaking at the meeting, Conservative councillor Mark Swinburn, who represents the Cramlington Village ward, said he was concerned about the figures.
He said: "There's a lot of detail around social media abuse. Social media can be a wonderful thing, we all use it and know it is great but we also know it can be horrendous.
"We suffer it too. For a child or a younger person, think how it must be."
The results also raised further issues relating to potential safeguarding concerns, including:
- 74% of primary pupils but only 25% of secondary pupils think their school takes bullying seriously.
- 37% of Year 9 girls have hurt themselves at some point.
- 61% of Year 11 girls said that life during Covid has affected their mental health and wellbeing.
- 66% of Year 9 lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils would keep a problem to themselves compared with 53% of the overall Year 9 sample.
- 26% of Young Carers in Year 9 said they felt less safe at home because of increased family tensions during Covid restrictions/lockdown compared with 11% of the overall Year 9 Sample.
- 62% of Year 11 lesbian, gay, bisexual pupils have deliberately hurt themselves compared with 36% of the overall year 11 sample.
- 30% of Year 11 pupils living in single parent families have had sex compared with 22% of the overall Year 11 sample.
- Year 6 pupils who experienced shouting and arguing at home are more likely to say they have felt less safe at home since Covid.
- Secondary pupils who smoked cigarettes are more likely to have used e-cigarettes, know someone who uses drugs and get drunk when they drink alcohol, compared with secondary pupils who haven’t smoked.
- Year 11 pupils who have used drugs are more likely to have tried smoking, had sex, deliberately hurt themselves and usually miss breakfast compared with Year 11 pupils who haven’t used drugs.
Coun Swinburn asked if the council could offer more support to pupils and their parents.
He said: "I detest bullying and I have historical reasons for that. Only 25% of pupils feel their schools take bullying seriously. Parents aren't aware of the support available to their children or to them as parents.
"A lot of children might not feel comfortable talking to the relevant people because they might be seen as a snitch, or a grass, or weak. What support can we give as a council to help the parents see that there's something not right, something a bit different?
"What can we do as an authority to provide that bit more support to open it up to parents and say 'look, these are some signs and symptoms, these are some routes you can go down to support your child'?"
Independent chairman of the Northumberland and North Tyneside Safeguarding Board, Paula Mead, responded: "It's a massive issue. I don't see what each individual school is doing but we have a very good safeguarding group for schools and what I can do is take that back to that forum and get a response to that.
"I know there's work going on but I can't say what schools are doing and what parents know."
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