Cannock Soroptimists are helping local schools to address the issue of sexting: the sending and receiving of nude pictures and sexually explicit text messages, something which is increasingly becoming normal among teenagers. Often, the youngsters don’t realise they may be acting illegally and that they could face police action.
Soroptimists have provided training for pupils and staff of 5 High schools – Cardinal Griffin Catholic College, Staffordshire University Academy, Cannock Chase High School, Kingsmead School and Chase Terrace Technology College – on the risks, both legal and emotional, of sending naked or near naked images. The male and female students, who will be Y12 and Y13 from September, will take on the role of Ambassador within their schools for the project known as ‘Your Body, Your Rules’.
Soroptimist Jackie Prince who organised & facilitated the training said “Media reports regarding the increase in young people sending indecent images of themselves using their mobile phones are very concerning. As an organisation we wanted to develop a training programme where we could provide knowledge to young people who would become ambassadors in their schools, offering help & support to their peers.
The ambassadors proved to be inspirational young people who were enthusiastic and innovative in their ideas of how to deliver this message.”
The training workshop was held at Cannock Chase Civic Centre and was supported by local community police and the Deputy Police Crime Commissioner. As well as hearing from professionals about the legalities of sexting, the students discussed ways of taking the issue back to their school and facilitating the sharing of information. It was funded by a grant from Midland Chase Region Soroptimists.
Cannock & District S I President June Bould said: ‘The training day was fabulous. The students all had a thirst for knowledge and now feel empowered to make a difference in their own schools. We are really pleased that so many schools saw the importance of this training and wanted to be involved. I was proud of all members of the club who pulled together to ensure the success of the day – their refreshments proved a big hit with everyone there!’
Part of the training was delivered by Gareth Cheesman of Acet UK who worked with Soroptimist Jackie to plan the day. He was really impressed by the maturity and positive attitude of the group who made real headway into planning how the project would be delivered within their own schools. The ideas the young people had for this were varied and creative and included an internal email set up for pupils to request information, a ‘hot desk’ where pupils could go to talk, role play presentations in assemblies – and so much more.
There will be a further training morning in September when plans for project delivery within the schools will be finalised; the Ambassadors will continue to gain any support needed from school staff and Soroptimists as the project is monitored over the next academic year.
More information about the work of the Cannock club, along with dates for meetings for the coming year can be found on their website: www.sigbi.org/cannock-and-district; on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SICannock; or on their twitter account @sicannock
Photo attached: Soroptimists with staff & students at Your Body, Your Rules training day