After a difficult past couple of weeks, we’re finally at half term. I hope you all manage to have a good break, whatever you’re doing, and if you’re going to any bonfires, keep yourselves safe. We’ll see you back in school on 2nd November. ?
INSET Day
Just to remind you that school will be closed to children on Monday 1st November as it is staff INSET day. Children can return to school on Tuesday 2nd November.
Reporting Positive Cases in Half Term
If any children are unfortunate enough to be tested positive for Covid-19, please let us know through the hscontact email.
Pedmore Thrive
Here’s the latest version of the Pedmore Thrive Newsletter.
Break the Rules Day
The Break the Rules Day has been a great success! We don’t have a complete total yet, but a big ‘thank you’ to all of you who have donated today.
PTA 100 Club Draw
Here is this month’s PTA 100 club draw. Were you lucky?!
Poster Competition – With Prizes!
At the beginning of term, we simplified our school rules to make them more consistent and easier for everyone to understand and follow. Our 3 rules in school now are Ready, Respect, Safe. We would like to have printed some big posters to display in each classroom and around school, based on each of these three rules. This is where the children come in! We are asking children to design posters for each rule separately – one for Ready, Respect and Safe. The winning designs will be professionally printed and displayed around school and there will be vouchers for the winning entries.
If your child wants to take part, please do each design separately – one for each rule. They can do all the rules or just one or two – it really doesn’t matter! We would love to have loads to choose from! Please do each design on a sheet of A4 paper and make them as colourful as you like.
It would be good to have on each design some ideas of what each rule means – you can get some examples of other designs here.
Good luck!
Squid Game
We have had some reports that there are some children in school who have been talking about the new show on Netflix called ‘Squid Game’. As I’m sure you are aware, the show is not appropriate for children. The link here gives you a little more information about the show.
The following information is from the Safer Schools Safeguarding Website:
What is Squid Game?
Squid Game is a South Korean television series streaming on Netflix. The plot centres on a group of adult debtors, thieves, and gamblers competing against each other in a series of childhood games for a grand cash prize. However, there is a dark twist to these seemingly innocent games – losing competitors are violently killed off in ways that grow more twisted as the games grow more intense.
Since its release in September 2021, Squid Game has become number one across 90 different countries in Netflix’s ranking of most watched TV shows. It has been number one in the UK for thirteen consecutive days since its release.
Harmful Content in the Show
Currently, Squid Game has a rating of 15+ as the visual content includes high levels of gore, death, violence, and physical assault. It also has graphic depictions of suicide, murder, and sexual assault.
Children and young people are likely to know about Squid Game via word of mouth and social media/gaming platforms. They may be unaware of the extent of gore, death, and violence the show contains. It also focuses on adult themes (such as gambling, debt, and sex) that are not appropriate for younger viewers. For young people who live with mental health issues, they may be triggered by some of the content.
The aesthetic of Squid Game, especially in promotional images and material, appears innocent and childlike. This is to provide a clash with the excessively violent content that is meant to be jarring and unsettling to viewers.
How does my child know about this?
As this is a cultural phenomenon, Squid Game has become a popular subject of memes, games, and online conversation. It is entirely possible for a child or young person to know all about Squid Game – without actually watching the show.
Popular gaming platforms Roblox and Fortnite have also seen a sharp increase in user-designed games recreating those in Squid Game. These can be played by anyone. They are also being heavily livestreamed by many gaming streamers on YouTube and Twitch as the show is currently trending, and mentioning it is an easy way to attract an audience.
Parents and carers should be aware that video content from this show is found extensively on TikTok, which could also increase interest in watching the show. Remember: even if you restrict the young person in your care from watching Squid Game, they may be able to access content on other platforms.
If your child has access to Netflix, maybe on TV in their bedroom, or has unsupervised access to the internet where there are some videos about this show on YouTube, please make sure that there are the necessary restrictions in place to keep your child safe. There is some information here about how to set parental controls on Netflix here. Thank you.
Sharing Images Online
It’s always worth thinking about how often we share pictures of our children online. We often worry about how much our children share online, but we need to be aware how much is shared by parents and other family members, i.e. grandparents. In August this year, Google announced that it will be launching a new service for anyone aged under 18 to request the removal of images of themselves from Google image search results – images that may well have been posted online by their own family members.
Take Care & Stay Safe
Mr Dunn