Summer 2022
“Great Minds Don’t
Outside the Box A newsletter helping the Box Hill School community stay together, stay informed and stay happy.
Think Alike”
Everyone’s Invited
Daily Wellbeing Tasks Do something active – it does not matter what. Get the heart pumping Engage with a new form of exercise/wellbeing task Catch up with a friend or family member Challenge yourself to have no screen time for an hour
As we draw to the end of another exciting academic year where we have seen the return to near normality with events such as Box Hill’s Got Talent, Speech Day, Sports Day, and the recent School performance of The Addams Family, we recognise that there are many challenges that students still face. In this edition we have provided some useful information on how to talk to your children about different issues and to address their feelings. As you may be aware the Everyone’s Invited movement was founded in June 2020. This was built on the voices of brave survivors who shared their testimonies of their own experiences of rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse whether physical, mental, emotional, or verbal, sexual harassment and uninvited attention. A recent poll on Instagram showed that 94% of young people felt that their sex and relationship education was not sufficient in preparing them for today’s world. Education leaders have met to discuss how changes could be made in schools and how best to support teachers. One of the outcomes from the discussions was that everyone needs to take ownership and accountability for their actions. In a survey conducted across the UK, there were two questions which highlighted this: Have you ever been complicit in a friend’s behaviour despite knowing it to be wrong? 52% Yes
48% No
At school, have you ever made another pupil feel uncomfortable through your own behaviour? 23% Yes
77% No
Everyone needs to take ownership for their behaviour and the impact is has. We need to create cultures where people know what good looks like and are equipped to make conscious, thoughtful choices and have the skills to action them. In PSHE, we discuss the importance of consent, how to recognise consensual and non-consensual responses, unacceptable behaviours surrounding assault and harassment, how to be an up-stander in times of crisis, and how to report and support a survivor of sexual assault. The aim of discussing these subjects in a classroom setting is to create a generation of young people who know how to treat one another with respect and dignity, with the aim to eradicate the very real issue of assault in our society.