Shetland’s Adult Protection Committee (APC) has this week presented its biennial report to NHS Shetland, outlining the work of the Committee to help keep adults at risk in Shetland safe. The report was presented to the NHS Shetland Clinical Care and Professional Governance Committee on 12th February, and follows the earlier submission of the biennial report and business plan to the Scottish Government on 31st October 2018

National Care Day is on February 15th this year the flag will be raised on townhall at 8am. The flag was designed with and celebrates Shetland’s care experienced children and young people. The raising of the flag on the Town Hall is to celebrate Care Day. Care Day is the world’s biggest celebration of children and young people with care experience. Care experience includes children and young people who are or were cared for by parents or other family members with the support of social workers; by foster carers; or children and young people from children’s homes and residential units.

For this year’s Safer Internet Day, the focus is on adults’ online behaviour, and how it can go on to affect the behaviour of children and young people. Shetland’s Mobile Phone and Internet Safety Committee (which works under the local Child Protection committee) runs events throughout the year, including internet safety sessions in schools delivered by Peer Educators; ‘Virtually Safe Virtually Sound’ youth conferences in Shetland’s Junior High Schools; parent involvement evenings; and Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) training.

Shetland Community Justice Partnership are giving third sector groups the opportunity to apply for grants of any amount between £500 and £5000 to fund projects aimed towards prevention of offending behaviour or improving outcomes for individuals with convictions or people affected by crime.

Will be at the Brae High School on Thursday 15 November 2018. Internet Safety Session for Parents of Brae Pupils to be held that evening from 6pm to 8pm.

With Anti-bullying Week 2018 running from 12-16th November, Shetland Islands Council is raising awareness of the national campaign #chooserespect, which aims to prevent bullying by promoting respect and inclusion across the community.

For more information on events happening follow the link:- http://www.shetland.gov.uk/environmentalhealth/bullyfreeshetland18.asp

Community Justice Scotland has launched its first national campaign aimed at changing perceptions of what justice should look like in 21st century Scotland. Second Chancers is centered around the voices of those whose lives have been touched by the justice system. Comprising of a series of short documentary films and a touring audio exhibition, the campaign tells authentic and raw stories of success and failure, change and transformation, obstacles and helping hands. It paints a warts-and-all picture of what works, what doesn’t and what we should be doing better.

Former national Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie, has been appointed as the new independent convener for Shetland’s Adult and Child Protection Committees. This paid appointment to serve 24 days per year will see him lead the activities of the two local committees, to safeguard children and vulnerable adults in Shetland. Mr Baillie took up his post last month, following a national advertising campaign, and replaces Chief Inspector Lynsey Tulloch, as Chair of the Child Protection Committee, and Max Barnett as the Convener of the Adult Protection Committee.

Lerwick Police Station has joined the 'Keep Safe' initiative, which alongside a network of local businesses, creates safe places for vulnerable people in the community to seek assistance if required.

Police Scotland are appealing to knitters in Shetland to assist with a project to provide knitted teddies for young victims or witnesses of crime.

The Scottish Government have published an easy to read 4 page review setting out a summary of the evidence on the links between childhood adversity and criminality and victimisation in adulthood. It makes a strong case for preventing crime by targeting those most at risk of experiencing adverse childhoods, and supporting people in the Justice System whose lives have been affected by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in order to reduce reoffending and prevent intergenerational crime.

Everyone in Shetland should keep their Eyes Open for children at risk during the school holidays. In the week that Shetland schools break for the end of term, Child Protection Committees across Scotland are encouraging the public across the whole country to be extra observant to help protect potentially vulnerable children when school’s out for summer. Child Protection Committees Scotland, a nation-wide grouping of child protection professionals, hopes their Eyes Open campaign will raise awareness that members of the public can play an important role to keep children safe from harm in the holidays. The group believes that everyone is responsible for child welfare in Scotland.

Help is at hand for anyone struggling with nuisance phone calls, or wanting to better protect themselves and others from the activities of scammers. Throughout next week, the Scambusters Shetland roadshow will be spending time with groups of staff, carers and relatives to help them as they support the most vulnerable – and they’ll also be out and about in Lerwick with information on how to protect yourself and those around you from scams. They’ll have advice packs with helpful ideas about dealing with all kinds of scams, including reducing unwanted phone calls and junk mail, and members of the team will be very happy to talk with people about any specific issues. The Scambusters Shetland roadshow makes visits to community groups, organisations and businesses across the whole of Shetland throughout the year. If you would like them to come to your area, just get in touch by phoning the Adult Protection team on 01595 744411.

Cyberbullying makes young people more than twice as likely to self harm or attempt suicide, a major new study has shown. The growth of social media has left many youngsters vulnerable to online bullying, which can include sending threatening, humiliating of intimidating messages or posting hurtful comments or images. Around one third of young people claim to have been victims, but the new research suggests it can have damaging and deadly consequences.

Online workshops were delivered by young volunteers. The workshop is about staying safe online and focuses on bullying and the effects it has on everyone - the victims, the bullies and the bystanders. It raises awareness about the risks associated with internet use. Find out what else happened at the 2018 event.

• Childline launching new Understand Me campaign to challenge discrimination. Childline is encouraging young people to speak out against discrimination as figures reveal the 24/7 service delivered almost 2,700 counselling sessions in the UK about race and faith based bullying in the last three years. Today Childline is launching its new Understand Me campaign amid fears children are suffering in silence from physical bullying, verbal abuse, cyberbullying and racist name calling because of the colour of their skin, religious beliefs or their accent. It comes as Freedom of Information figures obtained by the NSPCC from Police Scotland revealed 444 hate crimes with a racial, religious or faith-based element in 2016/17. The campaign, which includes a film ‘Think You Understand Me?’, challenges xenophobia and prejudice, empowering young people to speak out about racial bullying and discrimination and seek help should they need it.