Parents & Carers
In this page, our aim is to provide parents and carers with useful information that we hope will help you to support your child across the school year.
Please contact the School Office if there is any specific information you require which is not on the website.
We have also included information about our school Food Bank which is available to all and includes a wide range of provisions to select from during these difficult times.
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We have our own Belmont Park School Food Bank/Pantry where parents can come and collect items. We then create parcels and distribute them to our families at Belmont Park School who are in need of this.
Our parents have really appreciated the offer and are very grateful for the Food Bank and the items that we have provided them as it has helped them tremendously at these difficult times with cost of living crisis.
If you feel that you would benefit from a food parcel. Please contact Kiran Ali or Karim Miah at Belmont Park School on 0208 556 0006.
We will always be discrete about how we deliver the parcel to you or when you collect it.
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Your child may be entitled to free school meals if they to go school in Waltham Forest, and you or your partner get one of the following:
Income Support
Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
The Guarantee Credit element of State Pension Credit
Support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS)
Support from the Local Authority Social Services Asylum Team (SSAT)
Child Tax Credit, provided that you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit (but see below), and your annual income (as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is £16,190 or less
Working Tax Credit for four weeks after your employment finishes
If you’re a parent or carer and receive Working Tax Credit you are disqualified from claiming free school meals no matter what your income is.
To learn more about Free School Meals, and to apply, please visit Waltham Forest Council website:
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Bullying, Cyberbullying and E-safety
Belmont Park School is aware of the issue of bullying. We take incidences very seriously and treat them with confidentiality where possible. We acknowledge that many young people have fears and perceptions of bullying which require addressing. Staff are kept fully informed of bullying incidents or concerns.
Cyberbullying
Here at Belmont Park School we are dedicated to improving people's awareness on how to keep safe online.
Cyberbullying is a form of bullying which uses technology against the victim. This can occur via a mobile phone, through social media or even while video gaming, and young people who are victimised in this way can be absolutely devastated by the consequences. However, there are steps that can be taken to protect a child from cyberbullying, help them deal with the effects and to prevent the bullying from continuing.
Young people who bully other children online need not be bigger or stronger than their victim physically and their activities can be quite low-key and difficult to spot. It is an unfortunate fact that a great many children have engaged in cyberbullying in some way or have been a victim of it – or in many cases have simply been a bystander. Parents and carers should be watchful for signs of cyberbullying in their children, be they victim or perpetrator.
Please click here for advice for parents on cyber bullying, how parents and carers can help keep their child safe from this form of bullying, and how to deal with the consequences if it does occur.
CEOP: Child Exploitation & Online Protection
The NCA’s CEOP Command is here to help children and young people. We are here to help if you are a young person and you or your friend (up to age 18) has been forced or tricked into taking part in sexual activity with anyone online, or in the real world. We also have advice and links to support for other online problems young people might face, such as cyberbullying and hacking. Visit the CEOP Safety Centre for advice and to report directly to CEOP, by clicking on the Click CEOP button.
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Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It's also known as female circumcision or cutting.
Religious, social or cultural reasons are sometimes given for FGM. However, FGM is child abuse. It's dangerous and a criminal offence.
There are no medical reasons to carry out FGM. It doesn't enhance fertility and it doesn't make childbirth safer. It is used to control female sexuality and can cause severe and long-lasting damage to physical and emotional health.
Worried about FGM?
Call the free NSPCC FGM helpline from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-6pm at the weekend. However, you can email help@NSPCC.org.uk at any time. It’s free and you don’t have to say who you are. If you think a child is in immediate danger, please call the police on 999 straight away.
Call: 0800 028 3550
Email: help@NSPCC.org.uk
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The Prevent Duty Guidance (under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 ) was released by the Government in March 2015 which places a duty on schools, and other agencies, to “safeguard children and young people in England from extremists and extremist views in school and in out of school hours learning, and stop young people from becoming radicalised or acting on extreme views."
In line with the Department for Education Prevent Duty guidance published in July 2015, Belmont Park School is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all of students and aim to deliver lessons based on the following themes:
Internet and Digital Awareness
Stereotyping and the Media
Persuasion and Influence
Conspiracy Theories
Extremism
We aim to enable pupils build a resistance to extremist messages and to challenge a number of harmful and divisive narratives.
The leaflet attached is aimed at empowering parents/carers to understand the Prevent Strategy and where to go for it they need further help.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Designated Safeguarding Leads at Belmont Park School if you have a concern about any student or in an emergency dial 999.
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If you're worried about gangs, it can be difficult to know what to do to help protect young people. Whether they're thinking about joining a gang, are already involved or want to leave, they need help and support.
Children and young people involved with, or on the edges of, gangs might be victims of violence or they might be pressured into doing things like stealing or carrying drugs or weapons. They might be abused, exploited or put into dangerous situations.
For lots of young people, being part of a gang makes them feel part of a family so they might not want to leave. Even if they do, leaving or attempting to leave can be a really scary idea. They might be frightened about what will happen to them, their friends or their family if they leave.
Why young people join gangs?
There are lots of reasons why young people feel the pressure to join gangs. They might be bored and looking for excitement or feel attracted to the status and power it can give them. They might join due to peer pressure, money or family problems. Gang membership can also make a child feel protected and that they belong.
How can you help a child involved in a gang?
If your child or family requires additional support around the area of gangs, please do not hesitate to contact the Designated Safeguarding Leads at Belmont Park School via the school office. We will do work with you to help your family support and guidance asap.
If you would prefer to ask for help anonymously, please contact the NSPCC using the information given below.
NSPCC helpline: 0808 800 5000
Email: help@NSPCC.org.uk
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Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a type of sexual abuse whereby children in exploitative situations and relationships receive something such as gifts, money or affection as a result of performing sexual activities or others performing sexual activities on them.
Children or young people may be tricked into believing they're in a loving, consensual relationship. They might be invited to parties and given drugs and alcohol. They may also be groomed and exploited online.
Some children and young people are trafficked into or within the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation can also happen to young people in gangs.
Child sexual exploitation is a hidden crime. Young people often trust their abuser and don't understand that they're being abused. They may depend on their abuser or be too scared to tell anyone what's happening.
It can involve violent, humiliating and degrading sexual assaults, including oral and anal rape. In some cases, young people are persuaded or forced into exchanging sexual activity for money, drugs, gifts, affection or status. Child sexual exploitation doesn't always involve physical contact and can happen online.
It is very important to recognise that child sexual exploitation does not only happen to females.
Child Sexual Abuse Online
When sexual exploitation happens online, young people may be persuaded, or forced, to:
send or post sexually explicit images of themselves
take part in sexual activities via a webcam or smartphone
have sexual conversations by text or online.
Abusers may threaten to send images, video or copies of conversations to the young person's friends and family unless they take part in other sexual activity.
Images or videos may continue to be shared long after the sexual abuse has stopped.
Child Sexual Exploitation In Gangs
Sexual exploitation is used in gangs to:
exert power and control over members
initiate young people into the gang
exchange sexual activity for status or protection
entrap rival gang members by exploiting girls and young women
inflict sexual assault as a weapon in conflict.
Girls and young women are frequently forced into sexual activity by gang members. Research has identified girls considered to be engaging in casual sex were seen as forfeiting their right to refuse sex.
Investigations have also shown that until recently the majority of sexual exploitation within gangs is committed by teenage boys and men in their twenties.
If you are concerned that a child may be being sexually exploited, please report it immediately. You can call the NSPCC on their free helpline 0808 800 5000 or email them on help@nspcc.org.uk.
