Advice and Guidance
This page contains links to many different challenges that a young person and their families may face.
Being a teenager can be tough and being the parent or carer of a teenage equally tough. By understanding your child a little better and by giving them time to develop, you’ll build a much closer and ultimately rewarding relationship. As a family, take opportunities to have good daily conversations with your child to explore how they are feeling.
When things go wrong it doesn’t mean that someone has failed. It’s how those difficulties are handled that can make the difference to you and your child, both now and in the future.
Below you will find recommended links to the many challenges that a young person and their family may face, as well as our own ‘Directory of Services: A Student & Family Guide’.
If you or anyone you know is affected by any of the issues discussed here, please do not hesitate to contact us so we can offer advice and guidance and direct you to other services that might be able to help and support.
Addictions
- Alcohol: Change Grow Live
- Drugs: Talk to Frank A-Z
- Gaming: What is gaming addiction, PEGI
- Gambling: YGAM
- Social media concerns
Anxiety and Sleep
Bereavement and Loss
- YoungMinds: grief and loss
- Family Lives: finding support during divorce or separation
- Childline: peer pressure
- Child Bereavement UK
Bullying
You should report bullying to an adult in school, or someone you trust if it happens outside school, for example in a club or online. Tell the police if the bullying involves a crime. If you are struggling to tell someone you can always report it anonymously to school via The SHARP System. Other national organisations that you can contact to help support with bullying include:
- Childline: types of bullying
- NSPCC: advice for parents/carers to help keep children safe from bullying
- EACH: EACH provides a free and confidential, homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying reporting service
- Anti-bullying Alliance: advice for parents
- GOV.UK: reporting bullying
Confidence and Self-esteem
We believe that children who have high esteem and have a positive view of themselves will thrive both in school and beyond. Where children have lower self esteem we must work to build up their self believe and confidence so that they too can enjoy the very best outcomes in school and life:
Secondary school children experience significant physical changes. Their weight, shape and skin type can change and fluctuate and often this can have an impact upon their self-esteem. Additionally children can feel pressure from peers, friends or even the media to look a certain way. This can result in children having a negative outlook of their physical appearance:
- Family Lives: body image
- Butterfly: support for eating disorders and body image issues
Exam Pressure and Results
Exam times can be a stressful time for the young person. As parents it can be stressful for you too, in finding the right balance in keeping them motivated without adding to the pressure:
- Family Lives: exam stress
- Family Lives: exam results
- NHS: help your child beat exam stress
Family Concerns
Grooming and Exploitation
- Types of grooming
- NSPCC: child sexual exploitation
- NSPCC: criminal exploitation and gangs
- Runaway Helpline: gang involvement
Online Safety
Please visit our Online Safety page.
Mental Health
Please visit our Mental Health page.
Physical Health
- NHS: advice for parents of overweight children (obesity)
- Brooke provide innovative clinical services, digital support, tailored counselling and inspiring relationships and sex education, so that young people are able to take charge of their sexual health and wellbeing
- NSPCC: sexual behaviour in children
- Bernardo’s: female genital mutilation (FGM)
- Water safety