Safety and privacy information for parents/guardians

Safety and Privacy Information for Parents/Guardians of Group Members

The group facilitators will do everything they can to ensure your child is safe (physically and emotionally) whilst participating in the group, and although we envisage that there will not be any problems, it is important to consider the safety and privacy implications of being part of the group. This is especially important with the online component of the group, where there are specific risks, as there are with any form of online activity.

We encourage you to discuss with your child the best ways of keeping safe, especially online. The NSPCC have some really good guides and information on this subject that you may wish to have a look at; visit their website for more information: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/

Points to be aware of:

Vetting members

All members of the group will have to apply to be part of the group and only those members will be admitted to the Facebook group, however, there is always the possibility that someone may pretend to be someone else whilst online. We advise you to discuss this with your child and remind them of keeping their personal information safe and not arranging to meet-up unless you are present or fully aware of their whereabouts.

Face-to-Face Meetings

All meetings will occur in an open environment i.e.

  • Young people will be free to leave the meeting at any time
  • Adults accompanying those under 16 can check on the meeting at any time

Consent for photograph or videos

Consent for photograph or videos of the meetings will be requested from each young person and each young person’s parent/guardian if they are under 16. This consent can be withdrawn at any time.

Group monitoring

The online groups will only be monitored by the group organisers. Members are encouraged to report anything directly to the group organisers that they feel is breaking the rules of conduct. All reports will be investigated.

Socialising outside of the Group

Your child may decide to socialise with other group members outside of the official group activities and meetings, this includes joining other social media sites to communicate with members. The group organisers will not have any responsibility for these groups and will be unable to monitor them, therefore you should advise your child on how best to interact with other members in these situations.

Breaking the rules of conduct

Anyone that doesn't agree or follow how we work may result in a warning being issued or being removed from the group.

Risk Assessment

The group organisers will ensure venues used for face-to-face meetings are suitable for all young people attending (for example, accessible, central/easy to find).

DBS Checks

All staff facilitating the face-to-face meetings and moderating the online groups have valid DBS checks.

Consent

If your child is under 18, we will ask you to provide parallel consent for your child to be part of the Group.

Privacy of Online Channels

The YPAG website Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts will be open to the public, meaning all content is searchable and not confidential or anonymous. Members of the groups should consider what they are posting on these communication streams to avoid revealing details about their lives, other members’ lives and research topics that they do not wish for members of the public not in the group to see.

The YPAG Facebook Page will be a closed Facebook page which means that:

  • The group name is publicly searchable
  • Anyone can ask to join the group, but have to be added
  • The group’s name, description and members will be available to see to the public
  • What is posted in the group will only be able to be seen by group members
  • Only current group members will see stories about the group in their newsfeeds

Please see Facebook for further information on its privacy settings: 
https://www.facebook.com/help/220336891328465

Please see Twitter for further information on its privacy settings:
https://twitter.com/privacy/previous/version_1?lang=en

Any personal data contributed or collected during the meetings by BANNAR or University of Manchester will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Advice on Leaving the Online Group Networks

If your child decides that they no longer wish to be part of the online group, they can do the following:

  • Let the group organisers know by email: rheum@versusarthritis.org
  • We we will remove your child from the group mailing list so you they do not receive any further information about the group.
  • Remove themselves from the online group – if they do not remove themselves, the group organisers will do so for them within 2 weeks of being informed that they wish to leave.

How to leave a Facebook Group

To leave a group, go to the group, click Joined at the top and then select Leave Group.

When you leave a group:

  • Members won’t be notified
  • You’re removed from the member list and the group will be removed from your list of groups
  • You’ll no longer get group notifications
  • People will no longer know when you’ve seen a group post, even if you saw it before you left the group

For more help visit:
https://www.facebook.com/help/172944012764072

How to Unfollow on Twitter

To unfollow from a user’s profile page:

  1. Go to the profile page of the user you’d like to unfollow.
  2. Hover over the blue Following button on their profile page; it will change to a red Unfollow.
  3. Click the button to unfollow the account.