Risky, illegal behaviour of 14 year olds. Tell the school?

[deelemma]

DD (14) showed me social media photos of some boys in her class smoking dope, messing about on a railway line and doing grafitti. The photos, which are on a private account, are getting a lot of 'likes' from other children the same age. All this has been going on during the holidays. Would you tell the school?

@SaveWaterDrinkGin

I have no practical advice to add to what’s already been said but I just wanted to say how awesome it is that your DD showed you. You should be really proud of that relationship.

Yes, totally agree with this. You have got a good relationship going. Well done you also as a mum.

I would report to the police due to the rail danger. They will be able to respond more quickly than a school especially since we are in the summer holidays.They are children and they are putting themselves and others in great danger.The police probably wouldn’t escalate but would talk to the children and families concerned. Quite effective and sometimes teenagers need to be made aware of how serious their behaviour is.

Well done to your daughter for showing you.
Please screenshot anything as evidence and contact British transport police right away, but also contact the school to let them know what’s been going on. Although it happened off site, if there’s a potential drug issue they could look at educating the children on the risks.

Yes, pass it on to safeguarding at the school. Should be manned even over the holidays. If you phone the school number there’s likely an option for safeguarding and you’ll be given an email address. The trainline thing is so dangerous. A boy in my year at school died after falling on some tracks whilst graffitiing at about the same age. It’s really dangerous.

@JudyGemstone

I couldn’t get wound up about weed and graffiti, pretty standard teenage stuff.

The railway line is more concerning and I think BTP might be the best to approach.

Weren't 2 or 3 young men killed in a rail tunnel while graffiting a few years ago? I don't know if they used drink or drugs. Likewise with the 15 year old schoolmate of mine killed over 40 years ago in similar circumstances. These children need to be protected from themselves and the rail staff need to be protected from the horror of any accident.

Yes tell the school as these dc are obviously not being monitored sufficiently by their parents nor have they had sufficient parenting to enable them to make safe decisions.

Tell school and police

Please don’t just rely on an e mail to school safeguarding as some have suggested. It’s fine to do that as well but the police should be informed. School safeguarding would contact other services anyway.
If it was my child, I would want the information quickly as I’m sure we all would. Contact with the police will ensure that.
Schools are not an emergency service although it sometimes feels that way these days.

Yes for the railway stuff, I wouldn’t for dope and graffiti.

The railway line stuff needs reporting to the police before a death happens.Graffiti and dope not ideal but not worth meddling in.

Surprised so many people have no problem with 14 year olds smoking weed. There is a lot of evidence showing links between teenagers smoking weed and developing mental illness or exacerbating any existing problems. The effect on a developing brain is different to the effects in adults. These days so many young people on psychiatric wards have weed habits. It is very sad and really people need to be aware of the risks.

one example of a report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists: www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/parents-and-young-people/young-people/cannabis-and-mental-health-information-for-young-people. Absolutely loads more for people to look at if you google.

The railway line stuff worries me.
I would call the school initially.

Depends on the school. I spoke to a 'senior staff member' a few years ago at parents evening because I found weed in DS school blazer. The response was 'yeh, some of the pupils come back in after lunch acting a bit strange. Same when I actually caught approximately 30 of them having a cig before school. Went straight to the bottom of the school drive and reported to several members of staff, all in hi vis with radios looking important, not one of them moved.
So in my experience report away, nothing will happen.

@RandomLondoner literally not a clue what you're going on about

Surprised so many people have no problem with 14 year olds smoking weed. There is a lot of evidence showing links between teenagers smoking weed and developing mental illness or exacerbating any existing problems. The effect on a developing brain is different to the effects in adults.
Yes i think most of us already know that, but the OP isn't their parent and it is not really her business. It is not as likely to pose an immediate risk to life.

Whilst you can tell the school (although many schools are still closed for the holidays), it might be a good idea to also inform the children’ parents (your daughter will know their names), Network Rail, social services and the police before you do. Some of these agencies might have a bigger impact on the children involved and stop their dangerous behaviour.

I do think that school are picking up/taking sole ownership of problems far too often. There are many other agencies - and let’s not forget the parents - who could also be involved. I think informing the school IS helpful but it should be one of many actions and not the first point of call, especially during school holidays. That’s why everything was in such a mess during lockdown.

Actually, informing parents is difficult without involving your daughter.

1. Police and Network Rail for immediate action on the trespassing.
2. Safeguarding for parental contact and social services if required.
3. school and network rail/transport police for education.

So first port of call should be police and Network Rail, focusing on the immediate dangers of trespassing in railway lines. The police will know Mike about the drug issues.

More not Mike!

Contact local police. One of them could easily be killed or cause an accident. They are also exerting a terrible influence !

@HarrietsChariot

Tell them, but they probably won't be interested. Maybe they'll do a discussion on it in assembly but that's about it. Generally teachers don't care what goes on outside of school, or if they do, can't act on it.

Not true in the slightest.

@JudyGemstone "I couldn’t get wound up about weed and graffiti, pretty standard teenage stuff."

It's not though is it? Most teenagers dont go around graffiting their local area making it look like a shithole do they? It's the brain dead minority.
As for the drugs, you should be. I hardly think the scum selling 14 year old kids weed would think twice about selling them 'something a bit more interesting for the weekend' do you? Then you've got everyone up in arms about a dead kid and how could this have happened and how nobody knew.
It'd be tempting to repost the videos on the local Facebook pages so everyone knows who the delightful local artists are.

What the heck has it to do with the school?

Tell the police. The school can't do anything as it was out of school hours and off the premises.

Tell the school. It's a safeguarding issue, surely, and they'll take it very seriously. Apart from anything else, they don't want to lose pupils on the railway line. I've lost pupils, to various fates, and it shakes you up for life.

They are children and are at risk so I would contact Social Services TBH.