Parents and carers have been invited to attend information sessions relating to gangs, knife crime, social media and child sexual exploitation.

The sessions will be held at secondary schools across the Braintree district and be run by several national charities.

They will give parents and carers useful tips and an insight into issues children and young people face in today’s society.

Although there have been no major incidents in the district’s schools recently, Honywood School in Coggeshall came under fire in 2015 after spending around £500,000 on iPads.

One student was then allegedly groomed by a man she spoke to on an adult social networking site using one of them.

Councillor Wendy Schmitt, responsible for community safety, said: “It’s important for parents/ carers of children and young people to understand the criminal issues happening in today’s society and these sessions will inform and educate, as well as help them identify and spot signs of the activity in their community.”

Sessions on child sexual exploitation will be run by the Children’s Society and aims to help parents and carers understand issues around sexting and internet safety.

Social media sessions will be run by the 2 Johns and share information about apps used by children and how they could be directly targeted by paedophiles.

Sessions on gang and knife crime will be run by Gavin McKenna from Reach Every Generation and educate parents and carers on gangs and gang culture, including how to recognise warning signs.

Drugs and alcohol sessions will be run by Action on Addiction and will cover the most commonly used illicit substances used by young people, including former legal highs and alcohol.

Full details of dates, times and venues can be found at braintree.gov.uk/parentsessions.

To book, email community services@braintree.gov.uk.