Safeguarding
Parents should be aware that the Academy will take any reasonable action to ensure the safety of its pupils. In cases where the Academy has reason to be concerned that a child may be subject to ill-treatment, neglect or other forms of abuse, staff have no alternative but to follow the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board procedures and inform Children’s Services of their concern. We aim to work closely with parents and external services to ensure our children have the best life chances.
| Designated Safeguarding Contacts | |
| Designated Safeguarding Leads | Sarah Armstrong – Headteacher (LEAD) Gemma Clark – Deputy Headteacher (NOMINATED DEPUTY) |
| Designated Governor | Mrs J. Thompson |
On occasions parents may disagree about the care of their child and the school unwittingly is placed in a difficult situation in the middle. Parents need to be aware that in this circumstance the police will be called to school to resolve the matter, if parents cannot do so reasonably.
Operation Encompass
We are an Operation Encompass school, this means we work closely with the police for the protection of our children.
Prevent Strategy
The government has published guidance for schools on their responsibilities under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act. Under the Act, schools ahave a duty to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.
School staff undertake annual PREVENT and safeguarding training to support them to identify potential risks.
In school our Personal Development curriculum reinforces funamental British Values and our RE curriculum ensures that pupils are aware of a range of faiths and beliefs.
Room to talk
As you are aware, we are a rights respecting school and children have a right to be heard. This is to support children to have a voice and ensure they are actually being heard.
As part of this, we have developed a system in school called Room to Talk. This is a safe place for children to talk to a trusted adult about any difficulties they may be experiencing. Children will often create their own solutions. The adult’s role in this is to facilitate rather than to find an answer. This system will include:
- Children identified by class teachers
If a teacher has noticed anything in particular with a child in their class (for example, a dramatic change in behaviour/upset), they are able to request that the child has the opportunity to come talk to a member of staff on the Room to Talk team.
- Children identifying themselves
Children have the opportunity to request a slot to talk with a member of the Room to Talk team about what they choose. This could be as individuals or as a small group.
As part of this initiative, children may talk about things that we need to discuss with yourselves. If this is the case we will contact you. However, if this becomes a disclosure, under Keeping Children Safe In Education guidance we may need to share information with the Academy’s designated safeguarding leads and policies will need to be followed.
Please note that this is NOT a counselling service but an opportunity for children to have access to designated support if they feel it is needed. This is inline with our school’s focus on supporting children to be resilient and mentally healthy and safe.
Curriculum
As part of our Personal Development curriculum [which follows all statutory RHE guidance], our school follows the KIDSAFE safeguarding programme. This is a comprehensive, age-appropriate safeguarding programme with detailed lesson plans and training for facilitators, covering appropraite relationships, consent and consistent language [such as ‘trusted adult’.
Safeguarding Staff
Everyone in school values the partnership between home/school as where relationships are positive the child benefits by developing securely and confidently.
However, parents should be aware that if, on the very rare occasion, this relationship breaks down and parents become abusive or aggressive the school will take every step to protect its staff. Parents who cannot follow our safety policy, will no longer be welcome on our premises, until the situation has been resolved and procedures have been put in place.
