Safeguarding
At The Whitley AP Academy, we believe that as the current Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) states (P.5):
1. “Schools and colleges and their staff are an important part of the wider safeguarding system for children. This system is described in statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children.
2. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all practitioners should make sure their approach is child-centred. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.
3. No single practitioner can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.
4. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:·
- protecting children from maltreatment;
- preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development;
- ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
- taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
5. Children includes everyone under the age of 18.”
We believe that therefore:
- Schools play a key role in the prevention of abuse.
- All children have the right to be protected from harm.
- Children need support which matches their individual needs, including those who may have experienced abuse.
School Contacts
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
Rachel Adams
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (Deputy DSL)
Any other staff trained to DSL level.
Victoria Wilson
Phillip Hannah
Lindsey McManamin
Designated Children Looked After Lead
Rachel Adams
Well-being Lead
Ellie Stringer
Prevent Lead
Rachel Adams
Headteacher
Phillip Hannah
Safeguarding includes child protection, health care plans, health and safety, site security, safety on
school trips, anti-bullying work and so much more.
The school adheres to the following three DfE safeguarding documents:
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015
- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020
- The Prevent Duty 2015
All staff receive regular Child Protection and Safeguarding update training and are aware of the
procedures for passing on concerns within school. If any members of the school or local community have concerns about the welfare of a child in the school, they should contact a DSL in school.
If you have a concern:
The form below can be used to report safeguarding worries about a pupil. When concerns are reported about a child, they will be received by our Safeguarding Team who will investigate where appropriate.
Should you need to speak to someone urgently, please contact our Safeguarding, Attendance and Welfare Officer Victoria Wilson on 01422 244181 or Children’s Social Care Multi-Agency
Screening Team (MAST) on 01422 393336. If a child is in immediate danger, please do not delay – call the police on 999.
This form can be used anonymously, however – to help us investigate fully, please leave your contact
details.
Safeguarding Contact Form
Useful Links
While we take Safeguarding of our pupils very seriously, sometime young people prefer to talk to outside agencies. Here are some websites to support pupils and parents:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/LGBTQ
http://www.identitylgbtgroup.com/
http://gids.nhs.uk/Drugs/Alcohol
http://www.lifeline.org.uk/looking-for-help/
Emotional Wellbeing
http://www.noahsarkcentre.org.uk/
https://www.relate.org.uk/Young Carers
Radicalisation / Extremism
https://cscp.org.uk/resources/radicalisation-and-extremism-resources/
Prevent
Bullying
http://www.standuptobullying.co.uk/
http://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/
Child Sexual Exploitation
E-safety (CEOP, Think U Know)
Female Genital Mutilation
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/female-genital-mutilation
Forced Marriage and Honour Based Abuse
http://www.refuge.org.uk/get-help-now/forced-marriage/
http://www.karmanirvana.org.uk/
Homophobia
https://www.diversityrolemodels.org/about-us
Media, technology & the internet
Racist incidents
Parent support for online apps
Snapchat
Snapchat offers users the ability to share images/videos, which it calls ‘snaps’. The snap is shared and then disappears after a few seconds. Snapchat also allows users to share Snapchat Stories: these are snaps that are shared in a sequence across a 24-hour period. Users are able to block other users.
WhatsApp is a messaging service where users can share pictures, text or videos. These can be shared with one person or multiple users. WhatsApp encourages users to report problematic content, however, they advise that they generally do not have the contents of messages available to them. This can limit their ability to verify the report and take action. Users are able to block other users
Instagram is a picture and video sharing app which allows users to share images, make comments and post messages. Users are able to block other users.
Facebook is a social network which allows users to create a profile, share images, videos and messages. Users are able to block other users.
YouTube
YouTube allows users to watch, create and share videos. Users can create their own YouTube account, make playlists and create their own channel. Users are also able to comment on other users’ channels. Users can report an individual video, a channel or a comment on a video. Only account holders can make reports on YouTube.
The “right to be forgotten” ruling allows the public to request the removal of search results that they feel link to outdated or irrelevant information about themselves on a country-by-country basis. Users are able to complete a form to highlight what content they wish to be removed. Users have to specify why the content applies to them and why it is unlawful so the exact URLs relating to the search results need to be referenced.