Safeguarding

What is safeguarding?

Schools have a statutory responsibility to keep children safe from harm. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) defines safeguarding as:

• Protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
• Preventing harm to children’s health or development
• Ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
• Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes

What are schools expected to do?

School are required to comply with the current safeguarding guidance from the Department for Education, called Keeping Children Safe in Education. This means, for example:

• Having a designated safeguarding lead (DSL), who is trained to support staff, contribute to assessing children and liaise with other agencies
• Having a child protection policy, and procedures covering specific safeguarding issues
• Ensuring that adults working in the school are safe to work with children, by carrying out background checks (through the Disclosure and Barring Service) and having someone on interview panels who is trained in ‘safer recruitment’
• Ensuring that all staff receive safeguarding and child protection training, and that this is regularly updated

What does safeguarding look like in our school?

•  The DSL at QEHS is Hattie Curry, Assistant Headteacher. The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead for years 12 & 13 is Emerson Brown, Head of Years 12 & 13. Alex Robson, Head of Year 9  & Jill Wood, Assistant Headteacher – Inclusion & SendCo, are Deputy Designated Safeguarding leads for years 9-11.
• The nominated child protection trustee for Hadrian Learning Trust is Florrie Darling.
• We protect information about your child and only share it appropriately
• We respond appropriately to an unplanned absence, or to a pattern of poor attendance
• We track concerns about children confidentially
• We teach pupils about safeguarding issues, including how to respond to concerns, in lessons on personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education
• We work closely with a variety of agencies to support young people
• We work in partnership with the Police through Operation Encompass to support children and young people exposed to domestic abuse.

FAQs

• Who should I speak to for more information, or if I have a safeguarding concern?

You can speak to any member of staff, but we recommend that your first point of contact is your child’s Head of Year or our DSL.

• Who should my child speak to if he/she has a concern?

Your child can speak to any trusted adult in school. The adult will refer to the DSL if there is a concern about the safety of the child.

• How can I access more relevant information or policies?

For our full range of policies, including our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, Behaviour Policy, Code of Conduct, Whistleblowing Policy, Anti-Bullying Policy, Attendance Policy, and Online Safety Policy please see our Policies page.

What is Operation Encompass?

The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in a domestic abuse incident. Following an incident at home, children will often arrive at school distressed, upset and unprepared for the day.

Northumberland County Council, the police and nominated Key Adults in school will be working together to make sure that school staff are made aware of an incident early enough to support pupils in school.

You can read more about Operation Encompass in the document below:

• Operation Encompass – Letter to Parents/Carers

Northumbria Police have joined forces with Operation Encompass, Barnados, the Home Office, and the Northumbria Police & Crime Commissioner to publish a series of newsletters covering different aspects of domestic abuse and providing useful links and information. The issues are available to download below:

• Issue 5: Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse (PDF)
• Issue 4: Living with Domestic Abuse as an Adverse Childhood Experience (PDF)
• Issue 3: Why Victims Don’t Leave (PDF)
• Issue 2: Harassment and Stalking (PDF)
• Issue 1: Coercive Control and Perpetrator Behaviour (PDF)

What is Operation Endeavour?

The purpose of Operation Endeavour is to support children and young people who go missing from home. Children who go missing from home are at risk of significant harm and they may be vulnerable to sexual exploitation, violent crime, gang exploitation, or to drug and alcohol misuse.

Northumberland County Council, the police and nominated Key Adults in school will be working together to make sure that school staff are made aware of an incident early enough to support pupils in school.

You can read more about Operation Endeavour in the document below:

• Operation Endeavour – Letter to Parents/Carers

Online Tutors: Safeguarding

If you are employing an online tutor for your child, please follow this link for useful safeguarding information: https://static.lgfl.net/LgflNet/downloads/online-safety/posters/LGfL-DigiSafe-Online-Tutors-Safeguarding-Guidance.pdf

Parent Information Sheets

We have provided some information for parents/carers on the issues of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and PREVENT:

• Child Sexual Exploitation – Information for Parents/Carers
• PREVENT – Information for Parents/Carers

Useful Links

The following national websites also provide useful information and advice.

Action for Children – www.actionforchildren.org.uk
Barnardo’s – www.barnardos.org.uk
Beating Eating Disorders – www.b-eat.co.uk
Bullying UK – www.bullying.co.uk
Carers UK – www.carersuk.org
Childline – www.childline.org.uk
Contact a Family – www.cafamily.org.uk
FRANK – www.talktofrank.com
Kidscape – www.kidscape.org.uk
Mind – www.mind.org.uk
Gingerbread – www.gingerbread.org.uk
Family Lives – www.familylives.org.uk
Youngminds – www.youngminds.org.uk