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Safeguarding
We work hard at Undershaw to create a strong Safeguarding culture. It is vital to the success of the school that every student and member of staff feels safe, knows how, when and in what format to report any concerns they may have, and have confidence that these concerns, however small, will be noted, followed up and monitored.
‘Every student should be safe and feel safe’
At Undershaw, we believe that all students are entitled to be treated with dignity, courtesy, and respect regardless of their age, race, gender, or ability and we will not tolerate any behaviour that is abusive to our students. We are committed to actively enabling our students to learn and achieve. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of each student plays an important part in helping our students achieve positive outcomes.
Our statutory duty relating to Safeguarding is set out in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’ (July 2018) and ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (September 2021) which states:
”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 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.
Children includes everyone under the age of 18.Where a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer from harm, it is important that a referral to children’s social care (and if appropriate the police) is made immediately. Referrals should follow the local referral process.
Keeping Children Safe in Education (September 2021)Department for Education
We have a team of people dedicated
to upholding our stringent Safeguarding practices.
We have the latest policies and guidance
and ensure that each member of the school community is aware of the behaviour necessary from each of us, our processes that enable the school to run safely and effectively, and that everyone understands how to put the guidance into practice.
We have regular Safeguarding audits
to ensure our procedures are up to date and we take pride in the transparency and collaboration that sits at the heart of our relationships with the Local Authorities.
Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy can be found on the Policies page.
Local Safeguarding Helplines
Surrey
Phone: 0300 470 9100 (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday)
Phone: 01483 517898 (out of hours service)
Hampshire:
Phone: 0300 555 1384 (8:30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, 8:30am to 4:30pm on Friday)
Phone: 0300 555 1373 (out of hours service)
or in an emergency dial 999
Our Safeguarding Responsibilities
We take our responsibility to safeguard and promote welfare seriously, working hard to make sure all the school’s activities and procedures support and promote safeguarding. Through our curriculum we teach the children about personal safety, and how to keep themselves safe from harm and promote modern British values. There is a strong anti-bullying/harassment ethos throughout the school. We teach our students how to recognise all forms of bullying, including sexual harassment, and build on their skills to keep themselves safe from such behaviours whilst giving them the confidence to report it.
Our curriculum, pastoral care and therapeutic provisions provide the opportunity to discuss feelings and emotions and helps our students to think about their own personal safety and their rights as individuals to be kept safe from harm.
We have clear guidance to help children to use the internet (including social media) safely and have appropriate filters in place to prevent students accessing inappropriate materials.
Monitoring
Our external partners who monitor and help us develop our safeguarding activities are:
- Ofsted
- Area Safeguarding Advisor (The Education Safeguarding Team)
Our Safeguarding Team
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL):
Nicola Frankcom, Assistant Headteacher, Safeguarding and Health
Deputy DSLs:
Katherine Bourne, Family Liaison Officer
Maddy Annis-Wilkinson, Family Liaison Officer
Nominated Child Protection Governor:
Claire Cookson, Governor
Operation Encompass
Undershaw is a member of the Operation Encompass scheme which runs jointly between local schools, Surrey Police and Surrey County Council. Operation Encompass has been designed to provide early reporting on any domestic incidents that occur outside school and might have an impact on a child in school.
Operation Encompass ensures that a member of the school teaching staff, named a ‘Key Adult’ or ‘Deputy Key Adult’, is informed the next morning that there has been a domestic incident or if a child has been reported as missing. This means that the Key Adult or Deputy Key Adult can ensure that the child is supported whilst they are in school. At Undershaw the Key Adult is:
Maddy Annis-Wilkinson, Family Liaison Officer
We are keen to offer the best support possible for our pupils. Operation Encompass is extremely beneficial for all those involved. For more information see www.operationencompass.org
Prevent Strategy
Prevent is one of the four elements of CONTEST, the government’s counter-terrorism strategy. It aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The Home Office works with local authorities and a wide range of government departments, and community organisations to deliver the Prevent Strategy.
The Prevent Strategy:
- responds to the ideological challenge we face from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat we face from those who promote these views
- provides practical help to prevent individuals from being drawn into terrorism and ensures they are given appropriate advice and support
- works with a wide range of institutions (including education, criminal justice, faith, charities, online and health) where there are risks of radicalisation that need to be dealt with.
The strategy covers all forms of terrorism, including far right extremism and some aspects of non-violent extremism.
Revised Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
