Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility
Woodlands Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
To achieve this we have systems in place which are designed to:
- create and maintain a safe learning environment.
- identify child welfare concerns and take appropriate action.
- use the curriculum to enable our children to develop keep safe strategies.
- operate safer recruitment and selection procedures.
The school has continuous professional development for educators available to all staff and they are also put through relevant training courses. We actively support the Government’s Prevent Agenda to counter radicalism and extremism.
We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. All school staff are trained in Safeguarding and Child Protection in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024, and children are made aware of the adults they can talk to if they have any concerns. Staff are trained to look out for signs of physical/emotional harm or neglect and are required to report these to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
All staff have a responsibility to safeguard our pupils, however the main point of contacts for the school are:
- Mrs Jayne Curtiss (DSL)
- Miss Becky Wright (DSL and Principal)
- Mrs Sara Pearson (Deputy DSL and Vice Principal)
- Mrs Helen Catlyn (Deputy DSL)
The Designated teacher for Children in Care and previously Looked After Children (LAC) is Becky Wright
Mrs J Curtiss Miss B Wright Mrs S Pearson Mrs H Catlyn
What to do if you have a concern about a child or young person
If you are concerned about the safety or wellbeing of any child, you should act without delay.
You can contact
- our safeguarding team at school 01472 500900
- children’s social care on 01472 326292 option 2
- contact the police on 101 or 999 if an emergency
Everyone has a responsibility to keep children safe from harm. Many people worry that their concerns may be wrong, that they are interfering unnecessarily, or that someone else might report it. Our advice would be to report any concerns to school or to the Integrated Front Door team (children’s social care), where advice can be given and the professionals can process the information you have.
If you have any concerns about your own family and would like support, please speak to staff in school who can arrange for you to speak with a member of our safeguarding or pastoral team. We can discuss the Early Help process with you and how the school can best support your family.
In addition, you can contact our local Family Hub, which is open Monday to Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm, 01472 326600
Policies
We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy which is available below. The latest update to the policy was September 2024. These are in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 and Working Together to Safeguarding Children.
A copy of Keeping Children safe can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2
and is available in 13 languages at The National Grid for Learning – KCSIE Translate (lgfl.net).
Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with his/her parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.
As a school, we are part of the Operation Encompass scheme which is run by the police.
A number of services are available to support online.
Childline
https://www.childline.org.uk/
NSPCC
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/
Online safety
https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/report-remove/
https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
https://nationalcollege.com/parents
Photographs and Videos
Whilst lots of parents and carers really enjoy seeing photos and videos of their children’s school life, we are very mindful of our duty of care towards all our pupils. We take the issue of safeguarding very seriously and this includes the use of photographic and video images.
Any photographs or videos taken by parents, carers and relatives at school productions, sports days or other events are for the enjoyment of individual families. They must not be used in any way that could potentially place a child at risk. This would include publishing images in any form of print or on the internet including social networking sites. This is emphasised before concerts and shows etc
Online safety guides
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