Safeguarding
THE CHILDS WELFARE IS PARAMOUNT
At Oulton Academy, we are fully committed to our responsibility of ensuring the safety and well-being of all our pupils, as well as our Academy Community. We expect all staff, visitors and volunteers to share this commitment and adhere to our safeguarding procedures upon entry to the Academy.
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 safeguarding children. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all professionals 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.
Parents and Carers can feel confident that careful procedures are in place to ensure that all staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children within the Academy. Safer recruitment procedures are robust; senior leaders have completed relevant training and are experienced in the recruitment of staff and volunteers. Safeguarding is a vital feature during the induction process of new staff in to the Academy.
All children will be taken seriously if they seek help from a member of staff. Pupils may be referred for additional support from external agencies who work closely with Academy staff. The Academy will always endeavour to work in partnership with parents/carers, informing them of additional support required for their child. However, staff cannot guarantee to consult parents first, or keep concerns confidential, if a referral must be made to agencies in order to safeguard the child’s welfare. Designated staff will liaise with external agencies as appropriate and seek support to ensure that all decisions are made in the best interests of the child.
All statutory guidelines are followed with regards to safeguarding and child protection.
LEEDS SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN PARTNERSHIP
Multi-agency approach to safeguarding childing, comprising of the Local Authority, Police and Clinical Commission Group (Health), each of whom have equal joint responsibility for the safeguarding arrangements in Leeds.
Website: https://www.leedsscp.org.uk/
Children’s Social Work Service: 0113 222 4403
Oulton-Winter-Safeguarding-Leaflet-22.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE EMERGENCIES CALL 999
STAFF
We ensure staff have the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to keep children safe through provision of regular training on child protection and safeguarding, both local and national. The Qualified Designated Safeguarding Lead and other members of the Academy Safeguarding Team provide support to staff members to carry out their safeguarding duties, liaising closely with other services such as Children’s Social Work Service, Education Safeguarding, Health Services, Rothwell Cluster Early Help and the Police. The Safer Schools Officer works with all of our students and builds relationships to ensure that any student who has a safety concern can talk to him.
Our staff receive regular training and updates throughout the Academic Year, including face to face training delivered by the Academy’s Designated Safeguarding Lead. All training delivered is in line with current legislation and also reflective of local contexts, ensuring the Academy is fully prepared to respond to any disclosures or concerns effectively, in a timely manner.
Reporting and Recording procedures are robust and are embedded across the Academy and are used to support pupils when working collaboratively with external agencies.
Our staff are trained to be vigilant for all kinds of safeguarding concerns, including bullying, online safety, peer on peer abuse, emotional or other abuse or extremist behaviour. All staff at Oulton Academy receive the relevant ‘Prevent’ training delivered by Leeds Prevent Team to support them in their roles in preventing extremism and radicalisation.
STUDENTS
All students understand the importance of safeguarding and who is available within the Academy to report any safeguarding or welfare concerns about themselves or others. This includes the Academy’s Safeguarding Team, the Senior Leadership Team and their dedicated year group Learning Manager. In addition, pupil’s may also share concerns and information with teaching staff, all of whom are fully informed of the Academy’s Safeguarding reporting procedures.
Pupils are expected to conduct themselves in a way that promotes the safety and welfare of themselves, but also that of others. Students ae fully informed of the Academy’s Behaviour for Learning Policy.
When outside the Academy, pupils can still seek support via the Tell Us link on the academy website or by contacting the support services listed within their pupil planner.
Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe online. Further information can be sought through the CEOP Command, ThinkUKnow and Kidscape websites:
https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/
http://www.kidscape.org.uk/cyberbullying/
PARENTS
The Academy encourages parents and children to talk freely about any concerns or worries which may affect the welfare or educational progress of our pupils. It is important to us that parents and pupils see the Academy as a safe place and trust our safeguarding team to fulfil their role in protecting pupils, within and beyond the Academy.
Parents and Carers also play an active role in ensuring their child/ren are safe, particularly when accessing online platforms and forums. Parents are recommended to regularly review their child’s security settings, checking their online accounts and reviewing online communications.
https://www.parentsprotect.co.uk/
