Safeguarding

Safeguarding is seen by Nunthorpe Academy as our ‘duty of care’ to ensure that every student is safe from harm. Harm can be defined in numerous ways and we take this in its broadest form.

It is our responsibility to work with our students, parents/carers, the community, local service providers and multi agencies to ensure the best possible outcomes for all students no matter what their background or need. It is our duty to ensure that we protect learners, meet statutory requirements, promote their welfare and aspirations and prevent radicalisation and extremism.

In the first instance we aim to do this by ensuring outstanding punctuality and attendance, outstanding behaviour, maintaining a zero tolerance policy in relation to any form of peer on peer abuse, and ensuring that our students know how to keep themselves safe in the very diverse world and cyber world in which they function on a daily basis.

We constantly review our policies and practice to ensure that we fully meet all safeguarding requirements.

We demonstrate this commitment with our Nunthorpe Academy ethos “Ready, Respectful, Safe.”

The Academy adopts the definition of Safeguarding used by Ofsted derived from The Children Act, 2004:

• protecting children and young people from maltreatment;
• preventing impairment of children and young people’s health or development;
• ensuring that children and young people are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
• undertaking that role so as to enable those children and young people to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully.

Safeguarding is not just about protecting children from deliberate harm.

It also relates to:

• Pupils’ health and safety;
• The use of reasonable force;
• Meeting the needs of pupils with medical conditions;
• Providing first aid;
• Educational visits;
• Intimate care;
• Internet or e-safety;
• Appropriate arrangements to ensure school security, taking into account the local context.

And can involve a range of potential issues such as:

• Bullying, inc. cyberbullying (by text message, on social networking sites etc) and prejudice-based bullying;
• Racist, disability, and homophobic or transphobic abuse;
• Radicalisation and extremist behaviour;
• Child sexual exploitation;
• Sexting (Youth Produced Sexual Imagery);
• Substance misuse;
• Peer on Peer Abuse;
• Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment;
• Initiation/Hazing type rituals;
• Up skirting;
• Domestic abuse;
• Homelessness;
• Local issues e.g. gang activity, youth violence, Child Criminal Exploitation, and County Lines;
• Other issues including domestic violence, sexual exploitation, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), forced marriage and honour based crimes.

We post all of our Safeguarding updates on our social media networks – please take a look here to view these: Facebook – Twitter.

Who deals with safeguarding issues?

Every member of staff at the academy has a responsibility for the safeguarding of our students. However we have a dedicated team of Child Protection Officers who are always available to speak to your child if they have a concern be it about themselves, friend or peer.

Click here to view our Child Protection Policy.

Guidelines we follow…

All Academy staff undertake annual training with regard to best practice and safeguarding updates that are disseminated from a national level.

This includes Keeping Children Safe in Education – Part 1.  Click here to read KCSIE 2021.

Staff are trained to recognise signs of radicalisation through the Prevent Duty via our online training portal and our Life programme links to this with age appropriate content delivered to our students. 

All staff are trained in how to recognise and report safeguarding concerns, the safeguarding team respond to concerns rigorously and robustly:

• Emphasis is placed on students’ views to ensure they feel safe in the Academy gathered from informal discussion and formal processes, e.g. questionnaires;
• The responsibility for safeguarding extends beyond the Academy gates where students are engaged in activities;
• Safeguarding concerns the effectiveness of the Academy’s work with services provided, commissioned or brokered by the local authority to promote the safety and health of all learners;
• The governing body is accountable for ensuring that the school has effective policies and procedures in place in accordance with the DfE guidance and monitors the Academy’s compliance with this;
• Specified recruitment and vetting checks on intended new appointees, particularly identity and qualification checks, are carried out. There is a full, accurate and up-to-date single central record of these checks;
• All staff understand that safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility and know who to contact if they are concerned about a child or young person. They understand their responsibilities in order to achieve positive outcomes, keep children safe and complement the support that other professionals may be providing;
• Students are aware of how they can keep themselves safe and what behaviour towards them is not acceptable. They recognise when pressure from others (including people they know) threatens their personal safety and wellbeing and are helped to develop effective ways of resisting pressure, including knowing when and where to get help;
• The Academy monitors the provision for and outcomes of all students, including off site provision, work-based learning, extended services, students with a child protection plan, refugee and asylum seekers, looked after children and excluded students, attendance, exclusions and racist incidents;
• There is a designated person for child protection and both a governor and trustee with specific responsibility for safeguarding. The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs S Brosnan.
• There is a child protection policy document;
• Allegations against staff are dealt with in accordance with LA and Trust guidance;
• The designated member of staff has undertaken training in inter-agency working to standards agreed by the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), and undertakes refresher training;
• All staff and other adults who work with students undertake appropriate and up to date training to equip them to carry out their responsibilities for child protection effectively, this is kept up to date by refresher training at three yearly intervals;
• There is a clear reporting system if a student, member of staff, parent or other person has concerns about the safety of children;
• Security arrangements for the grounds and buildings are adequate and reviewed annually;
• There are effective and prompt systems for referring safeguarding concerns about students to relevant agencies;
• Attendance is monitored and appropriate action taken as necessary, especially with regard to the most vulnerable;
• Close advisory links and collaboration are maintained with a large number of external agencies and professionals that support safeguarding. The following list is indicative rather than exclusive – Education Psychologists, Local Authority (Children’s Services), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS);
• Internet safety advice and guidance for parents and students can be found on our website/social media and is part of our Digital Resilience scheme within the Academy. The Academy’s online filtering system is fully compliant with the IWF (Internet Watch Foundation) and CEOP (Child Exploitation Online Protection);
• Risk assessments are carried out whenever appropriate, in line with the relevant guidelines.

Safeguarding Contacts and Places to Help

	South Tees Safeguarding Children Partnership (STSCP) is a multi-agency partnership between Middlesbrough Council, Redcar & Cleveland Council, Tees Valley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), and Cleveland Police. It aims to support and enable local organisations and agencies to work together in a system which places the child at the heart of the process, with a key focus on both improving practice, and enhancing outcomes for children and their families.	https://stscp.co.uk/
	We’re here, day or night, for anyone who’s struggling to cope, who needs someone to listen without judgement or pressure. Samaritans is not only for the moment of crisis, we’re taking action to prevent the crisis.	https://www.samaritans.org 0845 7909090
	Kooth is a free safe and anonymous support for 11-19 year olds online.	https://www.kooth.com
	YoungMinds is a national charity committed to improving the mental health of all children and young people. Parent Helpline 0808 8025544 free for mobiles and landlines – Monday to Friday for concerns relating to child/ young person’s mental health up to the age of 25.	https://youngminds.org.uk 0808 8025544
	Childline is a private and confidential service for children and young people up to the age of 19. You can contact a Childline counsellor about anything -no problem is too big or too small.	https://www.childline.org.uk 0800 11 11
	Children’s Adolescent Mental Health Service – single point of access for advice and support.	https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/mental-health-services/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services-camhs 0300 0134778
	A charity specialising in Mental Health. Its website has links to support,  information and advice.	https://mind.org.uk
	A website for young people providing free, confidential drugs information and advice 24 hours a day.	https://www.talktofrank.com
	Brook provides free and confidential sexual health advice and contraception to young people under the age of 25.	https://www.brook.org.uk
	Through CEOP you can report online sexual abuse or content.	https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/
	The NSPCC helps children who have been abused to rebuild their lives, protect those at risk and find the best ways of preventing abuse from ever happening.	https://www.nspcc.org.uk 0808 800 5000
	Parents Protect help parents and carers protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.	https://www.parentsprotect.co.uk
	A useful Government website with advice about how to stay safe online.	https://www.ncsc.gov.uk