Keeping your child Safe
Safeguarding
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is essentially about keeping children and young people safe from abuse or neglect.
All those who come into contact with children and families in their everyday work, including people who do not have a specific role in relation to child protection, have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Why is safeguarding important?
At Park High School we understand that promoting the welfare of all the children who live and learn within our community is of upmost importance. This means ensuring that we create every opportunity for our pupils to grow, develop and achieve their own potential whilst being protected from harmful influences and actions either on the part of others or themselves.
By doing this we will enable children to maximise their own life chances.
Signs
If you notice anything that concerns you, talk to your child to see if you can find out what is happening. If your child becomes distressed or you are not happy with the explanations, you could talk to our designated safeguarding staff at school, an adult you trust or call a helpline or children’s social care services.
Some signs to look for are:
- bruises or other injuries
- a change in behaviour – from quiet to loud, or from happy-go-lucky to withdrawn pain or discomfort
- fear of a particular person, or a reluctance to be alone with them
- secrecy around a relationship with a particular person
- reluctance to discuss where they go, or who they are with
- sexual talk or knowledge beyond their years
- being watchful, or always on edge
- losing interest in their appearance
- hobbies or family life
- having money and refusing to say where it has come from
- wetting the bed
- becoming clingy.
How do we ensure that we safeguard all pupils?
It is our priority to promote the welfare of, and effectively safeguard, the children in our care by:
- valuing all our pupils as individuals
- listening to pupils and taking only decisions that are in their best interest.
- respecting our pupils as individuals and ensuring they feel safe to raise any concerns within our school community.
- ensuring that all adults entering the building sign in and have access to our visitor policy
- ensuring adherence to school policies on confidentiality and protection of personal information
- making sure all governors, staff, visitors and anyone else who is involved in the day to day life of Park High School are aware of and committed to the safeguarding policy and child protection procedures
- recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
- adopting a code of conduct for all staff and visitors to school which includes digital safety and the use of mobile phones etc.
What will happen if we feel there is a safeguarding issue?
As a school we are required to share information about concerns and pupil welfare issues with external agencies on a need to know basis.
Should a child make a disclosure we will contact the appropriate agencies. If we are advised that a child may be put at further risk and adults should not be informed, we will follow this advice.
Where allegations concern members of staff these will be dealt with in accordance with our Harrow child protection procedures.
What do to do if you have a safeguarding concern?
If you are concerned about a child, speak to the school immediately please ask to speak to our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mr Tromans, or any of our safeguarding officers.
If you are concerned about the behaviour of an employee or visitor, please ask to speak to the headteacher, Mrs O'Dwyer.
Safeguarding Governor | Mrs Daziel |
If you have any concerns about safeguarding in the school, our safeguarding governor, Mrs Daziel.
Other Contacts
Harrow Golden Number: 020 8901 2690 / 020 8424 0999
Police: 101 (non-emergency) / 999 (emergency)
NSPCC: 0800 800 500/Childline: 0800 1111
Government whistle-blowing service: 0800 028 0285
Useful websites:
Keeping Children Safe in Education
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2
Harrow Safeguarding Children’s Board
Anti-Bullying
Bullying Advice
If you believe that your child is being bullied...
- Don’t ignore the problem – contact the school as soon as possible and work with the staff. Your child’s form tutor should be your first point of contact
- Encourage your child to talk to others and /or staff at the school about his/her feelings
- Try not to over react! This may make the situation appear worse to your child and it can even frighten them into silence
- Ask your child if he/she has any suggestions that would help their situation
- Help your child develop strategies for dealing with and reporting bullying
- Seek advice from the websites that are available, these include those listed below
Remember:
- Praise your child, tell him/her how much you love them and support them.
- Try to sort out the bullying at the start, working as constructively as possible with the school.
- Encourage your child to develop new interests which might lead to a supportive group of friends in school and out of school.
Useful websites:
Digital Safety
Thinkuknow
Protecting your children from abuse online. Please click here to visit the website and find out more.
Thinkuknow is an education programme from the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Command.
Since 2006, Thinkuknow has been keeping children and young people safe by providing education about sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.
Thinkuknow is unique. It is underpinned by the latest intelligence about child sex offending from CEOP Command.
Thinkuknow aims to ensure that everyone has access to this practical information – children, young people, their parents and carers and the professionals who work with them.
Alongside the Thinkuknow website the programme provides educational resources, including films, cartoons and lesson plans, to help professionals raise young people’s awareness
Digital Safety Advice for Students
Whether on a computer at school, a laptop at home, a games console or mobile phone, children and young people are increasingly accessing the internet whenever and wherever they can.
The answer is simple, IF you understand the internet and understand what the risks are. There are a number of things you can do that will make you safer online...So, how can you protect yourself online, below are some useful websites and guides to help.
Useful website:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/sexting/
https://www.internetmatters.org/
www.ceop.police.uk/reportabuse/index.asp
Mental Health
Mental health and wellbeing help for children at school
The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families have produced a leaflet to enable parents to find help . Click here.