Safeguarding for Parents

Under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 (as amended), *the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015, and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (as amended) to have arrangements in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

We will endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued.

The school will therefore be alert to signs of abuse, neglect and exploitation and will follow the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Children Partnership Board’s procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.

Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse and exploitation. Parents/carers should know that records of safeguarding concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies.

Local procedures state that “Consent should always be sought from an adult with parental responsibility for the child/young person before passing information about them to Children’s Social Care, unless seeking consent would place the child at risk of significant harm or may lead to the loss of evidence for example destroying evidence of a crime or influencing a child about a disclosure made.” This includes allowing them to share information without consent, if it is not possible to gain consent, if it cannot be reasonably expected that a professional gains consent, or if to gain consent would place a child at risk.

Where there is a need to share special category personal data, the Data Protection Act 2018 contains ‘safeguarding of children and individuals at risk’ as a processing condition that allows professionals to share information.

In accordance with legislation and local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service. In all circumstances, the safety of the child will be the paramount concern.

Schools will contact Children’s Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.

Holding power

Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, any person who has care of a child “may….do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” a child in school whilst Social Care and the Police investigate any concerns further.

* The word ‘school’ is used throughout but this would include all educational settings e.g. Academies, Pupil Referral Units, Further Education establishments and Independent schools.

CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AWARENESS

In school, through assemblies and PHSE lessons, we will be talking to students about what to do if they are worried about CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation) and who they should contact. 

Unfortunately CSE is common throughout our country and the news headlines have demonstrated that it is widespread.  

The following advice for parents on spotting CSE comes from the NSPCC:

1. Your child may become secretive and stop engaging with usual friends. They may become very prone to mood swings.
2. They may be associating with older men and/or women.
3. They may go missing from home and be defensive about their location and activities.
4. They may receive odd calls and messages on their mobiles or social media.
5. They may be in possession of new, expensive items which they couldn’t normally afford, eg mobile phones, iPads.

If your child displays three or more of the above signs then you should contact school, the Police on 101 or ChildLine on 0800 111

Here are some links that might be useful:
http://paceuk.info/about-cse/
http://www.net-aware.org.uk/
http://www.barnardosrealloverocks.org.uk/

Prevent

GPUTC takes its responsibility for implementing the Prevent strategy very seriously. As a learning organisation, we are committed to responding to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat the school community faces from those who promote terrorism.  

The PHSE curriculum and Mentor / Crew programme at GPUTC, actively promotes fundamental British values including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Children are encouraged to share their views and recognise that they are entitled to have their own different beliefs which should not be used to influence others.

The Secretary of State has launched a website to support parents, teachers and school leaders. The site brings together the best advice, support and resources available for parents, teachers and school leaders who want to learn how to protect young people from extremism and radicalisation, and is the result of a successful collaboration between the Department for Education, the Home Office, the NSPCC, Internet Matters, Childnet, ParentZone, UK Internet Safety Centre, and the many other organisations who have contributed resources.

If you have any queries, concerns or comments regarding the school’s Prevent strategy please contact (TBC) who is GPUTC’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for Prevent.

FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)

GPUTC has robust and rigorous safeguarding procedures and takes its responsibilities of child protection seriously. Female Genital Mutilation is a form of child abuse and as such is dealt with under the schools Child Protection and Safeguarding policy. At GPUTC, The Principal and Academy Council expect Safeguarding to be everybody’s responsibility and expect all staff to adhere to and follow these policies. 

Please click on the links below to find more information relating to FGM
http://nationalfgmcentre.org.uk/

COUNTY LINES

County lines is a term used for organised illegal drug-dealing networks. Children and young people are recruited as ‘runners’ to transport drugs and money out of their hometowns and cities into other places in the UK, so that the criminals behind the drug trafficking are less visible and less likely to be detected. This is criminal exploitation. Children as young as 11 years old may be recruited, sometimes through the use of social media or by promises of money or items such as trainers, phones or makeup.

Further information for parents can be found at this site.

Home Office GuidanceDownload

What is County Lines? – a useful video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ILaguFXHr4

ONLINE SAFETY

The Internet has become an integral part of children’s lives, enabling them to undertake research for school projects, talk to their friends and access information from around the world. This brings with it the need to ensure that learners are safe.

We appreciate that social media can be a minefield for all concerned and its only by working together can we ensure that our young people use technology safely in the 21st century. Technology is an inextricable part of their life and we want to help you to ensure that they all stay safe.

Internet development is constantly evolving into ever more innovative areas with many websites enabling amazing creativity and interaction between peers. Unfortunately though, there are times when Internet use can have a negative effect on children. This section of our website is to ensure that parents are aware of the possible dangers and feel able to support their children to use the internet responsibly. 

Further information on online safety can also be obtained from the following websites;

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD GOES MISSING

One of the most frequent indicators of child exploitation is your child going missing. It is therefore important that you report your child missing to the police every time they go missing, even if it is occurring on a daily basis.

You can report your child missing by visiting your local police station, or over the phone by dialling 101, which automatically transfers you to your local police. You can also find your local police station online. If you know that your child is in immediate danger and threatened with violence, injury or loss of life, then call 999.

It is commonly thought that you must wait 24 hours before reporting somebody missing, but this is not true. You can make a report to the police as soon as you have done as much as possible to locate your child and that you consider them to be missing. There is no minimum waiting time. It may sound like common sense, but before contacting the police, check to see if they have left you or another household member a message on your phone voicemail, text message or social media. It may be useful to have written notes about your child to hand when you are reporting your child missing.

This leaflet from The Children’s Society has further information.

What-to-do-if-your-child-goes-missingDownload

MENTAL HEALTH

Mental health problems affect about 1 in 10 children and young people. They include depression, anxiety and conduct disorder, and are often a direct response to what is happening in their lives.

Things that can help keep children and young people mentally well include:

• being in good physical health, eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise
• having time and the freedom to play, indoors and outdoors
• being part of a family that gets along well most of the time
• going to a school that looks after the wellbeing of all its pupils
• taking part in local activities for young people.

SSS have identified that looking after your own mental health and wellbeing can have a hugely positive impact on your child’s mental health and wellbeing. There are simple ways to help you do this. Follow this link to discover 10 top tips designed to offer practical advice on how parents can safeguard their mental health and promote their wellbeing:

https://ssscpd.co.uk/education/parentsandguardians/your-mental-health-10-tips-for-parents/-/ZGSgLKxlZKOupzIhqTSfoJIhqTSfnTIuoUEb

There are a wide range of useful sites and resources available and this NHS page offers an A-Z list.

We also recommend https://youngminds.org.uk/

Anxiety-and-panic-disordersDownload

Depression-Young-People-EnglishDownload

Self-harmDownload

Sleep-booklet-A5-leaflet-WEBDownload

SELF-HARM

Self-harm is when somebody intentionally damages or injures their body.

Some of the reasons that people may self-harm include:

• expressing or coping with emotional distress
• trying to feel in control
• a way of punishing themselves
• relieving unbearable tension
• a cry for help
• a response to intrusive thoughts

Self-harm may be linked to bad experiences that are happening now, or in the past. But sometimes the reason is unknown.

The reasons can also change over time and will not be the same for everybody.

There are a number of sites that offer advice and support

NHS – Why People Self-Harm

MIND – Information about Self-Harm

Young Minds – Self-Harm

NSPCC – Self-Harm

We also have some useful booklets for students and parents

self-harm-leaflet-for-students1Download

Alternatives-to-self-harm-HandoutDownload

Healthy-Coping-StrategiesDownload

DOMESTIC ABUSE

As well as teaching students about the nature and importance of healthy relationships we are aware that adults may also require support and signposting to services. Within school the Safeguarding Team are able to help with any specific issues and there are a number of local and national sources of support.

The National Domestic Abuse Helpline continues to operate 24/7 on 0808 2000 247.

There is a form you can complete online and they will call you back at a safe time https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/Contact-us

Women’s Aid online chat: https://chat.womensaid.org.uk/

Men’s Advice line, for male victims: https://mensadviceline.org.uk/

Local Services

Cambridge City/East Cambs/South Cambs 01223 361214

Fenland/Hunts/Peterborough 07787 255821

For support around sexual violence – National Rape Crisis is still available and they also have online chat https://rapecrisis.org.uk/