Safeguarding
Safeguarding
Stopsley High School Safeguarding Statement
"At Stopsley High School, the health, safety and well-being of every child is our top priority. We expect all staff, governors, and volunteers to share this commitment to safeguarding our students. We listen to our students and take seriously what they tell us. Our aim is that children will enjoy their time as students in this school."
What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:
• protecting children from maltreatment
• preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care, and
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
Safeguarding children and child protection guidance and legislation applies to all children up to the age of 18.
What is Child Protection?
Child Protection is part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. It refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.
All school staff are trained in Child Protection, 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 and emotional harm or neglect and are required to report these to the Designated Safeguarding Leads.
We work in partnership with parents and carers to help children to achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution. On rare occasions however, our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies even before we contact parents or carers.
We adopt the procedures laid down by the Luton Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), those outlined in our MLT Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy 2024 and in the statutory guidance Keeping-Children-Safe-in-Education-2024. Our Governor Safeguarding Lead is Mr B Dunne.
Stopsley High School has a legal and moral duty to ensure that our student body receives the highest levels of care and are protected from any form of harm. The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs. P Whiting, (Senior Deputy Headteacher), who is supported by the safeguarding team detailed below. You can contact any members of the team directly if you need to discuss any safeguarding concerns.
If there is a safeguarding concern and the school cannot be contacted please contact Luton Multi- Agency Safeguarding Hub,(MASH), on 01582547653.
Where to get urgent help for mental health:
If you have urgent mental health needs and need to access support now, visit the NHS.UK urgent mental health page to find local options for support.
Please find below a range of useful websites that can also be used to seek advice and support:
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/
Educating Students through the PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic) and RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health) curricula.
(PSHE) education is a school subject which helps students develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to stay healthy and safe now and prepare for their futures. Our PSHE curriculum is taught to all students from Key Stage 3 into Key Stage 4 and through it we teach students about:
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Healthy and respectful relationships
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The importance of both physical and mental health, understanding emotions and feelings and strategies to help them become resilient and confident.
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Boundaries and consent
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Stereotyping, prejudice and equality
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Body confidence and self-esteem
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How to recognise an abusive relationship (including coercive and controlling behaviour)
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The concepts of, and laws relating to, sexual consent, sexual exploitation, abuse, grooming, coercion, harassment, rape, domestic abuse, so-called honour-based violence such as forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) and how to access support
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What constitutes sexual harassment and sexual violence and why they’re always unacceptable
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Personal safety (online and off-line) and where and how to get help if needed
For further details please refer to the PSHE and RSE section of the website which can be found under the curriculum tab.
Child-on-child abuse
We recognise that children are capable of abusing their peers. Abuse will never be tolerated or passed off as “banter”, “just having a laugh” or “part of growing up”, as this can lead to a culture of unacceptable behaviours and an unsafe environment for students. All child-on-child abuse is unacceptable and will be taken seriously. Most cases of children hurting other children will be dealt with under our school’s Positive Behaviour Policy, but our MLT Child Protection and Safeguarding policy will apply to any allegations that raise safeguarding concerns.
Online Safety
We recognise the benefits and opportunities which new technologies offer to teaching and learning and we encourage the use of technology in order to enhance skills and promote achievement! However, the accessible and global nature of the internet and variety of technologies available mean that we are also aware of potential risks and challenges associated with such use. We recognise the importance of safeguarding children from potentially harmful and inappropriate online material, and we understand that technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and wellbeing issues. To address this, we have robust processes in place to ensure the online safety of students, staff, volunteers and governors; protect and educate the whole school community in its safe and responsible use of technology and do not allow the use of smart phones in school.
Training for Staff
All staff have received regular safeguarding training and are clear of the steps they must take if they have any concerns regarding a student and can identify signs of possible abuse or neglect.
Additionally, there is a rolling programme of professional development for pastoral staff to address safeguarding themes throughout the academic year.
Parents and Carers
The school’s staff have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as a shared responsibility with parents and carers. To support this statement, the school may signpost to services that are specialised to promote opportunity, prevent problems, act early and act effectively if and when concerns arise. Therefore, whilst we do not want to worry you, we will report to Children’s Social Care if we have any reason to believe that a child may be at risk of suffering abuse or neglect.
Parents/carers are normally our first point of contact, and if a suspicion of abuse is recorded, parents/carers will be informed at the same time that the record is made; we will support parents/carers and ensure we work in collaboration with them to protect children. Working with parents/carers to prevent abuse is our primary aim and only when that has failed or in emergency situations will a referral be made to social care. When a referral is made to social care parents will be notified beforehand, except when guidance from social care or the police does not allow this.
What you can do as a parent and carer:
Parents and carers play a role in safeguarding children in their community. If you have any concerns, no matter how small, you should report them to someone who you trust will listen. Parents/Carers and children should speak to a member of the safeguarding team if they have any concerns about a child or staff member.
There is an array of guidance available to parents and carers. As a school we recommend the government guidance ‘Advice To Parents and Carers on keeping children safe from abuse and harm’; alongside the NSPCC website.
Relevant Policies: