Safeguarding
Safeguarding our children together
As a school we are strongly committed to safeguarding. All staff and volunteers have a responsibility to keep pupils safe and protect them from abuse, neglect and other safeguarding concerns. Our staff and volunteers undergo regular safeguarding training to ensure that they can identify safeguarding issues and report them immediately. All our pupils have a right to be safe and to be treated with respect and dignity and we work effectively with outside agencies to ensure that this is the case.
We work hard as a team to ensure our pupils are not subject to radicalisation and the ideals of extremist groups. We have a culture of vigilance around issues such as Child Sexual Exploitation and FGM. (Information around these key safeguarding issues, as well as related safeguarding policies can be found within the 'safeguarding policies' section of this menu.)
The safeguarding culture of a school is, in part, exercised through the development of respectful, caring and professional relationships between adults and pupils and behaviour by the adult that demonstrates integrity, maturity and good judgement. The Designated Safeguarding Leads for the school will deal with any safeguarding concerns you have as a matter of urgency.
The Designated Safeguarding Lead is: Louise Tate – Headteacher
The Deputy DSL are: Becky Holland - KS1 Lead
Katie Cowley - KS2 Lead
All of the Safeguarding Leads can be contacted at safeguarding@poolsbrook.derbyshire.sch.uk
The Nominated Link Safeguarding Associate is: Ann Cruickshank
Louise Tate is the nominated Lead for E-Safety.
If you are concerned about the safety of a child or vulnerable adult, please contact Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190.
A new helpline has been set up by the NSPCC for anyone who has experience sexual harassment or abuse in education.
The link is here https://www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/news-opinion/2021/sexual-abuse-victims-schools-helpline/
Early Help
At Poolsbrook Primary Academy, we understand that from time to time family life can have its complications and sometimes families may need some extra help. To support and advise you at such times we have an Early Help Offer.
We believe that by working together we can better support children and families. Sometimes, families need support from a wide range of agencies or people, for example, health services, housing services, family support workers, social workers and local police. As a school, we may be able to signpost a range of services to support families beyond the educational setting.
Early Help services aim to both provide advice and/or intervene where there is evidence of emerging needs with the objective of preventing escalation to higher level services.
Our primary aim is to identify support early, and to make sure that appropriate plans are put into place. This will require working with the school staff and other agencies if needed. We will also use existing interventions already in place within the school setting.
What support do we offer?
Louise Tate is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and is supported by Becky Holland: our SENDCO.
With the direct support of our DSL, our team of experienced Teaching Assistants can provide additional pastoral and nurture support where needed, through regular contact with our families; this allows parents/carers to share concerns and to maintain communication between school and home on a planned, regular basis if needed, ensuring that children and families are receiving the best support possible.
We can offer advice on a range of concerns or can signpost parents to other sources of information, help and support.
What sort of concerns might parents share with us?
A wide range of issues such as behaviour management, domestic abuse, mental health issues, housing concerns, financial worries and debts, mobility difficulties, parents in prison, bereavement and loss, cyber bullying – in fact any concerns which you are worried might be having a negative impact on your children.
How will we know when Early Help is needed?
Parents, carers, children and staff may tell us that support is required, or practitioners may identify that there are emerging needs and services might be required, as there are concerns about a child.
We will assess the needs and this may identify that an Early Help Assessment is needed and the subsequent action that needs to be taken.
How will families be supported through our Early Help Offer?
Children and families will be supported and reviewed through the Early Help Assessment format. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead can meet informally with parents/carers and children in the first instance and this can be followed by completing the Early Help Assessment. Following the assessment, families may be supported by a range of professionals from within and beyond school. Team Around the Family meetings may be held in school to identify what is working well, what needs to change and to agree actions to help and support families.
Gaining the views, wishes and feelings of the child is central to our safeguarding policy, and our team of staff in school, also carry out direct work with children, for example completing Voice of the Child.
We are unable to use the DCC Mosaic system which would enable us to enter case notes and documents. Access to the system would also flag up concerns. As this is unavailable to us, we will contact the local Social Care Office, when needed, or the Starting Point advice line.
The Early Help Assessment will be passed to Starting Point, the county’s single point access for safeguarding referrals, where there has been no improvement to the welfare of the child, and there are escalating concerns around the safety and well-being of a child. Where there are immediate safeguarding concerns, the case will be referred to Starting Point following consultation with the Designated Safeguarding Leads in School.
We also provide support for individual pupils through our Nurture programme. We work closely with other agencies who can provide more specialist support for our families, for example, CAMHS and ELM Foundation. We can also signpost support groups and parenting courses on offer in the local area.
When will Early Help be available through the school?
The Early Help offer provided by the school will be available during term time only. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead may attend prearranged meetings during school holidays if the need has been identified for open cases. In order to support families during holiday times, we will signpost agencies and activities who are available when school is closed.
Starting Point:
If you are concerned that a child is suffering or at risk of significant harm, please contact Starting Point:
01629 533190
Derbyshire County Council
Private Fostering
Taken from Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Boards’ Procedures Manual:
A private fostering arrangement is one made without the involvement of Children's Social Care for the care of a child under the age of 16 (under 18, if disabled) by someone other than a parent or close relative for 28 days or more. This may include children sent from abroad, asylum seeking and refugee children, teenagers staying in short term arrangements with friends or other non relatives and language students with host families. (A close relative is defined as grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt - whether of full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership - or step-parent).
Private foster carers and those with Parental Responsibility are required to notify the local authority of their intention to privately foster or have a child fostered.
Teachers, health and other practitioners should notify Children's Social Care of any private fostering arrangements that come to their attention; unless they are satisfied that Children's Social Care have already been notified of the arrangement.
Children's Social Care must satisfy themselves as to the suitability of the private foster carer, their household and accommodation.
Where advance notice is given, this should be prior to the commencement of the arrangement. There are powers to impose requirements on the carer or, if there are serious concerns about an arrangement, to prohibit it.
Children's Social Care must visit privately fostered children at regular intervals (a minimum of 6 weekly visits in year 1 and thereafter a minimum of 12 weekly) to ensure that their welfare is being satisfactorily safeguarded and promoted and that private foster carers and parents are provided with any required advice. The child should be seen alone unless it is inappropriate to do so.
Children should be given contact details of the social care worker who will be visiting them while they are being privately fostered.
The Children Act 1989 creates a number of offences in connection with private fostering, including the failure to notify an arrangement or to comply with any requirement or prohibition imposed by Children's Services. Certain people are disqualified from being private foster carers.
For further information please visit
https://schoolsnet.derbyshire.gov.uk/keeping-children-safe-in-education/parental-responsibility-and-private-fostering/private-fostering.aspx?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1JyWgcOA8AIVCed3Ch32zAadEAAYAiAAEgLeEvD_BwE