Safeguarding
Â鶹ŮÀÉ understands its responsibilities towards child protection and safeguarding and gives student safety the highest priority. We are committed to ensuring that students feel safe in their education, and if we suspect that a child has been harmed, or may come to harm, will take action to safeguard and protect that child.
We have in place a range of policies and procedures to support our safeguarding commitment. This includes our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, and our Anti-Bullying Policy. These policies are available in the Key Policies and Statements section.
Part of our role is to educate children and young people on how to keep themselves safe whilst online, using mobile technology, as well as helping them to understand what is considered as abuse. There are links to external sites below which provide help and advice for parents and carers, as well as students themselves.
Designated Safeguarding Leads
We have a number of child protection trained staff who are available to discuss any concerns or questions you may have. The following named staff who staff or students can speak to about a concern:
Designated Safeguarding Lead | Mr Stewart Cooke, Vice Principal |
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead | Mrs Kate Wilson, Vice Principal |
Child Protection Officer | Mr Stewart Cooke, Vice Principal |
Designated Safeguarding Governor | Mr David Baker and Ms. Michelle Audis |
In addition to the team above, students can speak to their College Manager or any member of our Student Wellbeing Team. This team of Student Wellbeing Managers deal with safeguarding and child protection issues. If you have any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of your child, or another student, please contact this team.
Online Safety
ICT and technology is part of all our lives and whilst this brings great benefits, there are online dangers. Â鶹ŮÀÉ urges all parents and carers to check the security settings on home devices and monitor internet use to help protect your child online.
E-safety and Cyberbullying
Below are some practical tips to support online safety:
- Children should ideally only add on social media sites people they know and trust in real life.
- Some predatory paedophiles can convincingly pose as another teenager and may spend months or years ‘grooming’ the victim until they meet face to face. Young people must always be accompanied by an adult if meeting an online friend in person.
- Don’t ban children from these sites; they will just use them at friends’ houses or on their phone, personal media player or handheld games console.
- Take an interest and suggest they add you as a friend so you can keep an eye on them when they first join.
- Have the main computer in a communal area of the home where there is passive supervision and be reasonable about time online. Talk if you feel it’s getting out of hand (but remember how many hours you spent watching TV when you were their age – the Internet is at least active, not passive, and they can learn a lot from it).
- If they have a wireless laptop and you want to stop them going online after a quote of an hour is up, unplug the router where the phone line comes into the house.
- If you suspect your child is having a problem, the evidence will be on your computer. If you can print off copies of messages and screenshots of web postings, these will be used to investigate further.
If you have any concerns your child is a victim, or a potential perpetrator, of cyberbullying, contact a member of our pastoral team.
CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre)
Below is the CEOPÂ button. This reporting button is the online equivalent of dialling 999. We educate our students to recognise it and use it, when needed. For more information, visit the .
Useful safeguarding links
We produce information for parents on keeping their child safe and how to contact the team, which can be found on our page – please download the information about keeping students safe.
In addition, please find below some external websites that provide advice and guidance on a range of safety issues:
CEOP Internet Safety
Are you worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online? Make a report to one of CEOP's Child Protection Advisors.
Thinkuknow
Thinkuknow is the education programme from NCA-CEOP, a UK organisation which protects children both online and offline.
Get Safe Online
Advice and help about online safety.
NSPCC
Advice, guidance and support.
Educate Against Hate
Practical advice for parents, carers, and staff on protecting young people from extremism and radicalism.
Childline
What to do if you are bullied online.