Safeguarding
Our Commitment
Under the Children’s Act 1989, St James the Great Academy has a general duty to safeguard and promote the well-being of children in their care. The care and needs of each individual child are of paramount concern and the staff at the academy will work to protect the children in our care should the need be apparent. The Academy shares, with everyone in education, an objective to help keep children and young people safe by contributing to:
Providing a safe environment for children and young people to learn
Identifying children and young people who are suffering or likely to suffer harm and taking appropriate action with the aim of making them safe
The Academy recognises that staff are uniquely placed to have a positive role in child protection. As responsible adults outside pupils’ homes, they are in a position to observe children on a daily basis and therefore spot physical or emotional signs that might indicate they are being abused. Close interaction can also make staff vulnerable to allegations being made against them. Such allegations may be unfounded and be either deliberate or innocent of such intent. Regrettably, on occasions, staff do commit acts of abuse or ill-treatment. However, whatever the basis of an allegation, once made there can follow a period of great difficulty and stress for the young person concerned, the staff member and for those ‘managing’ the situation, including Principals and senior staff.
While such difficulties cannot always be avoided, the Academy is committed to mitigating the effects on all children, young people and adults concerned. To achieve this objective the Academy has systems to:
Prevent unsuitable people working with children and young people, through safe recruitment practices;
Promote safe practice and challenge poor and unsafe practice, through its ethos, policies, practice and training;
Identify instances in which there are grounds for concern and take appropriate action, using appropriate policies, procedures and systems;
Contribute to effective partnership working between all those involved in providing services for children and young people.
Designated Safeguarding Leads
A senior member of staff (a member of the leadership team) is nominated to have specific responsibility within the Academy for child protection matters, specifically:
Taking lead responsibility for dealing with child protection issues
Providing advice and support to other staff
Liaising with the local authority and working with other agencies
Providing support for individual children
It may be appropriate for another senior employee to be named as deputy designated person. The Designated person need not be a teacher but must have sufficient knowledge and skills, and status and authority within the Academy, to carry out the role.
Should you have any concerns about an issue of child safety please make an appointment to discuss the matter with either member of staff on 01732 841912..
Everyone who works with our children should be aware that their role is to listen and note carefully any observations that may indicate abuse.
They should not attempt to investigate once a concern is raised.
They should inform a member of the DSL team immediately.
If a DSL is not present then the information must be passed on to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Disclosures may be made at any time to any member of staff.
Lorraine Palache
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Miss T Springett
PrincipalDeputy
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs R Fannon
SENDCO
Deputy
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs J Wellard
Inclusion Manager
Deputy
Designated Safeguarding Lead
IN THE CASE OF AN ALLEGATION RELATING TO A STAFF MEMBER THE HEAD TEACHER IS GENERALLY THE KEY CONTACT, RATHER THAN A DSL.
IF A CHILD PROTECTION CONCERN IS RAISED ABOUT A HEADTEACHER THEN PLEASE CONTACT the Regional Edcuation Director- David Atter (datter@academiesenterprisetrust.org)
St James the Great we have a designated wellbeing team to look after the wellbeing of all pupils. We support pupils across a number of areas, empowering children and young people to be safe, active, healthy and resilient individuals.
As a school, we take mental health and wellbeing very seriously. We are committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff.
Talk PANTS (The underwear rule) with Pantosaurus I work with children to explore their feelings, nurture their positive emotions and enable them to face new opportunities confidently. All of this allows children to develop a full spectrum of positive human qualities and emotions so the child has inner peace, security, and wisdom. The level and type of support a child receives vary, depending on their needs and children may be supported on their journey in a group or 1-1.
Most children want to feel peace, love, and happiness but dealing with everyday activities or challenges can create a barrier to children feeling content. Over-stimulation is a part of a child's everyday life in these times, social media and the need to be constantly busy only add to the stresses of life. Common everyday stresses are individual to the child and family, such as having no -one to play with at playtime, finding reading hard, a death in the family or the separation of parents. Factors such as these add stress to the child; stress feels the same whether a worry is big or small. I work with children to navigate and learn strategies to cope with these stresses.
Useful Information
KCSIE 2023.pdfKCSIE 2023 Part 1.pdf