Safeguarding

Will any adults besides the instructor/teachers be present at the venue while my child is there? If so, will they be there on a regular basis?

Whether students are in school or out of school at an event they will always be accompanied by a member of school staff (teachers, Teaching Assistants, Support staff).

What training have staff had? Did this include safer working practices, e.g lone working contacting children, use of phones?

Regular INSET and continuous professional development courses are taken by staff at regular points in a year, to ensure that they are receiving the most up to date information regarding safeguarding, mental health awareness, fire safety and many more courses, entirely centred around working with children.

May I have a copy of your child protection policy?

A copy of our child protection policy is available on our school website.

Who is your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and what training have they had? How recent was this training?

DSL is Susan Harrison, Deputy DSL's are Pippa Goddard & Lisa Burrows. Michelle Colledge-Smith is also DSL trained. All of these staff have completed the DSL Designated Safeguarding Lead Training -Advanced, which is refreshed every 2 years and provided by the Local Authority.

My child has Special Educational Needs and / or a disability (SEND). What steps will you take to accommodate this?

If your child already has identified SEN then we will be in discussions with your child's primary school gathering information and putting plans in place to enable us to best support your child and their needs. This information will then be shared with teaching staff to ensure they are aware and are differentiating work as appropriate and using any teaching strategies required. Resources available at the academy will be allocated to match individual needs. Regular discussions with students, parents/carers, Learning Managers (Head of Year) and teaching staff enable us to allocate provisions which are constantly monitored through the use of a provision map to ensure they are effective.

If your child has an EHCP, school will also hold an annual review. Parents will be invited to this meeting along with any external agencies working with the child - speech and language for example. During this review, progress will be discussed and parents and students have the opportunity to contribute to the review. The information gathered will help form your child's One Page Profile which is circulated to staff to ensure they are aware of students needs and updated termy. Support from the Academy takes into account the individual needs of every child. There are a number of ways we may support your child if deemed appropriate. These may include some of the following: Reading intervention, Mentoring TA support (for pupils with a statement/EHCP) Small group work for example - Social Skills, Anger management , or Lego Therapy. If you have any concerns regarding your child you can contact our Inclusion Coordinator - Miss Pippa Goddard or SENCo Mr Nabil Alyas directly who will be able to answer any of your questions.

My child needs help with: using the toilet; changing; feeding; their medication, etc. How will these personal care needs be addressed?

All staff in school are DBS checked and key staff are trained in how to safely manage medicine within school. We have policies and procedures in place to support students who may need additional help with personal care or taking their medication. An Individual Health Care Plan (IHCP) will be written with information gathered from parents, primary schools and any external professionals involved (Occupational therapy, Physio etc) to ensure that an effective support system is in place for these students and that their needs are being met. This is reviewed regularly and parents will be asked to come in to discuss any changes in needs or medication before signing the reviewed plan. Teaching staff are made aware of any students who may need additional time out of class to take medication or use the toilet and these students are also issued with a pass to enable them to leave class when required without question. If you have any concerns regarding support with personal care for your child you can contact our Inclusion Coordinator - Miss Pippa Goddard.

How are you securely storing the information you hold on my child? Who has access to it and are you giving it to anyone else?

Student information is saved on a secure school database, and access levels are protected by different levels of permissions so that only staff who need to see certain information can do so. We do not share student information unless we have parent/carers and the young persons permission to do so or are legally obliged to.

Is my child allowed to access the internet unsupervised?

No, students are not allowed to used school computers without a member of staff supervising.

Do you have filtering and monitoring systems in place? What are they?

Outwood Grange Academies Trust policy on internet use means many sites are blocked because they are deemed as containing unsuitable content whilst on school premises. If a student visited or tried to visit a site that is not permitted, the ICT department in school would detect that instantly. Susan Harrison Vice Principal, will be notified by the ICT technicians if students have tried to access something they should not. Mrs Harrison would then deal with the issue that she has been alerted to.

Do you have an up to date code of conduct for staff?

Outwood Grange Academies Trust provides all of its schools with an up to date code of conduct for staff. Staff have access and can review this code of conduct whenever they wish to.