Wilnecote Warbler April 2017 Issue 1

Safeguarding Children at
The Wilnecote School
At The Wilnecote School we of course recognise that our primary aim is to help our students
achieve to the very best of their ability. However, unfortunately for some students, circumstances
which are often outside of school can affect their health and happiness, making it increasingly
difficult for them to gain the most from their school experience. In rare cases, students may be
considered to be at risk of serious harm and on these occasions the school is obliged to intervene.
Our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, which is available to download from our website,
outlines our aims of providing a safe, secure environment for our students and of ensuring our
students know that there are adults in the school who are there to help them if they are worried
about their safety or the safety of others.
In order to meet these aims we have a number of staff who are Designated Safeguarding Leads.
These are the key members of staff who students, parents, other staff members or anyone in the
community can turn to if they have a safeguarding concern about any student in our care. Each of
these individuals have received full training on how to deal with Child Protection concerns and will
liaise closely with the student and whenever possible, their families, to deal with emerging issues
sensitively and confidentially.
Sometimes it is necessary to refer a case to Children and Family Services, if we feel that a student
is at risk of serious harm. On these rare occasions, we follow Staffordshire’s Local Authority
guidelines on how to make a referral. This process is outlined in more detail on the Staffordshire
Safeguarding Children’s Board website at www.staffsscb.org.uk. Throughout the entire process
we work closely with the student, their family and the Children’s Services Team to help resolve the
issues of concern.
It is our aim to communicate fully with anyone who raises a safeguarding concern and ideally both
parties will be in agreement about the best way to proceed. However, on occasion, a person
referring a concern may disagree with the way we have handled the situation. In these
circumstances the following conflict resolution procedure should be followed:
1. Contact the member of safeguarding staff concerned to see if a resolution can be
reached.
2. If still unhappy, contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Miss Howell, to discuss y o u r
concerns. If the initial disagreement was with the Designated Safeguarding Lead, or if
the situation is not resolved after discussion with the Designated Safeguarding Lead,
contact the Headteacher, Mr Tonks, to raise your concerns.
3. In the event of unresolved conflict, Children’s Services should be alerted and a referral
can be made to them directly. They will in turn investigate the concerns with the school
directly. Staffordshire County Council’s First Response Servce can be contacted on
0800 13 13 126. Lines are open Monday – Thursday 8.30 – 5pm and on Friday 8.30 – 4.30pm.
Their emergency out of hours number is 0345 604 2886 or alternatively they can be
emailed at firstr@staffordshire.gov.uk Please note that if you believe a child or young
person is at immediate risk of harm, do not delay – dial 999 to contact the Police.
My hope is that through excellent communication and by working together we will always be able
to rapidly resolve any potential safeguarding issue that may arise, in order that every student can
feel safe and happy, better enabling them to focus on enjoying life and achieving.
Miss Howell – Deputy Headteacher
Meet our Designated Safeguarding Team
Miss Howell
Deputy Headteacher
Designated
Safeguarding
Lead
Mr Hargreaves
Inclusion Manager
Deputy Designated
Safeguarding Lead
Mrs Taylor
Student Support
Co-ordinator
Deputy Designated
member of staff for
Safeguarding