My name is Ben Burpitt and I am the Designated Safeguarding Lead at North Mead Primary Academy.
My role is to ensure the welfare and safety of all children who attend North Mead Primary Academy. We believe that pupils have a right to learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment which includes the right to protection from all types of abuse; where staff are vigilant for signs of any pupil in distress and are confident about applying our safeguarding processes to avert and alleviate any such problems. Through regular training, all staff are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to safeguard pupils from all forms of abuse.
Sometimes, we may need to share information and work in partnership with other professionals when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that concerns about our pupils are discussed with his/her parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare. If a member of staff is concerned about a child’s welfare, they will record their concern, and any observations or conversations, and report to one of the DSLs as soon as possible.

If you are ever concerned about the safety or well‐being of someone at our academy, please talk to myself or one of my Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads immediately.

Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. Whilst you are visiting North Mead Primary Academy, if you are worried that a child or young person is being abused or neglected you MUST report your concerns. If you overhear or see anything that concerns you, please ask to speak to a member of the safeguarding team.

The school ensures children learn in a safe, caring and enriching environment. Children are taught how to keep themselves safe, to develop positive and healthy relationships, how to avoid situations where they might be at risk including by being exploited.

The school has a statutory responsibility to share any concerns it might have about a child in need of protection with other agencies and in particular police, health and children’s services. Schools are not able to investigate concerns but have a legal duty to refer them. In most instances, the school will be able to inform the parents/carer of its need to make a referral. However, sometimes the school is advised by Children’s Social Care or police that the parent/carer cannot be informed whilst they investigate the matter. We understand the anxiety parents/carers understandably feel when they are not told about any concerns from the outset. The school follows legislation that aims to act in the interests of the child.

North Mead Primary Academy outside of school hours, please call Social Care on 0116 4541004 or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. Concerns can also be sent to school via our email address [email protected] This email will be sent to all safeguarding leads at the school and will be monitored throughout the year.

TMET Safeguarding and Child Protection Polciy

PREVENT’ is short for ‘Preventing Violent Extremism’. The overall aim of Prevent is to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism by raising awareness of the

The Prevent strategy

is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It:

responds to the ideological challenge we face from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat we face from those who promote these views
provides practical help to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support
works with a wide range of sectors (including education, criminal justice, faith, charities, online and health)

What is radicalisation?

It is when a person starts to support terrorism or forms of extremism that leads to terrorism.

Spotting the signs of radicalisation

  • isolating themselves from family and friends.
  • talking as if from a scripted speech.
  • unwillingness or inability to discuss their views.
  • a sudden disrespectful attitude towards others.
  • increased levels of anger.
  • increased secretiveness, especially around internet use.

What to do if you have a concern

https://educateagainsthate.com/

http://www.ltai.info/

https://www.commonsense.org/education/uk/digital-citizenship/lesson/my-social-media-life

Online Safety Policy (awaiting link)

E-safety is an integral part of children’s education in today’s digital world and is embedded in their learning at school. We also want to help our parents and children improve their own understanding of e-safety issues so they can learn to use the internet and all digital media in a safe and secure way.

At Home

As a parent you’ll know how important the internet is to children – they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It’s a highly creative place of amazing opportunities. But the technology children use every day can seem a bit daunting and you might worry about the risks your child can face online – such as bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content.

e-safety-parent-checklist (awaiting link)

The above checklist may help you start to protect your children online and decrease the risks they face. Or you can engage with your children regarding their use of the internet while at home. Here are some conversation starter ideas:

  • Ask your children to tell you about the sites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
  • Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is OK and not OK to share?
  • Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
  • Encourage them to help. Perhaps they can show you how to do something better online or they might have a friend who would benefit from their help and support.
  • Think about how you use the internet as a family. What could you do to get more out of the internet together and further enjoy your lives online

At School

As part of your child’s curriculum and the development of Computing skills, we provide access to the internet only in teacher supervised sessions. We strongly believe that the use of the web and email is hugely worthwhile and an essential tool for children as they grow up in the modern world. But because there are always concerns about children having access to undesirable materials, we have taken positive steps to deal with this risk in school. Our school internet access provider operates a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate materials. We also have monitoring software, which monitors the sites that children go on, as well as the content that children are searching for and writing about. This is checked regularly to ensure that the safety of the children is increased.

Domestic Violence Concerns?

UAVA

UAVA Ltd stands for United Against Violence and Abuse. We are a consortium of three local specialist providers of domestic abuse and sexual violence services:

Women’s Aid Leicestershire Ltd, FreeVA and Living Without Abuse.

If you need our support call our helpline on 0808 80 200 28

https://www.uava.org.uk/

Bright Sky

Bright Sky is a safe, easy to use app and website that provides practical support and information on how to respond to domestic abuse. It is for anyone experiencing domestic abuse, or who is worried about someone else.

Bright Sky app | Hestia

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a police and education early information sharing partnership enabling schools to offer immediate support for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse. Information is shared by the police with a school’s trained Key Adult (DSL) prior to the start of the next school day after officers have attended a domestic abuse incident thus enabling appropriate support to be given, dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child.

Children experiencing domestic abuse are negatively impacted by this exposure; domestic abuse has been identified as an Adverse Childhood Experience and can lead to emotional, physical and psychological harm. Operation Encompass aims to mitigate this harm by enabling immediate support, making a child’s day better and giving them a better tomorrow.

Operation Encompass directly connects the police with schools to secure better outcomes for children who are subject or witness to police-attended incidents of domestic abuse. Rapid provision of support within the school environment means children are better safeguarded against the short-, medium- and long-term effects of domestic abuse.

Please click below for further details on Operation Encompass:
Operation Encompass Process for Schools
Operation Encompass TMET Sept 2022
Operation Encompass DV Helpline

Mental Health and Wellbeing Support

MHST

At North Mead, we work with the NHS Mental Health Support Team.  We are able to refer children for early intervention and support for issues such as mild to moderate anxiety, to prevent these conditions from getting worse and having an impact on children’s wellbeing and learning.

Click below for more information about Mental Health Support Teams in schools:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rBmYzGf30o

Contact Mrs Hurst (Family Support worker) or Mrs Buxton (SEND Co) to find out more:

[email protected]

[email protected]

CAMHS

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are services that support young people with their mental health.

https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/service/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services-camhs

https://www.youngminds.org.uk

Child Sexual Exploitation information for Parents & Carers
FGM Leaflet

A privately fostered child is a child under 16 (or 18 if disabled) who is cared for by an adult who is not a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, stepparent (including civil partnerships), sister or brother where the child is to be cared for in that person’s home for 28 days or more.

A child who is Looked After or placed in any residential home, hospital, or school (where they are receiving full-time education) is excluded from the definition. In a private fostering arrangement, the parent retains Parental Responsibility.

It is a legal duty for parents or the private foster carer to notify the local authority whenever a child is not living with a close relative.

This should be done six weeks before the arrangement takes place or immediately if it is unplanned or has already happening. This is so the local authority can work with private foster carers to keep children safe and support anyone who is privately fostering.

https://www.leicester.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/adoption-and-fostering/private-fostering/

CLEVER NEVER GOES is the new campaign that teaches children how to stay safe from abduction whether they are outside or online.

It’s the modern, child-friendly alternative to the out-dated and fundamentally flawed ‘Stranger Danger’ message. Rather than fearing the worst in everyone they don’t know, Clever Never Goes helps children to recognise specific situations that are unsafe and gives them the tools to respond.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W41WIxo3dzo

For further information, click here:

https://clevernevergoes.org/

What is Early Help?

‘Early Help’ means providing help for children, young people and families as soon as concerns start to emerge or where it is likely that issues will impact negatively on children’s outcomes. Early help:

  • is for children of all ages and not just the very young
  • can be very effective in supporting a child, young person and/or their family to step down from statutory services as well as preventing the escalation of issues.
  • is important because there is clear evidence that it results in better outcomes for children.

Day to Day Support

Most families, most of the time, can get on with their lives quite happily with little or no outside help. If they need help it is usually provided by universal services, such as schools.

Focused Pastoral Support

All families can have times, when difficulties arise, and they either may not recognise it or may not know how to start putting things right. Schools play a role in supporting families to address these difficulties through more focused pastoral support, which might include bringing in support via an external agency.

Early Help Assessment

For those children and families whose needs and circumstances make them more vulnerable, or where schools need the support of other agencies to meet the needs of the family, a co-ordinated multi-agency approach is usually best. In Leicester this is achieved through undertaking an Early Help Assessment and assigning a Lead Practitioner to work closely with the family to ensure they receive the support they require. North Mead Primary Academy is a key partner in any multi-agency work to support families.

Please click on the link below for more information about our Early Help offer at North Mead Primary Academy:

North Mead Primary Academy Early Help Offer 2021/22