Our culture of care and positive relationships provide students with the confidence and independence they need to succeed both inside and outside school. We are also committed to ensuring that our students are positive leaders, strong problem-solvers and develop the life-skills required to prepare them for life after school
Main duties and responsibilities
Managing referrals
Provide support to our students and manage safeguarding concerns and disclosures
Refer cases of suspected abuse to the local authority children’s social care
Support staff who make referrals to local authority children’s social care
In liaison with the DSL, refer cases to the Channel programme where there is a radicalisation concern
Refer cases where a crime may have been committed to the police
Make appropriate referrals to other agencies to support children and families
Keep detailed, accurate and secure written records of concerns and referrals
Be aware of the relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation.
Understand the importance of information sharing, both within the school and college, and with the three safeguarding partners, other agencies, organisations and practitioners
Working with staff and other agencies
Ensure staff can access and understand the school’s child protection and safeguarding policy and procedures (especially new and part time staff)
Inform the DSL of safeguarding issues, especially ongoing enquiries into whether a child is at risk of harm, and police investigations
Liaise with staff on matters of safety, safeguarding, and when deciding whether to make a referral
Act as a source of support, advice and expertise for staff
Understand the assessment process for providing early help and intervention and act as lead practitioner on allocated cases
Have a working knowledge of how local authorities conduct a child protection case conference and a child protection review conference
Attend and contribute to child protection case conferences effectively when required to do so
Training
Undergo training to develop and maintain the knowledge and skills required to carry out the role Undergo Prevent training and support the school in meeting the requirements of the Prevent duty.
Provide advice and support to staff on protecting children from the risk of radicalisation
Undergo training on female genital mutilation (FGM) and be able to provide advice and support to staff on protecting and identifying children at risk of FGM
Report known cases of FGM to the police, and help others to do so
Refresh knowledge and skills at least annually so remain up to date with any developments relevant to the role
Obtain access to relevant resources
Staff
Support the training, induction and development of colleagues within the remit of safeguarding
Raise awareness
Ensure the school’s child protection policies are known, understood and used appropriately
Ensure the safeguarding policy is available and easily accessible to everyone in the school community
Ensure staff are able to access and are confident in recording concerns on CPOMS
Ensure that parents are aware of the safeguarding policy, and are aware that referrals about suspected abuse or neglect may be made, and the role of the school in this
Link with the local safeguarding children board to make sure staff are aware of training opportunities and the latest local policies on safeguarding
Be alert to the specific needs of children in need, those with special educational needs and young carers
Help promote educational outcomes by sharing the information about the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children, including children with a social worker, are experiencing, or have experienced, with teachers and school leadership staff. Support culture of high aspirations for this cohort; supporting teaching staff to identify the challenges that children in this group might face and the additional academic support and adjustments that they could make to best support these children.
Encourage a culture of listening to children among all staff, ensuring that children’s feelings are heard where the school puts measures in place to protect them
Understand the unique risks associated with online safety and ensure they have the relevant knowledge and up to date capability required to keep children safe whilst they are online at school
Other areas of responsibility
Where students leave the school, securely transfer their child protection files to their new school as soon as possible, and within 5 working days, separately from the main pupil file
Where children join the school, request the child’s safeguarding file and ensure the file is transferred in a timely manner
Review safeguarding files when students join the school
Contribute to the safeguarding reports for the governing board
Model best practice and uphold the principles of confidentiality and data protection at all times
Ensure a current knowledge of, and provide information to parents about, the relevant local services available to parents, children and families, including those provided by education, social care, youth justice, childcare providers, the voluntary sector and others.
To support school policy as appropriate, in particular relating to child protection, behaviour, confidentiality and health and safety issue
These duties and responsibilities should be regarded as neither exhaustive nor exclusive as the post holder may be required to undertake other reasonably determined duties and responsibilities across other subject areas within the school that are commensurate with the grading of the post .
The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment.
