Safeguarding Policy

The following areas of the school’s life are all designed with safeguarding our pupils from unmanaged risk.

School Statement

Breckenbrough School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its pupils. We recognise that the special needs diagnosis the boy carry can make them vulnerable in certain situations and that they will need support mechanisms around them to ensure their safety. The following areas are how the school provides the safeguarding element for the pupils. The school works toward meeting the Every Child Matters criteria of ensuring that the pupils are safe and stay safe.

The following statement from Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education DfES 2007 embodies the ethos and direction of Breckenbrough School

“ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and undertaking that role so as to enable those children to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully.”

The various facets of Safeguarding:

• Anti-bullying policies
• Child Protection
• Staff conduct
• Curriculum
• Managing allegations against staff
• Building design
• Safe recruitment and selection
• Whistleblowing
• Health and safety
• Behaviour management
• Attendance
• e-Safety

First Aid Provision

The school has within its staff team people trained as appointed persons and full first aiders This is to ensure that first aid can be administered on a 24 hour basis if required by the pupils or staff team.

The school has first aid kits which are checked and re-stocked on a termly basis in the residential and academic parts of the main building. Separate buildings have there own provision and staff are aware of this.

Administration of first aid will be logged in the correct journal and signed by the member of staff.

If a child has suffered an accident then this must be recorded in the appropriate accident book and the Health and Safety manager informed as well as the child’s parents and/or carers.

An entry will be made onto the child’s health plan on the DFS.

Child Protection

Breckenbrough School has a very robust Child Protection Policy that is read and signed up to by all staff as part of their induction. The policy has been shared with North Yorkshire LCSB who are happy with its objectives and methods of achieving them. The school is aware of the directive of the 1989 Children Act which instructs that the Child’s welfare is paramount above all other considerations at any time.

The policy clearly lays out the duty imposed on all staff to report any suspicion they have of the child being exposed to any form of abuse.

The School’s designated officer for Child Protection is Stuart Edwards the Head of Care who is also responsible for keeping the school up to date with training provision requirements and responding to any governmental changes in policy that effect the Working Together Guidance. The designated officer attends training supplied by the LCSB to ensure he is current with national and local policy requirements in association with “Working Together 2010”.

The school has an excellent working relationship with the local Hambleton and Richmondshire Safeguarding Children Team, who are consulted for advice on procedures and policy updates. All up to date information is taken from http://www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/.

Staff are advised to consult this website for up to date information and advice.

The Curriculum Supporting Safeguarding

The curriculum deals with safeguarding in two ways. Firstly, in the curriculum, Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education, where relevant issues are discussed with the children. Topics include such themes as Drugs, Sex and Relationships and Stranger Danger. Children are encouraged to explore and reflect upon these issues.

Non Attendance of Children at School

Secondly, in the morning the register is taken. The staff team are asked if all boarders are within school and any boys who are unaccounted for, enquiries are made to their parents/carers. If the attendance was a problem the school would seek to support the parents and potentially involve outside agencies.

Visitors to School

All visitors to the school are encouraged by the signage to enter the school via the front door, and, having rung the bell for attention, are permitted entry (door on an entry lock system) by the school secretary. All visitors are obliged to fill in the school visitor book and are issued with a visitor’s badge for the duration of their visit. If the visitor is from a professional agency they are asked for conformation of identification. All visitors are asked to wait in the reception area until the person they have come to see is available. All visitors sign out on leaving.

Partnerships with Parents

The school shares a purpose with parents to educate and keep children safe from harm and to have their welfare promoted. Parents are informed in the School Child Protection Policy which is on the school website of all agencies they can contact if they have any concerns about the welfare of a child.

We are committed to working with parents positively, openly and honestly. We ensure that all parents are treated with respect, dignity and courtesy. We respect parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality and will not share sensitive information unless we have permission or it is necessary to do so in order to protect a child. The school uses a number of opportunities to share information with parents ranging from pupils reviews, parent’s evenings, school functions, holiday reports, end of term news letter and a programme of school home visits by different staff as well as sharing the new ICP and ILSA assessment and progression tools. Staff are encouraged to maintain a good level of contact with parents via phone / e-mail and letters as appropriate.

The Importance of Agency Partnerships

The school recognises the need to work with all agencies that are directly linked to the school or are approached when a specific need arrives for a child. Wherever possible the school will take a proactive role in meeting the needs of a child from a holistic perspective which may involve more than one external agency. The partnerships that have been formed with Social Care and the Police have been beneficial to informing the pupils of the roles of these agencies and the support they can offer. The police in particular have appreciated the school being part of their training resource for interviewing, and working alongside, children with Special Education Needs.

Psychologist’s Role Within the School

The psychologist’s role reflects current models of inclusive and collaborative practise which have evolved to meet pupil’s needs in an education context. It explores and delivers the provisions of appropriate psychological interventions within national professional guidelines and service standards as supported by the Health Professions Council and British Psychological Society. For therapy input to remain effective it must be embedded in everyday activities and situations experienced by the pupil. When school based input is recommended this is then discussed and negotiated with parents/guardians/carers, school staff and other appropriate professionals according to the needs of the child. The model supports a close working relationship with appropriate professionals and the pupil’s eco-system to ensure that the outcome of input carried out in school is shared with parents, either in person, by telephone or by sending written information. The psychologist makes a contribution to statutory work by attending pupil’s annual reviews with the provision of a report for pupils involved in therapy.

The Health and Safety Policy, NMS 26

The school has a health and safety statement. A copy of this statement can be viewed on the DFS.

Any concerns from staff are reported to Mr Clive Goodwin the Health and Safety manager who will meet with the site supervisor and carry out an initial examination, assessing what remedial action needs to take place.

Fire drills take place to practice efficient evacuation from the buildings and the records of these are kept in the school office in the appropriate file. The school conducts an annual Fire Risk Assessment.

There is also a critical incidents plan that details what staff and parents should do in the case of emergencies.

Risk Assessment are undertaken for activities, visits and trips. The school is supported in all matters of Health and Safety by D E Ford Ltd our retained advisors.

Safety of the Site, NMS STD 26

The school maintenance officer is responsible for managing all on site repairs.. In his absence in term time the position is covered to ensure a quick response to physical repairs across the premises.

All visitors have to report to the reception through the school front door and sign in. They are met at this point by the member of staff they are due to meet.

There is a procedure for informing the school of staff leaving the building with or without children and the destination and duration of the trip. Risk assessments are always completed for any event involving the children.

If a child is reported missing from school or trip NMS 8 procedures will be followed but we prefer not to wait three hours before taking action to ensure one of the pupils is safe. We will always talk to the Childs parents/carers to promote a quick link to the child.

Safe Recruitment and Selection

The school pays full regard to current DCSF guidance ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education’ Jan 2007.

We ensure that all appropriate measures are applied in relation to everyone who works in the school who is likely to be perceived by the children as a safe and trustworthy adult including, for example, volunteers and staff employed by contractors.

Safer recruitment practice includes scrutinising applicants, verifying identity and academic or vocational qualifications, obtaining professional references, checking previous employment history and ensuring that a candidate has the health and physical capacity for the job. It also includes undertaking interviews and, where appropriate, undertaking List 99 and Criminal Records Bureau checks.

In line with statutory changes, underpinned by regulations, the following will apply:

• A CRB Enhanced Disclosure is obtained for all new appointments to our school’s workforce through staffing personnel and payroll.
• This school is committed to keep an up to date single central record detailing a range of checks carried out on our staff.
• All new appointments to our school workforce who have lived outside the UK will be subject to additional checks as appropriate.
• Our school ensures that supply staff have undergone the necessary checks and will be made aware of this policy.
• Identity checks must be carried out on all appointments to our school workforce before the appointment is made.

Computer / Internet Safety

The school currently addresses the use of computers and internet safety using the following methods.

AUP – Acceptable use policy

All users of the schools computers are required to select ‘accept’ on the AUP screen upon successful logon. If the user selects otherwise, they are immediately logged off and unable to use the computer.

Bloxx – Internet Access / Monitoring

The school’s internet is passed through a separate, purpose-built purchased appliance / proxy filter, which is controlled by the schools IT manager on-site through a management console.

A separate network/domain policy forces internet browsers to use the IP Address of the ‘Bloxx Appliance’.

In addition to this, the ability to change the settings is also protected and monitored using additional security and monitoring software.

There are two group policies namely ‘Pupils’ and ‘Staff’ each configured with appropriate accessibility settings that allow or block access to a wide and adjustable variety of categories and websites.

As the school is also a residential environment, the Bloxx appliance provides the ability to relax certain criteria/categories during leisure times and break times, whilst providing the same level of protection and monitoring.

Securus – On screen violation/word/phrase monitoring

In addition to monitoring access to network resources and internet access, the school also uses an onscreen monitoring application called ‘Securus’. This is an installed service that records the screen by taking a snap shot upon reading set and adaptable violations such as common phrases, words and slang language either typed by the user or present on the screen, such as social websites, email and Internet websites and personal correspondence.

This is particularly effective for monitoring cyber bullying due to the flexibility, effectiveness and speed of the service.

Ranger – Network / computer resources protection and monitoring

Ranger for networks is used to monitor and protect access to resources such as data and information, local computer drives and settings and USB drives, in addition to allowing set and unchangeable logon environments.

Ranger also takes screen shots on given security/access violations, which is particularly useful for recording hacking attempts and access to restricted areas by unauthorised users.

CEOP – Ambassador

The schools IT manager has attended all CEOP training and is a qualified ambassador. This allows the ability to train both staff and pupils on safe use and protection of children and adults whilst using the Internet.

Safeguarding from the Child’s Perspective

The children are aware that Breckenbrough School has a system of reporting and dealing with all matters that are related to child protection. The children are made aware that they can talk to any member of the staff team in any department to meet any need they have.

In the pupil’s admission pack advice is sought from parents and carers as to the level of stranger danger they feel the child has which is factored into risk assessments.

Children are informed as to which areas of the school grounds they are allowed to use which ensures that staff have sight of them.

The school informs the pupils of a number of resources for them to access e.g. Childline, the Independent Listener (to be appointed September 2010).

As part of the school mentoring provision the pupils fill in an anti bullying form, the purpose of which is to identify if they themselves are participating in bullying, or are the recipient of it.

Using Photographs of Pupils

The school always seeks permission for any pupil’s photo to be used on any material. This includes putting any photo on the internet via the school website. The school provides annual photos for parents .

Whistleblowing

Any member of staff or visitor to the school who has concerns about people working with children and their suitability, whether they work in a paid or unpaid capacity has a responsibility to follow the LSCB Managing Allegations Against People who work with Children Procedures.

The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) who is Karen Lewis (01609-534200), who should be contacted and informed of the concerns.

All concerns reported will be appropriately recorded and information treated according to the school confidentiality policy.

For any complaints about the Head Teacher the Chair of Governors should be contacted directly.

After Care Provision

The school has a separate charity whose role it is to supply a nominated After Care Officer. This person is the first point of contact for any old boys of any age.

The After Care Officer is proactive in talking to old boys and targeting specific ex pupils that have been identified as requiring additional support to ensure they have a smooth transition into college/working environments.

The After Care Officer reports to the allocated committee which feeds into the termly board meeting. This role supports the safeguarding of all ex pupils as it can be an early identification of the need for a multi agency meeting to assist an ex pupil.

Last updated: 1^st November 2011