Safeguarding in schools and colleges: best practice in Devon

Transcription

1 Safeguarding in schools and colleges: best practice in Devon This report reviews the features and some of the examples of best practice an in safeguarding in Devon schools and colleges. This is based upon Ofsted inspection reports of all maintained primary, secondary, special schools, PRUs and Academies in Devon inspected between 2 March 2010 and 1 December 2011 where safeguarding has been judged good or outstanding. It also draws upon a more detailed analysis of safeguarding practice in a small sample of schools judged to have outstanding practice. It provides guidance on what schools need to put in place to move from satisfactory to good or outstanding and the likely focus of inspection activity with regard to safeguarding under the new Ofsted inspection framework, January This report should be read in conjunction with Safeguarding in Schools: best practice, Ofsted September 2011, reference number: Further information, updates and examples of good practice can be found in: The half-termly LDP Safeguarding Newsletter The LDP website ( The South West Child Protection procedures ( The Devon Safeguarding Children Board ( The LDP Safeguarding & Child Protection Handbook If you have more examples of good practice please Beverley.dubash@babcock.co.uk or Jane.lake@babcock.co.uk for inclusion in future editions of the Safeguarding Newsletter

2 Contents Introduction 4 The Devon picture 5 Key features of outstanding practice in Devon 6 Ethos 7 Leadership and management of safeguarding 8 Recruitment and the Single Central Record 13 Safeguarding Training 15 School site safety 18 Health and safety 19 Promoting safeguarding through teaching and learning 20 Other examples of good practice 23 Appendix 1 24 Acknowledgements 26 Key to Symbols A Attendance B Behaviour AB Anti-Bullying S Staff G Governors R Record Keeping P Policies CYP Children & Young People L&M Leadership & Management V Visitors H Healthcheck

3 Introduction 1. Ofsted acknowledges, in its report Safeguarding in schools; best practice (September 2011) that improvements in safeguarding have been rapid and widespread in recent years and nearly all schools now give appropriately high priority to getting their safeguarding procedures right. 2. The report emphasises the importance of safeguarding and confirms that it remains high on Ofsted s agenda. It makes the valid point that there is no reason why good practice in safeguarding cannot be a feature of every school and draws attention to essential features of the best practice: It is not seen as a burden but as a reasonable and essential part of the fabric of the school It pays attention to the meticulous and systematic implementation of policies and routines It involves every member of the school community in some way It has a sharp eye on the particular circumstances and needs of all pupils, especially the most vulnerable 3. Ofsted has adopted the definition of safeguarding used in the Children Act 2004 and the guidance document Working Together to Safeguard Children. Governing bodies of maintained schools and local authorities must comply with the Education Act 2002 (section 175) whilst Academies must comply with section 157 and have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State. 4. The current guidance is Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in education and this requires schools to: provide a safe environment and protect any children or young people who are at risk of significant harm prevent unsuitable people from working with children and young people promote safe practice and challenge unsafe practice ensure staff receive the necessary training for their roles work in partnership with other agencies providing services for children and young people The local authority is required to: provide model policies and procedures on all aspects of safeguarding ensure that schools are aware of, and comply with, their responsibilities As part of this, advice and training for schools staff and governors is available from the Devon Learning & Development Partnership. 5. The new Ofsted evaluation schedule for the inspection of maintained schools and academies, January 2012, places safeguarding within the Quality of Leadership in,

4 and management of, the school judgement criteria. The inspectors are advised to focus on: The management of safeguarding arrangements to ensure that there is safe recruitment and all pupils are safe, including for example, the effective identification of children in need or at risk of significant harm, including: - maintaining the single central record and appropriate arrangements for child protection - the rigour with which absence is followed up - how well safe practices and a culture of safety are promoted through the curriculum 6. Indications from the update training for inspectors under the new framework suggest that inspectors should focus on: A walk of the school site to ensure it is secure Scrutiny of pupil and parent questionnaires and interviews with children Scrutiny of the Single Central Record Only if concerns arise from the questionnaires or interviews with children will inspectors want to look at policies, procedures and individual child protection files The Devon picture 7. The trend in Devon since 2009 is improving with the effectiveness of Safeguarding procedures judged to be good or outstanding as follows: Primary Secondary Special PRU Autumn 2009 Spring 84% 77.8% 33% 100% 2010 Summer % 81.8% 100% 100% Summer 2011 Autumn % 100% 100% 100% 8. In the two primary schools where safeguarding arrangements were judged inadequate, the weaknesses identified included: Safeguarding procedures were disorganised Systems to ensure that all pupils were kept safe were inadequate (including the Single Central Record) Attendance was not monitored regularly Inadequate leadership and management Procedures and practices failed to comply with statutory requirements Paperwork did not contain all the information it should

5 9. One of these schools, when re-inspected, achieved an outstanding for its safeguarding arrangements. In the interim it had received the advice and support of the Learning & Development Partnership s Education Safeguarding Officer. The following comments were made in the inspection report: The school has excellent quality assurance and safeguarding systems in place that comply with government requirements and these are very carefully implemented and reviewed regularly The school is rigorous in the monitoring of pupils attendance and does all that it can to ensure pupils attend school regularly All staff are appropriately trained and kept regularly up to date in safeguarding pupils and are vigilant in the keeping of records Governors deploy their skills and abilities to good effect and are rigorous in ensuring all pupils and staff are safe Key features of outstanding practice in Devon 10. Common themes emerge from the Ofsted reports on those schools which are judged to have outstanding safeguarding arrangements. Below is a summary of the key features of outstanding practice found in Devon schools: Safeguarding is clearly a priority, with outstanding care, guidance and support throughout the school and a proactive approach from senior leaders An effective Governing Body which ensures that safeguarding procedures are robust through in-depth and first-hand knowledge Policies are rigorously applied, regularly reviewed and updated if necessary Outstanding procedures understood by parents and pupils, with examples of how procedures have kept pupils safe Effective training which is regularly updated and often exceeds the basic level required, with staff kept well informed Excellent documentation (including the Single Central Record) with records retained meticulously Identity of visitors is checked with constant vigilance on the part of adults to site security Staff have a detailed and in-depth knowledge of individual pupils Thorough and detailed risk assessments are in evidence, with prompt reactions to any identified concerns

6 Extension of safeguarding policies to include ensuring the safety of pupils on the journey to and from school Pupils demonstrate an understanding of how to keep themselves safe Rigorous monitoring of pupil absence to ensure that pupils attend regularly Good links with outside agencies Ethos B S A R 11. In outstanding schools safeguarding permeates everything those schools do; everyone has a part to play and everyone understands what that part is. Lines of communication and accountability are clear as is the monitoring of safeguarding arrangements. Staffing structures are clear and designed so that responsibility for all different aspects of safeguarding is defined and transparent. An ethos and culture is established where everyone is encouraged to be open about any concerns or issues they may have. At Ide Primary School all meetings, including staff meetings and support staff meetings, commence with a pastoral care section, during which staff are encouraged to discuss children and families and share any concerns they may have. It does not replace the formal procedure for logging and reporting child protection concerns but contributes to the culture and ethos of being open and sharing information. This enables the views and observations of all who come into contact with children and families to be shared and where concerns are raised, action taken. 12. Safeguarding should be apparent throughout the whole school, not only for the staff but also pupils and their parents/carers. It should be visual. For example one Devon college provides safe spaces that are clearly visible; young people know that they can use these as a safe haven, or to talk to someone if necessary. Childline, Thinkuknow and other age-appropriate posters are and effective means of ensuring pupils have a number of ways to access advice and support. Culmstock Primary School started by changing behaviour in the school, as it is their belief system that children will behave if you can find out what is creating a barrier to stop them. They recognise that sometimes it is school based and at other times it is a problem outside of the school s control. These are harder to help to put right, but they acknowledge them and work towards an improved outcome for the children and their families. At Culmstock they talk a lot about how they want the school to be and how all of the school community think they should all behave towards each other. Rules or expected behaviours for each class are agreed at the start of each year and all the children sign these to show they agree. The staff tell all the children this is as much their job as teaching them to read and write. Because of this the school find if agreements are

7 broken the children will talk honestly because there is trust; this has opened a lot of doors for children and parents. Behaviour at this school is now outstanding, or rather the children behave well and the school deals with poor behaviour through an agreed set of protocols in partnership with the children and their parents. The school has zero tolerance for what they call bullying behaviours; the children know this as do the parents. If it comes up the staff consult all involved and deal with it as quickly as they can. It is logged and referred back to if needed. The school follows up all absences and will record them as unauthorised if they do not think there is a good reason for absence. If a child is absent for periods or a few days here and there the school also follows this up and have discussions with parents, offer support or move towards using the EWO, depending on the parent and situation. The safeguarding folder includes; safeguarding statement, linked policies, all staff and governor training records, audits and action plans, important phone numbers and more. All staff have small versions of the pertinent information in their rooms. They routinely go to the Head Teacher with concerns, already written up and ask what she is going to do. They do not rely on the Head Teacher just to read the information and keep it to herself. They do not ask for details but expect to be told their concerns have been followed up and what the next steps are for the child. The Leadership and management of safeguarding G H P R CYP S AB 13. In outstanding schools, pupils safeguarding is central to all that the schools do. These schools often go above and beyond the statutory requirements and they do not regard this as a burden. Every member of the school community is involved in some way. Staff, pupils, governors and other professionals and volunteers are clear about what is expected of them and the contribution that they make to safeguarding procedures. At Ide Primary School governors are clear about their responsibilities for safeguarding. The all receive annual awareness raising training and safeguarding is a standing item on every full governing body agenda. The governors monitor the school s safeguarding action plan at each of its meetings which is compiled as a result of using the Devon annual safeguarding audit and the school s own self evaluation of its safeguarding arrangements. Actions connected to safeguarding such as a review of site security, as well as being ongoing, are built into the governor s cycle of business so that the committee structure supports safeguarding arrangements and key actions are not missed.

8 At The Beacon C of E Primary School, Exmouth safeguarding is a standing item on the Full Governing Body agenda. Details of individual children are not divulged but the work being undertaken with other agencies is minuted. Information is shared with staff as appropriate so that if the Senior Designated Officer is away that information is not lost. Building relationships with families is vital so that when the time comes an open and honest dialogue with them about any concerns is less difficult. 14. Staff, governors, pupils, parents and external partners are consulted to ensure that policies are sustainable. As a result, effective schools achieve consistency in their safeguarding practice with a positive impact on pupil s sense of well being and security. At Ide Primary School, knowing that an inspection was imminent and to support the school in its self evaluation process, the school asked Devon LDP to undertake a Healthcheck of its safeguarding procedures. The audit helped the school confirm and recognise the good practice that was taking place and reflected back to the school some of the strengths in provision and practice. It helped the school identify areas where practice could be improved even further and those systems that were particularly effective. At Exwick Heights Primary School senior managers are always visible around the schools and accessible to pupils, staff, families and visitors. It is usual for members of the Senior Leadership Team to meet and greet pupils on arrival at the school. Senior managers are also available should staff need their support and have clear arrangements in place that enable them to respond to any incidents without delay. They follow up concerns about attendance promptly and appropriately, recognising that important features of a safe school are that parents know exactly where their children are and that staff are vigilant in ensuring that pupils attend lessons as expected and punctually. This means that practice is consistent. Links with outside agencies is also key with a multi-agency meeting held at the school on a termly basis. Safeguarding is taken seriously throughout all areas of the school. 15. Schools must have an awareness of safeguarding their own staff and a code of conduct is an effective means of ensuring staff follow safe practices. It s not always about the big stuff ; sometimes it s more about attention to detail, for example, having an appropriate dress code, rules about transporting a child, receiving gifts etc. Culmstock Primary School have produced a set of policies that link together in a folder that all staff can access in the main office. They feel this is important as staff may wish to have access to a policy, such as whistle blowing, and as such it should not be the Head Teacher who has control of access. They worked on producing this safeguarding statement and policy folder with Kentisbeare School. It has been shared with others in the local learning community and they were complimented by Ofsted for having one of the most accessible formats they had seen. This combined with the quality of the central records and other protocols reduced the safeguarding aspect of the inspection by two hours.

9 16. Good record keeping is essential. Whilst it is acknowledged that it is time consuming, it is a necessity to provide accurate information at a later date. Accurate logging of concerns over a period of time facilitates earlier identification of need and the provision of timely help and support. Culmstock Primary School works closely with other agencies to support children. The Head Teacher works very much on the principle of nothing ventured nothing gained when asking for support for a family. 17. Transition at all phases is an important stage in any child s life. It is imperative that information about the child, follows the child, to prevent start again syndrome. If you are the receiving school and no records are sent, it is advisable to check whether there have been any concerns. An awareness of the change in status which the child may be experiencing (i.e. big fish in little pond to little fish in big pond) will help to support a child at what may be a difficult time. At Culmstock Primary School if a child is joining the school the Head Teacher always phones the previous school and has an informal talk to help the children move into the new setting with ease. The Head Teacher insists on children having at least a half day with the school before they join as it is less stressful for them in this way. Thus far the school has not taken in any Child Protection cases but have taken on vulnerable children and the Head Teacher always telephones the old school if she has concerns. If the school passes children subject to a Child Protection plan onto other settings the Head Teacher copies the relevant paperwork and if the school is local she visits them to ensure they are fully aware of the concerns. If not, she spends time talking to the Senior Designated Officer in the new school and does a follow up call one month later. The Behaviour and Safety Student group at Okehampton College have identified transition as an area where students can get involved in terms of supporting more vulnerable or anxious students on transition, making them feel reassured and have a familiar face when they start who they can turn to for help and support. 18. Having policies is important but of little value if staff do not know what is in them. Outstanding schools ensure that staff are regularly reminded about school policies and procedures and all new staff receive a full induction. At Southmead Primary School they have set up systems which are led by named staff and reviewed systematically each half term. These staff meet throughout the half term with the Head Teacher. This information is shared with a named member of the governors, who supplements the Head Teacher s Report to Governors with a brief written statement once a term. Dates are written into the diary at the start of the year to ensure there is consistency. Safeguarding is a fixed agenda item for every governor meeting. Relevant information is discussed with staff during every staff meeting in order to ensure key issues are discussed, e.g. warnings of adults who may appear at school but should not be on site, etc.

10 They have created a Pastoral care team to support staff, parents and children in school. The following outlines the duties undertaken in this role. They find it very effective and it enables them to ensure communication is sharp and relevant without creating paperwork which does not support their practice. They have one person who ensures the paperwork is kept up to date and signed by staff. This would include the Code of Conduct, Staff training for child protection as well as the policy for the school. She is trained to Level 3 Safeguarding and is also a lead teaching assistant for the Pastoral Care support team. She also has a role collecting Cause for concern sheets completed by staff and stored confidentially in a central location in the office. She has created a padlocked box with two teddies which is placed outside the Head Teacher s room. Children fill in any Worry sheets and post them in the Pudsey Bear post box. Concerns are addressed either by the lead teaching assistant or passed on to relevant staff. These are noted and the frequency of significant concerns are entered into the child s assessment information file. Key members of the Pastoral support team work with multi-agencies regularly. The school has a named person who meets with the military base personnel and families to learn about their procedures and to deal with issues as they arise. They have detailed action plans which work systematically and enable them to update and adapt systems in the light of experience and in the event of new guidance and laws. They are in the process of adapting a bungalow they have on site to create a multiagency base where parents and children can drop in or make appointments with individuals. They are well supported by the parent support adviser and the Children s Centre. The systems work for the school because they not only have an impact on attendance but also support the children and families so the staff can concentrate on raising the children s self esteem and helping them to achieve their potential. At Pathfield School there is a strong belief that all staff have a significant responsibility for safeguarding across the school. Giving staff input, ownership and confidence in the school procedures has developed an ethos in school which allows all staff to question and raise concerns appropriately. The introduction of new staff/ visitor ID badges was seen as opportunity to give/share the core information about safeguarding in an easily accessible format. All Pathfield badges are now backed with the names of the senior designated officer, deputy and key safeguarding points. There is also a level 3 trained safeguarding officers at the post 16 site which is situated away from the main school campus. 19. Safeguarding is continuous. There will never be a point when schools can say that they have done all there is to do. Changes in legislation, guidance and procedure and recommendations from both local and national issues such as Serious Case Reviews and identified gaps in provision decree that there is a need to constantly update and review practice. At Okehampton College they have a half termly Safety and Behaviour Strategy meeting, run by the Director for Inclusion and Safeguarding and the Governor with

11 special responsibility for Safeguarding. This meeting is attended by the Principal, school bursar (in charge of Health and Safety), deputy Safeguarding Officer, Principal s Personal Assistant (in charge of Single Central Record) and the Director of the Learning Community s Community Interest Company. The remit of this group is to continually audit the practice at the college, looking to continually improve the provision for all of their students, staff and visitors. This includes an annual site risk assessment, curriculum improvements, student involvement, training etc. 20. Behaviour and safety is now one of the four key judgements in the new inspection framework. The prevalence of bullying and, crucially, a school s efforts to deal with it effectively, has a renewed focus in the inspection regime. At St Luke s Sports & Science College anti-bullying is led by a senior teacher in the pastoral team and involves one week per term during which tutorial and assembly themes focus on the issue and once a year all students complete a bullying survey. Chaplains who contribute to assemblies incorporate this issue termly. Year 7 tutees complete a settling in survey in the autumn term followed by a parents evening to facilitate any interventions required to support transition. The peer mentoring system involves trained Year 9 and 10 students mentoring younger students referred by tutors, Heads of House or self. A Utopia lunch club run by SEN staff operates daily to provide a safe haven for vulnerable students. Mentoring by staff including the Chaplains occurs in all year groups. Some staff have coaching accreditation and the College regularly works with professional coaches. At Okehampton College a group has been set up to support pupils in all years and Year 11 and 12 pupils staff a drop in centre. There is also a text and helpline where pupils can ask for advice or help run by the Anti Bullying Committee (ABC). For both the ABC group and the Behaviour and Safety Group the motto is Don t Take It On, Pass It On. During anti-bullying week staff wear badges promoting anti-bullying and challenge anyone heard name calling. A number of staff have been trained by a charity in bullying intervention training which focused on skills to keep young people safe and to improve their confidence in the face of bullying and aggressive behaviour. This training is now being cascaded to over 40 pupils who have made a commitment to raising awareness of bullying issues and to support vulnerable peers. This training will soon be offered to parents in late afternoon and evening sessions. At The King s School they operate a weekly information update sheet (WIS) which goes to all the Senior Leadership Team, and the pastoral team including Pastoral Support workers. On it are collated (by House group) every child where there has been an issue that week in terms of behaviour, or if there has been a concern noticed or raised by any member of staff. Also all contacts with parents in either direction are logged. This allows the school to pick up patterns in behaviours.

12 If any of designated officers are alerted to a concern about a child this could range from a member of staff worried about a child s weight, change in demeanor or from a parent or if another child has passed on concerns about a friend, comments from the police etc. - it is logged in a locked Cause for Concern file, in writing with the details signed and dated by who entered it. On the SIMS data base they then put on the front screen CfC. This tells the four Designated Officers that there is a cause for concern logged. If they go in to look up that child they can check before contacting parents or other agencies. It also means that the cause for concern file builds on that child which is important if they need to make a referral. This file is kept in the same locked cabinet as the child protection files and Children in Care files. All these files are kept up to date with all the information recorded that needs to be (dates, names, times etc.) In the event of a CRB not being returned prior to start date have another staff member (TA) in the classroom at all times. Recruitment/Single Central Record (SCR) C R G V 21. Safer recruitment remains a high priority in safeguarding children in schools. It is imperative that a school ensures that the recruitment and vetting procedures are in place and applied consistently to all staff and volunteers. In the event of a CRB check not having been completed prior to an individual s start date, ensure that another staff member is in the classroom at all times. At Ratcliffe School all posts are advertised in accordance with Devon County Council Policy which identifies that they are a school which practices clear safeguarding procedures prior to and at the point of employment. All CRB checks are carried out at the start of employment and the new member of staff is not allowed to start in their new post until the clear CRB has been received. At Exwick Heights Primary School senior leaders and governors, complete safer recruitment training. Pupils are also involved in the recruitment of staff; given training and ensuring awareness of the need to protect confidentiality they take this role very seriously indeed! 22. Devon LA has provided schools with advice and guidance with regard to maintaining the single central record. The most important requirement is to ensure that all the mandatory fields of the SCR are completed and the SCR is kept up to date. Responsibility for the Okehampton College s single central record lies with the Principal s PA. The Single Central Record is updated with every new appointment, both temporary and permanent staff and volunteer staff. She also liaises with external

13 agencies that work within the college to ensure that all staff who work with their students have been through the correct checks. A large number of staff are trained in Safer Recruitment, including all senior staff, personnel officers, site administrators and a number of governors. Every interview panel has at least one member of staff trained on safer recruitment. At The King s School the Head s PA is responsible for the single central record. All staff have an enhanced CRB before working there and that is maintained by the Head s PA. The Head s PA also attends regular update training for this aspect of her work. A number of governors and members of the Senior Leadership Team have passed their safer recruitment training so all interview panels are compliant and all have safeguarding as at least one question. At Ratcliffe School the SCR is kept as a separate document that is kept by a named member of the administrative team. The record includes all relevant information in accordance with the guidance provided by the ISA. The Devon County Council pro forma for the Single Central Record is used at Pathfield School and kept up to date by the school Bursar. In addition to this a list of regular multi agency visitors is also kept with appropriate CRB information. Even though all volunteers and visitors and college students in school working with pupils would have the relevant safeguarding checks in was felt important to clarify roles and responsibilities. By introducing a range of a risk assessments all staff and visitors are made aware of safeguarding do s and don ts, including manual handling and intimate care. 23. Good practice can be seen where schools have a shared responsibility and do rely heavily on input from a small number of staff. At The Beacon C of E Primary School, Exmouth the Senior Administrator is trained in safer recruitment, as well as the Head Teacher and a Governor, as they will be most likely to request references and check through paperwork. Safeguarding questions are included in all interviews. At Culmstock Primary School a number of governors are trained in safe recruitment. They all contribute to completing the annual audit and reviewing All Ratcliffe School senior staff have completed the Safeguarding training re safer recruitment. This also includes two Governors. This ensures that the panels have at least two members who have this level of training. All applications are completed on the relevant application forms and anomalies checked at interview through separate questioning if appropriate. All CRB 2 s are dealt with prior to start date as appropriate. All regular agency visitors are included in the SCR although they are asked to sign in and out every time they visit the school.

14 24. Schools have recently been advised by Devon LA to stop undertaking three yearly CRB checks on staff, following a change in Ofsted s view on this practice. However, remember that checks must be conducted on new staff and can be requested at any time if you have concerns about a member of staff. Okehampton College recently federated with four of their feeder primary schools. One of the first tasks undertaken has been to align all of the policies and ensure continuity of practices and procedures across the whole federation. The CRB status of all adults is easily identifiable to staff and students through a system of highly visible colour coded lanyards. CRB checked staff wear blue corporate lanyards with photo ID, CRB checked visitors such as governors wear green corporate lanyards with photo ID, and non CRB checked visitors wear red corporate lanyards and as such must be escorted around the college. Safeguarding Training S G R 25. Training in safeguarding is given high priority in outstanding schools. Staff, governors and volunteers all receive regular training and updates. Clear records of training are kept for staff, volunteers and student teachers. At the beginning of each academic year all staff at Ide Primary School receive a refresher training session in safeguarding awareness. Similarly the activity is repeated with governors and all those who volunteer within the school. Staff and volunteers frequently comment that these sessions are useful and are adapted to include any emerging national or local issues, such as cyber bullying. Safeguarding is also given prominence in the induction of new staff and a record of this refresher training, along with any additional course staff undertake, is clearly maintained by the school s office manager. Safeguarding involves every member of the School Community at Exwick Heights Primary School and it has permeated into all aspects of school life as a direct result. It is seen as the key priority within the school. The school attributes its success in this area to a rigorous training cycle, which is provided for every adult with contact in the school and includes Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Meal Time Assistants, Cleaners, Governors and Volunteers. The training is held at least once a year, and several dates are set for training, including twilight sessions, to ensure that everyone can, and does, attend. In addition to this, safeguarding is regularly reviewed and revised to ensure that no aspect of policy or procedure is ever overlooked. Every adult working in the school receives a Safeguarding training pack, which takes the form of a booklet. This booklet addresses the school s policy and is given to the whole school community: teachers, Teaching Assistants, volunteers, governors and parents alike. A dated log is kept of all

15 training received and this is monitored to ensure that no-one ever misses receiving up to date training. All training allows opportunities for discussion and dealing with a range of scenarios. After the training is completed, the designated person evaluates the training as well as the responses to each scenario. The information from this evaluation informs the school on the priorities for the next term s safeguarding training. At St Luke s Sports & Science College a session of staff Inset is devoted to child protection every September. Administrative staff that are not present at this are trained with the same materials by the Office Manager. Similarly the SENCO trains all the Teaching Assistants. A full staff register of training is held by the Assistant Principal (C.P.D). All I.T.T. students receive full child protection training prior to entering College and this is a part of every placement induction. Each faculty base holds a hard copy of the training materials which are also available on the college intranet so that every visitor or new staff member can be trained on arrival. At The King s School the Head Teacher, Deputy and two pastoral support workers are all Level 3 trained. The Head acts as the Senior Designated Officer. No decision about whether to make a MASH enquiry or any concern raised is dealt with by one person; it is a minimum of two of the team. All staff are trained in child protection by either the Senior Designated Officer or Deputy Senior Designated Officer before they start work this includes all ITE students. A written and dated record is kept of this. They are given the child protection, staff behaviour and whistle blowing policies and must sign to say they have read and understand them and know their roles and responsibilities. This is kept in their file and on a central register. The whole staff child protection training is kept up to date every three years. Regularly in the morning briefing ( four mornings a week) the senior leaders refer to the designated officers and their roles so that everyone know exactly to whom they should go if they are concerned. Staff working more casually in the school, such as invigilators, supply staff and counsellors are given a very short one page document outlining key child protection information and who to contact if in doubt, before their first time in the school. At Ratcliffe School all staff have annual safeguarding training. All new staff have a clear induction pack which includes training for Safeguarding within the first two days of their start date. All new staff have a mentor for the first six weeks of employment who acts as a personal guide through the school policies and procedures. They do not work one to one with children for the first two weeks of employment. All Senior Care staff are trained at Level 3 along with the designated person and the deputy designated person. This ensures that there is always someone on site with the appropriate level for consultation, advice or referral to MASH. All staff are also aware that they can undertake a referral to MASH themselves. All numbers are available in all areas of the school. Governors have annual safeguarding training in March each year. There is also a named Governor. All Governors have an enhanced CRB check.

16 At Pathfield School training updates and courses are attended in accordance with statutory guidance and in addition all staff are given yearly refreshers including the cleaning and mealtime staff. It is also recognised that safeguarding is an umbrella term that covers many school policies and training is given by relevant professionals or courses attended in areas including intimate care, domestic violence, internet and mobile phone use and allegations against staff. It has been useful to keep a record of the courses including a copy of handout s or PowerPoint s as evidence of this ongoing development. 26. Whilst there is a statutory requirement for Senior Designated Officers and Deputies to receive refresher training every two years and all other staff and volunteers every three years, outstanding schools ensure that training is on-going and is regularly checks staff understanding and is embedded in staff meetings and the curriculum. At Culmstock Primary School they follow statutory guidance and train people in good time, then review and follow up and check and discuss. It is an ongoing formal and informal system. The Head Teacher does spot checks on staff to test their understanding of what they have to do. These are done at times of high work stress, just to see how staff would cope at a bad time as they recognise it is easier to get it right when relaxed. The school has looked at how the staff understands safeguarding. This is done over a number of staff meetings including; an understanding of the context the staff work within, the legal requirements and how the staff feel about the safety of the children. There is an agreed staff code of conduct that is revisited and there is also a code of conduct for volunteers. The learning community is planning training in solution based coaching for staff; whilst they recognise they can not take a lot of the pupil s troubles away, what they hope to do is to help them move towards a solution that eases their problems. As part of a federation, the school will now train staff with Kentisbeare, not just because it is faster but because they then get another set of views and can moderate their understanding of safeguarding. Okehampton College runs the three year child protection training (delivered by the EWS) for all new staff and refresher training for current staff in the September of each academic year. This training is offered to the whole learning community to ensure that all staff that work with children in the learning community have an appropriate level of awareness. They run in house training for staff who join mid-year, or who were unable to attend the EWS run training. They also run training for their governors on Safeguarding and Child Protection (including managing allegations). With this approach they endeavour to cover all staff working within the college, including teaching and support staff, admin, catering, caretaking and cleaning staff and governors.

17 At Exeter College all the staff have the date of their last child protection training printed on their ID cards. School Site Safety V L&M S CYP 27. It is not always possible to make the school site completely secure. Some schools share the site with privately run nurseries or with other groups which prevents gates from being kept locked. Others have low fences or public footpaths running across the site. In these circumstances, the expectation would be for the Governing Body to have risk assessed the potential hazards and agreed how best to mitigate the risks. Evidence of both staff and pupils being vigilant and reporting concerns will demonstrate that site safety and the physical environment has been given appropriate attention. Throughout schools, the physical environment has two primary functions: to promote learning and ensure pupils safety and well being are protected. At Exwick Heights Primary, careful planning was put in to the design of the school to ensure that the site is very secure. This includes lockable gates to ensure that access to any area of the school site could be controlled. At the start and end of each day, the school site is staffed at key points, particularly by members of the Senior Leadership Team, to make sure that parents and visitors can easily reach a member of staff to talk, but also allows the school to complete a thorough sweep of the grounds as soon as the school day begins prior to it being locked. Security cameras also cover the school grounds to prevent any area being unsupervised. In addition to this, the whole school environment is regularly risk assessed. At Culmstock Primary School they now have locks on the school gates. However, at the time of the Ofsted inspection they did not but instead had robust systems in place and a very watchful eye. They understood that it is less about having locks and more about being aware and vigilant. At St Luke s Science & Sports College all staff and students carry an I.D. card at all times. The staff cards are used to electronically swipe their entrance and exit to main reception. I.T.T students and regular visitors are also issued with electronic I.D. cards while day visitors are issued with paper badges. Whilst Okehampton College enjoys a very rural site bordering Dartmoor, it is a very open site. Great importance is attached to ensuring students are fully aware of this and are knowledgeable about how to remain safe and reduce risks while at college. They have staff on duty at break time and lunch time around the school to ensure positive behaviours are carried forward from lessons into unstructured time, to prevent opportunities for bullying and to provide students with adults to come to if they are having any problems. This is also supplemented by a team of 6 th form students who are employed as lunchtime supervisors. These have proved very successful in both enhancing the feeling of responsibility that older students develop, enhancing the family feel of the whole college and giving access to relevant, positive role models for younger students.

18 To reduce incidents on buses by taking prompt action where issues do occur, a dedicated member of staff meets all of the buses in the morning to check that no incidents have occurred wither on the way home the previous night, or in the morning. Health & Safety 28. Health & safety is an important aspect of safeguarding and in the most effective schools regular checks and audits are undertaken across a range of areas of activity. Exwick Heights Primary School regularly completes risk assessments for safeguarding, so, for instance, should a visitor attend the school without a valid CRB specifically for the school, the whole school community is familiar with the risk assessment, policy and procedure for that individual. In addition, within the staff room of Exwick Heights, there is a large Safeguarding notice board which clearly displays policies and procedures and enables the adult community within the school to access all information quickly and easily. At St Luke s Science & Sports College a termly visual inspection of all areas is conducted by staff and defects reported to and collated by the Health & Safety administrator. Two non-teaching staff members lead on Health & Safety, attending training, monitoring fire drills and carrying out risk assessments. Recorded fire drill reports are carefully collated and evaluated with adjustments made where necessary. Designated fire marshals from non-teaching posts are responsible for different areas of the building. Student registers can be instantly printed off from SIMS and a report of the staff register is electronically generated. At Ratcliffe School they have appointed a Health and Safety Officer. This is that person s only role within the school. The Health & Safety Officer checks all risk assessments across the school. This includes individual risk assessments for students who pose a risk or are in need of intimate care. The Health & Safety Officer regularly attends Governors meetings to ensure everyone is aware of the updates and checks that have taken place over the half term periods. The medications coordinator is responsible for the safe storage of all drugs on site and for the appropriate audit trails re the numbers of tablets etc that are administered throughout the school day. This includes homeopathic remedies. All staff are made aware of individual risk assessments and updates as they occur. All concerns are referred to the LADO or direct to the MASH. All records are kept separate from the student or staff files and all incidents of significance are notified to OfSTED. All visitors report to reception where their ID is checked and they are asked to sign the visitor s book. They are allocated a badge that identifies them as visitors. This includes contractors who visit the school.

19 Each visitor is provided with a short list of things to do if they are approached by a child who discloses information to them. This is kept with them for the duration of the visit and handed back to reception when they leave. All positive interventions are logged in a bound book which is signed by the child and the senior responsible for Team Teach. This is audited twice a year and information is provided to Governors about the nature and number of incidents that have occurred. Children have access to pay phones throughout the school day. All relevant numbers, such as Childline, are clearly displayed around the school and house blocks. Health and Safety continues to be a priority for Okehampton College. The site ranges from 100 years old in the oldest parts which were designed to accommodate far fewer students to modern buildings purpose built to accommodate large numbers of students with a range of needs along with the latest technologies which support both academic and vocational learning. To address this the College is planning to erect new signage for visitors, improve the security of the reception area, designate parking spaces for visitors closer to the main reception and ensure there is a culture across the whole school of challenging any unaccompanied visitors. Promoting safeguarding through teaching and learning (including internet safety) S CYP L&M P R 29. In outstanding schools high priority is given to supporting pupils knowledge of how to keep themselves safe, both through opportunities that arise, and those that are planned for, in the wider curriculum. PHSE plays a crucial part in teaching children and young people to recognise dangers and harmful situations. Pupils are taught how to recognise and articulate their feelings. They know who they can talk to if they are worried or concerned. At Ide Primary School all of the teaching assistants have been trained in counselling and active listening skills. The SEAL programme takes high priority and is a central part of the PHSE curriculum and assembly programme and there are feeling boards in each classroom. The school has employed a designated counsellor who works one afternoon a week. She is available to listen to pupils worries and concerns. Pupils know she is there for them and they speak confidently about her work and are able to refer themselves for support. At times she will also work with parents who can also make referrals. The curriculum at Exwick Heights Primary School ensures that pupils are fully informed about their own and others safety. Year 6 pupils recently worked with NSPCC officers as part of a visit to inform them about Childline. Assemblies are also used to keep children informed and guest visitors to the school help to support this.

20 At The King s School keeping safe is a key aspect of their student PSHE programme for every year and considerable work goes into issues around new technologies. Their annual questionnaire checks that students all know an adult they could go to in the school if they had a concern. Staff have had input from CEOP (Child Exploitation & Online Protection Agency) and at least three members of staff are CEOP trained. Internet safety is part of the KS3 ICT curriculum and is also covered in annual events such as the anti-bullying week. Some staff have also had training on risk assessments for students and two staff have been on Lucy Faithful Foundation training. In addition to a curriculum which promotes safe practice for pupils, Pathfield School works in partnership with the School Nurse who is a member of the Joint Agency Team to deliver a programme of lessons themed around Being a Teenager and Growing Up. This scheme is tailored around the needs of individual pupils and their cognitive and emotional understanding. For the older post 16 pupils, this is developed further by the disability nursing team who run a body wise course which introduces some more adult specific information. Vertical tutor groups have been running for a number of years at Okehampton College, with each tutor group having a mixture of students from Years This promotes a family and community feeling within the whole school, supports new Year 7 students on transition, and helps to reduce incidents of bullying as students feel protective of other students in their tutor group. It also enables things such as peer reading to happen at tutor times. Regular assemblies are held on all aspects of Safeguarding and Child Protection, including internet safety, online grooming, safe use of IT systems such as Facebook and mobile phones and cyber bullying. Extended Learning Days are used to highlight safeguarding and inform students to enable them to keep themselves safe. Sessions include APAUSE sexual education sessions, E Safety and How To Stay Safe. Within the main curriculum, subjects include a focus on Safeguarding where appropriate, such as e safety as part of IT lessons. To arrange for member of the Behaviour and Safety Student group to visit primary schools and meet students to talk about their experience of transition and the college. Also to act as guides for Year 6 students on the visit days. To develop opportunities within the curriculum, ensuring that staff are making explicit reference as to how students can keep themselves safe. 30. A shared approach to embedding safeguarding within the curriculum relays a powerful message to pupils. The use of outside agencies can bring a level of expertise to what is a specialist subject. At Pathfield School they have found that, when working as part of a multi agency team it is obviously important to share information but this was often an ad hoc process which didn t reflect the importance of this process. Meeting time is now set a side once a half term to share updates and concerns between the school, Joint Agency Team and Health on pupils. This time gives professionals the opportunity to review cases,