Keeping Children Safe in Education

Click here for Sir Thomas Boteler’s Early Help Statement.

Click here for our KSB newsletter for managing mental health during exam season. 

Click here for our Wellbeing and Safeguarding newsletters – Keeping Boteler Safe. 

Your Child’s Safety

Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School fully recognises its responsibilities to safeguard and promote the welfare of young people. We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for students, staff and visitors. We promote a climate where students and adults feel confident about sharing any concerns which they may have about their own safety or the wellbeing of others to protect them from harm.

Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. School staff are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help, support and guidance to prevent concerns from escalating.

Schools and their staff form part of the wider safeguarding system for children, this system is described in statutory guidance “Working Together to Safeguard Children 2022” and “Keeping Children Safe in Education” updated September 2022.

Reference should also be made to the Warrington Safeguarding Partnership and their safeguarding procedures which take the above into account.

Parents should be aware that the school will take any reasonable action to secure the safety of its students. Where there is reason to be concerned that a child may be subject to ill-treatment, neglect or other forms of abuse, staff have no alternative but to follow Child Protection Procedures and inform Social Services of their concern.

The Designated Safeguarding Leads are:                                       

SAFEGUARDING TEAM

Designated Safeguarding Lead and Strategic Lead – John Leonard, Assistant Headteacher 

Deputy DSL/Safeguarding Officer – Jemma ​Chilton

Miss V Giebka – Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager 

Additional;​

Deputy DSL – Beverley Scott-Herron, Headteacher Headteacher          ​

Deputy DSL – Chris Kinsey, ​Deputy Headteacher 

Mrs Linda Ashwin and Miss Kate Dowling in the Pastoral Team

KEY FUNCTIONS OF THE SAFEGUARDING TEAM

Key Functions of the Safeguarding Team

Below is a list of the some of the tasks that the DSL will undertake:

• Contribute to Combined Assessments, Early Help assessments, complete CSE screening tools.
• Make contact with Children’s Social Care/ Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) when there is an identified child protection issue.
• Support to students and their families, making referrals to appropriate statutory and non-statutory services for support.
• Attend and deliver Safeguarding Training (whole school training)
• Challenge practice and decisions in line with the LSCB Escalation Policy
• Have a thorough understanding of the thresholds for support from Children’s Social Care e.g. Children in Need of protection and children in need of care
• Support each other (De Briefing opportunities and reflective learning opportunities)
• Champion and know who the vulnerable students are. The Vulnerable students should be reviewed on a regular basis.

Safeguarding Officer and Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead

Our full-time Safeguarding Officer and Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead adopts a range of strategies to ensure the safeguarding of all students. We know that our vulnerable students are at high risk of suffering from mental health problems and their safety and wellbeing is our number one priority. Examples of the work carried out by our Safeguarding Officer includes:

·         Liaising with Social Care

·         Completion of Early Help Assessments

·         Attendance and contributions at Child Protection Conferences, Core Group meetings, Child in Need meetings

·         Supporting staff with the Completion of Early Help Assessments and referrals to partner agencies with the aim of supporting identified families

·         Creating in house systems to support and deliver mental health strategies to our young people

·         Planning and delivering of a Mental Health Awareness day.

Safeguarding and mental Health and Wellbeing Lead

Our full-time Safeguarding Officer adopts a range of strategies to ensure the safeguarding of all students. We know that our vulnerable students are at high risk of experiencing poor mental health and their safety and wellbeing is our number one priority. Examples of the work carried out by our Safeguarding Officer includes:

·                     Liaising with Social Care

·                     Completing and Managing referrals to Social Care and partner agencies

·                     Completing Contextual Screening Tools around CSE/CE/Drug and alcohol misuse

·                     Supporting families/carers

·                     Managing and supporting with the Completion of Early-Help Assessments

·                     Attendance and contributions at Child Protection Conferences, Core Group meetings, Child in Need meetings

·                     Leading on the care, guidance and the educational plans for our Children in Care

·                     Leading on consultation for The MHST – Mental Health Support Team

·                     Planning and delivering of a Mental Health Awareness day.

Mental Health First Aider

The Mental Health First Aider works with students in 1:1 sessions following referrals from members of the Pastoral Team, parents or other professionals. The work that is done is vast with pandemic related issues, students struggling with a bereavement to students experiencing panic attacks due to exam stress, from phobias to students that are at crisis referring to suicide.

Examples of the work include building young people’s resilience, through the CBT sessions, our First Aider will look at negative thought patterns and breaking this cycle so a person can access a full and productive life and are not restricted by their negativity.

Close working relationships have been built with external agencies and school, these include:

• CAMHS Buddy Up Scheme
• St Joseph’s Family Support Centre
• Warrington Youth Club
• The Peace Centre
• NSPCC
• Seasons of Change (sexual abuse support)
• Child Bereavement UK.
• Fresh
• MHST – Mental Health Support Team

Mental health and wellbeing intervention and support sessions

• Identified group and 1:1 session is carried out in house for students needing support or waiting on partner agency support.
• Extended the in-house offer to include support around the following areas impacting our students:
• ELSA
• Loss and bereavement
• Emotional Literacy
• Self-esteem
• Social skills
• Friendship issues
• Relationships
• Managing strong feelings
• Anxiety and worries
• Bullying
• Conflict
• Emotional regulation
• Growth Mindset
• Social and therapeutic stories
• Problem solving
• DV-Domestic Violence
• Mental Health Ambassadors in place and meeting every Tuesday.
• In addition to leading on key events such as mental health week the Mental Health and Wellbeing Ambassadors are also leading on student voice in the school for key updates, information around wellbeing/mental health
• MHST consultations are taking place every 6 weeks. Staff are now logging all demographic forms on CPOMS so regular audits on the number of referrals can be easily accessed. JCH is now inviting the key staff who have referred the student to sit on consultation to act as a training need give staff a better understanding so more referral is accepted and the reasonings behind why they are declined.
• The ‘Mind Works’ drop-in session is back on at the Youth Zone – young people are signposted to remove the barriers for wait times.
• MHST are supporting CAMHS referrals which is proving more successful in engaging students with support.
• Parent communication is via our social media pages/text and newsletters regarding the support and The Local Offer in the community.
• Chat Health Cards promoted so student have a text advice service from school Health

School Health Champions

The school adopts an Ambassador programme and within this we have trained up students as School Health Champions. They have gained a Level 2 qualification from the Royal Society for Public Health and support a range of health initiatives, including those addressing mental health.

SEND and Mental Health

The SENDCO and SEND team plays a key role in our whole school approach to the promotion of mental health. SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) is one of the four key primary needs highlighted in the SEND code of Practice (2014). We currently have a significant number of students with an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or who require some form of additional support. Many of whom have a primary need of ‘Social, Emotional and Mental Health’. For learning to take place and be successful, students must be emotionally ready. The Learning Enrichment provision provides this safe nurturing environment for a large number of our most vulnerable students. The SENCO works closely with parents, students, key workers and outside agencies to create a package of support for each of the individuals. This is placed onto the provision map to ensure accurate tracking of provision. Specific strategies and recommendations are shared with teachers through INSET, Student Passports, key workers, pastoral and bespoke meetings.

Relaxation sessions

Bespoke relaxation sessions take place and students look at strategies for relaxation and their impact on calmness, worries, anxiety, confidence, creativity, concentration and emotional stability.

CAMHS link

Through our status as a mental health pledge school, we have a CAMHS professional linked to our school. This significantly helps with the referral process for individuals and expert guidance during the process. Our link offers supervision sessions and is part of a half termly consultation regarding mental health and wellbeing. As well as a regular presence in school, our link supports with bespoke sessions to address some key issues that young people face and expert support and guidance for vulnerable/high risk students.

At any time, school or parents can contact the CART (CAMHS Assessment and Response Team) for advice and guidance 01925 579405.

School Nurse

The School Nurse service supports our school’s vision in making mental and emotional wellbeing support as accessible as possible to all students. The role of our allocated School Nurse entails carrying out a weekly drop-in session at school, offering holistic wellbeing advice, support and guidance for students. She is a trained paediatric nurse, with extensive experience of child and adolescent mental health, having worked for several years within CAMHS as a staff nurse, prior to training as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (School Nurse). She has also undertaken self-harm awareness, eating disorder training and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy training, which is utilised at the drop-in session. Students are supported in a wide range of health issues; physical, mental and social issues. This includes supporting students with low-level mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. The School Nurse works closely with the school’s Pastoral Team, the Emotional Wellbeing Worker, the school’s allocated CAMHS Link and the Special Education Needs Coordinator, who are all able to refer students to the service to be seen at the drop-in. Frequent health promotion in relation to mental health awareness takes place and our Nurse participated in the Mental Health Day at the school, covering the issue of Holistic Health, to help students appreciate the importance of holistic wellbeing, promoting healthy lifestyle choices in order to look after both physical and mental health.

Advice and guidance can also take place in relation to the following areas:

• Immunisations
• Anxiety
• Sexual Health
• Drugs and Alcohol
• Weight management
• Smoking

Operation Encompass  

In conjunction with Cheshire Police, Sir Thomas Boteler is involved in an initiative called Operation Encompass.  The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in, heard or witnessed a domestic abuse incident. Following such an incident, children will often arrive at school distressed, upset, worried and unprepared. Operation Encompass aims to ensure that appropriate school staff (called Key Adults) are made aware early enough to support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe and included.

This is a valuable initiative that means we can continue to support and help children and families within our school community when they need it the most. 

You can find our more by visiting www.operationencompass.org or by contacting our Key Adult.

“Everyone has a responsibility to make sure that children within Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School are safe, as ‘Every Child Matters’”

If you are worried about the safety of any young person in our school, you MUST report this to the safeguarding team.

PLEASE DO NOT:

• Decide to do nothing
• Leave the school without telling anyone

SAFE WORKING WITHIN SIR THOMAS BOTELER CHURCH OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL

• Provide a good example and be a positive role-model by being respectful, fair and considerate to all.
• Treat all children equally – never build a ‘special relationship’ or favour a particular child above all others.
• Ensure that when working with individual children, that the door is left open, or that you can be visible to others.
• Do not photograph children (unless requested by the school staff) exchange emails, text messages, and phone numbers or give out your own personal details.
• Do not receive or give gifts unless arranged through school.
• Only touch children for professional reasons and when this is necessary and appropriate for the child’s wellbeing and safety.
• Have up to date training on all safeguarding law and legislations to ensure robust safeguarding is followed and both staff and students are kept safe.

Allegations

Any allegations should be reported to the Safeguarding Team in school. If the concerns are about the Headteacher please inform the Chair of Governors Mr Stuart Titchard.

If you are concerned that a child, young person is at risk of or experiencing abuse or neglect, or you yourself are a victim of abuse, you should report it straight away so that the appropriate services can take the appropriate actions to prevent harm.

• Report any safeguarding concerns about a child or young person to Children’s Safeguarding/Social Work Team on 01925 443322
• Outside of office hours ring on 01925 444400
• If you believe a crime has been committed contact the police on 101
• If you believe the adult is at immediate risk of harm dial 999
• Support around immediate mental health needs of young people -CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) 01925 575 904 / Out of hours 01744 627 618

We all have a responsibility to be alert to possible concerns and act to safeguard others in our families and communities who may be less able to protect themselves.

Volunteers / Visitors Responsibility

All those who come into contact with children through their everyday work whether paid or voluntary are responsible for their own actions and behaviour. You should avoid any contact which would lead any reasonable person to question your motivation and intention. At Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School, we all have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of our children. 

Always have identification documents available for staff to check.

Identity badges

All visitors within Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School must wear their visitors badge received from Reception. Any adults without a badge will be challenged.

DBS certificates

All staff, including supply staff, regular visitors and volunteers are subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates. This is to help ensure that unsuitable people are prevented from working with children. Advice about DBS certificates is available from the school office.

Screening document

Visitors will be asked to sign our Screening Document available at the Reception Desk. By signing the document, you agree to comply with Child Protection Procedures within Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School, follow the Code of Behaviour and agree to disclose all criminal convictions spent or not. The Screening Document is updated annually.

Support with online safety

The school continues its work in educating students around online safety; however, we must work in partnership with parents and carers.

Below are some useful websites and links through NSPCC and ChildLine to support parents/carers in helping their children to stay safe online. More information is available at www.boteler.org.uk/teams

Child Protection

Parents should be aware that the school will take any reasonable action to secure the safety of its students. Where there is reason to be concerned that a child may be subject to ill-treatment, neglect or other forms of abuse, staff have no alternative but to follow Child Protection Procedures and inform Social Services of their concern. Click here for our Safeguarding Policy. 

Parent’s Protect is an information and resources website which aims to give adults the information, advice, support and facts, they need to help protect children.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A CONCERN

If you have a concern about your child, a relative or another pupil who attends this school please contact us on the following:

Designated Safeguarding Lead and Strategic Lead – John Leonard, Assistant Headteacher​: jleonard@boteler.org.uk

Deputy DSL/Safeguarding Officer – Jemma Chilton: jchilton@boteler.org.uk

Deputy DSL – Beverley Scott-Herron, Headteacher Headteacher: bscott-herron@boteler.org.uk          ​

Deputy DSL – Chris Kinsey, ​Deputy Headteacher: ckinsey@boteler.org.uk

You can also speak to any other member of the safeguarding team and contact them on the school number. Please leave a message and we will get back to you at the earliest opportunity.

Click here to view our concern form. 

Click here to view a flowchart of the process we go through regarding concerns raised to us. 

CEOP – Child Exploitation and Online Protection command. Are you worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online? Follow the link here to make a report.

County lines is the name given to drug running. Fearless is a service that allows you to pass on information about crime 100% anonymously. This means you don’t have to give any personal details. Follow the link here to make a report.

The below link may assist officers if dealing with any concerned parents/carer’s/guardians in relation to any nude images of their children or children in their care that may have somehow been shared online. A number of parents/carers do not want to pursue complaints and are keen just to get the image taken down – so by following this link, those concerned can then progress getting the image removed.

https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/sexting/report-a-nude-image-online/