Safeguarding

At Ark Victoria Academy we have a duty to ‘safeguard and promote the welfare of children’. If you have any concerns about the health and safety of a child at this school or feel that something may be troubling them, you should share this information with an appropriate member of the school staff straight away. Some issues (e.g., a child’s appearance, hygiene, general behaviour etc.) can be shared with a member of the Pastoral staff in school. 

Do not worry that you may be reporting a matter which seems small – we would rather you tell us something which does turn out to be a minor issue than miss a worrying situation. 

However, if you think the matter is very serious and may be related to a child protection issue, e.g. physical, sexual including harassment, emotional abuse including child on child abuse or neglect, you must talk to the safeguarding team below as soon as possible. If you are unable to contact them, you can ask staff in the school office to locate them and ask that they speak to you urgently about a confidential urgent matter. 

Any allegations or a disclosure involving a member of staff, a child’s foster carer or a volunteer in the school must be reported directly to the Principal, unless it involves the Principal in which case it should be reported directly to the chair of the Governing Body Mr D.Gould. 

Thank you for supporting the young people of Ark Victoria Academy. 

Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means:

• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
• Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
• Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes

Our first priority is your child’s welfare and therefore there may be occasions when our concern about your child means that we have to consult other agencies even before we contact you. The procedures we follow have been laid down by Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board. If you want to know more about this procedure, please speak to the Headteacher.

In addition, when staff become aware of or feel the need to become involved in situations where there is a risk of children being involved in any of the following:

• Self-harming
• Causing injury to other children, staff, parents and visitors
• Causing damage to property

Staff will make dynamic or planned risk assessments to help keep all children safe. The Children Act 1989 makes it clear that in any decision involving a child “the paramount consideration must be the child’s welfare”.

If you have a concern that a child or children are being harmed, at risk of harm, or you receive a disclosure (intentionally or unintentionally) you must report it immediately to one of our designated safeguarding leads.

There are some very useful resources on the NSPCC underwear rule webpage (please see the NSPCC link below).  These include a video for parents, downloadable leaflets in a variety of languages and advice on specialist situations such as discussing personal safety with children who have a learning disability.

We would request that all parents take some time to read the NSPCC advice and talk with their children about this sensitive but important subject.

NSPCC

From 1 July 2015 all schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have "due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism". This duty is known as the Prevent duty.  It is intended to help schools  think about what they can do to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and suggests how they can access support to do this.

In order for schools and childcare providers to fulfil the Prevent duty, it is essential that staff are able to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and know what to do when they are identified. 

Schools  can build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling them to challenge extremist views. It is important to emphasise that the Prevent duty is not intended to stop pupils debating controversial issues. On the contrary, schools should provide a safe space in which children, young people and staff can understand the risks associated with terrorism and develop the knowledge and skills to be able to challenge extremist arguments.