Safeguarding
Wavendon Gate School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. It is the expectation that all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Wavedon Gate School fully recognises the contribution it can make to protect children and support pupils in school. The welfare and safety of pupils is of paramount importance and is promoted through four main strands:
- Prevention – positive, supportive school atmosphere, teaching and pastoral support to pupils, safer recruitment procedures.
- Protection – by following agreed procedures, ensuring all staff are trained and supported to respond appropriately and sensitively to Child Protection concerns.
- Support – to pupils and school staff and to children who may have been abused.
- Working with parents – to ensure appropriate communications and actions are undertaken.
Staff will receive regular training in all aspects of Safeguarding including PREVENT, e-safety, anti-bullying and first aid as required. Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility and we are committed to ensuring that all our children are safe and feel safe, ensuring that children, parents/carers and staff are able to talk about safeguarding concerns and feel they are listened to and ensuring that all staff and volunteers are aware and understand the safeguarding procedures including what to do if they suspect a child may be experiencing, or be at risk of harm.
Under the Children Act 1989 the School has a duty to keep all children safe and to protect them from harm.
Any issue relating to child protection should be referred to either:
- Kerry Jarman (Headteacher) – Designated safeguarding lead
- Sally Sheridan (Deputy Headteacher) – Deputy Designated safeguarding lead
- Michael Scott (Assistant Headteacher) – Deputy Designated safeguarding lead
- Amanda Dewhirst (Learning Mentor) – Deputy Designated safeguarding lead
- Ruth Kok (Learning Mentor) – Deputy Designated safeguarding lead
- Our safeguarding officer is Alison Byrne (Chair of Governors).
To contact any of the designated safeguarding leads please come into the school office. We will make sure somebody is available immediately to speak to you.
Any case of suspected abuse will be monitored and will be referred to the Children’s Services Department of Milton Keynes Council.
Prevent Duty for Schools
Our wide range of safeguarding and child protection duties includes the government’s Prevent Strategy.
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 for Schools.
At Wavendon Gate School, we recognise that safeguarding and creating a safeguarding culture is the responsibility of everyone who works here. As a school, we recognise that safeguarding against radicalisation is no different from safeguarding against any other vulnerability. We build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British Values and enabling our pupils to challenge extremist views.
The statutory guidance refers to the importance of Prevent awareness training to equip staff to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas. The Home Office has developed a core training product for this purpose – Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP).
Links
Please click on the links below to find more information.
Click below to go to our Online Safety page