Schools are charged with maintaining a safe, supportive environment which protects the rights and needs of children at all times. School staff have regular contact with children and young people, and a responsibility to help to identify signs of children in need of additional support or protection accordingly.
Together, these responsibilities are called safeguarding.
At Ashwood Spencer Academy, the safety and welfare of our children is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise our safeguarding responsibilities to include:
- creating a safe environment for children and young people through robust safeguarding practices;
- ensuring that adults who work in school, including volunteers, are able to work with children safely, and are properly trained and equipped to do so;
- teaching children and young people to stay safe;
- maintaining an environment in which children feel confident to approach any member of staff if they have a worry or problem.
As part of our safeguarding delivery Ashwood Spencer Academy follows the procedures set out by the Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Board in the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Procedures (www.derbyshirescb.org.uk) and take account of guidance issued by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (in particular Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2007).
Links to safeguarding resources used in school can be found here.
At Ashwood, we recognise the need to teach children how to keep themselves safe. As a result, we engage in various methods of ‘teaching safeguarding’:
- Monday Safeguarding Scenarios
- Contextual Safeguarding
- Thursday Topical Assemblies
- Pupil Voice Assemblies
- PSHE
- Computing
- Mini Police Project for Year 5 pupils
- Engagement in country-wide initiatives e.g. Anti-Bullying Week, Children’s Mental Health Week
- Ensuring we teach a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of Ashwood pupils
Find out more about Ashwood’s safeguarding approach here.
Designated Safeguarding Lead
- Mrs Morgan Baines
- Contact: safeguarding@ashwoodspencer.com
Alerting School
If you believe that school should be made aware of any safeguarding or child protection issues at any time, please email: safeguarding@ashwoodspencer.com. We will endeavour to get back to you in a timely manner.
Out of School Hours/Out of Term Time Arrangements
If you believe that a child is at immediate risk and in need of protection then you should call the police on 999/101 immediately.
Alternatively, if you want advice from the police and the child is not in immediate need of protection, you can call them on 0845 123 33 33.
Additionally, you can call Derby City Children’s Social Care on 01332 641172 between 9am-5pm on weekdays, and 01332 956606 between 5pm-9am on weekdays and all day at the weekend and Bank Holidays. These lines will enable you to speak to a Social Worker. Members of the team will help you to talk about the concerns you may have for a child and decide what actions may be required to make a child safe.
There is also the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000.
For further information, please access these links: