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Safeguarding

Brooke Weston knows that it is of the upmost importance to have good systems for protecting and safeguarding the welfare of all our students. This means that anyone who works with our students must be alert to possible concerns and report these appropriately and in a timely manner.

In order to protect our students, it is our aim to:
  • Create an atmosphere where all of our students feel safe, secure, valued and listened to
  • Recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse
  • Respond quickly and effectively to cases of suspected abuse
Brooke Weston will support all students by:
  • Encouraging self-esteem and self-assertiveness whilst not condoning aggression or bullying
  • Promoting a caring, safe and positive environment within the Academy
All Brooke Weston staff should be aware that:
  • Their role is to listen and record carefully any observations, which could indicate concern/abuse
  • They should not attempt to investigate, once the initial concern is raised
  • They should involve a member of the Safeguarding Team immediately
  • If the Safeguarding Team are not available, the Principal should be contacted
  • A disclosure of abuse or harm could be made at anytime
  • Prior to external agencies being invited in to the Academy to work with our students or to carry out work on the premises, all relevant DBS checks and identification has been seen/verified.
The Brooke Weston Trust policy for safeguarding and Child Protection is to:
  • Protect children from any maltreatment or harm, whether this is within or outside the home, including online, and provide help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge, to prevent any impairment of their mental and physical health and/or development
  • To ensure each academy offers a safe and supportive environment for all children under its care and creates a culture of vigilance throughout the organisation 
  • Ensure all staff, governors and visitors are aware of and clearly understand their statutory safeguarding responsibilities
  • Outline how all staff, governors and visitors will meet their safeguarding duty and protect children from harm
  • Enable all children, no matter what their background or circumstance, to have optimum life chances beyond the Academy

The BWT Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy can be found here:

Reporting Procedures

Staff

If a staff member has a concern, that a child is being harmed or is at risk of harm or receive a disclosure (intentionally or unintentionally), they must contact one of the Safeguarding Team.

Parents and Students

It is really important to us that our students remain safe.  If you have any issues regarding the safety or wellbeing of a student please contact the school using the one of the following:

Out of Hours Support

The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
The MASH can advise on whether a family needs early help or whether they meet the threshold for statutory child protection. Telephone: 0300 126 7000

Out of hours service
Should you need to contact children's Social Care urgently during the evening, at night or at the weekend, phone the out of hours team on 01604 626938. An operator will answer the phone and take details of the concern and your contact details. They will then pass this information over to the duty social worker.

Contact Us

If you use a contact form below, a member of the student care team will be in touch with you within 48hrs (Monday - Friday).

If you have a concern that is over the weekend or a school holiday please contact one of the local support helplines listed within this area e.g. Youth Works.

If your concern in urgent please contact the Samaritans on 116 123, Child Line on 0800 1111 or if it is an emergency or you are in danger please call 999. 

If you want to report a concern anonymously, you can also complete the form without your name or contact details. 

Your details

Designated Safeguarding Leads 

 

Mrs Kate Jeyes

Vice Principal
Lead DSL
safeguarding@brookeweston.org

 

 

Mrs Sara Mangan

Safeguarding Officer
Deputy DSL
sara.mangan@brookeweston.org 

Mrs Steph Schofield

Assistant Principal
Deputy DSL
Steph.schofield@brookeweston.org

Mrs Vicky Hilling

Education Welfare Officer
Deputy DSL
vicky.hilling@brookeweston.org

Mrs Angeline Annable

Senior Assistant Principal
Deputy DSL
angeline.annable@brookeweston.org

   

 

 

Useful Links 

Early Help

What is Early Help?

Early Help is for families with children of all ages. It empowers you and your family to find solutions with support.

  • It is done with you, not to you!
  • It prevents little concerns from getting bigger.
  • It makes and keeps families stronger and healthier.

All Early Help services are available on a voluntary capacity – you are never forced to take up this level of support. It is your family, your support, your say.

Early Help is delivered by many different services that are involved with children or families, so you can approach someone you know and trust for support.

What you can expect form the lead professional of your Early Help Assessment?

When a family consent to an Early Help Assessment (EHA) it is expected that the identified lead professional has gone through the process with the family, explained the assessment and how the Team Around the Family (TAF) meetings will be ran.

The guidance given to lead professionals around Team Around the Family (TAF) meetings are:

  • The EHA is completed in collaboration with the family and all professionals already involved with the family.
  • The actions on the support plan should be agreed with the family once the EHA has been completed.
  • Voice of the child should be gathered before each meeting, or where appropriate the child/young person should be invited to the TAF
  • TAF meetings should be held every 6-8 weeks, dates should be put in the diary after each TAF meeting so everyone is aware.
  • All professionals and family members included on the EHA should be invited, if anyone is unable to attend then an update should be sent to the Lead Professional so it can be shared in the meeting.
  • The format of the meeting should be an update on how things are going and then a review of the support plan.
  • If the family would like advice or guidance around the EHA process or if the family have an open EHA and do not feel it is making progress, the family can contact the Partnership Support Service cfss@nctrust.co.uk for support and advice.

More information about Early help can be found here 

Harmful Sexual Behaviours

Sexual Harassment and Abuse

Sexual abuse in any form is unacceptable.

A dedicated helpline is now open to support anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse.

The helpline is run by the NSPCC and will provide victims of abuse with the appropriate support, advice and onward action, including on contacting professionals or the police if they wish. The helpline will also provide support to parents and professionals too.

Telephone 0800 136 663, or email help@nspcc.org.uk.

More information can be found at https://dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/04/01/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-governments-newly-launched-abuse-in-education-helpline/

 

 

Stop It Now! are a child protection charity working to prevent child sexual abuse. They have a live chat and secure messaging feature on their website: https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/ 

Operation Encompass

Substance Abuse Support and Information

Ngage offers a free and non-judgmental support service to young people living in Northamptonshire
Our support can be accessed by any young person aged 10 - 18 years old who is at risk of using drugs and or alcohol or is already using drugs and or alcohol. 

Telephone: 01604 633848
E-mail: YPNorthamptonshire@aquarius.org.uk

Links to further information and a referral form can be found in the downloads section at the bottom of this page.

Domestic Abuse Support and Information

Brooke Weston Academy is part of a jointly run operation between Northamptonshire County Council, Northamptonshire Police and our school, the national name for this process is Operation Encompass. Encompass has been set-up to help schools to provide support to children who may have been affected by incidents of domestic violence. We know that children can be significantly physically or emotionally harmed when they are involved in, present or witness to domestic abuse.  

Under this scheme the school will receive notification from the County Council following any domestic incident that a child at their school may have been affected by. 
The staff members identified on this page are identified as Key Adults who will receive this information. 

They have received guidance from Northamptonshire County Council to allow them to use the information that has been shared, in confidence to make sure that the right support is available for children and their families.  

We are keen to offer the best support possible to our pupils and we believe this is going to be extremely beneficial for all those involved.   

Advice for Parents

If you are worried about yourself or a friend then you can seek advice and guidance from Northamptonshire Domestic abuse Service provides support for the victims of Domestic Abuse using the link below.

If you or someone you know are in immediate danger please call the police straight away on 999 

Advice for Students

What to do if I am worried about myself or someone I know?
  • Tell an adult you trust
  • Make a report using the contact form above
  • Report any crime anonymously using the link below

If you or someone you know are in immediate danger please call the police straight away on 999 

If you need additional guidance and don’t know where to go call childline

 

Mental Heath and Wellbeing Support and Information

Sometimes things can be tough and there is no shame in needing a little help sometimes.

If you or someone you know is struggling please speak to someone.

The links below will take you to experts who can guide you when things feel too tough.

Don’t forget ZUMOS remains available to you all 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Zumos can offer daily well-being advice and signposting, email a worry or problem to “Speak Out” and you will receive a personal reply advice and guidance in confidence

Please contact your form tutor if you need reminders about log on details.

          

        

  

ThinkNinja Assets

 

Online Safety Support and Information

The link below takes you to goverment guidance and support for parents and carers to keep children and young people safe from online harm 

 

 

Home Activity packs

  

Think U Know and Childnet provide age-specific activities about online safety to do with your child at home in addition for guidance for you as a parent

NSPCC provides tips for parents on how to keep your child safe on line

Online Safety Guide for Parents/ Carers

Click on the image above to find out about the free parental App that gives you access to access helpful guides including:

Parental Controls

Social Media Apps

Online Bullying

Online Relationships

Online Reputation

 

Other Guidance for Parents/ Carers

   

Provide practical tips to help children stay safe online including age-specific issues, setting devices up safely and tools for reporting issues to relevant organisations.

Children reveal riskiest social media sites in new Net Aware guide - O2 The  Blue

Net Aware provides a guide to all the latest social network, apps and games.

 Reporting concerns 

Click on the make a report link above to make a report directly to the school safeguarding team.

If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, please call the police straight away on 999 

 

Other Useful Documents

Get in touch

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