safeguarding & prevent
The safety and wellbeing of all members of the Northallerton School & Sixth Form College community is our primary concern. We are fully committed to ensuring that we meet the highest possible standards in providing an environment where everyone concerned can flourish and feel safe. We constantly review our policies and practice to ensure that we fully meet all safeguarding requirements.
The school adopts the definition used by Ofsted derived from The Children Act, 2004:
- protecting children and young people from maltreatment
- preventing impairment of children and young people’s health or development
- ensuring that children and young people are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- undertaking that role so as to enable those children and young people to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully.
The school recognises that safeguarding is not just about protecting children from deliberate harm. It includes issues for schools such as:
- health and safety
- bullying - Click here to view A Parent's Guide to Bullying
- racist abuse
- harassment and discrimination
- use of physical intervention
- meeting the needs of students with medical conditions
- providing first aid
- drug and substance misuse
- educational visits
- intimate care
- internet safety
- issues which may be specific to a local area or population, for example the refuge centre
- school security
- developing appropriate attitudes towards personal safety and wellbeing
Guidelines
All school staff undertake annual training with regard to best practice and safeguarding updates that are disseminated from a national level. This includes Keeping Children Safe in Education - Part 1. Staff are trained to recognise signs of radicalisation through the Prevent Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-strategy-2011) and our Learning for Life programme links to this with age appropriate content delivered to our students.
All staff are trained in how to recognise and report safeguarding concerns, the safeguarding team respond to concerns rigorously and robustly.
- Emphasis is placed on students' views to ensure they feel safe in school gathered from informal discussion and formal processes, e.g. questionnaires.
- The responsibility for safeguarding extends beyond the school gates where students are engaged in activities.
- Safeguarding concerns the effectiveness of the school’s work with services provided, commissioned or brokered by the local authority to promote the safety and health of all learners.
- The governing body is accountable for ensuring that the school has effective policies and procedures in place in accordance with the DfE guidance and monitors the school’s compliance with this.
- Senior and middle leaders are clear about their statutory requirements regarding safeguarding and the steps they are taking to develop good practice beyond the statutory minimum.
- Specified recruitment and vetting checks on intended new appointees, particularly identity and qualification checks, are carried out. There is a full, accurate and up-to-date single central record of these checks.
- All staff understand that safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility and know who to contact if they are concerned about a child or young person. They understand their responsibilities in order to achieve positive outcomes, keep children safe and complement the support that other professionals may be providing.
- Students are aware of how they can keep themselves safe and what behaviour towards them is not acceptable. They recognise when pressure from others (including people they know) threatens their personal safety and wellbeing and are helped to develop effective ways of resisting pressure, including knowing when and where to get help.
- The school monitors the provision for and outcomes of all students, including off site provision, work-based learning, extended services, students with a child protection plan, refugee and asylum seekers, looked after children and excluded students, attendance, exclusions and racist incidents.
- There is a designated person for child protection and a governor with specific responsibility for safeguarding (and for referring on any allegations against the Headteacher). The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Jo Smith.
- There is a child protection policy and procedural document.
- Allegations against staff are dealt with in accordance with NYCC guidance.
- The designated member of staff has undertaken training in inter-agency working to standards agreed by the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), and undertakes refresher training at two yearly intervals.
- All staff and other adults who work with students undertake appropriate and up to date training to equip them to carry out their responsibilities for child protection effectively, this is kept up to date by refresher training at three yearly intervals.
- There is a clear reporting system if a student, member of staff, parent or other person has concerns about the safety of children.
- Security arrangements for the grounds and buildings are adequate and reviewed annually.
- There are effective and prompt systems for referring safeguarding concerns about students to relevant agencies.
- Attendance is monitored and appropriate action taken as necessary, especially with regard to the most vulnerable.
- Close advisory links and collaboration are maintained with a large number of external agencies and professionals that support safeguarding. The following list is indicative rather than exclusive - Education Psychologists, Primary Care Trust, Local Authority (Children’s Services), MENCAP, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
- Internet safety advice and guidance for parents and students can be found below or our on internal intranet site. The school’s online filtering system is fully compliant with the IWF (Internet Watch Foundation) and CEOP (Child Exploitation Online Protection).
- Risk assessments are carried out whenever appropriate, in line with the relevant guidelines.
Safeguarding Contacts
01609 535123
0845 7909090
0808 8025544
0800 11 11
0808 800 5000
0808 808 1001
E-Safeguarding
E-Safeguarding Your Child
Safeguarding students in school extends to students using communication technology by way of our computer network. We work hard to ensure our students' access to the world wide web is safe and level appropriate. Our connection to the internet has filters in place to avoid access to inappropriate sites and material and is monitored regularly. However parents and carers should be aware that if their child owns a smartphone without filters in place, they are able to connect to the world wide web through their own internet connection, bypassing our filtered system altogether. If your child has a smartphone, then filters available from internet service providers or websites themselves should already be set up before the device is given to them, otherwise unfettered access to all that is available on the world wide web is free for them to explore. This can easily be communicated to other students' devices which are also without any filtering.
E-Safeguarding is an important part of the Northallerton School & Sixth Form College ethos
This section will help provide information and advice for parents and students about keeping safe online. It will be reviewed and updated in line with our Local Authority's guidance, Effective E-Safety Practice for Schools (September 2012) and support the Government’s vision for improving online safety.
As technology is playing a bigger part in our students’ lives and the access to uncontrolled internet content forever on the increase, it is becoming ever more important that we need to keep children safe from online threats through promoting E-Safeguarding. We need to ensure that we are all aware of the risks involved and are being safe when using the internet. We will continue to educate our students via their tutor groups’ time and through assemblies on the importance of safety online.
Technology enhances learning, schools and colleges can do much to ensure students get the most from it by encouraging responsible online behaviour. On this page you will find links to some very useful websites, resources and documents which are available to download. These will provide you with information on all you need to know in order to stay safe online and have fun surfing! These resources will hopefully educate students and parents on how to improve and maintain the safety of their online presence.
Online Safety
Parents and carers across North Yorkshire are being urged to consider the risks of the online world in the excitement of receiving new games and gadgets this Christmas.
The online world is an exciting resource which gives children and young people the opportunities to safely play, learn, be creative and socialise.
The amount of time families have spent online for work, school, socialising and just for fun has increased significantly during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns and as we start 2021 with remote learning for students, it is important parents and carers know how to protect their children. We may feel our children are safe at home playing on their PC, tablet, phone or game consoles, but we may be unaware of the hidden harm they are suffering online.
The ‘always online, instant access’ lifestyle many children and young people have today can make it difficult for us to know how to ensure their safety. Many of us worry we won’t understand modern technology as it is too technical or we may be unaware of the potential risks that our children face. Video game systems, social media and other platforms bring risks such as cyberbullying, scams, privacy problems and seeing age inappropriate content.
As a parent or carer you play a key role in helping your child to stay safe online. That’s why we are encouraging you to access tips, advice, guides and resources for ensuring your children can enjoy any new games and gadgets safely and responsibly.
The partnership – led by North Yorkshire’s three safeguarding bodies; North Yorkshire County Council, North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire’s Clinical Commissioning Groups and holding all other bodies that work with children and young people to account on safeguarding – has a website which includes accessible, useful information for parents or carers.
For more information, advice and links on how to keep your children safe online please visit the parent and carers webpages by clicking here.
Click here to view a Parent Online Safety Booklet which includes an overview of key parental controls.
useful links
Click CEOP to make a report directly to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
North Yorkshire Police Advice for Parents - Parental controls, setting boundaries, your child's online life
Internet Matters - Helping parents keep their children safe online
IWF-Internet Watch Foundation - Reporting criminal online content including child sexual abuse images Where to go and what to do
Video chat and webcams - Safely use these apps
Facebook checklist - Who can see what?
UK Safer Internet Centre - Online safety guidance
Sexting - 'So You Got Naked Online' help booklet. Don't panic, things can be done. UK Safer Internet Centre
Kidsmart - Smart surfing