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 Hilton 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; and
- 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, Hilton 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.
Safeguarding at Hilton Spencer Academy
Hilton Spencer Academy is committed to creating and maintaining a happy and safe environment for our children to live, learn and laugh. Please use the links below to find out more about the steps we take to safeguard children and how you can help us to ensure that all of our children thrive.
Our vision is to ‘create a happy school community where all children participate, excel and are proud of their achievements.’ Making sure that everyone in our school community is safe is an essential prerequisite if children are to demonstrate any of the above.
At Hilton Spencer Academy we have a Safeguarding Team, listed below, but also regard seeking to identify and overcome all barriers to learning as an important part of the partnership between school and families. Information about our approach to pastoral support, e-safety and our policies and procedures can be found below.
You can download the Important Safeguarding information for parents and carers booklet and other leaflets and documents, that may be useful, further down this page.
Safeguarding Team
- Mrs Edwards – Designated Safeguarding Lead
- Mrs White – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
- Mrs Barratt – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
- Mr Staddon – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
- Mrs Brown – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
- Mrs Wright – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Safeguarding Information
Staff in school, by law, have a duty to report any concerns that they may have that any child may be suffering significant harm, particularly as a consequence of possible abuse. It is a Department for Education requirement that each school in the country nominates a senior member of staff who will have special responsibility for Child Protection. At Hilton, we have four members of staff who have received advanced safeguarding training.
The school has a policy on Safeguarding, which has been agreed by the Governing Body. We also refer regularly to the Keeping Children Safe in Education document, which highlights important safeguarding information. As a school, we have close contacts with the School Health Service, Children’s Services and the Police, any or all of who may become involved if abuse is suspected or alleged.
The school has a responsibility to collate basic information such as who has parental responsibility for a child, and to pass this information to the relevant agencies if so requested. In the event of an investigation into possible child abuse, the school has a duty to cooperate with the investigating agencies to the best of their ability to promote the welfare of the child. Whilst the school will always attempt to work in partnership with parents and carers, and try to ensure that they are fully informed of, and participate in, any action concerning their child, if there is a conflict of interest; the welfare of the child must be the paramount consideration.
School takes very seriously the appointing of new staff and follows the ‘Safer Recruitment’ advice from the Local Authority. Our staff and volunteers are DBS checked to ensure all our pupils stay safe.
Regular attendance at school is also vital in ensuring that our children are safe. Not only does absence impact on their potential achievement, it also raises concern about children’s safety and welfare. For further information, please see our section on Attendance.
Should you wish to discuss child protection and the safety of your child, or indeed, any other child in school, please feel free to contact the safeguarding team. Please take time to read the leaflet in the link below. Here you will also find our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and the Keeping Children Safe in Education document as well as our Safer Working Practice guidance.
For further support or advice, please visit our Family Support page.
Documents
Volunteers
We are very grateful to have a large team of volunteers who help in school on a regular basis, as Swim Patrol, Buddy Readers and general support in the classroom. We really do appreciate all they do; our volunteers make a huge difference on a daily basis. Please find below links to our Volunteer Handbook and our Policy for Supervision of Volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please print off the application form below, complete and return to the school office.
There are many ways by which we teach children to stay safe. These include:
PSHCE & British Values
At Hilton, we believe that we will prepare children for the future and raise standards across the curriculum by stimulating children’s imaginations, developing empathy and providing opportunities for critical thinking and problem solving. This includes promoting British Values. The values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs are promoted through the delivery of our curriculum, specific sessions and assemblies to develop children’s social and emotional understanding.
Friendship Buddies (Friendship Patrol in Year 2 and Blue Caps in Year 6) do a great job of encouraging positive friendships and play. We also have an established School Council, giving all children opportunities to have a voice.
Mrs Asquith leads our PSHCE curriculum and Miss Masi supports our school council work.
- Click here to view our PSHCE policy.
Online Safety
At Hilton, we teach the children about e-safety through their computing lessons. This begins with basic skills such as remembering to ask an adult before using the internet in Year 1 and, by Year 6, the children are taught the difference between on-line friends and in-person friends and the kind of chat that is safe to have. Mrs Brooks is the teacher responsible for online safety in school.
Information to help keep your child safe online can be found on several websites. The following we have found to be particularly useful:
Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP)
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) website is run by the National Crime Agency. It has links to various websites and information available for all ages of children. In addition, if you wish to report a concern relating to online safety, visit the link below.
Think U Know
The internet has changed all of our lives, particularly our children’s. For parents and carers this opens up a whole new world of things to be aware of. For many of us, this can all be a bit too much. You might be struggling to keep up with the things your child is doing online, you might wonder whether what they are doing is safe, and you might also be thinking how can I be as good a parent online as I am offline? This site aims to make online parenting simple!
- Click here to download our online safety policy.
Anti-Bullying
We take bullying very seriously at Hilton Spencer Academy. In April 2021 we achieved the Silver Award for Anti Bullying from the All Together Programme. Mrs Asquith is our Anti- Bullying Champion in school and she ensures that we offer the best support possible to all our pupils.
Here is what we offer to all our pupils:
- A structure to develop work around anti-bullying. This includes 24 hour access to our Ban the Bully form (see below). This enables pupils to report any bullying behaviours straight away.
- To further develop strategies to enable children to feel included in policy making and school life
- To remove barriers to learning and enable children to achieve their potential both academic and socially
- To ensure that all members of the school understand practices and procedures that help minimise and identify bullying behaviour
- To try and eradicate all forms of bullying and anti-social behaviour within the school environment
- To celebrate good practise and show all that this school has a zero tolerance to bullying behaviour
We have a Friendship Patrol who are trained to support their peers on the playground.
Whilst Mrs Asquith takes a leading role with our Anti-Bullying work, if you are ever concerned that your child is being bullied, please talk to the class teacher or a senior member of staff.
Documents
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