Upper Arley School is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all of our children. We expect every member of staff and all visitors to share our commitment as the health and safety of our children is paramount.
We have a safeguarding culture that promotes trust between all adults and children so that all children have a trusted adult that they can speak to about any of their worries or concerns.
At Upper Arley School, we believe that safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility and promote this accountability with all staff. In school, we have a safeguarding team that staff can liaise with and that take overall responsibility and they are: The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is: Mrs Samina Ahmed-Khan. The nominated safeguarding/child protection governor is: Mrs Julie Greenwood.
All staff receive annual safeguarding training through the DSL, as well as weekly briefings and online training. Any new staff receive safeguarding training as part of their induction and this is delivered by the DSL.
At Upper Arley School, we believe that it is unacceptable for a child to experience any kind of abuse. We recognise and understand our responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children. We will provide staff and volunteers with guidance to follow when they suspect a child may be experiencing abuse or at risk of harm. We will work co-operatively with other agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents/carers first – unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.
We recognise and strive to maintain a school where children feel safe and are in an environment where they feel they are able to share concerns and worries, allowing us to safeguard children most effectively. As a result, we believe that early intervention support for social and emotion as well as mental health issues are of paramount importance to us. Qualified THRIVE practitioners offer targeted support for children with these needs, as well as other external agencies including our Play Therapist, Pastoral worker, Family Support worker, Educational Psychologist, Young Carers and CAMHs CAST.
Our school delivers Personal Social, Health and Economics (PSHE) and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) programmes as well as British Citizenship to further support the children’s understanding of how to keep themselves safe. We invite the NSPCC in to support this.
Within our school Mrs Louise Low is the trained Mental Health First Aider in school and has provided training to staff to spot signs and symptoms of common mental health issues, provide support and reassurance, and guide the child or adult to seek professional support they may need.