Safeguarding Information for Parents & Carers
Most children enjoy safe and happy childhoods with their own families. Unfortunately for some, this is not the case. During difficult times everyone who knows the child must do all they can to protect them from harm.
The information contained within this leaflet outlines how we as a school work together to promote a child focused and coordinated approach to safeguarding, which is designed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students.
At Learning Opportunities, we are all responsible for the welfare of our students and for keeping our environment safe. Safeguarding our students is our highest priority. Students can talk to any member of staff at our school about anything that is worrying them, and of course a member of our qualified Safeguarding Team.
Key Contacts
| Name | Contact information | |
| Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) | Kevin Dunk (Head of School – Personal Development, Behaviour & Attitudes) | kevind@learningopps.org 01304 381906 / 07394 984289 |
| Kate Smith (SLT Administrator) | kates@learningopps.org 01304 381906 / 07547 527768 | |
| Safeguarding Proprietor | Lesley Buss | lesleyb@learningopps.org 07860 139678 |
The school follows procedures laid down by Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-Agency Partnership (KSCMP) together with DFE guidance contained in Working Together to Safeguard Children (July 2018) and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE 2024).
What we mean by Safeguarding
- Providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge
- Protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online
- Preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
- Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
A child should go to school and feel safe so they can achieve their very best. As part of our duty to keep children safe from harm all staff receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety) which is regularly updated. In addition, all staff receive safeguarding and child protection updates to provide them with the skills and knowledge to safeguard students effectively.
The designated safeguarding leads are responsible for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety). They undergo training every two years. In addition, their knowledge and skills are refreshed at regular intervals.
This leaflet will help you understand how we keep your children safe by telling you:
- What we must do to keep your child safe from harm.
- What you must do as a parent/carer to help your child be safe and enjoy school.
What we will do
We will always listen and work closely with you if we are concerned about your child but, sometimes, we may not be able to discuss our concern. The school has a safeguarding policy which tells you more about this and when we must speak to the police or children’s services.
We will help your child to learn about keeping themselves safe. As part of these lessons your child will be told what to do if they are worried or concerned about their safety.
Within school we:
- establish and maintain an ethos where students feel safe, are encouraged to talk and are listened to within an open and positive school environment.
- Ensure that students know that there are trusted adults in the school who they can approach if they are worried or in any difficulty.
- Include within the curriculum activities and opportunities to equip students with the skills they need to stay safe from all forms of abuse or radicalisation.
- Establish effective working relationships with parents / carers and colleagues from other agencies such as police, social services and health.
- Ensure that safeguarding is at the heart of recruitment and that all adults who have access to students have been checked as to their suitability.
What will happen if we have concerns about your child?
If the school has a concern that your child is, or may be, suffering harm within or outside school, we will act according to our statutory duty in law to protect your child from any harm or danger. All schools have a duty to refer cases if they have a safeguarding concern.
- If your child has said something worrying to us, for example if they tell us they have been intentionally hit.
- If someone at school sees an unusual or unexplained mark or injury
- If their behaviour is particularly out of the ordinary
- If it has been reported to another agency that something has been said or witnessed by your child, or
- If there are any other reasons we feel your child may be suffering harm outside of school, we have a legal duty to make a referral.
We understand that you may feel angry, upset or worried because we have made a referral. The decision to make a referral is never taken lightly. However, every member of staff has a duty to act in the best interests of children at all times. This means acting quickly to reduce any risks where a child’s safety is of concern.
We encourage parents & carers to…
- Feel confident to raise concerns about your child.
- Talk to the school if you need help or support.
- Read the school polices about safety issues available on our school website.
- Let the school know about any relevant medical condition affecting your child.
- Let the school know about any court orders relating to the safety of your child.
- Let the school know about a change in circumstance such as a house move, contact number, name change.
- Provide the school with at least two emergency contact names and numbers.
- Let the school know if your child is going to be absent and the reason why.
Our approach to specific safeguarding issues including county lines, sexual violence and sexual harassment, online safety and bullying is covered in our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy which is available on our website www.learningopps.org
Student conduct
The school has a clear Positive Behaviour Policy to keep everyone safe. There may be times when students challenge the expectations, they will be supported by staff in an attempt to resolve the situation. The school has an Anti-Bullying policy and will work with students and families to try and resolve any problems.
Early Help
We recognise the importance of Early Help in offering support to meet the needs of our students and their families, and understand that from time to time family life can have its complications. These may be the times when you need some extra help and support.
Within the school our Safeguarding Team can offer advice on a range of concerns or can signpost parents / carers to other sources of information, help and support.
Providing Early Help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’ life. We endeavour to create a school ethos that promotes trust between all adults and students.
Confidentiality & Information Sharing
Where there is concern that a student may be suffering or is at risk of suffering significant harm, their safety and welfare will be the overriding consideration in whether to share information. Based on our judgment of the facts we may override a lack of consent. We will ensure that the information we share is accurate and up-to-date, necessary for the purpose for which we are sharing it, shared only with those people who need to see it, and shared securely.
Site Security & Safety
- Controlled Access & Egress
- Physical security measures include fenced site boundary and security gate access, the combination of which is changed regularly. Only staff employed by School have access to these codes.
- Signage requests that all visitors report to Reception to sign in and out and to be issued with a visitor’s badge.
Online safety
The school takes responsibility for your child’s online safety very seriously and as such, we ensure that students are educated about the safe use of technology and stress the importance of having a safe digital footprint. We advise parents and carers to be vigilant and ensure that their children are accessing age-appropriate social media platforms and games. Below is a useful support website for parents and carers.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety
Students can report anything they find inappropriate to any member of staff, or use the CEOP button which is also available on the school website.
Photographing Students
The school will always obtain parental permission for any photograph taken and used by the school. This is given on entry to the school. Parents / carers can withdraw or give consent after this at any time. Parents and carers must not post any images of others students on social media.
Prevent
Staff are trained in the Prevent duty to ensure that they can identify students at risk of radicalisation and know what to do if a student is at risk. Where appropriate, the DSL can make a referral to the Channel programme. Channel focuses on providing support to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.
Staff conduct
Any concerns about the conduct of a member of staff should be reported immediately to our Head of School, Kevin Dunk kevind@learningopp.org / Tel: 07394 984289.
County Lines
County lines is the practice of trafficking drugs into rural areas and smaller towns, away from major cities. Traffickers target and recruit vulnerable children as drug dealers. Staff are trained to identify the signs and know what to do if they feel a student is at risk.
As parents and carers you must also be vigilant and can report any concerns to the headteacher, or you can contact Fearless.org anonymously for information / advice, or to report a crime – if something is happening that requires immediate action call 999.
Complaints, Compliments & Suggestions
If you or your child has any concern or complaint about how the school is working, please feel free to speak to us. We also welcome compliments and suggestions as to how systems and processes within the school could be improved.
Additional Safeguarding information is available on the school website
Suggested Websites to support families
REMEMBER – We all have a responsibility to keep children safe, both at home and in school. Should you have a Child Protection concern, please ensure that this is reported to a member of staff.
…if in doubt, ask.
Please do not leave our school without telling someone or doing something.
If a child may be at risk of imminent harm, you should call the
Police on 999
To tell Kent about a child safeguarding concern, either:
call 03000 41 11 11
email social.services@kent.gov.uk
text relay 18001 03000 41 11 11.
If you need to contact Kent outside of normal office hours, for example during the night, call 03000 41 91 91.