All schools within London South East Academies Trust have a Designated Safeguarding Lead who has overall responsibility for safeguarding and child protection within their school and can be contacted directly in order to discuss any concerns.
Each Safeguarding Lead is supported in their role by the Head of School (if not the safeguarding lead)/ Executive Headteacher to ensure we maintain every students safety and welfare. Regular and robust training is delivered to all staff within the Trust with the support of Bromley Safeguarding Childrens Board, Local Authority Designated Officer and using the Ofsted criteria. This includes the delivery of annual and when required, specific staff training relating to Child Sexual Exploitation, Female Genital Mutilation, Children Missing Education, Prevent and British Values in addition to a clear structured support for staff to address challenging and complex safeguarding concerns.
Our Designated Safeguarding Trustee regularly participates and monitors our Policy and practice across the Trust Schools, which will be updated and adapted in line with Local and National changes in legislation outside of the regular annual review.
All London South East Academies Trust schools will endeavour to support the welfare and safety of all students through:
- Promoting and maintaining a whole school culture of safeguarding awareness and proactive response to concerns.
- Ensuring student welfare is the paramount concern and responsibility of all staff to identify children who may be in need of extra help or who are likely to suffer significant harm.
- Providing appropriate support and guidance to students to enable them to have a range of appropriate adults whom they feel confident to approach if they are in difficulty.
- Ensuring the curriculum contains social and emotional aspects of learning.
- Ensuring that safeguarding is included in the curriculum to enable students to stay safe, recognise when they don’t feel safe and identify who they might/can talk to help them.
- Promoting a positive and supportive environment where students can develop a sense of being valued and heard in their own right.
- Ensuring all steps are taken to maintain the school site security and students physical safety.
- Working and communicating regularly with parents to build an understanding of the school’s responsibility to ensure the welfare of all students including the need for external agencies when it is deemed necessary.
- Regular whole safeguarding training creating a measured, generic approach to identifying and addressing concerns raised.
- Ensuring all staff are able to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and are aware of the schools procedures, lines of communication in order to take appropriate action.
- Monitoring students who have been identified as having welfare or safeguarding concerns;
- Keeping confidential records which are stored securely and shared appropriately with other professionals.
- Developing and maintaining effective and supportive partnership working with external agencies in order to promote student wellbeing.
Designated Leads:
- Beth Moore - Group Executive Director of Student Experience and Safeguarding - has overall responsibility for safeguarding within the Trust, with accountability shared through the Headteachers, Welfare Officers and Behaviour Leads in each School.
Safeguarding Leads:
- BTA Midfield – Paul Bailey DSL and Debbie Blake Deputy DSL
- BTA Hayes – Myra Brown DSL
Please note all staff including Agency staff, are all carefully vetted to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students.
