Safeguarding

Where can I access help and support?

Hi, my name is Mrs Sampson and I am the Designated Safeguarding Lead at Kibworth Mead Academy.

My role is to ensure the welfare and safety of all children who attend Kibworth Mead Academy. We believe that students have a right to learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment which includes the right to protection from all types of abuse; where staff are vigilant for signs of any student in distress and are confident about applying our safeguarding processes to avert and alleviate any such problems. Through regular training, all staff are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to safeguard students from all forms of abuse.

Sometimes, we may need to share information and work in partnership with other professionals when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that concerns about our pupils are discussed with his/her parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare. If a member of staff is concerned about a child’s welfare, they will record their concern, and any observations or conversations, and report to one of the DSLs as soon as possible.

We are here to help, email us at [email protected]

I have a concern about a child

If you are ever concerned about the safety or wellbeing of someone at our academy, please talk to myself or one of my Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads immediately: (Mrs Sampson, Mr Evora, Mr Piggot, Dr Thompson, Mrs Rees, Mr Stanton, Mrs Wright, Mr Holmes, Miss Shaunak and Mrs Milligan.)

If you have any safeguarding concerns about a child at Kibworth Mead Academy outside of school hours, please call Social Care on 0116 305 0005 or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. Further information can be found by following the links below. Concerns can also be sent to school via our email address [email protected] This email will be sent to our safeguarding team at the school and will be monitored throughout the year however, if the concern relates to immediate danger or harm to a child please contact Social Care on the above number immediately.

Simon Genders – Safeguarding Development Officer for Leicestershire County Council reminds parents of the importance of safe practice around remote learning and internet use in the home.

Health

Health For Teens
Rise Above
Helping vulnerable families – Best Beginnings
Family Action committed to building stronger families
Minded
Stay Safe when you isolate help is here (MISSING FILE)
Home Office Social Media videos
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Young Carers

Banardo’s

Domestic Violence

Freeva

Restorative Justice Approach

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Sexual violence and Sexual Harassment

Help after rape and sexual assault – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

What is sexual violence? | Rape Crisis England & Wales | Rape Crisis England & Wales

Protecting children from peer-on-peer sexual abuse | NSPCC Learning

“Is this sexual abuse?” | NSPCC Learning

Talking to your child about online sexual harassment: A guide for parents | Children’s Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

Victim First support

Home – Victim First

Keeping Safe Online

It can be hard for parents to keep up with new technologies, and just thinking about keeping children safe online can seem daunting.

The main dangers children and their parents need to be aware of are: cyber bullying, grooming by sexual predators and the problems of posting personal or embarrassing information online.

It is important to remember that the internet is a fun and valuable place for children to play and learn, and the vast majority of the time using the internet is a fantastic experience for millions of children.

However there can be hidden dangers. On the internet people can be instantly connected and you cannot always be sure you are talking to the person you think you are. It is also worth remembering, once something is posted on the internet it is almost impossible to remove and so personal or embarrassing material can be seen by anyone, anywhere.

We shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the negatives, remember the internet is a great resource for children. It is important that we give them space to explore the internet, so they can learn to keep themselves safe.

Advice for parents of 11-13 year olds

Advice for parents of 14+ year olds

National Online Safety Guides #WakeUpWednesday

So what can you do?

10 tips for keeping your children safe online

Talk regularly with your child about what they do online and who they talk to online. You need to make internet safety a comfortable topic to talk about.
Help your children to understand that they should never give out personal information online, particularly to friends that they do not know offline.
Explain to your children what personal information means: email address, address, mobile or phone number, school name, clubs and societies, where their parents are, making arrangements for meeting up and any pictures or videos of themselves, their family or friends, etc. Small pieces of information can easily be pieced together to give a picture of themselves and their activities.
Help your child to understand that some people lie online and that therefore it is better to keep online friends online. They should never meet up with any strangers without an adult they trust.
Make them understand that once information or photos are posted online it’s impossible to take them back, anyone can see them and anyone can share them.
Put computers in public parts of your house, and particularly don’t allow computers to be used hidden away in bedrooms. It’s important to give children access to computers, but it’s also important to make sure you can see what they are doing.
If your child, or you, receives spam or junk email and texts, make sure they know that their contents should not be believed, that you should never reply or forward them and attached files shouldn’t be opened. It’s impossible to know what they contain, it could be a virus or an inappropriate image or video.
Make sure your children choose their screen name, email address & chat handle wisely – don’t use ones that reveal age, gender, etc and it’s important that they know the danger of using suggestive or sexy names. Predators are more likely to pursue a child with the screen name “sexyteen” or “niceboy1” than “jellyfish” or “jkjones”.
Make sure your children know that it is never too late to tell someone if something makes them feel uncomfortable, and make sure they know who to go to (and be aware that at first it may not be you).
Use technology to help you protect your child. Monitoring software can alert you to let you know your child might be getting into trouble. Make sure they know you don’t see everything, only snippets of potentially dangerous conversations. Use these to step in if needed and also to help you talk to your child about the dangers of what they are doing.

Finally, remember children learn by exploring and that the world they live in includes the internet. You can help by making sure they learn in safety, by being there for them when they need you and by pointing them in the right direction if and when they need your guidance.

For more information visit the CEOPS website.

If you have any questions or concerns with regard to e safety please contact your child’s Assistant Head of Year