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Safeguarding Briefing - 6th March 2023
Dear Colleagues,
Falling Trees and Risk - Healthy and Safety Executive
The management of risk to pupils whilst they are on the school premises does not only encompass protecting them from other humans. Indeed, there are a myriad of potential dangers from nature and the school’s surroundings. Whether it’s an unwanted infestation of pests, to the presence of asbestos in your establishment’s legacy buildings the potential accidental dangers within the physical sphere are not to be overlooked. Many schools enjoy a wealth of lush environmentally sound ground in which their pupils can play and take a break from their schoolwork. However, it is vitally important that these grounds and the thing in them are factored in to securing the safety of children and young people. And one danger looms large over the others – falling trees or branches. Back on the 25th of September 2020, a council was fined £280,000 after the death of a six year old girl who was hit by a falling tree in her playground. The Year 2 pupil was playing with friends at her first school in north east England when a decaying willow tree collapsed. Several other children were hit by the falling tree but managed to escape, some with superficial injuries. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found the tree had decayed and was in poor condition. The council had failed to identify the extent of the decay or to manage the risk posed by the tree. To aid in avoiding this, make sure to read the guidance linked below:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/sims/ag_food/010705.htm
Vacancies In The Education Sector
Assistant Principal Safeguarding - Northamptonshire
There is currently a vacancy open for a non-teaching assistant principal for safeguarding, at the Abbeyfield School in Northamptonshire. The successful candidate will start in September, and the closing date is the thirteenth of March. The salary on offer starts at £58,105. If accepted the applicant will join the school's safeguarding team, at a time when the school is undertaking a major drive to make safeguarding their priority, an excellent opportunity to make a difference.
https://www.tes.com/jobs/vacancy/assistant-principal-safeguarding-northamptonshire-1797791
School Engagement Officer Freelance - Breck Foundation
There is a vacancy open for a school engagement officer on a freelance basis, at the Breck Foundation. The successful candidate will undertake awareness activities within schools, travelling to schools to spread the story of Breck Bendar who was murdered by an internet acquaintance in 2014. The role is remote, with travel required and a salary from £50 to £450 per day. They are actively interviewing now.
https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/breck-foundation/school-engagement-officer-freelance-/891635#
Education Safeguarding Lead - Richmond and Wandsworth Councils
The councils of Richmond and Wandsworth, are currently looking for education safeguarding leads. Salaries start at £44,016 and go up to £53,336. The role will encompass heading up the council's safeguarding efforts within schools, involving liaison with said schools and being the highest port of call for safeguarding issues within the council's jurisdiction. They will also help shape safeguarding strategies in schools in their area. The closing date is the 15th of March.
https://uk.indeed.com/cmp/London-Borough-of-Richmond-Upon-Thames/jobs?jk=8cb0c5309928e9a1&start=0
MASH Education Coordinator - Barking and Dagenham Borough
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, is currently looking for a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) education coordinator. The primary role of the successful candidate will be to gather, interpret and share educational information across the MASH. Salaries start at £48,867 and go up to £51,903.
https://uk.indeed.com/cmp/London-Borough-of-Barking-and-Dagenham/jobs?jk=237cb31c46c7a96d&start=0
Safeguarding Children in Affluent Families - Goldsmiths University
In the safeguarding sphere we often have a focus on children and young people who come from deprived backgrounds. These children are treated as vulnerable, and that their poverty level immediately increases their risk of harm from predatory individuals. Whilst all this is true, our occasionally one track focus on lower income families can preclude a sociological phenomena sometimes commented upon but rarely engaged with at the academic level. That phenomena being, that those on the opposite end of the wealth spectrum can be at enhanced risk also. Those who are from very wealthy backgrounds, can suffer from severe parental neglect, latch keyism and a lack of interaction with parental figures. Which are similar vulnerability triggers to those seen in very low income families. Professor Bernard, from Goldsmiths University in London, has been conducting research into this area. A highly intriguing summary of her findings is available over on the university’s site, and is well worth a read. To take a look please follow the link below:
https://www.gold.ac.uk/research/case-studies/social-work-with-affluent-families/
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The Importance of All-Aspect Device Protection in Schools - UK Safer Internet Centre
On the briefing a lot of our content focuses on the matter of securing your establishments and the children and young people within it, from the dangers of the internet. There is a good reason for this, it is essentially an open window for offenders to penetrate the minds of pupils. But we must be aware, that it is not just intentional offending via the internet that poses a danger to school attendees. Accidental consumption of pornography, pro-suicide content and extremist material is a very real threat within computer suites across the country. Most educational computer suites have had an array of protection in regards to these issues, for a long time. However, in the modern world it is not enough to have filtering on your computers, as everyone in the building has hand held computers in the form of their smartphones. That is why your school wide content blocking system must work across all aspects of digital engagement, undertaken by those within the premises. The UK Safer Internet Centre has published guidance on this over on their site. To read what they have to say on the matter, please follow the link below:
https://saferinternet.org.uk/blog/does-your-filtering-systems-work-across-all-school-devices-including-mobiles
Online Protection Checklist for the Home - Internet Watch Foundation
It is of vital importance to protect children from the online sphere whilst in schools. The reality though, is that the majority of dangers posed from this portal to the world’s less conducive elements comes from inside the home. Out of the range of school filtering software, mandated software bans and other measures that can be taken in educational establishments. The Internet Watch Foundation, an superb organization from which we regularly cite in these briefings, has released a checklist to help mitigate the risks at home from the internet. This checklist covers all things related to child protection online at home. The eighteen page document, contains a wealth of information and ideas on how to reduce potential vulnerabilities once your pupils have left the school premises. To get hold of this guidance please follow the link below:
https://talk.iwf.org.uk/
HPV Awareness Effort - PSHE Association
Every year, students in Year Eight will be receiving their vaccine against human papillomavirus. It is important that pupils understand why this vaccine is being administered to them, and what they’ll benefit from its application. Researchers from the University of Bristol and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, have collaborated to create EDUCATE. EDUCATE is a lesson plan designed, to fulfil these aforementioned objectives and to raise awareness of the importance of vaccination at this stage in their lives. To get access to these resources please follow the link below:
https://pshe-association.org.uk/resource/educate-hpv-vaccine
Forthcoming Courses
Implementing the role of the Senior Mental Health Lead (DfE Course Code SMHL105)
This is our DfE Quality Assured course for Senior Mental Health Leads. The course offers self-paced learning using the resources in our SMHL.Pro Hub, which is available for 12 months. Each month there is a live online member check-in to catch up with your tutors and each other. The course cost £397+VAT, some schools are eligible for a grant to cover this cost.
For more details, go to: https://www.smhl.pro/course
Advanced Safeguarding for DSLs
This is a four-session course for DSLs over a full-day. The course is offered live and as a recorded replay. When the course is live, there are plenty of opportunities to contribute with observations, questions or answers. As a recording, the interactions from other people are included and feedback notes that this makes it feel like you are not on your own.
"I came to a session in Birmingham back in 2019 (the day after the GE I think) and it was superb. Today [online] was just as good, if not better. The use of video mixed with live speaking was excellent and goes way beyond what other safeguarding courses provide. You've been there and done it, and your openness with your own story is inspirational."
Next Live online course Tuesday 21st March 2023 10am - 4pm Book Online
LIVE ON LOCATION remember that you can book Andrew to visit your school, cluster or MAT to share his DSL course. Please contact us for details and bookings.
Whole School Safeguarding CPD Online Session for 2022/2023
In this two and half hour online presentation aimed at staff in all roles, specialist safeguarding consultant, Andrew Hall, explores important aspects of safeguarding in schools including child protection, learning from case studies and the latest version of Keeping Children Safe in Education.
"In my excitement, I forgot to add our star rating to the Safeguarding training we have just watched. If we could, we would give it 10 stars! That was the best Safeguarding training we have ever had, thank you so much. Feedback from staff has, so far, been overwhelmingly positive…I can't thank you enough."
"I would like to extend my thanks to Andrew for his fantastic online training. It was filmed so well - almost as if he were here with us! We were kept engaged throughout and felt so well informed - a huge thank you. It was a real success, and we look forward to booking you again in the future - with the staff team saying it was the best safeguarding training they have ever had. We really appreciated Andrew's real-life storytelling and the way such sensitive information was shared - it was excellent training."
You book your online session here: www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/availablecourses
Until next time, keep safe and thank you for all the work you're doing,
Andrew Hall
Specialist Safeguarding Consultant,
Success In Schools Ltd.
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