What is Safeguarding?

At Oaklands, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our children.

We ensure this happens through:

· Establishing, implementing and following good safeguarding policies and procedures including safe recruitment

· Ensuring all staff and volunteers are aware of, understand and follow the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures

· Ensuring that all staff and volunteers receive child protection training

Anyone working with the children at Oaklands is advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a child, we should always act in the interests of the child.

Meet Our Safeguarding Team

Designated Safeguarding Leads

Oaklands School

   Vicky Bland                               Sally Bott                              Sam Poulton

Assistant Head Teacher          Assistant Head Teacher         Chestnut Pathway Lead

Governor with Responsibility for Safeguarding

Malcolm Robbins

Chair of Governors

If you have any concerns regarding the safety or welfare of one of our pupils, or would like further guidance about keeping yourself or your children safe online, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Safeguarding Leads (above).

You can contact any of the safeguarding team through the school office either via email; office@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk or on 0116 2415921

See our Key Information/Policies for our full Safeguarding policy on the website.

Our Staff are all trained to be alert to Safeguarding issues:

The school ensures children learn in a safe, caring and enriching environment. Children are taught, according to ability, how to keep themselves safe, to develop positive and healthy relationships, how to avoid situations where they might be at risk including by being exploited.

Early Help - There is information about Early Help in our Parents section of the website.

Early Help is about providing help and support to families at the right time to prevent issues from escalating. At Oaklands, we support parents with a range of activities and multi-agency work.

Through working together with families and other services, our Early Help offer should support and strengthen families so that they can thrive.

What do staff at Oaklands do if a child makes a disclosure?

• Listen to what is being said without displaying shock or disbelief
• Accept what is being said
• Allow the child time to talk freely
• Reassure the child that it is right to tell
• Do not ask leading questions or investigate concerns further
• Don’t promise to keep it a secret. Explain to them that you have to tell someone in order that you can help
• Report any concerns immediately afterwards to the Designated Safeguarding Lead
• Record all information as soon as it is possible
• Only share information with the Designated Safeguarding Lead
• If the concern is about the conduct of a member of staff, they will contact a Designated Safeguarding Lead. If the concern is about the Head Teacher, they would inform the Chair of Governors, Malcolm Robbins.

At times, it may be necessary for a Designated Safeguarding Lead to call the child’s parents or carers to discuss briefly what a child has said, or what a member of staff has noticed, and this may immediately help us to clarify what has happened. This is a requirement of the school. We will always undertake to share our intention to refer a child to Children’s Social Care with their parents/carers consent unless to do so could put the child at greater risk of harm, or impede a criminal investigation. If in doubt, we will consult with the Children’s Social Care, Duty & Advice Service.

Prevent Duty:

We are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent duty. We can build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British Values and enabling them to challenge extremist views.

The Fundamental British Values are~

• democracy
• the rule of law
• individual liberty
• mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faiths

Childline confidential telephone number for children:

Links For Parents:

Net Aware - Your guide to the social networks your children use. Stay up to date and keep your child safe in today's digital world

NSPCC Underwear - Talking PANTS teaches children important messages, like their body belongs to them and they should tell an adult if they're upset or worried

NSPCC Safeguarding - Everyone has a responsibility to keep children and young people safe

Think U Know - Protecting your children from abuse online.

Childline esafety Advice - When you're online it's important to stay safe and make sure you don't share things that could put you in danger.

LSCP - On this website you can access information about the Leicester Safeguarding Children's Partnership

FGM Centre - Find out more about FGM, including signs of it.

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