Work with the children:
The children at Mellers have many opportunities to learn about safeguarding. Our assemblies cover a range of topics, including, staying safe around hazards, healthy relationships, giving consent and other topics. Children are taught who they can speak to if they feel unsafe.
Place2Be is our counselling service in school to support children and families: Improving children’s and young people’s mental health – Place2Be
Our PSHE and RSHE lessons, cover a range of topics for children to explore issues in smaller groups. We also offer a number of enrichment activities around specialist subjects, for example:
Our Year Six pupils access training delivered by the charity Remedi: Who We Are: Overview | Remedi (remediuk.org) This is work that focuses on informing children about gang and knife crime, domestic violence, county lines and misogyny.
All children work closely with the local community police force to ensure children are safe in our community with a particular focus on anti-social behaviour, gangs and knife crime.
Our Years Five and Six visit the National Justice Museum, focusing on the Ben Kinsella Choices and Consequences workshop: The Ben Kinsella Trust Choices and Consequences Exhibition | The Ben Kinsella Trust This is to learn about the dangers of gangs and knife crime.
We use the NSPCC resources in assemblies, lessons and around school as reminders of ways to keep safe: PANTS resources for schools and teachers | NSPCC Learning
Our IT curriculum respond to the needs of the community and current safeguarding issues to constantly teach children ways to keep safe on and offline. Smoothwall monitoring software is used on all devices in school.
Work with the staff:
All staff are expected to keep up to date with safeguarding training. This includes annual safeguarding training and Keeping Children Safe in Education update. This is the document that underpins all our safeguarding work, and all our staff members have read and understood their roles and responsibilities.
In February 2024, the DfE published an update to the statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children. This document has information on multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children.
Working Together To Safeguard Children 2023 Statutory Guidance
The safeguarding team:
Our lead DSLs meet weekly to discuss priority cases.
Our safeguarding team meets monthly to discuss priorities which are then shared with the wider staff.
DSLs attend the Nottingham LA DSL termly networks.
Governors:
Our governors take responsibility to ensure that the culture of safeguarding, including online safety, is robust throughout the school. They review and approve safeguarding policies and monitor the effectiveness of the Single Central Record. Monitoring visits take place regularly and a record is signed by the safeguarding governor (Celia Morris) and the chair of governors (Sue Blakeway).
Safeguarding updates are a standard agenda item at full governing body meetings and the headteachers share data relevant to understanding the school. Governors do not have knowledge of individual cases but ensure systems within school are effective.
For parents and children:
Place 2 Be’s Parenting Smart website has great advice for parents about how to talk to your children about a whole range of parenting issues:
Here’s another really handy resource for parents, carers and professionals, particularly with regard to sexualised behaviour, sexual abuse and exploitation:
