Safeguarding
Everyone that works with children in schools has a responsibility for ensuring that pupils and the staff that work with them are kept safe from harm. The collective responsibility should be powerful, not only ensuring that statutory requirements are met and that policies and procedures are highly effective, but that every person is equipped to contribute to the safeguarding culture of their school.
Anchored Schools can support you in developing confident and adept strategic Safeguarding Leaders (DSL) who can work beyond the realms of ‘compliant and effective’ and assure safeguarding practice is outstanding in your school.
Anchored Schools are able to offer you a choice of comprehensive Safeguarding reviews which audit all aspects of safeguarding areas across your school or academy. In addition, we are able to offer a robust Safer Recruitment review. Our review processes generate a thorough report which may directly inform your school development plan and is also a valuable document to share with governors, Trust Boards, the local authority or inspection teams.
Our range of professional development workshops will ensure that staff and governors are confident and competent in carrying out their safeguarding duties and that the context of the school is always taken in to account.
We can also assist you with tailored support, such as guidance in relation to child protection case reviews, recording and reporting issues and offering prompt on-the-ground advice in relation to urgent or complex cases. This is available through our Anchored Mooring service.
More details for all our safeguarding services are available further down this page.
Safeguarding Reviews
An Anchored Schools Safeguarding Review is completed over a one or two day visit depending upon the size of the school and the review format you have selected.
Our review process focuses on specific areas (see below) to support us in providing a thorough and robust report. The subsequent report is RAG-rated against an extensive range of questions which will support you in creating a comprehensive action plan. The Extensive and Enhanced Reviews will also provide actions and recommendations to ensure your safeguarding is not only compliant and effective, but that your safeguarding practices are thoroughly embedded to secure the safety and wellbeing of your entire community.
What does the review include?
Leadership and Management
Does the schools’ staffing structure ensure that statutory requirements are met in relation to specific staff responsibilities e.g. Designated Safeguarding Lead, PREVENT lead, LAC designated teacher etc? Does governance support and challenge to ensure compliance and effectiveness?
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Does the school have a strategy in place to promote the wellbeing of staff and students? What provision is in place for students or staff who are experiencing mental health issues? Are staff aware of and do they appreciate the link between mental health and safeguarding?
Statutory Compliance, Guidance and Policies
Is the school in line with current legislation? Has the school adopted and embedded in policy and practice recent guidance from the DfE and are, therefore, in line with requirements?
Attendance
Is the schools approach effective to monitoring and improving the attendance of all students?
Strategic Leadership of Safeguarding
Do senior leaders, including the DSL understand the need to build safeguarding capacity in order to establish ethos and culture? Does the DSL schools’ training programme support all staff and governors in being able to effectively discharge their safeguarding responsibilities and duties?
Safer Recruitment
Does the school follow a Safer Recruitment policy that meets statutory expectations?
Single Central Record
Are the necessary checks in place to ensure that the Single Central Record is compliant with statutory guidance?
Managing Allegations
Does the school have a clear policy and procedure for managing allegations against staff? If positive handling is utilised are the policies and procedures in line with DfE guidance?
Multi Agency Working
How do the school work collaboratively with a range of multi agencies to ensure there is targeted support for students with additional needs?
Recording and Reporting
Is there a clear policy which translates into practice for the handling of confidential information, particularly in regards to child protection?
Site Safety
How does pupil behaviour, the physical environment, health and safety procedures and risk management ensure that all members of the school community and their visitors are kept safe?
Individual Considerations
How does the school ensure the safety of students who are attending alternative provision, on work experience placements, are being supported through partial timetables, or are suspended from school? How do the school identify students who need an individual safety plan?
Behaviour and Bullying
Does the school have effective Behaviour and Anti-Bullying Policies that are consistently applied and promote a safe learning environment?
PSHE Curriculum
Does the school provide an adequate PSHE and RSHE programme, considering local contexts, to ensure students can manage age or need appropriate risks?
ICT
Does the schools’ methods of filtering and monitoring, as well as advice and guidance for students and parents, ensure that everyone stays safe online?
Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment
Can the school demonstrate that they are responding effectively to the government’s current guidance?
Preventing Extremism
Does the school fulfil the PREVENT duty?
Summary (Extensive and Enhanced only)
A summary will recognise and celebrate the key strengths of the school’s safeguarding practices as well as identifying the priority areas for development, which will be supported by the reviews action plan.
Our Review Options
Health Check Review - Recommended for settings who have already had an Extensive or Enhanced Review and wish to check progress.
A one day visit by a member of our team, resulting in a RAG-rated review report. Verbal guidance and support will be offered on the day of the review by the Anchored School colleague.
Extensive Review - Recommended for settings where a culture of safeguarding is established, and leaders wish to comprehensively evaluate progress and identify areas for future development.
A longer one day review visit by a member of our team, followed by a comprehensive report. The report contains RAG-rated responses to the lines of inquiry, actions, and recommendations as well as an executive summary. Guidance and support will be offered on the day of the review by the Anchored Schools colleague. In addition, there is a verbal feedback session at the end of the day for senior leaders, governors, Trust members etc.
Enhanced Review - Recommended for settings who would like a more thorough review, either to evidence the highest levels of effectiveness or to ensure maximum support and guidance in moving all aspects of safeguarding forward.
A one day review visit by two members of our team followed by a comprehensive report. This report contains RAG-rated responses to the lines of inquiry, actions, and recommendations as well as an executive summary. The review explores additional areas to the Extensive Review and has supplementary questions within all sections which offers a greater depth of scrutiny. In addition, findings are triangulated through stakeholder voice. A verbal feedback session at the end of the day for senior leaders, governors, Trust members etc.
Safeguarding Training
We have included details of our most commonly requested training. However if you have a specific training need in relation to any aspect of safeguarding please contact us here.
Basic Awareness
For all members of your school community, teaching and non-teaching we provide training which ensures that all staff meet statutory requirements. We deliver this proactive training, through group tasks, debate and discussion so as to develop staffs’ knowledge of local and national safeguarding issues, as well as developing their confidence in their ability to meet their safeguarding responsibilities.
Enhanced Training for DSLs and Key Staff
We provide packages for newly qualified DSLs to assist them in the effective, strategic leadership of safeguarding across the whole school. We also provide enhanced safeguarding training for DSLs and key staff which deepens their understanding and knowledge of key issues such as child criminal exploitation, adverse childhood experiences and contextual safeguarding. We can offer you tailored training, focusing on specific areas of safeguarding
Governor Training
We support governors to understand their statutory safeguarding duties and to provide skills which allow them to challenge the effectiveness of the schools safeguarding framework. We help governors explore effective strategies for successful two-way communication and for ensuring governor visits are impactful and informative. In addition, we can provide specific training in relation to statutory expectations or wider training on how to audit the schools’ policies, practices and provision to provide a platform for development.
Single Central Record Training
We offer a workshop suitable for Headteachers and Principals, DSLs, Governors and Trustees and SCR managers e.g. Business Managers. The workshop looks explicitly at what elements are required on this key document as well as why and how these checks should be completed. We strongly believe that having a broad understanding of the ‘why and how’ is fundamental to effectively maintaining a compliant SCR. The workshop offers support for leaders and governors to allow them to effectively quality assure whilst at the same time providing operational assistance to managers.
Safeguarding in Action
Anchored Schools have recently worked with a multi academy federation in the North of England, conducting Safeguarding Review in all their academies both primary and secondary. The Headteachers, Principals and Designated Safeguarding Leads that we worked with during the reviews appreciated our collaborative approach to the process and our ability to offer expert advice and guidance which, in some instances, enabled staff to take immediate action in areas of non-compliance.
During the audits we are able to highlight common areas for development which had not been previously recognised. In discussion with central leaders we have been able to continue our work with the federation, offering cost effective, targeted safeguarding training to support key staff and governors in their drive to further enhance their culture of safeguarding. At the request of the federation Anchored Schools delivered a series of SCR workshops and follow up support meetings. Feedback from the schools was that the SCR was substantially more manageable, that there was greater clarity around procedures and absolute confidence in the compliance of this legal document.