Key Information

Safeguarding Guidance

There is a strong safeguarding team working in Murray Park Community School.

The person with overall responsibility for safeguarding is Miss Rebecca Somes (Deputy Headteacher). If you have any concerns in relation to safeguarding, please contact a member of the safeguarding team immediately.

Rebecca Somes – Designated Safeguarding Lead

Theresa Lucas – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

George Hagen – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Murray Park Community School operates a dedicated email address in case of Safeguarding concerns:

safeguarding@murraypark.derby.sch.uk

You can leave a message on our safeguarding email at any time, however if you feel a child is in immediate danger call the police on 999 or Derby First Contact Team on 01332 641172

At Murray Park Community School we are fully committed to safeguarding our students and staff. Safeguarding children lies at the heart of all that we do in school. Safeguarding refers to the work we do with our children to keep them safe when they are in school and when they are in the wider community. It encompasses the support we give to enable every young person to achieve their full potential.Ā  Safeguarding also includes our work on child protection, ensuring that we act appropriately if we have concerns that a child may be suffering significant harm or is at risk of suffering such harm. We take notice of and adhere to all the national and local policies and guidance in regard to Safeguarding Children and Young People.

Safeguarding is summarised as:

  • protecting children from harm
  • preventing damage to childrenā€™s mental and physical health or development
  • making sure that children grow up safely, and
  • taking action to make sure all children have the best start in life.

 

THE SIGNS OF ABUSE

There are four categories of abuse:

  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Emotional abuse
  • Neglect

Abuse is often well hidden and will not always be easy to identify.Ā  It is important that we are alert to the possibility of abuse and report concerns we may have.Ā  Symptoms of abuse are discussed in training for all staff in school to help us to recognise situations where it may be occurring. Please see our Safeguarding Policy, on our website for specific signs of abuse.

All our staff are trained to identify signs of abuse and staff have a duty to report concerns about a child. In the first instance they would report to the school safeguarding team who may then take the decision to report the case to social care.

Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a responsibility to safeguard children.

At Murray Park Community School we take our responsibility very seriously and ensure we maintain an ā€˜it could happen hereā€™ attitude where safeguarding is concerned.

If no-one from the safeguarding team are available to discuss your concerns you should speak to any other member of the Senior Leadership Team.

The school Governor with responsibility for safeguarding is James Upton ā€“ concerns about staff can be relayed to the Chair of Directors, Paul Davies on complaints@murraypark.derby.sch.uk

Safeguarding children is everyoneā€™s responsibility.

Please follow the links to policy documents below

Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy

 

Information and advice

Keeping Children Safe in EducationĀ 

What to do if you are worried about a child being abused

Working together to safeguard children

Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership

NSPCC Support for parents

Advice for parents – Ask the Awkward

Key topics

County Lines

Knife Crime – How to talk to your children about knife crime

FGM – Female Genital Mutilation

PREVENT and Radicalisation

NSPCC Protecting children from radicalisation

Domestic Violence and SDAT:

The new definition of domestic violence and abuse now states:
Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse:

  • Psychological
  • Physical
  • Sexual
  • Financial
  • Emotional

Controlling behaviour is: a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour.

Coercive behaviour is: an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.ā€ *

This definition, which is not a legal definition, includes so called ā€˜honourā€™ based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, and is clear that victims are not confined to one gender or ethnic group.

What are Domestic Abuse (SDAT) Notifications?

Domestic abuse notifications are sent from Derbyshire constabulary to schools in Derby
and Derbyshire. They are an early notification system to schools to quickly notify them of
any incidents of domestic abuse where the Police have attended a household where
statutory school aged children live.

The notifications are designed to:
ā€¢ Provide a link between a statutory school aged child or young personā€™s lived
home experience and their experience in school when domestic abuse is a
current issue
ā€¢ Help ensure that schools can effectively support and respond to children and
young peopleā€™s needs in the education setting
ā€¢ Promote effective communications between Police, Children’s Social Care and
Schools where there has been a domestic abuse incident

E-Safety

Through IT, PSHE and other curriculum opportunities, pupils are helped to talk about their feelings, know about their rights and responsibilities, understand and respond to risks, to deal assertively with pressures and know who they can turn to for advice and help both in and out of the school and how to make a compliant.

The following areas are addressed within IT, Personal Development, assemblies and in the wider curriculum:

  • Bullying, including cyber-bullying
  • Online/e safety
  • Child exploitationĀ  – CSE (Child sexual exploitation) & CCE (Child criminal exploitation), online and offline
  • Healthy relationships online including online sexual harassment and violence

For information on how to keep safe using the internet, please visit any of the following approved websites:

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

http://www.childnet.com/

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

Child Safety Online: A practical guide for parents and carers whose children are using social media

Tik TokĀ  App Safety – What parents need to know

Snapchat_parent_factsheet_July_2022_S1uPGWl.doc

To report any online abuse please use CEOP

https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/

Mental Health and Wellbeing

We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. Itā€™s about how we think, feel and act. Sometimes we feel well, and sometimes we donā€™t. When our mental health is good, we feel motivated and able to take on challenges and new experiences. But when our mental health is not so good, we can find it much harder to cope.

There are online resources available to help you and your child with mental health, including:

It is also vital to report any safeguarding concerns you have about any child. Contact theĀ NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000Ā orĀ Barnardoā€™s support service (https://www.barnardos.org.uk/see-hear-respond)