Safeguarding

Here at Ripplevale School, Rochester, we believe that a child or young person’s welfare is of paramount importance. We recognise our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils. As such, we endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where all children and young people are respected and valued.

We have established and maintain an ethos where pupils feel secure, are encouraged to talk, are listened to and feel safe. Students are able to talk freely to any member of staff if they are worried or concerned about something and can identify members of the safeguarding team by their yellow lanyards. Posters, that include photographs of the safeguarding team, are displayed in all student areas.

Sexual violence and sexual harassment is not tolerated and is considered a very serious matter. Students are encouraged, through curriculum opportunities, to report any concerns of incidents involving sexual harassment and sexual violence immediately. Students are taught to recognise sexually violent and sexual harassment behaviours through the SPHERE (Social, personal, health, employability, relationships and Sex Education) curriculum, and are assured that they will always be taken seriously if they raise concerns.

Your safeguarding team

Emergency contacts & safeguarding panel:

Jackie Woolmer and Nicola Bourne - 07376 484 380 or 0794 659 7158

Designated Safeguarding Leads:

Natalie Christine

Designated Safeguarding Lead

nchristie@ripplevaleschoolrochester.co.uk

Nicola Bourne

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

nbourne@ripplevaleschoolrochester.co.uk

Anna Davies

LAC Manager

adavies@ripplevaleschoolrochester.co.uk

ICT Advisor to Safeguarding

Peter Morley

SEN Teacher and ICT Manager

pmorley@ripplevaleschoolrochester.co.uk

Email: safeguarding@ripplevaleschoolrochester.co.uk
Tel: 01634 812233.

Working with children and young people:

Students may use the following email addresses to access help and support, or to report their concerns about peers.

Email:

safeguarding@ripplevaleschoolrochester.co.uk or

bullying@ripplevaleschoolrochester.co.uk or
wellbeing@ripplevaleschoolrochester.co.uk

All staff in our school and college have an awareness of safeguarding issues and the further information contained in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023. We have ensured all staff are aware of behaviours linked to: drug-taking, alcohol abuse, homelessness, county lines, children with family members in prison, children and court system, truanting and sharing nudes and semi-nudes put children in danger.

All school and college staff are aware that safeguarding issues can manifest themselves via child on child abuse. This is most likely to include, but not limited to: bullying (including cyberbullying), gender-based violence/sexual assaults; and sharing of nudes and semi-nude images (also known as youth produced sexual imagery). Further guidance on peer on peer abuse can be found in the Behaviour Policy.

All staff are aware that safeguarding incidents and/or behaviours can be associated with contextual safeguarding factors outside the school or college and/or can occur between children outside of these environments.

Ripplevale School, Rochester is signed up to Operation Encompass and as such, will receive notification from Police where they attend domestic incidents that occur in the homes of our students. The safeguarding team have undergone training and achieved Operation Encompass Key Adult Status in order that they are in the best place to respond to reports and put in place support for the child or young person.

Working with Parents/Carers:
The school is committed to working in partnership with parents/carers to safeguard and promote the welfare of child/ren and to support them to understand our statutory responsibilities in this area. The Headteacher, senior leadership team and safeguarding team liaise with parents where specific safeguarding issues arise, provide information for parents through parent mail communications and actively encourage parents to be aware of our policies, challenging our practice where appropriate.

When new pupils join our school, parents and carers will be informed that we have a safeguarding policy. A copy will be provided to parents on request; it is also available on the school website. Parents and carers will be informed of our legal duty to assist our colleagues/ other agencies with child protection enquiries and what happens should we have cause to make a referral to Early Help Service (Family Solutions in Medway) or other agencies. This is done verbally when parents are contacted regarding specific issues, communicated via our policies and by other means such as the parent safeguarding information leaflet.

We are committed to working with parents positively, openly and honestly. We ensure that all parents are treated with respect, dignity and courtesy. We respect parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality and will not share sensitive information unless we have permission or it is necessary to do so in order to safeguard a child/ren. This is in line with Information Sharing for Safeguarding Practitioners guidance and Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023.

We will seek to share with parents any concerns we may have about their child unless in doing so may place a child at increased risk of harm. A lack of parental engagement or agreement regarding the concerns the school has about a child will not prevent the Designated Safeguarding Lead making a referral to Children’s Social Care and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) in those circumstances where it is appropriate to do so.

Working with Parents/Carers:

Thinkuknow - Thinkuknow aims to empower children and young people aged 4-18 to identify the risks they may face online and know where they can go for support.
CEOP - National Crime Agency site where children, young people, parents and carers can report any concerns they have about the way someone is communicating with them online or about online sexual abuse
net-aware NSPCC - a website developed by the NSPCC which provides online safety advice and information as well as specific information about all social media platforms and apps
Cyberbullying advice and support - NSPCC - advice for parents and carers to support children and young people who experience cyberbullying as well as providing information on how schools and colleges should respond to incidents of cyberbullying
Internet matters - Information, advice and support for parents to help keep their children and young people safe online
Safeguarding advice leaflets for parents - a range of resources for parents and carers to help safeguard children and young people at home.