Safeguarding

Our safeguarding personnel are as follows:

  • Designated Safeguarding Lead: Kathryn Pamphlett
  • Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Gabriel Alamu
  • Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead & Designated Child in Care Teacher: Simon Ritcher
  • Online Safety Coordinator: Kathryn Pamphlett
  • Named Safeguarding Governor: Mr Afolabi

To report anything of concern to our Safeguarding Team – please email safeguarding@theleighutc.org.uk.

The Leigh UTC is a community and all those directly connected (staff, governors, parents, families, pupils and volunteers) have an essential role to play in making it safe and secure, recognising our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.

The Leigh UTC recognises the importance of providing an ethos and environment within the school that will help children to feel safe, secure and respected; encourages them to talk openly, and enables them to feel confident that they will be listened to. We are alert to the signs of abuse and neglect and follow our procedures to ensure that children receive effective support, protection and justice.

The Leigh UTC and Inspiration Academy core safeguarding principles

  • It is a whole school responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as its paramount concern.
  • All children (defined as those up to the age of 18) regardless of age, gender, ability, culture, race, language, religion or sexual identity, have equal rights to protection.
  • All children have a right to be heard and to have their wishes and feelings taken into account.
  • All staff understand safe professional practice and adhere to our code of conduct and other associated policies.
  • All staff have a responsibility to recognise vulnerability in children and act on any concern in accordance with this guidance.

Staff Responsibility

  • Provide a safe environment in which children can learn.
  • Ensure all children are able to develop appropriate strategies to recognise and respond to risk and build resilience.
  • Identify and recognise children who may be in need of extra help, who are suffering, or are likely to suffer significant harm.
  • Provide help for children, where appropriate and reasonable.
  • Take appropriate action to prevent safeguarding concerns escalating and work with other services as needed.
  • Safeguard children’s well-being and maintain public trust in the teaching profession as part of their professional duties.
  • Maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned and to always act in the best interests of the child.
  • Respond to and refer any concerns about children or other members of the community in accordance with this policy.
  • Contribute towards, read and adhering to the school policies.

All members of staff in The Leigh UTC and Inspiration Academy, know what to do if a child tells them he/she is being abused or neglected. Members of staff know to maintain an appropriate level of confidentiality whilst at the same time liaising with relevant professionals such as the Designated Safeguarding Lead, the safeguarding team at the school and other agencies as appropriate.

Members of staff know they must never promise a child that they will not tell anyone about a concern or allegation as this may ultimately not be in the best interests of the child.

Report

The welfare and safety of children are the responsibility of all staff in school and ANY concern for a pupil’s welfare MUST always be reported to one of the following:

  • Designated Safeguarding Lead, Kathryn Pamphlett – safeguarding@theleighutc.org.uk
  • Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads, Mr Alamu and Mr Richter
  • We have eight additional DSL trained staff (Student Services Managers), each working with a specific year group or with SEND students.

Further Information

Safeguarding Websites and Links

Online Safety

Sexual Violence and Harassment

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a national scheme that operates jointly between schools and all police forces. Operation Encompass means that our academy will be told, prior to the start of the next school day, when police have attended an incident of domestic abuse where there is a child or young person who attends our academy who is related to any of those involved in the incident.

We have ensured that a member of our staff, (Designated Safeguarding Lead) known as a Key Adult, has been trained about Operation Encompass procedures. This allows us to use the information that has been confidentially shared with us by the police, to understand how a child may be impacted by domestic abuse and to then offer support to the children in our care.

Find out more about Operation Encompass