Safeguarding
At Belmont Castle Academy we strive to make sure that every student in the school feels safe, secure, well cared for, and therefore able to reach their full potential. Governors and staff are all committed to the safety and welfare of every child and take this responsibility very seriously.
We ensure that all our staff, other professionals, parents/carers and pupils work together to know the rules about keeping children safe. They understand the importance of following procedures and listening to each other, especially when there are concerns about safety.
E-safety is a responsibility of all staff, pupils and parents. If you need advice or have concerns click here to access the CEOP website https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre/.
The Academy works hard to reduce all the kinds of harm that children can suffer, including abuse, bullying, discrimination and avoidable injuries. If you have any concerns at all about the safety or welfare of a child, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01375 373601 or via our contact emails (below).
At Belmont Castle Academy we have a dedicated Safeguarding team comprising of: Mark Jones (The principal), Nella Murthen (Vice-Principal) and Angela Rawlings (Safeguarding and Welfare officer). All Designated Safeguarding leads (DSLs) have attended Thurrock DSL training and the team are all Safer Recruitment trained. As part of our commitment to safeguarding, we ensure that all members of staff receive comprehensive Safeguarding training, in addition to which we invite outside professionals to come into school, such as the ‘2 Johns from EST E-Safety training’ to ensure all aspects are being covered.
Our school annually completes the Thurrock audit tool which ensures safeguarding documentation is up to date, compliant and that there are no gaps in training. All the issues that were identified in the most recent audit (June 2019) have been addressed.
What to do if you are concerned about a child at Belmont Castle Academy
In the first instance contact one of the members of staff below. Alternatively go straight to the police or Thurrock MASH.
The Academy Lead Designated Staff Member for Safeguarding is Mark Jones (Principal)
principal@belmontcastleacademy.org
Deputy Designated Staff Member for Safeguarding is Iulia Coseru (Vice-Principal)
viceprincipal@belmontcastleacademy.org
Deputy Designated Staff Member for Safeguarding is Angela Rawlings
arawlings@belmontcastleacademy.org
Safeguarding governor is Steve Smith
ssmith@belmontcastleacademy.org
Extremism and Radicalisation
In June 2014, the Prime Minister emphasised the important role that British values can play in education. Further, how well a school promotes such values is an aspect of Ofsted’s inspection process. British values are promoted in much of what we do, during school assemblies, Religious Education, Philosophy and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) sessions.
As well as actively promoting British values, the opposite also applies: we would actively challenge pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British values, including ‘extremist’ views.
The British values we espouse are not unique to Britain. We acknowledge that they differ in no way from the values of the many countries and the cultural backgrounds represented by families at Belmont Castle Academy.
We have a clear strategy to tackling extremism and acting early to address any issues of radicalisation. We are aware that some pupils and families may be vulnerable to radicalisation and follow the government's channel guidance (Attached as a key document to this page) as well as having a consistent approach to the teaching of values, which we term British Values, through our taught and extra-curricular curriculum offer. This is detailed in the British Values Policy which can also be found as an attached document on this page.
We work closely to ensure our Prevent approach identifies any pupils that may be in danger of radicalisation and to make referrals to the Thurrock MASH service as with any other safeguarding concerns.
Operation Encompass
At Belmont Castle Academy we are working in partnership with Essex Police to identify and provide appropriate support to pupils who have experienced domestic violence in their household, this scheme is called Operation Encompass.
The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguarding and support children and young people who have been involved in or witness to a domestic abuse incident. Domestic abuse impacts on children in a number of ways. Children are at increased risk of physical injury during an incident, either by accident or because they attempt to intervene. Even when not directly injured, children are greatly distressed by witnessing the physical and emotional suffering of a parent.
Encompass has been created to highlight this situation. It is the implementation of key partnership working between the Police and Schools. The aim of sharing information with local schools is to allow “Key Adults” (normally the Designated Safeguarding Lead), the opportunity of engaging with the child and to provide access to support that allows them to remain in a safe but secure familiar environment.
In order to achieve this, Essex Police will share information of domestic incidents where one of our pupils has been present, with the Key Adult. On receipt of any information, the Key Adult will decide on the appropriate support the child requires. All information sharing and resulting actions will be undertaken in accordance with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). We will record this information and store this in accordance with the record keeping procedures outlined in these regulations.
The purpose and procedures in Operation Encompass have been shared with all parents and governors. Further information can be found by click on the following link www.operationencompass.org
Useful Information for Parents and Carers
Within our Safeguarding site you will find a range of documents, the purpose of which being to help provide you with useful information to help keep your child safe.
Safeguarding Policy
BCA and the Prevent Duty (useful information)
Child Protection Procedures leaflet (for parents and visitors)
County Lines information leaflet for parent
FGM information leaflet
Keeping Children Safe in Education
Safeguarding newsletter
NSPCC Whistleblowing poster
Self-harm information leaflet
Online safety presentation
Safer Schools app
-
Safeguarding