Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Provost Williams CE Academy Safeguarding Statement

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing and welfare of children and young people and we expect all staff, governors and volunteers to share this commitment.  We believe that pupils have a right to learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment which includes the right to protection from all types of abuse.  Everyone who works or volunteers at the academy is subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure.  We operate an open-door policy to parents, carers and community members to come and discuss any safeguarding concerns they may have.

Our school Safeguarding Team:

1. Miss Sherrise Cullen (Headteacher) is the Designated Safeguarding Lead

2. Mrs Lambeth (SENDCo) is a Deputy Safeguarding Lead

3. Mrs Tombs (Ark Co-ordinator) is a Deputy Safeguarding Lead

All staff at Ryton-on-Dunsmore are responsible for the safeguarding of children. This means that any member of staff can professionally challenge a visitor , seek clarification on collection arrangements and other safeguarding matters before releasing a child to  parents/carers or other people nominated to collect them. Professional curiosity and challenge is not staff members being awkward , it is measures in place to protect and safeguard all children. 

There are occasions when the Safeguarding Team need to consult with outside agencies without speaking to a parent/carer first. As a school we have a duty of care to protect our children at all times and this may involve contact with Social Care. We understand this can be very distressing, but as a school we have a procedure to follow set by the Warwickshire Safeguarding Children Partnership along with guidelines from the 2025 Keeping Children Safe in Education- statutory guidance for schools and colleges. We follow guidance on good practice on this area from:  
Warwickshire - http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/wscb

Our safeguarding policies are available on our policies page here and the Multi Academy Trust Safeguarding principles are available on the MAT Policies page here.

Collecting Pupils from the Academy
Please inform the academy office if you arrange for someone other than yourself or an agreed contact to collect your child from the academy.

Young Carers
Young Carers are people aged between 5-18 years of age who have a responsibility or help someone with day to day needs. It may be as simple as talking and listening to them when they are sad or helping out in the family home.

If you think your child/children could be a young carer, please contact us to discuss further or visit http://www.youngcarerscoventry.co.uk or http://www.warwickshireyoungcarers.org.uk/

Inter-agency links

As a school we work closely with an array of agencies in the local community to help provide support to our children and their families. This includes established links with the CAMHS, Citizen Advice Bureau, Warwickshire Police, Rugby Food Bank, Housing and School Nursing to name but a few. Please come and speak to one of the Safeguarding Team if you would like signposting to one of these agencies.

Local Safe Guarding Children Boards

Local safeguarding children boards are partnerships between local councils, police, National Health Service (NHS) and other key partner agencies working together to safeguard children, young people and adults.

The Warwickshire Multi Agency Safeguarding - Family Connect team can be contacted on 01926 414144 or https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/mash 

Prevent

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. It covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamic groups and other causes.

All schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views, in the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence. Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues, so they understand how to protect themselves.

Many of the things we already do in the academy to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy. These include:

• Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity
• Challenging prejudices and racist comments
• Developing critical thinking skills and a strong positive self-identity
• Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy.

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they cannot access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into the academy to work with pupils.

Further information about Prevent can be found here: http://www.ltai.info/what-is-prevent/.