Safeguarding Children Policy

Policy Statement

Wyke Sixth Form College recognises that it has a statutory obligation in accordance with the guidance outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education and to ensure that students who attend the College are safeguarded as defined by The Children’s Act 1989, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Counter Terrorism and security Act 2015 (includes the Prevent Duty 2015) and the Equality Act 2010. In achieving this Wyke College will seek to provide a safe learning environment and that, where incidents or suspicions of a safeguarding nature are reported operates procedures to ensure these are dealt with fairly, sensitively, respectfully and quickly. The acts complement Wyke College’s responsibility in student welfare, equality and diversity and the safety of students and staff. A single point of contact is established with regard to safeguarding and Prevent via the Designated Safeguarding Lead and in their absence the Safeguarding Officer or a deputy DSL.

Designated Safeguarding Lead: Vice Principal, Chris Herring

Deputy DSL: Safeguarding and Wellbeing Lead, Rebecca Bolder

Deputy DSL: Pastoral Director, Andrea Mason

Deputy DSL: Pastoral Director, Andy Dunne

Deputy DSL: Pastoral Lead, Katy Burgess

Deputy DSL: Pastoral Lead, Leigh Rudkin

Deputy DSL: Assistant Principal, Mark Lucid

This policy applies to all Corporation members, all staff and volunteers and to all students who participate in College activities, not only on the College site but also when participating in any College activity away from the college site.

Equality statement

This policy applies to all college staff regardless of age, race, disability, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, or any other status. All individuals will be treated in a fair and equitable manner recognising any special needs where adjustments can be made. No individual will suffer any form of discrimination, victimisation, harassment or bullying as a result of this policy.

Prevent Duty

Prevent Duty arises from the Counter Terrorism and security Act 2015. Prevent aims to safeguard our students, staff and corporation to keep them safe and within the law.  In raising awareness of the issues of radicalisation and extremism the College will support the development of students in non-extremist ways and in procedures to act on regarding concerns. The exemplification of British Values and the preventing of radicalisation and extremism will be integrated into the pastoral system and curriculum provision. The college will further develop its risk reduction planning and training for staff and corporation members in meeting the requirements of the Prevent Duty.

Definitions

• Safeguarding is defined as protecting children from maltreatment and preventing impairment of a child’s health or development
• Child Protection is part of safeguarding and refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.
• Child: The Children’s Act defines anyone under the age of 18 as a child. Therefore, students aged 14-16 who attend the College, as well as Wyke students between the ages of 16 and 18, will come under the scope of this policy and its attendant operating procedure.
• Extremism: The government has defined extremism in the Prevent strategy as: “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
• British Values: British values are defined as “democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs”, and institutions are expected to encourage students to respect other people with particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010.
• Abuse: According to the Children’s Act abuse is defined as one or more of the following; –
• Neglect
• Physical abuse or injury (including bullying)
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse (including bullying)

Policy Guidelines

1. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will ensure commitment to this Policy and effective, speedy, confidential and sensitive operation of the attendant procedure.
2. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will take lead responsibility for dealing with child protection issues, providing advice and support to staff and liaising with appropriate partner agencies on child protection issues.
3. Prevent – Section 21 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 places a duty on certain bodies, listed in Schedule 3 to the Act, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. The Prevent Duty is not about preventing students from having political and religious views and concerns
4. A nominated member of the Corporation will be responsible for liaising with appropriate partner agencies in the event of suspected or alleged incidences of child abuse from the Principal or other senior post holders.
5. Where education and/or training is provided for pupils under 16 years of age who are on the roll of secondary schools, the Designated Safeguarding Lead will liaise with the schools concerned and ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place to safeguard the children.
6. The College will ensure that all staff are aware of the procedure to ensure that any reported or suspected allegations of abuse are recorded and dealt with effectively and, if necessary, reported to the appropriate authority.
7. All new members of Corporation, other than student members and staff members who have been DBS checked as a requirement of their employment, must agree to Enhanced DBS Checks.
8. All staff employed by the College will have received appropriate pre-employment checks, including with the Disclosure and Barring Service as appropriate, to confirm their suitability for the post.
9. Appropriate checks will be carried out on all volunteers who work with children, including the Disclosure and Barring Service where they appropriate.
10. If a member of staff either suspects abuse to a student under 18 years, or has had abuse disclosed to them by a student, then the member of staff must take the complaint, allegation or suspicion seriously, seeking guidance as soon as possible from the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
11. Promises of confidentiality should NOT be given to any person disclosing information as the matter may develop in such a way that these cannot be honoured.
12. A written record of the nature of the allegation or suspicion must be completed in the presence of the complainant or as soon as possible after the allegation is made. Preferably on the same working day. College records of allegations should be kept for at least 6 years from the students 18^th birthday. This period should apply whether or not any action is taken in respect of the allegation.
13. All College staff/students will use the College computer system in an appropriate manner and will not access inappropriate sites.
14. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will undertake, in addition to basic training in child protection, training in inter-agency working provided by, or to standards agreed by, the Local Safeguarding Children Boards and will undertake refresher training every two years to keep knowledge and skills up to date.
15. Appropriate training and staff development will be provided for the Principal and all other staff who work with children, not only on implementation of the Safeguarding procedures but also to provide guidance on carrying out isolated and individual work with students, appropriate boundaries and dealing with compromising and difficult situations involving students. Refresher training will be undertaken at three yearly intervals to keep knowledge and skills up to date
16. Corporation members will receive training to enable them to discharge their responsibilities for Child Protection and Prevent effectively
17. Where a safeguarding allegation is made against the College itself, the Principal or Designated Safeguarding Lead will inform the ESFA on email Enquiries.EFA@education.gov.uk. The ESFA will need to know the name of the institution, the nature of the incident and confirmation that it is, or is scheduled to be investigated by the local authority and/or the police.
18. Corporation will undertake an annual review of its Safeguarding Children policies and procedures.
19. Corporation will undertake an annual review of how it is fulfilling its duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under section 175 of the Education Act 2002.
20. An annual report to Corporation will be made on the number of recorded instances of alleged/suspected abuse in order to make an assessment of and, if necessary, take action on, any implications arising out of the report. Staff should be aware that College policies provide a channel for individuals to raise genuine or legitimate concerns about any issues linked to Child Protection. Any deficiencies or weaknesses in child protection arrangements that are brought to Corporation’s attention will be remedied without delay.

Any revisions can found on the College Corporation page.

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Policy

Wyke Sixth Form College is committed to equality of opportunity for staff and students. All individuals will be treated in a fair and equitable manner recognising any special requirements and making adjustments where feasible.

The aim is to create an atmosphere of mutual respect. All members of the College are expected to embrace this policy, and actively seek to promote respectful relationships within Wyke. Any form of discrimination, inequality, victimisation, harassment or bullying will be taken very seriously.

The College has an Equality and Diversity Policy in place and progress on the associated action plan is reviewed annually. For further information on the actions within the plan please contact personnel@wyke.ac.uk. Equality Impact Assessments are conducted for all College and Corporation policies as they are reviewed to ensure consideration is given to how they may affect individuals from specific groups. If any potential issues are identified they are further explored and appropriate action is taken to address them.

Communications and training

Information regarding the Equality Act 2010, including the College’s aims under the Public Sector Equality Duty, is communicated to staff through briefings and staff meetings. Formal training on equality and diversity is also been delivered to staff at regular intervals to increase their awareness and understanding of these issues.

Complaining

If a student feels that they have been the victim of discrimination by any member of the College – staff or student – they should pursue the matter by talking, in the first instance, with their Tutor.

If you wish to make a complaint, please complete the form Complaint Form found under the Compliments, concerns and complaints section of this page and once completed email to feedback@wyke.ac.uk.

Objectives

Following the analysis of performance data and gathering of staff and student views on areas for improvement in relation to equality and diversity within college, the College’s overall equality objectives for 2019-20 are:

• Promote openness amongst staff about mental health problems and ensure there is support available where needed.
• Put strategies in place to help students to close gender gaps in those subjects where one gender performs significantly better than the other.

The College will assess progress against these objectives.

If you have any queries or require this information in another format please do not hesitate to contact the pastoral team in College or H.R. at the following email address personnel@wyke.ac.uk.

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Behaviour Management Policy

Wyke Sixth Form College is a learning community with one aim; enabling young adults to evolve and develop academically, socially and morally in a supportive, mutually respectful and inspiring atmosphere. Communities function best when there are clear expectations, so this policy will make clear which behaviours are expected of our community members, and what happens when they are not seen.

It also makes clear the roles and responsibilities of different members of the College community in achieving this overarching aim.

The full Policy is available here: Behaviour Management Policy

Local Offer

Introduction

Wyke Sixth Form College is fully committed to promoting equality of opportunity and achieving the elimination of negative discrimination within the College. Equality is important because a high quality education for students and rewarding employment experience for staff only arises from every individual being given the opportunity to achieve their full potential. The College is also committed to providing a learning environment that respects and responds to the diversity of the people within that environment.

Please contact Julie Lynch, SENCO and Head of Additional Learning Support, via email at Julie.Lynch@wyke.ac.uk if you require any further information or wish to discuss a concern.

Identifying and meeting support needs

Students are given various opportunities to discuss their support needs before they start their courses: on initial application, at interview, on induction days (Wyke Start), during college Open Evenings and Open Mornings throughout the year, and at enrolment. Students may also be identified as having additional learning needs by teaching or support staff after they start their programme of study and any concerns raised will be discussed and explored as appropriate.

Learning Support Mentors may work with students in the classroom, if appropriate, or they may offer study support sessions outside the classroom. Staff are dedicated to ensuring that all students follow a study programme appropriate to their career aims. Teachers will ensure that student support needs are met in the classroom.

Accessibility

Wyke Sixth Form College is wheelchair accessible with accessible parking bays close to reception. There are lifts in all buildings and these are activated by the use of a lift key. The College has a Physical Management Room with hoist and toilet facilities and members of the Learning Support team undergo regular manual handling training. Learning materials and information can be provided in a variety of font sizes for students who are visually impaired and the majority of College documents can be accessed electronically via our Moodle site. The Additional Learning Support Department can also supply, for a small charge, reading rulers and coloured overlays for students who require them due to visual stress or dyslexia. The Department also has a small number of laptops that can be loaned to students with a disability or health need who find it easier to produce their work in this way. The Science labs also have chairs and tables with adjustable heights.

External Agencies

Staff work collaboratively, when required, with external agencies in support of students’ physical and emotional health needs. Students at the College are, and have been, supported by a variety of external support agencies including; NHS Physiotherapy; NHS Occupational Therapy, IPASS, Hull and East Yorkshire MIND, Children’s and Adolescent’s Mental Health Services and Social Services. Where appropriate, referrals will be made to external services.

Counselling Service

Students can access a free and confidential counselling resource in College where they can talk about any issues or problems they are experiencing. To contact our counsellors please email counsellor@wyke.ac.uk. Safeguarding concerns can be signposted to counselling where they can be explored and discussed in more depth.

Safeguarding

The College has a comprehensive Safeguarding and Child Protection policy which recognises its statutory obligations in providing a safe learning environment. There is a designated senior lead for Safeguarding, Assistant Principal Chris Herring. Supplementary policies regarding Safeguarding, such as e-safety, are available on the College website. The College has an educational visits policy which includes risk assessments that are centrally managed in line with current guidance and legislation. The campus has an onsite drop off and pickup zone located next to the main building.

Please contact Rebecca Bolder, Designated Safeguarding Officer, via email at Rebecca.Bolder@wyke.ac.uk if you require further information or wish to discuss a concern.

Health

The College distributes information about health needs to teaching staff via our electronic system once students have declared a health or disability issue and have agreed to the information being shared. Some medications can be stored on site (please speak to Julie Lynch, Head of Additional Learning Support, in the first instance about this). In some instances, study programmes can be modified to accommodate disabilities or health needs. In cases where absences are likely to be lengthy, the College Progress Tutor team can implement a Fit to Study Plan where support will be provided for the student to complete their courses where possible.

Communication

Parents may contact their son or daughter’s Progress Tutor at any time by telephone or email to discuss progress. The Head of Additional Learning Support can also be contacted to arrange a meeting during the College day or after hours (tel. 01482 346347). Parents can also find information relating to their son/daughter’s progress and attendance via the Parent Portal. Progress reviews are conducted at several points throughout the academic year and grades and comments are provided from all subject areas as well as from the student’s Progress Tutor, all of which are sent to parents.

Student Voice

Students who have additional learning needs are invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire each academic year to gather their views on how well they feel supported and provide information regarding how the College can improve its service for them.

Progress Mentoring and Review

All students have their progress monitored regularly by Progress Tutors. Parents are also invited to Consultation Evenings to discuss progress. Students with additional learning support needs and their parents are invited to discuss any issues in relation to support with the Head of Additional Learning Support, Julie Lynch, who is present at all Consultation Evenings and College Open Evenings.

Financial Help

The College aims to provide support where possible to students in financial hardship. Means tested College bursaries are available. Information can be provided upon request.

Details of Wyke’s provision can be downloaded below.

• SEND Information Report
• Accessibility Plan

Compliments, Concerns & Complaints

Policy

Wyke Sixth Form College welcomes feedback from all stakeholders on perceptions of performance.  This policy sets out our response to compliments, concerns and complaints.

The team at Wyke work hard to provide the best possible education to our students. We welcome all feedback on our performance, including feedback that identifies areas that need to improve.  We address all feedback in an open, transparent manner and seek to use the outcomes to support continuous improvement.  

This policy and procedure outline the ways the college will respond to feedback outside of our formal feedback mechanisms (questionnaires, Tutor Group Representatives etc.).

You can access the full Policy here: Compliments, Concerns and Complaints Policy

Compliments

Compliments include instances of positive feedback about a particular aspect of the College. It is always great to hear and share this with our team.

If you would like to share any positive feedback, please email these to feedback@wyke.ac.uk These will be logged and any relevant staff will be informed.

Complaints Form

If a student feels that they have been the victim of discrimination by any member of the College – staff or student – they should pursue the matter by talking, in the first instance, with their Tutor.

If you wish to make a complaint, please complete this form Complaint Form and once completed email to feedback@wyke.ac.uk