All adults who regularly work on our site are required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check to prevent unsuitable people from working with pupils. All visitors are closely supervised when on site.

We ensure staff have the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to keep children safe through provision of regular training on child protection issues. A qualified Designated Safeguarding Lead (Richard Parslow – Acting Headteacher) within the Academy provides leadership and support to staff members to carry out their safeguarding duties and liaises closely with other services such as children’s social care. He leads the safeguarding team of DSLs within the Academy. We also have a Greenheart Learning Partnership designated lead Trustee for safeguarding/child protection, Karen Kennedy,  who can be contacted by email: info@greenheartlearning.org.

Our staff are trained to be vigilant for all kinds of safeguarding concerns, including bullying, online safety, emotional or other abuse or extremist behaviour. We have clear procedures in place where any potential safeguarding concerns are identified. We share information with other public bodies – within agreed protocols.

As part of the Academy’s safeguarding measures, we also ensure our pupils are not exposed to inappropriate political or controversial messages. Through our pursuit to develop exemplary citizens, we promote fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.  In line with this, we ensure all expressed views and actions contrary to these values are challenged. We are alert to the indicators of radicalisation and take steps to protect those who may be susceptible to messages of violence. All concerns are reported and, where necessary, referred to external agencies.

The senior staff of our Before and After-School Club Team are trained as DSLs to ensure there is always an appropriately trained member of staff on the Academy site when children are present.

Online Safety – Advice for Parents

Whilst our Academy has comprehensive safeguarding arrangements in place to ensure our pupils’ online safety, it is equally as important for parents to talk to their children about online safety and monitor their internet usage at home, using age-appropriate parental controls to restrict their access to unsavoury material. Parental controls can be activated on home broadband, search engines, YouTube, mobile phones and games consoles.

Whilst it may not always be easy to talk to your child about challenging issues such as cyberbullying, if you are open and honest with them about the dangers they may encounter online, it may encourage them to confide in you in the future. If you are concerned that your child is being secretive or spending too much time online, it may be worth moving their computer into a communal family area so that you can keep an eye on them.

You should encourage your child to act responsibility online, and treat others as they would wish to be treated. You should also warn your child that they should never hide behind an anonymous user name to make unkind comments, or say something they would be reluctant to repeat during face-to-face interactions. Remind your child that the comments they make and the pictures and videos they post online may end up having a wider audience than they anticipated – and even if they delete them, there’s no guarantee that someone hasn’t already saved, downloaded or taken a screen shot of their post.

Children under the age of 13 should not be using social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr – this is stipulated in the sites’ terms and conditions.

Parents should also be aware that content filters may not always work if a child is using public Wi-Fi, so it is important to ensure their access to unprotected Wi-Fi is limited.

The lead for Online Safety at Woodhouse is Mr C Oakley,

Our school and the Greenheart Learning Partnership use Lightspeed for Internet filtering and monitoring. You can find out more about Lightspeed  here (external link).

Sharing nudes and semi-nudes

This is now an issue in schools and we have a duty of care to inform you.

It may feel awkward, but it’s important to explain to children the risks of sexting, how to stay safe and remind them that they can talk to you if something ever makes them feel scared or uncomfortable.

This is when children send inappropriate images or messages to each other. Parents need to be vigilant as to how their children are using their mobile phones, tablets, etc.

As of January 2016 in England and Wales, if a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police can choose to record that a crime has been committed but that taking formal action isn’t in the public interest.

Other forms of abuse that we always look out for in school are:

• Neglect
• Child sexual abuse
• Domestic abuse
• Online abuse
• Physical abuse
• Bullying and cyberbullying
• Emotional abuse
• Child sexual exploitation
• FGM
• Child trafficking.

There is a lot of information for parents on the NSPCC website (external link). Please take time to have a look to make sure you are up to date with all the latest issues around safeguarding. Additional information can be gained from Banardo’s, Child Net, Think U Know, Parent Zone and Net Aware (external links).

In the event of an issue outside of school hours, parents can contact Birmingham Children’s Advice and Support Services (CASS) on 0121 3031888 or use the links here (external link). You can also see the Birmingham Safeguarding Children’s Partnership Right Help, Right Time parent toolkit here (external link).