Our Safeguarding Policy can be found here

If you have a safeguarding concern you wish to raise you can do so via our confidential email: safeguarding@ashleycollege.brent.sch.uk

Or by phone

• Veronica Patten, Designated Safeguarding Lead on 020 8937 3336 or 07735 826382
• Ranjna Shiyani, Deputy DSL on 020 8937 3333 or 07737 408622
• Anne Marie Mika, Deputy DSL on 020 8937 3331
• Heidi Bennett, Deputy DSL on 020 8937 3285

Please see advice for parents and carers about the main risks children may be vulnerable to and information about available help and support.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-from-abuse-and-harm

Keeping Children Safe in Education

September 2021

The DfE published the latest Keeping Children Safe in Education in September 2021. The latest version of this document can be found here.

In addition, a new version of ‘Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment’ has also been published, ready to come into force in September 2021.

Child Protection and Safeguarding Statement

The management committee and all staff of Ashley College fully recognise our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils. We recognise that all staff, teaching and non-teaching, including volunteers, have a full and active part to play in protecting our pupils from harm. All staff and management committee members endeavour to provide a safe, caring, positive and welcoming environment, which promotes the social, physical, mental, emotional and moral development of the individual student and where children are respected and valued. We are alert to the signs of abuse and neglect and follow our procedures to ensure that children receive effective and prompt support, protection and justice. Staff receive ongoing regular safeguarding training throughout the year, delivered by the DSL, Safer Schools Officer, online learning platform and outside professionals, including CAMHS, where appropriate. Staff annually cover topics on Child Protection, FGM, Prevent, Esafety, Peer on Peer Abuse plus a review of all school procedures for identifying and reporting concerns.

Our core safeguarding principles are:

• All staff believe that our school should provide a caring, positive safe and stimulating environment that promotes the social, physical, mental, emotional and moral development of the individual child.
• Safer children make more successful learners
• It is the school’s responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
• All children, regardless of age, gender, ability, culture, race, language, religion or sexual identity, have equal rights to protection
• All staff have an equal responsibility to act on any suspicion or disclosure that may suggest a child is at risk of harm
• Students and staff involved in child protection issues will receive appropriate support
• Parents/carers can access the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy here
• Representatives of the whole-school community of students, parents/carers, staff and management committee will be involved in policy development and review
• Policies will be reviewed annually, unless an incident, new legislation or guidance suggests the need for an interim review.
• The procedures contained in this policy apply to all staff and management committee and are consistent with those of the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).
• The school will work with social care, the police, health services and other services to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. This includes providing a coordinated offer of early help when additional needs of children are identified and contributing to inter agency plans to provide additional support to children, subject to child protection plans.

Peer on Peer Abuse

At Ashley College, we believe that all children have a right to attend school and learn in a safe environment. Children should be free from harm by adults in the school and other students.

We recognise that some students will sometimes negatively affect the learning and wellbeing of others and their behaviour will be dealt with under the school’s Behaviour Policy.

Ashley College will support the victims of peer on peer abuse by ensuring children know, through regular conversations in link tutor time and through assemblies and PHSCE lessons, how to report concerns and that they will be listened to and supported.

Therefore any victim of peer on peer abuse should be aware of:

• Procedures put in place to minimise the risk of peer on peer abuse.
• How allegations are recorded, investigated and dealt with.
• Clear processes as to how victims, perpetrators and any other children affected will be supported.

All staff are clear as to Ashley College’s policy and procedures with regards to peer on peer abuse. It is essential that all such incidents are treated seriously.  The needs of the victim must be addressed, in addition to ensuring that the perpetrator is dealt with in such a way that they acknowledge the seriousness of their action.

Relationships and Sex Education

SRE is lifelong learning about physical, moral and emotional development.  It prepares students for understanding relationships, emotions, sexuality and sexual health.  It is about understanding the importance of marriage, stable family and loving relationships, respect, love and care.   It is not about promoting sexual orientation or sexual activity.

It is an essential element of the spiritual, moral and social development of students, which the national curriculum promotes through Personal Social Health Citizenship, and Economic programmes.

Delivery of RSE

RSE is taught

• within the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum, which SLT reviews and oversees at the school.
• biological aspects of RSE are taught within the science curriculum

We are highly sensitive to the fact that some of our students will have personal experience of some issues under discussion therefore

• ground rules are established with the students at the start of these sessions to ensure they are comfortable with the handling of sensitive issues.
• teaching approaches are varied and adopt active techniques to secure engagement and participation in discussions.

Pupils also receive some stand-alone sex education sessions delivered by a trained health professional.

These areas of learning are taught within the context of family life; taking care to ensure that there is no stigmatisation of children based on their home circumstances. Families can include single parent families, LGBT parents, families headed by grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents/carers amongst other structure, along with reflecting sensitively that some children may have a different structure of support around them (for example: looked after children or young carers).

RSE focuses on giving young people the information they need to help them develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds including:

• Families
• Respectful relationships, including friendships
• Online and media
• Being safe
• Intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health