Safeguarding in Education

Here in Kirklees we have two full time Local Authority School Safeguarding Officers Michelle Stephenson and Maxine Wood who support and advise schools and academies on, and contribute to the development, delivery and implementation of policies, procedures, training and safeguarding strategies. School Safeguarding Officers can be contacted on 01484 221000 or schoolsafeguardingofficer@kirklees.gov.uk

School Safeguarding Officer Leaflet

Information about the School Safeguarding Officers and the above is now hosted on the Kirklees Business Solutions website.

School Safeguarding Policies

Virtual School

The Virtual School has a role both in supporting Individual Children and Young People in Care and care leavers with their educational attainment, and in supporting schools, foster carers, Children’s Social Work Service practitioners, school governors and other relevant partners in delivering their corporate parenting responsibilities.

The Head of the Virtual School for Children and Young People in Care in Kirklees can be contacted on
01484 225180 or at: kirklees.virtualschool@kirklees.gov.uk

NSPCC Briefing Documents for Schools

International New Arrivals Team (INAT)

International New Arrival Team

Online resources

NSPCC – Share Aware Guide – a guide produced to empower parents to keep their children safe online. It includes conversation starters to help parents discuss online safety and advice on what to do if things go wrong online. For printed versions of this resource, please see below on additional resources

NSPCC – a short video for young people entitled “How do I know if I’m being groomed.”

Net Aware – a comprehensive guide for parents on over 50 of the top social networks, apps and games that young people use. It includes key facts for each site, recommended age ratings, and information about safety features.

Talking to your child about staying safe online – advice and tips on how to have effective conversations with your children about an array of online topics, including cyberbullying, online porn, and sharing images and information.

Parental controls – information on how parental controls can be used to help keep children safe online. Discusses the benefits of parental controls and gives practical advice on how to put them in place.

Sexting: advice for parents – information from the NSPCC, explaining what sexting is, what the risks are, and how to talk to your child about the issues.

Online porn– conversation starters for parents to help them discuss online porn with their children.

Childline resources

Staying safe online– a Childline page offering tips to young people on online safety. Includes information on posting online, online communities, and online bullying.
Online grooming– anadvice page, looking at what online grooming is, how it happens, and what you can do to keep yourself safe.
Sexting- information on what sexting is, what the risks are, and what you can do if someone sends you a picture or asks for one.
Mobile phone safety– an advice page, focusing on how to use your phone safely. It covers what you should do if you are being bullied through your mobile or being pressured to share your phone number.
Online gaming- ChildLine content, giving advice on how to stay safe when gaming. It discusses voice chat, online bullying, and how to keep a record of abusive messages.
Online porn- fact page, discussing what porn is, whether it’s normal to look at porn, and how porn makes you feel. It also gives advice on what you can do if you feel under pressure after watching porn, have been caught watching porn, or are concerned that you are watching too much porn.
Zipit– ChildLine’s first ever app, designed to help young people stay in control if they are asked to send a naked picture of themselves. It provides witty comebacks and pictures which enable young people to diffuse the situation and stay safe. It is free to download and available on Android, Blackberry and Apple smartphones.

Professionals Online Safety Helpline 0844 381 4772 – helpline@saferinternet.org.uk

Do you have a cyberbullying or digital safety concern?

The UK Safer Internet Centre has been funded by the European Commission to provide a Helpline for professionals who work with children and young people in the UK, specifically tackling the area of online safety. The Helpline provide support with all aspects of digital and online issues such as social networking sites, cyber-bullying, sexting, online gaming and child protection online. The Helpline aims to resolve issues professionals face about themselves, such as protecting professional identity and reputation, as well as young people in relation to online safety.

Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. The Helpline can be emailed at any time, and these will be responded to during their normal working hours.

Find out more by visiting the Helpline section of the UK Safer Internet Centres website

Additional resources

We have joined forces with 02 to provide parents with the skills and knowledge that they need to keep their children safe online. As part of the partnership, we are delivering the following initiatives, which we are happy for you to link to on your website.

O2 NSPCC online safety helpline– parents are able to call the helpline for advice and support on setting up parental controls, adjusting privacy settings, understanding social networks and more. They can access the helpline for free by ringing 0808 800 5002 or can find more information here-
Parent workshops– from January 2016, we will be working with 02 to provide parent online safety workshops across the UK. Parents or organisations including schools or businesses can register their interest and request for workshops to be held in their area on the NSPCC website-
Share Aware parent leaflets – If you require hard copies of our Share Aware leaflets you will be able to order small quantities (Up to 50) by contacting help@nspcc.org.uk. If you would be interested in ordering large numbers at a cost price, please contact campaigns@nspcc.org.uk
Teaching materials– resources based on the NSPCC animations ‘I saw your willy’ and ‘Lucy and the Boy’, will be available for teachers from November 2015. They will support teachers to deliver online safety lessons to children aged 8-12
For information on Online Messaging Platforms click here.
Minded for families – There is a new package of support and advice to parents and school professionals who identify causes for concern around many safeguarding issues including online risk taking behaviour. Please click here to access the package.

West Yorkshire Consortium Safeguarding Children Procedures

These are the multi-agency procedures to be followed by all agencies working with children and families in Kirklees. The procedures encourage close working early intervention in a supportive way to meet the needs of children and their families. The procedures are available in electronic format only and can be accessed on the following link: Safeguarding Children Procedures.

Online Safety posters for display in schools
The KSCP has produced a range of awareness raising posters that can be downloaded and displayed in school classrooms:

The UK Safer Internet Centre runs a helpline that professionals can call for advice on digitial and online issues, and display materials are also available.

Sexting in schools and colleges

The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) has just released latest guidance for schools and colleges on the growing issue of Sexting and its implications for pupils and students.
It makes interesting reading and provides excellent advice to schools including the actions likely to be implemented by the police in the event of a sexting matter being reported to them.
This document has the backing of HM Government, the DfE and all leading child safeguarding professional bodies.

Please click here to access the guidance.

Mental Health – Support for Schools and Parents

Mental Health Foundation: The truth about self-harm for young people and their friends and families
Young Minds
National Children’s Bureau – A whole school framework for emotional well being and mental health

Recommended Guidance

Working Together to Safeguard Children (July 2018)
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) (Ministry of Justice/Home Office March 2015)
Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023
Domestic Violence Notifications to Schools – Operation Encompass
Kirklees School Notification Protocol
Children missing education – guidance for schools
Leave of absence – guidance for schools
Children missing education – policy and procedures
Keeping children safe in education 2022

Elective home Education

Elective Home Education – Information for Professionals

Early Help Assessment

Information about EHA, support available from the EHA team, and the Kirklees handbook for practitioners can be found on the Kirklees Council website.
A EHA e-learning course explaining what the EHA is, why it is important, how to recognise the need to have an assessment, and how to have an assessment completed is available by contacting training on 01484 416290.