Safeguarding

Meet our Safeguarding Team

Designated Safeguarding Lead:

Miss L. Dawes – Vice Principal / Designated Safeguarding Lead

Contact – 01922 712834 / 07903 630330   lucy.dawes@attrust.org.uk

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mr S. Muller – Assistant Principal/SENCO

Contact – 01922 712834   simon.muller@attrust.org.uk

Safeguarding Team

Ms S. Edwards – Family Intervention Worker

Contact – 01922 712834 / 07903 630374     stephanie.edwards@attrust.org.uk

Mrs K. Oakes – Family Intervention Worker

Contact – 01922 712834     kelly.oakes@attrust.org.uk

Walsall Designated Officer for Safeguarding

Belinda Crowshaw – Contact Tel:  01922 652322     lado@walsall.gov.uk

Over each school year, there are a number of Safeguarding Days/Events being held across the country, as follows:-

Safeguarding – Newsletters

Newsletter Autumn – September 2020

Online Gaming – Introduction for parents and carers

Online gaming is hugely popular with children and young
people, and it is important that parents and carers have information and guidance to support safe online gaming.

The following link provides an introduction to online gaming
and advice for parents specifically related to gaming:

Online gaming – introduction for parents and carers

Safer Schools App

IMPORTANT INFORMATION (NOV 2023) The Safer Schools App will no longer be used within ATT academies after December 2023.

Please see this letter from our CEO, Sir Nick Weller regarding our academy online safety plans from January 2024…. Parent/Carers – Online Safety Letter – November 2023

In the meantime, the Safer Schools App will continue to be in use until December 2023:

It is extremely important to keep our youngsters safe online.

In order to help parents/carers and pupils to understand about being safe online and offering further information, advice and guidance….Phoenix Academy are proud to announce the ‘Safer Schools App’ for parents/carers and pupils to download onto their electronic devices (mobiles phones/tablets etc).

Please see the following Safer Schools letter welcoming you to join and giving instructions how to download the app to your mobile device.

Safer Schools App – Parent Letter

Safer Schools App – Pupil Letter 

Keeping Our Children Safe

At Phoenix Academy we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

We ensure continuous development and improvement of robust safeguarding and child protection processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our staff and volunteers.

Please see below for information about how we safeguard our children.

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

 E-Safety Policy (there is also further information under our Website E-Safety Heading)

Whistleblowing Policy

All adults who work at Phoenix Academy have a responsibility to read and understand all safeguarding policies.

All adults are expected to read the DfE guidance: Keeping Children Safe in Education – Sept 2022 – Part One

This should be read alongside the statutory guidance:  Working Together to Safeguard Children

Operation Encompass

At Phoenix Academy we are working in partnership with West Midlands Police and Walsall Children’s Services to identify and provide appropriate support to pupils who have experienced domestic abuse in their household; this scheme is called Operation Encompass www.operationencompass.org

On receipt of any information, the Designated Safeguarding Lead (Miss Lucy Dawes) will decide on the appropriate support the child requires. All information sharing and resulting actions will be undertaken in accordance with the ‘Operation Encompass Joint Agency Protocol for Domestic Abuse’.

We will record and store this information in accordance with the record keeping procedures around Safeguarding the wellbeing of children and young people.

Tips to keep your child safe whilst online can be found here:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

There is lots of useful information on the NSPCC website and their helpline (for adults) on 0808 800 5000

Child Line – 0800 111

Additional Support for all:  In support of the wellbeing and safety of our young people and their families please use this link during times of challenge or distress, and reach out to those who can help:  https://route2wellbeing.info/

Prevent Strategy

An updated Prevent Guide for Parents & Carers can be found by clicking here: Walsall Prevent Programme – A Guide for Parents and Carers

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism or extremist causes.  The strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism.  All schools have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.  Phoenix Academy is committed to protecting our young people from extremist and violent views, and to teach them values such as tolerance and mutual respect.

We provide a safe environment for pupils to discuss any issue so they better understand how to protect themselves.

All staff at Phoenix Academy have received Prevent Strategy Training in September 2019 with annual Prevent refresher training also being completed.

CT Policing and ‘Netmums’ partner in an effort to raise awareness of online radicalisation

Young people are spending more and more time online and Counter Terrorism Policing are seeing much younger children being exposed to extreme material and views.

Here in the UK, children as young as 12 have been targeted and groomed into supporting extremist ideologies.

That’s why CT Policing’s advice line and safeguarding Prevent website actearly.uk is aimed at family and friends to encourage them to share concerns that a friend or loved one might be vulnerable to radicalisation.

To promote the new website and advice line to parents, CT Policing has partnered with Netmums.com, to encourage them to have radicalisation on their radar in the same way they do with other online harms.

This partnership focuses on supporting the work of Prevent bringing transparency around the programme and the support available. It includes content for parents to learn about the dangers, spotting signs and to help protect their children from the potential risk of online radicalisation. You can read all of the useful articles, tips and information on the dedicated Netmums ACT Early hub and even read the live Q&A, where parents ask Prevent related questions.

For more information about ACT Early, please visit www.actearly.uk or contact nctphq.comms@met.police.uk.

CT Policing’s key messages to parents:

• Have a conversation with your children about the potential risks of radicalisation as you do about other harms like drugs, sexting and child sexual exploitation. Find out more by visiting actearly.uk.
• Protect your child by finding out about extremism and radicalisation and help make them more resilient to potential risks.
• Find out how to make your child digitally savvy to help protect them
• Not all children are vulnerable to radicalisation but some are and every parent needs to know the potential risks and what to look out for.
• If you are concerned act early and seek advice from the advice line on 0800 011 3764.
• We are here to help and to listen. They will not be wasting our time. The earlier they tell us their worries, the quicker we can get the person they care about the help they need to protect them from being groomed and radicalised. Most cases they issues will be unconnected to radicalisation and the support will be provided by other partners.

Developments in Afghanistan

We wanted to give an update on the Government’s actions in relation to the ongoing situation in Afghanistan. The horrific attack last week underlines the dangers facing those in Afghanistan and reinforces why the Government are doing all they can to get people out.

The Government’s top priority remains to do everything possible to deliver on obligations to British nationals, and those who have helped the UK. The UK’s military evacuation from Afghanistan has now concluded, with over 15,000 people having been evacuated over the last fortnight. This includes embassy staff, British Nationals, those eligible under the ARAP programme and a small number of nationals from partner nations.

As the Prime Minister agreed with G7 partners last week, the legitimacy of the Taliban regime in the eyes of the international community is contingent on them providing safe passage for those who want to leave Afghanistan, protecting against terrorism, safeguarding the human rights of all Afghans – particularly women and minorities – and allowing unhindered humanitarian access.

The UK’s efforts will now shift to supporting the people of Afghanistan from outside the country, including through the delivery of humanitarian aid and by continuing to facilitate the safe relocation to the UK of vulnerable Afghan people. Thanks to the efforts of over a quarter of local authorities across the UK and vital delivery partners, hundreds of Afghan nationals have already been welcomed and many more are set to arrive, making this one of the most comprehensive resettlement schemes the UK has ever established.