Safeguarding

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. 

In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all at Our Lady of Good Counsel ensure the approach is child-centred. This means that Our Lady of Good Counsel consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.

Our Lady of Good Counsel recognises that no single practitioner can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.

 The purpose of safeguarding children is to:

  • Protect them from abuse, maltreatment and exploitation.
  • Prevent anything from harming their health or development.
  • Ensure they can grow up under safe and effective care.
  • Take action to ensure they have the best outcomes in life.

As part of our Safeguarding offer, Our Lady of Good Counsel and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi Academy Trust (OLoL CAMT) have a team of people who lead on safeguarding our students, they are our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs). 

Our Lady of Good Counsel DSLs are also the people who will support with any concerns raised around children’s health, wellbeing and safety, as described above. If you have a concern regarding the wellbeing, health, development, relationships or safety of a child, please use the contact details below.

Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) contact details:

 Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Pauline Chawner

pauline.chawner@our-lady.lincs.sch.uk

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Ms Hazel Collins

hazel.collins@our-lady.lincs.sch.uk

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Sharon Robson

sharon.robson@our-lady.lincs.sch.uk

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mr Paul Tibble

paul.tibble@our-lady.lincs.sch.uk

Tel: 01529 304373

Email: office.admin@our-lady.lincs.sch.uk 

Safeguarding hotline number for OLoL:
Tel: 01158550557
This will be diverted to our safeguarding team between 9am-3pm weekdays, and will send a voicemail to the safeguarding team outside of these times.

Moira Dales (Trust Safeguarding Lead)
Tel:07852133114
Email: m.dales@ololcatholicmat.co.uk

SAFEGUARDING FOR PARENTS

We feel that it is important to support our parents to know how they can protect their children, where to find help and raise concerns if necessary.

As well as skills which are taught within the specific curriculum of Religious Education, PSHE & RSE, please find below contact details for a variety of organisations who support parents and young people if they have any safeguarding, mental health or welfare needs.

  • Parent line 07520 619919: Healthy Family Teams confidential texting service to provide parents and carers advice around feeding, child development, parenting advice and support, emotional health and wellbeing, behaviour difficulties and family health.
  • Health4kids – healthforkids.co.uk; this is an NHS site supporting young children and parents.

All the above websites are for students and their families should they need them.

CAMHS crisis team: (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team) part of the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

This service is for young people experiencing a mental health crisis. This includes young people who:

  • are at risk of immediate and significant self-harm
  • are an immediate and significant risk to others due to their mental health
  • are being considered for admission to a mental health inpatient unit
  • are in acute psychological or emotional distress that is causing them to not be able to go about their daily activities, such as going to school and looking after themselves

Tel: 01522 309120

SAFEGUARDING FOR PUPILS

We feel that it is important to support our pupils to know how they can be safe and protected, and to empower them to recognise situations which are unsuitable for them. As well as skills which are taught within the specific curriculum of Religious Education, PSHE & RSE, please find below contact details for a variety of organisations who support young people and their families if they have any safeguarding, mental health or welfare needs.

  • Child line 0800 1111 childline.org.uk; Childline is here to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through. You can talk about anything. Whether it’s something big or small, trained counsellors are on hand to support you.
  • ChatHealth – 07520 649893: this is a confidential texting servicefor 13 to 19 year olds in Lincolnshire Healthcare NHS Trust.
  • Kooth – kooth.com: Free, safe and anonymous online support for young people
  • Health4teens – healthforteens.co.uk– this is an NHS site supporting young people around emotional wellbeing.
  • Health4kids – healthforkids.co.uk: this is an NHS site supporting young children and parents.
  • Young Minds – youngminds.org.uk: this organisation support young people to have the best Mental Health
  • Jigsaw – https://www.changegrowlive.org/jigsaw-young-person-family-service-nottingham/info: Support people up to the age of 18 with their drug and alcohol use. The service is free and confidential.

PREVENT

At Our Lady of Good Counsel Voluntary Academy, safeguarding and the welfare of our pupils is our highest priority. As part of this commitment, we take our responsibilities under the Prevent Duty very seriously.

The Prevent Duty, introduced under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, requires schools to have due regard to the need to prevent children and young people from being drawn into terrorism and extremist activities.

What is Prevent?

The Prevent Duty is about protecting pupils from the risk of radicalisation and extremism. Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support or be involved in extremist ideologies. Extremism is behaviour or beliefs that seek to undermine fundamental British values such as democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect.

You can read more about Prevent by clicking here.(opens in new tab)

How We Promote Prevent

We help pupils stay safe by:

  • Raising awareness of radicalisation and extremism through our personal development curriculum and providing age-appropriate opportunities for pupils to learn how to challenge extremist views and make safe, informed decisions
  • Teaching British Values, including respect for difference, tolerance and the importance of law and democracy
  • Working with staff, parents and external partners to identify and respond to concerns early

What We Do if We Have Concerns

If we have concerns that a pupil may be at risk of radicalisation or extremism, we take action in line with our safeguarding procedures. This may include:

  • Consulting with senior leaders and the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
  • Speaking to the pupil and their parents/carers
  • Calling the Anti-Terrorism hotline
  • Referring to local authority safeguarding teams and the Prevent Programme

We always act in the best interests of the pupil and in accordance with our safeguarding policies and will be on hand to support any student who requires it.

USEFUL CONTACTS

If you have any concerns regarding Safeguarding for any child, you can also contact the following Lincolnshire Local Authority Multi Agency teams:

Promoting the education of looked-after and previously looked-after children

Supervision of activity with children

Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation