Walthamstow Academy's safeguarding policy can be found here.
Safeguard – Protect from harm or damage with an appropriate measure - (Oxford Dictionaries)
Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2024, is statutory guidance from the Department for Education issued under Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 (as amended), the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015 and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (as amended). Schools and colleges in England must have regard to it when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. For the purposes of this guidance children includes everyone under the age of 18.
Safeguarding children – the action we take to promote the welfare of children and promote them from harm – is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play (Working Together to Safeguard Children March 2023).
At Walthamstow Academy we strive to ensure that your child leads a safe and healthy lifestyle. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum that educates your child in what a successful, healthy lifestyle looks like and guides them in how to identify risks and dangers that could affect them.
As parents, you want to make sure that your children develop healthily and thrive. We're here to help you with advice on how you can build strong relationships with your children and keep them safe.
It's more than just physical safety. A big part of keeping children safe is making sure to look after their emotional and mental well-being. Helping them develop healthy emotional bonds from infancy can have a lifelong effect, and a strong relationship can make it easier when you want to discuss issues such as expressions of sexual behaviour or self-harm.
Of course, some people find it awkward to talk about certain subjects. So if you don't know how to talk to your child about difficult issues, these pages will provide helpful advice and support.
As your child grows older, you'll also worry about how to keep them safe when you're not always around. When is a child old enough to be home alone? And how can they keep safe when they're out on their own? You'll also want to teach them about online safety and the dangers of sexting - and help them understand how to stay safe on social networks by being Share Aware.
Information from www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/
Should you have any concerns about your child or someone who attends our academy please do not hesitate to contact Amrita Bains who is the Walthamstow Academy Designated Safeguarding Lead. Tel 02085273750. Amrita.Bains@walthamstow-academy.org
Our Governor responsible for Safeguarding is Geoff Skewes.
Useful links:
Walthamstow Academy Safeguarding Policy
www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/leaving-child-home-alone/
www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule/
https://www.internetmatters.org/
https://www.internetmatters.org/advice/11-13/
https://www.internetmatters.org/advice/14plus/
https://www.internetmatters.org/digital-family-toolkit/
Should you have any concerns about a child or family, and you do not wish to contact the academy, you can make a referral to the Waltham Forest Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub. Your referral can be anonymous if you wish. Please refer to the link below:
Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) | London Borough of Waltham Forest