The West Bridgford School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Safeguarding is at the heart of our work in school and we recognise that students who do not feel safe and secure are not able to thrive and achieve. Each year group is led by a teacher in the post of Year Director, supported by a non-teaching Pastoral Assistant. As a school we do not shy away from difficult conversations with our students and have a lot of experience in doing this.

All safeguarding concerns are dealt with by staff trained to the same level as that of the ‘Designated Safeguarding Lead’.

• Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Anna Sharpe – Deputy Headteacher

• Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Ms Natalie Masterson – Deputy Headteacher

• Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Mandy Anghelone – Services Manager

• Headteacher: Mr Tim Peacock

The rest of the school staff, teaching and non-teaching, undergo annual training around their own safeguarding requirements as outlined in Keeping children safe in education

Should you have any concerns about your child or a child who attends The West Bridgford School please do not hesitate to contact any one of the Designated Safeguarding Leads via our school email address: adminoffice@wbs.school

Our EMET Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy can be found by following this link or by visiting our Policies Page.

 

Causes for Concern

All staff are asked to report any causes for concern via our online system, My Concern. If concerns are immediate then staff will speak directly to one of the safeguarding leads in school. Concerns will be shared with parents/carers as appropriate and as early as possible as there are often reasonable explanations for the concern.

Attendance

Absence and lateness is closely monitored by Student Services and the Pastoral Team. Reasons are sought for all absences. Concerns around attendance may be referred to the Designated Safeguarding Lead Officer. Parents/carers will be notified of attendance concerns at the earliest convenience. If you wish to report a Student Absence, please follow this link.

Support for Families via Multi Agency Working

The West Bridgford School works collaboratively with external agencies to ensure all children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. We actively work with families to secure positive outcomes for both children and families. This requirement is also clearly laid out in Working together to Safeguard children

Current Key Themes

There are many subject matters relating to causes for concern and every year we plan a robust training programme for both pastoral staff and the wider teaching staff. A few examples of the training already undertaken are:

• My Concern Training
• Prevent training
• Substance Misuse Awareness
• Sexual Harassment and Violence in a school context
• LGB Awareness
• Trans and Non-binary Awareness
• Young Carers
• Female Genital Mutilation
• Child Sexual Exploitation
• Child Criminal Exploitation
• Forced Marriage and Honour Based Abuse
• Anti-Bullying Alliance Modular Training
• Extremism and Radicalisation

Out of hours safeguarding concern

If you have concerns for the safety of a child out of school hours, please contact Nottinghamshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub: 0300 500 80 80

If you require an urgent response outside of working hours (08:30-17:00), contact Nottinghamshire’s Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 0300 456 4546.

In an emergency call 999.

To report a crime, call 101

Other useful contact information can be seen below or check out our Signposting Document

for more specific support agencies