Dear Parent/Carer
Safeguarding Newsletter – January edition 2016
The information below is designed to familiarise you with the most recent safeguarding concerns that
are faced by all schools at present. South Dartmoor is committed to safeguarding and promoting the
welfare of children and we will continue to provide materials for parents and carers outlining how
schools, the Health Service, Police, Social Care and parents can work together to keep children safe.
All of the College’s safeguarding policies and procedures are now available on the new College website
and we encourage parents to view these documents to get an understanding of how South Dartmoor
continues to keep children safe. The information placed on the website has recently been updated to
include the new Academy Child Protection policy and the July 2015 ‘Keeping Children safe in
Education’ government document. These new documents are an important tool in directing parents
to additional information and support.
This month’s ‘ask for help’ is targeted at parents supporting the College by updating contact details
for parents and carers. We have had a number of recent medical incidents where we have been unable
to contact parents and carers to collect students. It is really important that parents and carers contact
and inform the College if personal details change in regards to telephone numbers. Also, due to the
number of students who travel by bus to and from College, it is really important that parents and
carers use the emergency out of hours safeguarding number if your son/daughter does not return
home on the bus. If you are unable to reach the Safeguarding Lead the Police must be informed
immediately.
As in the previous newsletters, child sexual exploitation and radicalisation are still two of the highest
National concerns in schools. As a College we are making sure that our policies and procedures are
updated to reflect these. It might be easy to think that these issues are not relevant for counties like
Devon, but this assumption would be wrong as we are already receiving reports of young people in
Devon accessing online information. During the month of December the Performance Team
delivered assemblies to all students to raise awareness of the risks online and the facts regarding
radicalisation. Please see below some of the key facts that teachers, students and parents need to
be aware of.





‘Prevent’ relates to the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 which came into force on July
1st 2015.
Since July 1 2015 there has been a duty on schools to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent
people from being drawn into terrorism’. This is called the Prevent duty.
Prevent is part of the Government’s counter terrorism strategy. Its aim is to stop more people
from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism in all its forms.
“Radicalisation” refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms
of extremism, leading to terrorism. During that process it is possible to intervene to prevent
vulnerable people being drawn into terrorist-related activity.
‘Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of
law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs’.
The College have also placed the ‘Prevent’ strategy for parents on the College website under College
polices. The Website contains key facts and the reporting process.
If a parent or member of the public has a concern about a particular student in
regards to the above they should follow the school’s normal safeguarding
procedures, including discussing with the school’s Designated Safeguarding
Lead, and where deemed necessary, MASH will be informed.
November 2015 saw the return of the ‘Solomon’ theatre company who delivered a 2 hour production
for all year 9 students. The theatre company focused on raising awareness of child sexual exploitation
and the dangers of meeting strangers online. The production also focused on the impact of alcohol
and the links to exploitation. PC Rachel Crofts also attended the production and will be running
workshops during the month of January to further develop our students’ understanding of the risks of
posting nude images online and the associated criminal offences linked to the sending and receiving
of inappropriate images.
I have again included the resource link, which contains a number of short video clips which support
parents in understanding the impact of young people sending nude selfies/images.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ceop
The web link gives clear guidance and advice to parents on:




Why young people send nude selfies
How to talk to your son/daughter about nude selfies
When you should be worried as a parent
Where to get help
This month we would like to launch our ‘Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties’ booklet
which provides advice and guidance for students and parents. The booklet outlines the procedures for
parents when their son/daughter is not attending College due to mental illness.
As a College we are continuing to voice our concerns to external agencies and government regarding
the lack of support for our young people who are experiencing mental health issues. With over
300,000 young people having an anxiety disorder and 70,000 children experiencing depression, it is
vital that we are aware of the pressures that our students face day in day out and provide appropriate
professional support. The new booklet can be found on the College website in the policies section.
As always, I welcome feedback from parents regarding the safeguarding information within the letter.
It has been raised with me that parents are concerned about the increased use of ‘sexualised’ language
used towards females from male students. This is something we will be looking at in the new year with
the launch of our ‘gender equality’ action plan. It will see the college run a number of assemblies
aimed at teaching about healthy gender roles to our students. The input will be co-ordinated by a
member of our staff who has an MA in Gender Equality in Human, Social and Legal Sciences. The
assemblies will be followed by workshops that will explore the issue around what is known as “Micro
sexism” or minor daily episodes of sexism from male students towards female students. We will also
be creating a drop in session for students to access once a week for advice and guidance. The drop-in
sessions will be run by PC Rachel Croft.
Parents are, as always, asked to report safeguarding concerns to the College so that we can provide
support and guidance and, where necessary, access external agency support, with the aim of keeping
the young person safe from harm. Safeguarding concerns can be reported to your son/daughter’s
Performance Leader or directly to me as the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Also a reminder to all parents that the College has a reporting button on the College website which
enables students and parents to report concerns to the College anonymously. We do encourage
parents and students using the report button to give specific details of the event to facilitate a faster
resolution. The “report an issue button” is situated on the right hand side of the College home page
above the upcoming events tab. Please can I remind parents that the report button can also be used
to raise concerns regarding bus travel. The information provided will be used to enforce the County
code of conduct.
Any student found not to be keeping to the bus code of conduct will be sent letters as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
First warning letter
Second warning letter
First ban from travel – 1 week, parents responsible for getting student to school
Second ban from travel – 2 weeks, parents responsible for getting student to school
Third ban from travel – indefinite period lasting as long as fears for other travellers persist.
Parents responsible for getting student to school.
If you have any safeguarding concerns during the holidays and you need support, you are advised to
speak to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). To find out more about the Multi-Agency
Safeguarding Hub (MASH) please visit;
www.devon.gov.uk/childprotection. If you are concerned about a child or young person in Devon
and want to speak to someone, contact the MASH on 0345 155 1071 and give as much information
as you can.
Parents can also access confidential support and advice through, Child line 0800 1111
If you have any safeguarding questions in regards to the links included in the newsletter, or have
questions about our safeguarding procedures at South Dartmoor, please do not hesitate to contact
me directly.
Email: dvile@southdartmoor.devon.sch.uk Phone: 01364 652230
Yours sincerely
Dan Vile - Senior Designated Safeguarding Lead