Safeguarding
 |
Daniel PiggottAssistant Principal |
 |
Rahima KhanamSENDCO |
 |
James MenaghVice Principal |
 |
Katy SmithWelfare Officer |
 |
Rebecca CarterHead of Sixth Form |
 |
Elma ValerioAttendance Officer |
|
|
Sharna Kay PrehayLead Practitioner for KS5 |
Have a concern?
If you have any concerns at all about the safety or welfare of a student, please do not hesitate to contact our safeguarding team immediately:
safeguarding@harrispurley.org.uk
0208 681 1141 Ext. 2625
If somebody is in immediate danger telephone emergency services by dialling 999
Out of Hours
If you have a concern about a child outside of school hours, please contact Croydon's Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0208 255 2888 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) or their Emergency Duty Team on 0208 726 6400 at any other time.
Make a confidential disclosure
Please follow this link if you have any immediate safeguarding concern to report or if you would like to disclose something confidentially. You can submit your concern in an email or through the online form. You do not have to give your name or emails address.
https://harrispurley.thesharpsystem.com
Our safeguarding statement of intent
The Academy is committed to the vital contribution that all governors, staff and support staff make to safeguarding students. We aim to ensure that child protection concerns and referrals are handled sensitively, professionally and in ways that support the specific needs of the individual child. Through providing a caring, safe and stimulating environment which promotes the social, physical and moral development of all our students, we aim to foster an atmosphere of trust, respect and security.
The Academy is committed to the vital contribution all Governors and staff can make to safeguarding children. We will strive to make sure that every student in the Academy feels secure, well cared for and able to reach his/her full potential.
We will ensure all our own staff, other professionals, parents/carers and students work together to know the rules about keeping children safe. They will understand the importance of following procedures and listening to each other, especially when there are concerns about safety.
The Academy will work hard to reduce all kinds of harm that children can suffer, including abuse, bullying, discrimination and avoidable injuries.
FAO Designated Safeguarding Lead
Harris Academy Purley
Kendra Hall Road
Surrey
CR2 6DT
Tel: 020 8681 1141
Email: safeguarding@harrispurley.org.uk
Sources of help and advice
There are multiple sources of help and advice available to parents and students, in addition to those offered by the academy.
 |
If you're worried about a child, even if you're unsure, you can speak to the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 about your concerns. You can also visit https://www.nspcc.org.uk/ |
 |
Call ChildLine on 0800 1111 to get through to a counsellor, they’re there to listen and support you with anything you’d like to talk about. You can also visit https://www.childline.org.uk/ |
Government Guidance
The links below offer government guidance on a range of issues:
- Children missing from home or care
- Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
- Bullying (including cyber bullying)
- Domestic violence
- Drugs
- Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
- Forced Marriage
- Gangs and youth violence
- Gender-based violence/Violence against women and girls (VAWG)
- Mental health
- Preventing radicalisation
- Sexting
- Teenage relationship abuse
- Trafficking
HERSE and Mental Health
Alongside ensuring the safety of the students in our care and supporting them to reach their true academic potential, we are very aware of our role in supporting their mental health and well-being.
Our health education, relationships, sex and education (HERSE) programme is designed to ensure that our students receive the appropriate provision to improve their knowledge and understanding of relationships, sex and relationships and healthy living. Young people face complex pressures and dilemmas in developing mature relationships and need to face such tasks confident in their factual knowledge, as well as being given the opportunity to discuss and shape their feelings and attitudes. Alongside this, it is important for them to know how diet and exercise choices impact on our lifestyle and general well-being.
To embrace the challenges of creating a happy and successful adult life, students need knowledge that will enable them to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships and to build their belief in their own abilities. Our students can also put this knowledge into practice as they develop the capacity to make sound decisions when facing risks, challenges and complex contexts. Everyone faces difficult situations in their lives. The content we cover will support our students to develop resilience, to know how and when to ask for help, and to know where to access support. This helps with their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence.
Alongside this extensive programme, we have also invested in a number of other routes to enable our staff to support our students:
- We have worked closely with Trauma Informed Schools UK to equip a number of our senior staff with the knowledge and skills needed to meet the mental health needs of our students
- A group of teachers have completed training in mindfulness and these strategies are shared with both staff and students
- Ms Dower is our academy mental health and well-being leader, and part of her role is to ensure that we are working actively to ensure the mental health and well-being of our academy community
- Our tutor & assembly programme puts safeguarding at the heart of what we do which is additionally supported by our extensive curriculum.
Online safety
The Thinkuknow website is created by the police for parents of children at secondary school. It contains useful information about:
- what children are doing online
- how to talk to children about what they are doing online
- what risks your child might face
- what tools are there to help them stay safe
They have also produced a Parents' Guide to E-Safety and also the following booklets to provide parents/carers with helpful information on how to explore and monitor their children’s apps.
For students
If you are in the academy
- Speak to your form tutor
- Speak to any member of staff – they do not need to be your tutor or one of your teachers
- Speak to someone on the safeguarding team – there are posters up all around the academy, so it is easy to see who they are
- Put a note in one of the suggestion boxes for us so that we know to help you
- Sometimes it can be difficult to approach an adult if something is bothering you. If it would help you, ask a friend to go with you.
If you are not in the academy:
- Speak to a family member
- Ask the family member to make contact with the academy
Access support via the internet
- This website has links to many different organisations who are there to help you: www.youthaccess.org.uk
- Kidscape particularly focuses on support with bullying concerns
- TalktoFrank offers honest information about drugs
- Call Childline on 0800 1111
Remember: If your life, or someone else’s life, is in immediate danger, call 999.
Although the Academy teaches students online safety (formerly e-Safety) as part of the ICT curriculum, it is vital that parents/carers are aware of the risks too and what you can do to develop a culture of e-Safety in the home. There are some helpful resources for parents/carers below, which we encourage you to read in order to help your child stay safe online: http://www.internetmatters.org/
Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs. It is illegal in the UK and a form of child abuse with long-lasting harmful consequences. Professionals in all agencies, and individuals and groups in relevant communities, need to be alert to the possibility of a girl being at risk of FGM, or already having suffered FGM. Guidance on FGM from the NSPCC
Child sexual exploitation
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people receive something (for example food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, gifts, money or in some cases simply affection) as a result of engaging in sexual activities. Sexual exploitation can take many forms ranging from the seemingly ‘consensual’ relationship where sex is exchanged for affection or gifts, to serious organised crime by gangs and groups. What marks out exploitation is an imbalance of power in the relationship. The perpetrator always holds some kind of power over the victim which increases as the exploitative relationship develops. Sexual exploitation involves varying degrees of coercion, intimidation or enticement, including unwanted pressure from peers to have sex, sexual bullying including cyber bullying and grooming. However, it is also important to recognise that some young people who are being sexually exploited do not exhibit any external signs of this abuse. Visit the NSPCC website for more information about preventing abuse.
Prevent Lead
Harris Academy Purley is committed to providing a secure environment for students, where children feel safe and are kept safe. There is no place for extremist views of any kind in our Academy, whether from internal sources - students, staff or governors or external sources - the local community, external agencies or individuals.
Daniel Piggot (Assistant Principal and DSL)
Security and Safety
Harris Academy Purley has an extensive internal and external CCTV system. Access to the main building is through an electronic access control door, monitored by our reception team. All other entrances are fitted with intruder detection alarms and surveillance.
ID cards are worn by all staff and Sixth Form students. The remainder of students are identifiable from their uniform and colour-coded ties. All visitors must sign-in using our electronic register, which issues a photo ID to be worn for the duration of their stay.
The Academy also has a modern and comprehensive fire detection system.
Medical Needs
Linda GroverHarris Academy Purley is an inclusive community that aims to support students with medical conditions. Student medication is securely stored in the Student Services office. This department is managed by our Student Services Manager, who is also responsible for administering medicines.
Please also see our Student Welfare page.
Ms Linda Grover (Student Services Manager)
Educational Visits
Harris Academy Purley sees educational visits as an essential resource, which can supplement and enrich the teaching of a broad and balanced curriculum. A comprehensive risk assessment must be carried out before any proposed visit is approved. Approval for all educational visits follows a clear process and the senior member of staff responsible for educational visits is Ms Emily McKee (Assistant Principal).
All educational visits must also be authorised finally by the Principal.
CPOMS Electronic Safeguarding System
The Academy has now switched over to using an electronic Safeguarding recording system known as CPOMS. CPOMS enables schools to improve their management of child protection and similar incidents and actions, whilst reducing staff time, paperwork and administration. CPOMS also enables schools to track referrals to external agencies, such as the NHS/CAMHS, Children’s Services, and the Police (including letters and phone calls) and be alerted if timescales are not being met. CPOMS also uses the same action-based functionality to track communication with parents and carers, as well as students themselves.
Keeping children safe in education KCSIE
This is statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding children and safer recruitment. Please click here to view the KCSIE
Staff are informed on changes to the KCSIE through briefings and CPD sessions.
