Safeguarding

Safeguarding at St. Augustine’s Catholic High School and Sixth Form

St. Augustine’s Catholic High and Sixth Form is a faith based community which firmly believes that we are a ‘Christ centred learning community committed to the development of the whole person’.

We believe safeguarding comes before any other school priority and is at the very centre of everything we do.

Young people have said that they need:

•  Adults who will listen to them and take them seriously.
•  Adults who notice when things are wrong.
•  Adults who will take action.
•  Adults who they can trust.
•  Adults who will treat them with compassion and respect.
•  A safe environment.

At St. Augustine’s through our extensive Safeguarding Team, we are able to support all of our young people and families in a way which follows professional guidelines whilst meeting the needs of those in our care.

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding can be defined as:

•  protecting children from maltreatment;
•  preventing impairment of children's health or development;
•  ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
•  taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
• A child is defined as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday

Our Safeguarding Team

Your child’s safety, health and well being matters and at our school we ensure that we have a large team of adults who are specially trained to provide support and assistance whenever needed. Our safeguarding team are able to respond effectively and efficiently whenever a safeguarding incident arises and we work closely with our families and outside partners to ensure the safety and well-being of our students at all times.

If you have a concern that any child is being harmed, is at risk of harm please contact our Safeguarding Team via email -safeguarding@sta.magnificat.org.uk

What to do if you have a safeguarding Concern?

If you have an incident or concern which you feel needs attention, please do not feel afraid to contact the following for support- we would rather you over-report than under-report!

In School Support – during Term time

If you have a concern during the school day, please contact one of our Safeguarding Team (as listed) in school or email our DSL directly:

yjordan@sta.magnificat.org.uk

Support Outside of School Hours

Please contact Worcestershire Children’s Services: Family Front Door

The Family Front Door is the referral point for all referrals where members of the community and professionals refer children and young people living in Worcestershire where they are worried about their safety and welfare.

Tel: 01905 822666 (9am – 5pm)

Worcestershire Children’s First

If you have a child protection concern outside of normal office hours please contact the out of hours emergency duty team (EDT) telephone 01905 768020

Agencies which support safeguarding for families and young people outside of School

NSPCC

The NSPCC provide therapeutic services to help children move on from abuse, as well as supporting parents and families in caring for their children.

The NSPCC help professionals make the best decisions for children and young people, and support communities to help prevent abuse from happening in the first place.

Tel: 08088005000

Website: www.nspcc.org.uk

Childline

Childline is there 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, their trained counsellors are here to support you.

Tel: 0800 1111

Website: www.childline.org.uk

Family Lives

Family Lives provides targeted early intervention and crisis support to families.

Tel: 08088002222

Website: www.familylives.org.uk

Contacting the school about your child:  please do so by email or phone and your query will be directed to the most relevant staff member.  Please indicate if it is an immediate safeguarding issue concerning any of the following:  sexual abuse, emotional abuse or self-harm and we will respond within 24 hours.  If the issue is not about safeguarding, we aim to  respond within 2 working days.