Safeguarding
Learners at Gretton School are encouraged to speak to any member of staff if they have concerns or worries and are also made aware of the safeguarding team members by posters up and around the school. There is also a dedicated email address which they can access from their school account if they would rather not speak to someone face to face: worried@grettonschool.com
Meet the team:
All available in person at school, on 01223 277438 or 07714 823313 and contactable by email: safeguarding@grettonschool.com
Visitors are asked to speak to a member of the safeguarding team if they have any concerns or worries about the safety of students or staff in school. This is identified on arrival at school with the presentation of an information leaflet.
Staff are guided to speak to a member of the safeguarding team and record concerns on MyConcern (the schools safeguarding recording system) in line with the schools safeguarding policy.
Gretton School adopts a proactive approach when it comes to promoting safeguarding and eSafety. Every child has eSafety input in PSHE lessons and assemblies throughout the academic year. The school utilises the National Online Safety platform which allows it to work closely with parents to tailor training and support resources for specific learners and topics.
Learners are encouraged to come forward if they see anything on the internet that is suspicious, if they are a victim of cyberbullying or if they have a question about using the internet. Within school, all internet usage is filtered and monitored in accordance with relevant safeguarding policies.
Paula Dopadlik
Pastoral Manager/
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Emma Nelson
Designated Person
Sam Taylor O'Farrell
Designated Person
Catherine Harrison
Designated Person
Gill Rughoobeer
Head of Compliance/
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Beth Elkins
Designated Person
Zoe Copping
Family Liaison Officer
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
It is really important to talk to a member of staff in school if you have any concerns about bullying.
We encourage you to work with us to help our young people learn about the impact of negative behaviours.
Click the button below to report an incident. Once the form has been submitted, a member of our team will contact you during school hours to discuss next steps
Early Help Offer
Our team is here to work with families who may need to explore additional support services within the home. We run internal TAF's (Team around families) and TAC's Team around the child) and work with all partner local authorities to deliver and support their Early Help Offer. Each local authority has what's known as a 'local offer' and families are invited to explore what services are available to them within their community.
Internet Safety Resources
National Online Safety
A Certified School Programme that is a complete solution for schools to implement an effective approach to online safety. Which has been designed by education professionals to meet the statutory online safety safeguarding duties outlined in the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) September 2023 guidance.
Some experts estimate that children’s screen time rises by as much as six hours a day during the school holidays. That obviously inflames all kinds of existing parental concerns around online safety – from disturbed sleep patterns, marathon gaming sessions and possible screen addiction to increased exposure to age-inappropriate content and internet users with malicious agendas.
To mark the start of the holidays, our #WakeUpWednesday guide has some straightforward suggestions for concerned parents and carers. Even simple steps like maintaining regular communication, encouraging young ones to put their devices down occasionally and being a good digital role model yourself can reduce the chances of online issues over the summer!
Click here for our Parent's Introduction to National Online Safety information.
There is a great online safety tool designed for parents by the Department for Education called Parent Info. It's has advice on everything from keeping children safe from online trolls to WhatsApp - a guide for parents.
Childnet is a great website resource for parents and children on online safety. Click here to watch an interactive video on how to keep your child safer online.
Internet Matters is another great site to use - it has advice on cyberbullying, how to talk to your children about internet safety and quick guides to different types of social media such as Instagram and Snapchat. You can visit their pages here Internet Matters.
Smartphone Safe
If you would like to know more information on how to keep your child safe when they are using a smartphone here is a very useful and informative link here.
For information on agencies that can support the use of personal devices, Papyrus have a useful guide specifically on apps that promote access to support for your mental health and well-being.
Vodafone also have some great advice and a downloadable parenting magazine.
The UK Council for Child Internet Safety
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-council-for-child-internet-safety-ukccis
Sexting
What is sexting? And how to engage with your child about the issue:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/sexting/
Social Media
A guide on how to change privacy settings on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/help/privacy
More advice on Facebook settings https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2010/09/17/protect-facebook-places/
News and updates
Hundreds of calls made to UK helpline about sexual abuse in schools
Incidents reported include name-calling, online abuse, unwanted touching, assault and rape.
(Story from: The Guardian 14 Dec 2021)
In 2021, the IWF (Internet Watch Foundation) investigated a record 361,000 reports!
On January 13 2022, the UK Government launched a new campaign and website Stop Abuse Together (stopabusetogether.campaign.gov.uk) to help parents and carers spot the signs of sexual abuse and keep children safe.
Could you spot the signs of child sexual abuse? Get confidential advice and support to help keep your child safe, sign up for more information on the Knowsley News website here.
Below you will find a very useful resource from SWGfl where you are able to download checklists for specific social media sites which can help you set parental controls.
https://swgfl.org.uk/resources/checklists/
We have also included a resource from The Lucy Faithfull Foundation called 'parents protect'. This is an awareness learning platform in relation to online sexual abuse, not only for parents/carers but for professionals as well and has been shared with staff at Gretton School.
https://www.parentsprotect.co.uk/sexual-abuse-learning-programme.htm?utm_source=email&utm_medium=csaprevention&utm_campaign=29sep22&dm_i=48W7,1EVQ9,795RAO,6JCIR,1
Click here for this downloadable flyer: The Dark Web Explained
Pastoral
The approach to pastoral care at Gretton School is as individualised as the learners who join us. We operate an open door policy and work on the principle that everyday is a new day with a clean slate.
Our team has many years' experience working with children and young people in schools. They work closely with learners to ensure that each feels accepted, cared about and safe. They help them to feel good about themselves again and bolster their confidence.
They understand the importance of providing students with stability, support and consistency, and they work closely with the academic and support staff in order to adequately equip learners with the tools they need to become a well-rounded adult.
Gretton School offers learners the opportunity to be reflective and to take restorative measures where necessary. We believe that what we do here is genuinely transformative.
Wellbeing
There are a variety of clubs and activities that students can join in with, ranging from Boccia, dodgeball, football, chess club, Dungeons & Dragons, reading and girls group (not exclusive just to females), as well as special interest sessions at clip n climb and extreme 360 trampoline.
These provide opportunities for learners to build confidence away from the classroom and to face and overcome challenges.
Learners at Gretton School also benefit from PSHE sessions which cover social and moral topics within a safe and supportive environment.
Safeguarding and Child Protection Statement
Under section 175 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015 Gretton School has arrangements in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
We will endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued.
The school will therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Children Partnership Board’s procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Parents/carers should know that records of safeguarding concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies.
Local procedures state that “Consent should always be sought from an adult with parental responsibility for the child/young person before passing information about them to Children’s Social Care, unless seeking consent would place the child at risk of significant harm or may lead to the loss of evidence for example destroying evidence of a crime or influencing a child about a disclosure made.” This includes allowing them to share information without consent, if it is not possible to gain consent, if it cannot be reasonably expected that a professional gains consent, or if to gain consent would place a child at risk.
Where there is a need to share special category personal data, the Data Protection Act 2018 contains ‘safeguarding of children and individuals at risk’ as a processing condition that allows professionals to share information.
In accordance with legislation and local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service. In all circumstances, the safety of the child will be the paramount concern.
Schools will contact Children’s Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.
Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, any person who has care of a child “may….do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” a child in school whilst Social Care and the Police investigate any concerns further.
*The word ‘school’ is used throughout but this would include all educational settings e.g. Academies, Pupil Referral Units, Further Education establishments and Independent schools.