Everyone who works with children and young people has a responsibility for safeguarding and acting to ensure that they receive the right support at the right time.

Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means:

Protecting children from maltreatment.
Preventing impairment of children’s mental and/or physical health or development.
Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcome.

Our approach to safeguarding

John Smeaton Academy takes its role in safeguarding extremely seriously and our staff will do everything they can to protect students and children from harm. We acknowledge that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and all of our staff are trained to be vigilant and aware of the signs and indicators of abuse. The viewpoints and voice of students is of paramount importance to our academy and we will always listen to their wishes, thoughts and feelings, as well as identifying and supporting their needs. We will work alongside students to develop trusting, consistent and professional relationships. We advocate early help processes and, where possible, we will identify any difficulties or concerns early in order to act preventatively. We will always provide support and advice for families and parents/carers, whilst acting in the best interests of the student at all times. Safeguarding also includes ensuring we follow safe working practices and provide a secure learning environment for our students and staff.

John Smeaton Academy safeguards students by:

Maintaining a secure site and ensuring that all visitors to the academy are recorded and monitored.
Ensuring that safer recruitment practices are followed to prevent those who pose a risk to children gaining access to our students.
Ensuring that all students understand the importance of e-safety both at the Academy and at home.
Filtering and monitoring all internet traffic into the academy to ensure that students cannot be exposed to harmful material and communication.

Ensuring that all staff employed by the academy have received Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance which is recorded in the Single Central Record.
Providing regular training and briefings for all staff in child protection and ensuring that all staff and visitors know who our designated child protection officers and designated senior lead are.
Ensuring that admission and attendance procedures are robust to protect students, ensure that they are safe and prevent students from going missing from education.
Empowering young people to identify risks both within the academy and in their community; ensuring that they have the skills and confidence to protect themselves and others.
Making sure that all students understand the importance of disclosing concerns about themselves and peers, and giving them the confidence to discuss sensitive issues.
Providing pastoral and inclusion support to ensure that all students have access to guidance and advice, and when needed referrals for additional agency support to meet their needs.
Sharing information with other agencies and services to ensure that students, children and their families have support to meet their needs and prevent children and students from harm.
Taking immediate action and contacting the appropriate agencies when we believe that a student or child is in danger or is at risk of harm.

Our Safeguarding Team

Useful Documentation & Links

KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE IN EDUCATION – TRANSLATION

PREVENT LEAFLET FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

ONLINE HATE AND TROLLING ADVICE

LEEDS PREVENT – ONLINE SAFETY ADVICE FOR PARENTS

SAFEGUARDING AND CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE IN EDUCATION

SAFEGUARDING OFFICERS

ADVICE SERVICE POSTER FOR PARENTS AND CARERS – BETTER LEEDS COMMUNITIES

NSPCC – REMOVE A NUDE IMAGE SHARED ONLINE

HOW TO SUPOORT A CHILD OR YOUNG PERSON WHO IS SELF HARMING

Supporting Your Child During Coronavirus

YOUNG MINDS WEBSITES

LEEDS PREVENT: ONLINE SAFETY ADVICE

SHOUT SUPPORT WEBSITE

LEEDS SAFE ZONE INFORMATION

Safeguarding Contact List

Agency	Contact details	Information provided
The Market Place	Website: www.themarketplaceleeds.org.uk Telephone: 0113 2461659 due to the COVID-19 pandemic they have developed a telephone support service running between 12-6pm, 7 days a week for ages 11-25 years old. The support sessions offered up to 30 minutes.	The Market Place offer support for young people aged between 11 to 25 years old. A drop in can be arranged, for support with mental well- being or help with dealing with anxiety and young people who are self-harming (An appointment can be reserved prior to attending).
Childline –provided by NSPCC	Website: www.childline.org.uk Telephone: 0800 1111 Ask Sam – through a message board facility Text ‘Shout’ for support on 85258. Contact Childline with SignVideo for children with hearing disabilities. Sign Video lets you contact through a BSL interpreter anytime from Mon-Friday, 9am -8pm. Saturdays, 9am-1pm	To access a counsellor, they are there to listen and support you with anything you’d like to talk about. Or you can have a 1-2- counselling chat online. You can discuss anything you like from a disclosure of pregnancy, being a victim of bullying, feeling low and struggling with sleep patterns; to mental health issues, or general low mood.
Kooth	Website: www.kooth.com Visit kooth.com and sign up for the text based conversation with a qualified counsellor. Counsellors are available from 12 noon to 10pm on a weekday and 6pm to 10pm at weekends.	Kooth is a service which provides support with well-being and resilience. Kooth is a web based confidential support service available to 11-18 year olds who are going through a hard time. Kooth provides a safe and secure means of accessing mental health and well-being support. This is designed specifically for young people.
Samaritans	Web: www.samaritans.org Email: [email protected] Telephone: 116123 (24 hours a day, 365 days a year	Encourages children and adults to talk about their own mental health needs and provides top tips for managing mental health during crisis.
Young Minds	Website: www.youngminds.org.uk Text ‘YM’ to: 85258 Parent Helpline:0808-802-5544	Text YoungMinds Crisis Messenger, for free 24/7 support across the UK if you are experiencing a mental health crisis. It also provides support and guidance for parents/carers to help support their children with managing their mental health.
NHS	Web: www.nhs.uk Go to: 111.nhs.uk Call 111 Accident and emergency at Leeds General Infirmary	The NHS website offers a range of supportive material and resources from medical professionals. This includes audio narrations, for example, on managing stress, sleep patterns, coping strategies for managing anxiety. Advice can also be sought in terms of any medical issues which arise. If a young person is at crisis point please take straight to Accident and Emergency at Leeds General Infirmary.
Cruse	Website: www.cruse.org.uk Telephone: 08088081677	This is a service which offers support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies. They provide tips to help yourself, or as a parent; how you can support your child. There are video links which explain the grieving process so children/ adults understand each stage of grief.
Child Bereavement UK	Website: www.childbereavementuk.org Helpline: 0800 02 888 40 Email: [email protected] Live chat is available via the website	Child Bereavement UK work to provide support to families of children who have lost a loved one.
Domestic Violence	Website: www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk 24- hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 08082000247	The National Domestic and Abuse Helpline is for women and children who are exposed to domestic violence. This allows you the option to seek help, support and advice. In an emergency, please call 999.
Leeds Domestic Violence Service	Website: www.ldvs.uk 24- hour helpline: 0113 2460401 Email: [email protected]	The Leeds Domestic Violence Service provide women and men with choices from a range of community based services, including temporary supported housing, IDVA(independent domestic violence advocate)support, community outreach support, a telephone helpline, drop-ins and support groups.
Duty and Advice	Website: www.leedsscp.org.uk Telephone: 0113 3760336	For help and advice regarding the safeguarding of children.
Police	Website: www.westyorkshire.police In a non-emergency:101 In an emergency:999	Use the police to seek for advice regarding an issue which is concerning about the young people.
Place2Be	Website: www.place2be.org.uk Email: [email protected] Text ‘Shout’ for support on 85258.	Well-being activities and ideas for families to complete. Counselling services. Place2Be works in partnership with Shout a 24/7 text messaging service to support anyone in crisis, anytime, anywhere.
Young Snowdrops	Website: https://www.womenshealthmatters.org.uk/snowdrops	Young Snowdrops offers 1-1 support to girls 11-18yrs old who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing abuse in their relationships.
Online Safety	Contact Details	Information Provided
NSPCC	Website: www.nspcc.org.uk If you’re worried about a child, even if you’re unsure, contact our professional counsellors for help, advice and support. Telephone: 08088005000 Email: [email protected] Under 18 contact number: 08001111	This provides a useful resources for parents /carers on social networks, apps. This site also supports with online safety
Thinkuknow	Website: www.THINKUKNOW.co.uk	This is an educational programme from NCA-CEOP, a UK organisation which protects children both online and offline for different age groups and supports parents.
Childnet	Website: www.childnet.com	Childnet has produced a Parent and Carer Toolkit which is a collection of three resources designed to help you talk to your child about their online life, manage boundaries around family internet use and point you in the direction of where to get further help and support.
Prevent team	Website: www.leeds.gov.uk/prevent Email:[email protected] Phone number : 0113 5350810.	If parents feel that their child has been exposed or have any concerns about radicalisation, parents can also come direct to the Prevent team
The UK Safer Internet Centre	Website: www.saferinternet.org.uk	Parents and carers can find online safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe online.
Stop Abuse Together	Website: stopabusetogether.campaign.gov.uk Email: [email protected] Phone: 0808 800 5000	Child sexual abuse is a reality for thousands of children across our country, with at least one in ten estimated to experience sexual abuse before they turn 16. We can all play a part in protecting children and getting them the right help. That’s why it’s important to know how to spot the potential signs of child sexual abuse and where to go for support. This website brings together advice and resources to help keep children safe.