Safeguarding

Mrs Hodges

Our Safeguarding Officer. You can contact them by email via chodges@lifteastwichel.org or by calling the school.

Safeguarding statement

Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means:

Protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment of children’s health or development, ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Child Protection: is part of safeguarding and promoting student welfare. It involves measures and structures designed to prevent and respond to significant harm, abuse, exploitation and neglect.

Safeguarding includes: Child Protection, Health Care Plans, Health and Safety, Site Security, Safety on school trips and visits, Safer recruitment – School Central Record & DBS checks, online safety and associated issues, anti-bullying work, children’s & learner’s health, mental health and emotional well-being and so much more.

Our policies

We have a suite of policies relevant to safeguarding. Here is a link to our statutory information including safeguarding and online safety policies.

eSafety

At Lift East Wichel, we understand that technology plays a huge role in our students’ lives. While the internet opens up endless opportunities for learning and creativity, it also comes with risks. Our mission is to equip children with the knowledge and skills to navigate the online world safely, responsibly, and respectfully.

Through our Computing curriculum, based on the Teach Computing curriculum, we ensure that children are taught how to use technology in a safe and effective way. We focus on both the exciting possibilities and the potential risks that come with being online.

Key areas we focus on:

‍Cyberbullying - recognising and dealing with online bullying
Online privacy - protecting personal information and understanding privacy setting
Online gaming - staying safe while gaming onlineMental health - managing the impact of online content on mental wellbeing
Misinformation - developing critical thinking skills to assess online information

‍Helpful resources for parents

‍We believe that online safety is a shared responsibility between school and home. Below are some trusted resources to help parents support their children’s digital wellbeing:

CEOP- Tips on keeping your child safe online and how to report any concerns.

‍Safer Internet- Tips, advice, and resources for safe internet use.

‍Childnet- Resources for families to help children stay safe on the internet.

‍Internet Matters- Step-by-step guides to setting up parental controls on devices and apps.

‍NSPCC Online Safety- A guide to parental controls and supporting your child online.

Teach Computing
‍At East Wichel, we follow the Teach Computing curriculum, which includes a focus on online safety from the very start of a child’s computing education. This curriculum is designed to help children become confident, safe, and responsible users of technology.As part of the curriculum, students are taught:

How to identify potential risks when using the internet.
Ways to report concerns or problems they encounter online.
The importance of protecting personal information and maintaining privacy.

Tips for parents

Keep an eye on your child’s internet use including email and social media (Facebook, Snapchat, etc)
Check the history folder of your internet browser to check what sites have been accessed
Consider purchasing filter software or see if your ISP (BT, Sky, Talk Talk, etc) provide their own
Protect your computer with firewall/antivirus software

All staff have been trained on how to report safeguarding and technical concerns, such as if: 

They witness or suspect unsuitable material has been accessed
They are able to access unsuitable material
They are teaching topics that could create unusual activity on the filtering logs
There is a failure in the software or an abuse of the system
There are perceived unreasonable restrictions that affect teaching and learning or administrative tasks
They notice abbreviations or misspellings that allow access to restricted material

eSafety student guidance

Never post your personal information, such as a mobile phone number, home address, or the name of your school
Be aware that information you give out through social networking sites, instant messages, emails and blogs could put you at risk of bullying or harassment
Never meet in person with anyone you first “met” online. Some people may not be who they say they are
Remember that posting information about your friends could put them at risk
Never respond to harassing or rude texts, messages and emails. Delete any unwanted messages or friends who continuously leave inappropriate comments
Never give out your password to anyone other than your parent or carer
If you would not say something to another person’s face, do not post it online!
Only add people as friends to your site if you know them in real life
Think before posting your photos. DO NOT post or send semi-nude or nude pictures of yourself or anyone else. Personal photos should not have revealing information such as school names or location
Use the privacy settings of the social networking sites

Further useful contacts:

NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children): nspcc.org.uk

Childline: childline.org.uk Contact: 0800 1111