Safeguarding at The Meadows
At The Meadows, Safeguarding is the golden thread of our school practice. We advocate high expectations and at The Meadows our practice is exemplary. We work positively with families to ensure the best outcomes for all, especially the children.
At The Meadows Primary Academy, it is everyone’s responsibility to keep children safe and create a culture of vigilance. The Pastoral Team make sure that everyone has someone to go to if they see or hear anything that concerns them.
Roles:
- Mrs Cunliffe – Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding lead.
- Mrs Walton – Safeguarding Co-ordinator and Deputy Safeguarding Lead.
- Mrs Borg – Deputy Headteacher and Deputy Safeguarding Lead.
- Miss Machin – Deputy Safeguarding Lead and Pupil Support & Welfare lead.
Safeguarding Inside of School
Should you wish to speak to anyone about Safeguarding at The Meadows, you can send a message through the link below, call us on 01782 235025 or come and drop into school - our door is always open.
Safeguarding Outside of School
If you are concerned for the safety of a child or young person or see something in the community please report it to the Stoke on Trent Safeguarding Team on 01782 235100 - anyone can make a referral.
You can also phone 101 to report any concerns.
Our mission is to achieve personal and academic excellence, everyone, every day. We work to ensure all of our children, staff and families are happy, safe and healthy.
For some children, this may mean families need some additional support. Our vision is to help families at the earliest point, enabling them to access the right service or support, at the right time to avoid an issue becoming worse and hard to deal with.
The Early Help involves bringing people together with the right experience and skills to work with families.
| What does an Early Help look like? | |
| What an Early Help is | What an Early Help isn't |
| Informal support from school | Assessing and grading families |
| Flexible | An avenue to social care intervention |
| Catered to the family's needs | A problem |
We can offer support if:
- You are worried about your child’s health and wellbeing
- You are worried about your child’s behaviour
- You are struggling to cope for any reason
- You are worried about your family finances
- You or your child is struggling to cope with bereavement
- Your child refuses to come to school
- You are having difficulties with family relationships
- You are having difficulties within the school community
- You are worried about your child’s health
There are a variety of ways that we can help within school and to support you in accessing support from outside agencies if this is needed.
Ring and ask to speak to Mrs Walton, who can arrange a cuppa and sit down conversation to see if we can provide any support that can help your family or child.
Supporting the pastoral needs of pupils sometimes involves working with external agencies. In these situations, we ensure that a confidential, professional, non-judgemental and sensitive service is provided.
If parents have a concern or worry, then it important that this is shared immediately. We always listen to concerns and take action; however small the worry may seem. We work with a range of partner agencies to ensure our children and families have access to external partners including:
A young carer is someone age five up to their 18th birthday who regularly provides care and emotional support to a family member (parent, brother or sister, grandparent or other relative) who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuses alcohol or drugs.
Young carers regularly help to care for a family member and we offer support to make sure the level of the caring they are doing does not have a negative effect on them.
What might a young carer do?
- Practical tasks, like cooking, housework and shopping.
- Physical care, such as helping someone out of bed.
- Emotional support, including talking to someone who is distressed.
- Personal care, such as helping someone dress.
- Managing the family budget and collecting prescriptions.
- Helping to give medicine.
- Helping someone communicate.
- Looking after brothers and sisters.
At The Meadows, we support families in completing young carers’ assessments to provided children with the support they need.
We provide Young Carers with opportunities to discuss their role with a member of the pastoral team and are also provided with additional activities to do.
Our school participates in a Police led initiative called Operation Encompass. This is a partnership between Stoke schools and the Police, which helps schools to better support any child where a domestic incident has been reported to Police from their home.
Following a domestic incident, the Police will make contact with the child’s school via secure email (usually the next day) to communicate relevant information to a nominated members of school staff, which are Mrs Cunliffe and Mrs Walton. This will ensure that as a school, we are made aware early enough, to support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe, supported and listened to. It will also provide an opportunity for school to offer support to the whole family.
The initiative was launched county-wide at the beginning of 2016. You can find out more about Operation Encompass via the following site.
If you would like to speak to someone further about the initiative, or require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Walton
Contact the Refuge National Domestic Abuse Helpline
You can call, for free and in confidence, 24-hours a day - 0808 2000 247.
Find local support on New Era – New Era is the new holistic Domestic Abuse (new-era.uk).
Remember:
- Domestic violence and abuse can be actual or threatened and can happen once every so often or on a regular basis
- It can happen to anyone, in all kinds of relationships
- People suffer domestic abuse regardless of their social group, class, age, race, disability, sexuality or lifestyle
- The abuse can begin at any time – in new relationships or after many years together
- Children are affected by domestic abuse both in the short and long term.