Safeguarding

Lake Farm Park’s Safeguarding Statement

“Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility”

At Lake Farm Park Academy, which includes our, Specialist Resource Provision (SRP), we prioritise and are committed to keeping children safe and protecting them from harm. Children have a right to be cared for and protected, protecting them is everyone’s responsibility. Here at Lake Farm Park we have a duty of care to ensure that all users of the school are kept safe from harm. We are committed to provide a secure and supportive environment in which children can develop and grow into mature and responsible people. Safeguarding children is an essential part of our approach to ensure that children are protected from abuse and neglect and that every child reaches their full potential.

We consider the wellbeing of all children who attend our school.  The school’s staff and service providers have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as a shared responsibility with parents and other carers. This means we are aware of the things we see and hear from children that might indicate they are at risk of significant harm or have been exposed to long term harm.  In most situations any matter of concern that is identified will be discussed with you as the parent/carer of the children.  We recognise these can be difficult conversations to have but we will raise matters with you as we know the wellbeing and safety of your child is important to you as well as to us and it is key that we work together to the benefit of your child. Parents/carers are normally our first point of contact, in the best interests of your child we would hope that we can have an open and honest conversation, should the situation arise.

We cannot safeguard children alone. All children’s services agencies work in partnership with each other. In certain circumstances, we will share these concerns in accordance with the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board Procedures. To inform our practice, we use the documents “Working Together to Safeguard Children” and ‘’Safer Recruitment’’ to ensure we follow statutory guidance. Our policy applies to all children and young people regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or religion. It is a requirement that all staff are informed of these policies and practice the guidance should they have concerns. The safeguarding policy is available here

Should we have concerns we will contact the Stronger Families Hub in Hillingdon.   They will make a decision as to whether the concern needs further assessment or investigation. This the first point of contact with children’s social care and services.    In some circumstances and where children are seen to be at risk of immediate or have been exposed to significant harm, we may have to contact Stronger Families without having spoken to you first and gained your agreement. 

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 or 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 Safeguarding Team 

At Lake Farm Park Academy we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our all our pupils. We have a large safeguarding team, this is the poster that you may see around school:-

Keeping children safe curriculum 

We explicitly teach our pupils how to keep safe around water, pylons, on the roads. We also teach them about online safety and use the PANTS teaching from the NSPCC website. Talk PANTS helps children understand that their body belongs to them, and they should tell someone they trust if anything makes them feel upset or worried. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/

To support our pupils’ mental-wellbeing we use Zones of Regulation, and have feelings boxes in classes amongst other strategies.  

At Lake Farm Park we have regular Fire and Lockdown (intruder) drills. Further information can be found here.

The Specialist Resource Provision

In our Specialist Resource Provision (SRP) at Lake Farm Park Academy, our key aim is to assist students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. In the SRP we prioritise and are committed to keeping children safe and protecting them from harm.

• We use communication books to build good relationships with parents/carers to support nonverbal pupils
• We work to know our SRP pupils' needs so we can identify if there is a change in their behaviour or character as they may be unable to express these.

Further information on our SRP can be found here.

What you can do?

Parents and carers play a role in safeguarding children in their community. If you have any concerns, no matter how small, you should report them to someone who you trust will listen. The school is required to have a designated child protection officer for this purpose. Parents and children should speak to the safeguarding officer if they have any concerns about a child or staff member.

If you think a child or young person may be in immediate danger, call 999. Otherwise contact Hillingdon’s Stronger Families Hub on 01895 556006.

Parents' Ultimate Guide to TikTok (CommonsenseMedi) 

• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok

TikTok app safety – What parents need to know (Internet Matters)

• https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/esafety-news/tik-tok-app-safety-what-parents-need-to-know/

Our safeguarding policy is in line with the Child Protection Procedures outlined in the publications, 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (2018)

• https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/779401/Working_Together_to_Safeguard-Children.pdf

This policy applies to all adults, including volunteers, working in or on behalf of the school. Lake Farm Park Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Everyone working in or for our school service shares an objective to help keep children and young people safe by contributing to:

• providing a safe environment for children and young people to learn and develop in our school setting, and
• identifying children and young people who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, and taking appropriate action with the aim of making sure they are kept safe both at home and in our school setting

 We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Child Protection Policy which can be viewed in the policies section on our website:

• Child Protection Policy

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies, when there are concerns about a child's welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child's welfare.

We actively support the Government's Prevent Agenda to counter radicalism and extremism.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Ms. Peerwani, (Vice Principal for upper Key Stage 2) our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is Ms. Buttar (Principal).  The Governor with responsibility for safeguarding in our school in Mrs McCarthy.

The Hillingdon Safeguarding Hub (MASH) can be contacted on:

Email: lbhmash@hillingdon.gov.uk

Telephone: (01895) 556644

Telephone: (01895) 250111 (In an emergency only)

Facsimile: (01895) 277226

Photographs and Videos

Whilst lots of parents and carers really enjoy seeing photos and videos of their children’s school life we are very mindful of our duty of care towards all our pupils. We take the issue of safeguarding very seriously and this includes the use of photographic and video images.

 Any photographs or videos taken by parents, carers and relatives at school productions, sports days or other events are for the enjoyment of individual families. They must not be used in any way that could potentially place a child at risk. This would include publishing images in any form of print or on the internet including social networking sites. This is emphasised before concerts and shows etc. and where practical a record of parents and relatives taking photographs or videos is made.

We understand that in exceptional circumstances a parent or carer may not wish their child to be photographed or videoed in this way. If this is the case then please contact the Principal to discuss how this can be best achieved.

Occasionally, the local press will be invited to take photographs of school events and special achievements. We like to use photographs of our children on our website, in school documents, for parent information meetings, newsletters and on our display screens around the school. If you do not wish photographs of your child to be used for these purposes, then please contact the Principal.