Well-being & Safeguarding

Key Personnel

Designated Safeguarding Lead:
Miss C Buckenham – Vice Principal: Personal Development, Behaviour & Safety

Additional Designated Safeguarding Leads:
Please navigate to our Meet the Team page where all ADSLs are identified.

Mental Health First Aiders:
Miss C Buckenham – Vice Principal: Personal Development, Behaviour & Safety
Mrs S Cunliffe - Pupil Experience Leader: Y7 and KS2-3 Transition
Mrs A Divver – Pupil Experience Leader: Y8, First Aid and Mental Health Lead

At Houlton School our aim is to be ‘excellent in the tending of our Houlton family relationships’ and to ensure that all our pupils achieve their best, are happy, safe and successful in their educational journey. As a family, we endeavour to ensure that all our pupils and our staff feel valued, equipped, cared for and encouraged to be the best they can be.

SAFEGUARDING CONCERNS

If you have a safeguarding concern about a child or adult, please follow the instructions below for reporting your concern:

DURING SCHOOLS HOURS
Contact reception and ask to speak to a Designated Safeguarding Lead.

OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS
Contact Warwickshire Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)'s 'Front Door' service on 01926 414144 or contact 101. Dial 999 if it is an emergency and a crime is happening now. The Warwickshire Children's Services webpage is here.

It is important to share concerns you have, no matter how small you think they may be. It is always better to say something, than nothing. We will treat all concerns shared with professionalism, confidentiality and respect.

For more helpful information please visit the WCC Children and Families Web Page 

Personal Development

The safety and wellbeing of our pupils is our paramount priority and pupils will have timetabled PHRSE sessions and a robust tutor programme designed to ensure they have the best possible access to information, guidance and support for their wellbeing and wider development. Our integrated LORIC programme will focus on building the skills and attributes needed to be successful global citizens and pupils will be supported at all stages in developing a clear pathway for their future careers. Parent/carers will be informed by the school when the statutory requirement for sex education is being delivered and support offered to families where needed.

At Houlton we aim to provide transformational learning experiences in both the classroom and through the co-curricular offer. Pupils will have access to a wide range of enrichment opportunities including clubs, competitive events, trips and visits; all designed to build skills and complement their learning. Our pupils will be encouraged to immerse themselves in the ethos of the school and as such will have the opportunity to take on a number of leadership opportunities and to work towards the PiXLEdge leadership accreditation. Pupils will be actively encouraged to have a voice; regularly having opportunities to be involved in pupil fora.

Safeguarding

Houlton School is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, our full Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy can be found here.

The Designated Safeguarding lead for Houlton School is Chloe Buckenham, Vice Principal for Personal Development, Behaviour and Safety who can be contacted by using the form on our Contact Us page, or calling school.

Wellbeing

It is essential that all members of our Houlton family take care of their wellbeing and mental health. Pupils will have the full support of our staff and will be supported both academically and pastorally to ensure their individual needs are met. Parent/carers can access support and guidance at any time from the school.

Additionally there are a number of outside agencies who specialise in mental health and well-being that can be contacted for free and confidential support.

Helplines

These lines are available if you need to talk to someone or if you feel at risk in any way.

Papyrus: Thinking about suicide, please call 0800 068 4141 or TEXT 07786 209697
Bullying UK: 0808 800 2222
Child Line: Talk to a child line counsellor, no problem too big or small! 0800 1111
Samaritans: Someone to listen 24/7 free of charge. 116 123 or TEXT 07725 909090
Compass: Support and advice for young people using substances. 0800 121 4043
Coventry CAB: Info/advice on issues facing young people. 02476 252066
NSPCC: If you feel you or someone you know is a victim of abuse. 0808 800 5000
Stonewall: Support for anyone around issues of sexuality. 0800 0505 2020
Winston’s Wish: Helpline to support young people with the death of a loved one. 08088 020 021

Apps

These free apps mean you can access support wherever you are.

Stressheads: Support to lower our stress levels.
Stay Alive: Support to those who may experience suicidal thoughts/feelings.
Self Help Anxiety Management (Samapp): Support and techniques to help manage anxiety and panic.
Moodometer: Created by the NHS. Allows you to track your moods and what has influenced it. Also provides ways to lift your mood.
Calm Harm: Activities to assist in the management of self-harm.
Grief support for young people: Information about grief, bereavement and the feelings we may experience when we lose a loved one.
Insight Timer: A large collection of free guided exercises to help relieve stress, improve relaxation and wellbeing.
Calm: A large collection of exercises designed to calm us down.
Winston’s Wish: Helpline to support young people with the death of a loved one. 08088 020 021

WHAT IS 'PREVENT'?

 
The government’s official definition of Prevent Duty is the legal obligation of schools to provide '...due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.'

Protecting children from the risk of radicalisation should be seen as part of schools’ wider safeguarding duties – similar to protecting children from other forms of harm and abuse.

Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism. As with managing other safeguarding risks, all school staff should be alert to changes in children’s behaviour which could indicate that they may be susceptible to being radicalised, thus protecting the individual child and the community from violent extremism.

KEY POINTS:

1. Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism.
2. Extremism is defined by the Government in the Prevent Strategy as ‘Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas’.
3. Extremism is defined by the Crown Prosecution Service as: ‘The demonstration of unacceptable behaviour by using any means or medium to express views which: encourage, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs; seek to provoke others to terrorist acts; encourage other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts; or Foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK.’
4. There is no such thing as a 'typical extremist': those who become involved in extremist actions come from a range of backgrounds and experiences, and most individuals, even those who hold radical views, do not become involved in violent extremist activity.
5. Pupils may become susceptible to radicalisation through a range of social, personal and environmental factors. It is known that violent extremists exploit vulnerabilities in individuals to drive a wedge between them and their families and communities. It is vital that school staff are able to recognise those vulnerabilities.
6. Indicators of vulnerability include: Identity Crisis – the pupil is distanced from their cultural/religious heritage and experiences discomfort about their place in society; Personal Crisis – the student / pupil may be experiencing family tensions; a sense of isolation; and low self-esteem; they may have dissociated from their existing friendship group and become involved with a new and different group of friends; they may be searching for answers to questions about identity, faith and belonging; Personal Circumstances – migration; local community tensions; and events affecting the student / pupil’s country or region of origin may contribute to a sense of grievance that is triggered by personal experience of racism or discrimination or aspects of Government policy; Un-met Aspirations – the student / pupil may have perceptions of injustice; a feeling of failure; rejection of civic life; Experiences of Criminality – which may include involvement with criminal groups, imprisonment, and poor resettlement / reintegration; Special Educational Needs – students / pupils may experience difficulties with social interaction, empathy with others, understanding the consequences of their actions and awareness of the motivations of others.

However, this list is not exhaustive, nor does it mean that all young people experiencing the above are at risk of radicalisation for the purposes of violent extremism. More critical risk factors could include:

• Being in contact with extremist recruiters;
• Accessing violent extremist websites, especially those with a social networking element
• Possessing or accessing violent extremist literature;
• Using extremist narratives and a global ideology to explain personal disadvantage;
• Justifying the use of violence to solve societal issues;
• Joining or seeking to join extremist organisations;
• Significant changes to appearance and/or behaviour;
• Experiencing a high level of social isolation resulting in issues of identity crisis and/or personal crisis.

 Prevent Risk Assessment and actions

OPERATION ENCOMPASS

 
We take part in a jointly run operation called Operation Encompass in partnership with Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police. Many other schools in Warwickshire will also be participating in the scheme. Operation Encompass is a way of working initially developed in South-West England that is already operating successfully in a number of other Local Authority areas. Its objective is to help schools provide support to children who are affected by incidents of domestic violence and abuse. There is a great deal of research evidence that children can suffer significant physical and/or emotional harm when they are present during, witness or are directly involved in incidents of domestic violence and abuse.

“The Operation Encompass process is simply that after any incident of domestic violence or abuse attended by the Police, the Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead at the school attended by any child in the household will receive a confidential and secure e-mail on the morning of the next school day.” 

The e-mail will only inform the Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead that the Police have attended an incident and will request that the school is mindful of that in their care and responses to the child throughout the school day. The school will not be informed about the specific details of the incident. The only exception would be when Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police deem the incident to be a child protection matter that requires further investigation. Information would then be shared with the school as part of Warwickshire County Council’s child protection checks and investigation, which is current practice and will not be changed by Operation Encompass.
 
The Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead have entered into a formal agreement with Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police to use the information shared to make sure that the right support is available for children who are present during, witness or are directly involved in an incident of domestic violence or abuse. This means that the school will also be in a position to offer parents and carers support as appropriate.
 
The confidential information shared securely with the school will be managed and stored with the utmost sensitivity and discretion. We want to assure all parents and carers that only the nominated Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Principal will see the information shared with the school. We will then use the notification discretely to ensure that teachers and other staff directly in contact with affected children support them with due kindness, care and sensitivity.