Safeguarding in schools is essential for keeping children safe. It means having:
- whole-school policies and procedures
- staff and volunteers confident in identifying and raising concerns
- leadership confident in responding to and referring concerns and working with other agencies to protect children
- teaching resources to promote wellbeing.
Teachers and school staff are well positioned to spot signs of abuse and neglect. Children may experience abuse and neglect at any age and it may have a profound impact not only on their immediate safety and health but on their long-term development and wellbeing.
The signs of abuse and neglect can be difficult to detect. Children may be seen as easy targets for abuse. Their developing communication and understanding of what constitutes mistreatment means that they may have difficulty alerting others to it. A child’s reliance on their parents and family may also mean that it is easier to conceal harm or coerce a child into not disclosing it to others.
Teachers and school staff may be the only adults outside the child’s family that have significant contact with them and so it is especially important that all those working with children have a good understanding of abuse and neglect and how to recognise the possible indicators.
The four main categories of abuse are:
The Aspire Academy has a safeguarding policy in place to protect and support our young people at ALL times.
