Safeguarding
If you have a concern about a child please contact us here.
safeguarding@icknield.beds.sch.uk
01582576561
For direct social care referrals please contact MASH 01582547653
For the police contact 101
Our designated safeguarding leads are.
Deputy Headteacher – Graham Forbes
Assistant Headteacher – Daniel Chopra
Here at Icknield we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all students. Staff have a duty to safeguard students from:
- physical abuse
- sexual abuse
- emotional abuse
- neglect
The duty to safeguard students includes the duty to report concerns about a student to the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
‘Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes’. (Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018)
As a school we have ensured we are compliant with all the legislative and statutory government policies.
Keeping Children Safe in Education
Working together to safeguard children
The school safeguarding policies can be found here
Staff safeguarding and child protection policy
https://www.mytutor.co.uk/blog/parents/the-parents-guide-to-teaching-your-teen-online-safety/
Staff training
All of our staff complete accredited level one safeguarding training online. Our Senior Leadership Team and Pastoral Teams have all completed level three training, which is renewed every two years.
All staff receive regular updates and training throughout the year.
This includes:
- Induction for new staff members
- Mandatory annual staff training during September inset.
- Workshop to raise awareness of Prevent (WRAP) training
- Training around local issues
- Regular updates during training and development sessions.
Students
Safeguarding topics are covered across the curriculum with particular focus during PSCHE, tutorial lessons and assemblies. Students are taught how to look out for one another and how to keep themselves and others safe.
There is a designated Student Voice Safeguarding committee. This group of students from across all year groups, meet regularly and feedback to students and staff in order to support the school in ensuring that students feel safe at school. Student Voice
Community
As a school it is very important that we are committed to work closely with our community and the local agencies that are there to support the safeguarding of children.
- Luton Children Safeguarding Board
- Bedfordshire Police
- Luton Virtual School
- Operation Encompass
- Avenue centre for Education
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Keeping children safe online
The online world is integral to how children stay in touch with their friends, and access to the internet is now available like never before. However, there are inherent risks associated with new technologies and it is essential for young people and their parents/carers to understand how to reduce these risks. How to stay safe on the web
The Parents’ Guide to Teaching your Teen Online Safety
- A practical guide for parents on how to keep teens safe online, including useful summaries of popular internet apps as well as the types of threats teens, could be exposed to online.
- Safety tips for using apps such as Instagram, TikTok (which has gathered 1 billion users in only two years), YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, and Whatsapp. We also cover advice and safety tips for teens playing online multiplayer video games.
- Other online safety topics and advice such as sharing personal information, socialising online, cyberbullying, harmful content, influencers, body image, and mental health for teens online.
- Links to additional internet safety resources for parents from well-respected sources such as the NSPCC and the UK government’s own guidelines.
Useful websites
Kooth
Kooth is a transformational digital mental health support service. It gives children and young people easy access to an online community of peers and a team of experienced counsellors. Kooth has no referrals or waiting lists, and Young people can access this service anonymously by signing onto the Kooth website.
NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has a comprehensive website for all aspects of safeguarding. The answers to most questions and concerns can be found on this site.
CEOP
CEOP helps keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse and grooming online. They help thousands of children and young people every year, as well as their parents and carers who have been in a similar situation to you.
CHUMS
CHUMS Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Service for Children and Young People provides therapeutic support in a variety of ways.
Its unique service model ensures that they support your whole family wherever possible. CHUMS recognise that parent and carers sometimes need some help too in supporting their children when there is a mental health or emotional wellbeing difficulty. All the group programmes offer a facilitated parent/carer group alongside the children and young people’s groups.
WOMENS AID in LUTON
Offering refuge, outreach, drop-in, freedom programme. Women’s Aid in Luton is a voluntary organisation supporting women and children who fall victim to domestic abuse. Offer support and guidance to women and children from all backgrounds and circumstances. For some, this will just be someone to listen and for others, this will be to offer them complete support to break away and start again. This may be through our helpline or even through one of our drop-in support groups.
STEPPING STONES
Stepping Stones (Luton) is a charity dedicated to supporting women to transform the stumbling blocks of their lives into stepping stones; creating happier, healthier lives for women, their children and families. They provide a safe, welcoming, non-judgemental environment for women living in Luton and, for specific projects, across Bedfordshire, who have suffered abuse, who are vulnerable due to substance misuse, offending, mental health conditions and/or are involved with Local Authority Children’s Social Care.
YOUTHSCAPE
Working with young people who are in care or leaving care, those who are disengaging with the education system and who are at risk of becoming NEET, or those who are struggling with a range of social and emotional issues. Youthscape’s approach in Luton involves delivering mentoring and therapeutic group work, specific courses, projects, art installations, alternative qualifications and detached work, a regular drop-in cafe, residentials and Summer Camp. Each year Youthscape work in depth with over 400 of Luton's most vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, and more widely with a further 8,000.
TOKKO
TOKKO now hosts over 20 different projects supporting a range of young people from those with new interests and keen to support the local community to those with chaotic lifestyles in need of bespoke support to overcome barriers and achieve positive steps and outcomes.
RELATE (Beds and Luton)
With over 60 years of experience Relate Bedfordshire and Luton continues to help people strengthen their relationships and pick up the pieces and start over again, as well as supporting couples, young people and families before things reach crisis point.
The services can support your relationships through all the stages of your life; from being a child, through to your teenage years, becoming a couple, a parent, a grandparent and retiring into old age. Relate aim to build and strengthen your relationships, not just provide a crisis service.
CHILDNET
Childnet International, a non-profit organisation working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children. You will find all the information you need to keep your child safe online.
RESOLUTIONS 4 LUTON
ResoLUTiONs is a free and confidential drug and alcohol service for adults, young people and families in Luton
If you have concerns about drugs and alcohol ResoLUTions can help they have two main hubs across Luton, however they work from a range of other locations such as pharmacies and community centres.
Link to Change
Link to Change are committed to being the experts in child exploitation, using direct experience to advocate and support change. Providing wellbeing and resilience support to children and young people aged 7-26 years old in changing the cycle of exploitation.