At St John’s C of E Middle School Academy, we strive to make sure all our students are safe in school, home, online and in the community. Our staff are here to keep young people safe and secure and promote their personal safety and wellbeing.

The school has a duty of care and the right to take reasonable action to ensure wellbeing and safety needs are being met for all of our pupils. If a staff member has cause to be concerned that a child may be subject to any form of abuse outlined in our safeguarding policy, the school will take appropriate action and follow child protection procedures, informing Children’s Services if necessary.

A clear policy on Safeguarding is available and is reviewed by staff and school governors on an annual basis.

At St John's C of E Middle School we believe that it is unacceptable for a child to experience abuse of any kind. We recognise our responsibility to safeguard all children.

We provide staff and volunteers with guidance to follow when they suspect a child may be experiencing abuse or at risk of harm. We work cooperatively with other agencies to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children. We will ensure that our pupils' concerns are discussed with parents/carers first - unless we have reason to believe that such action could compromise the child’s welfare.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead for child protection is Mrs K. Gallinagh (Deputy Headteacher)

The Deputy Designated Leads for child protection are Ms N. Birmingham (Deputy Headteacher), Mr L. Boyd (Assistant Headteacher), Ms M. Jarvis (SENDOCo), Ms J. Alexander (SEMH) and Mrs S. Butt (ELSA)

The Governor with responsibility for child protection is Mrs A Lee.

We review our policy and procedures on an annual basis.

St John’s C of E Middle School Academy meets statutory requirements concerning Disclosure & Barring Service – all staff and volunteers who work at St John’s C of E Middle School Academy are required to undergo an enhanced DBS check before employment.

All St John’s C of E Middle School Academy staff and governors undertake relevant safeguarding training and receive annual updates as appropriate. Our safeguarding training includes Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE,) Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) the Prevent Strategy, Online Safety, and Peer on Peer abuse; including Sexual Harassment.

Since July 2015, all schools (and other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. Prevent is part of CONTEST, a government strategy designed to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. This means we are responsible for protecting children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence. Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues to understand better how to protect themselves.

We already do many things in school to help pupils become positive, happy members of society that support the Prevent Strategy.

These include:

• Exploring other cultures and religions promoting diversity
• Challenging prejudices and racist comments
• Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
• Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation by using filters on the Internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material or vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.

If you have any questions or concerns about The Prevent Strategy and what it means for your child, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

You will find more information about radicalisation in our safeguarding policy available on our website.  British values form a key part of our values along with our Christian values. The British values are:

• Democracy
• The Rule of Law
• Individual liberty and mutual respect
• Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

The following sources may be useful for further information:

Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales, HM Government

Frequently asked questions, Prevent For Schools.

What is Prevent? Let’s Talk About It

Keep them safe is a free online learning tool from Pace.

Victims Parents Guide to Extremism and Radicalisation

KD Safeguarding - Guide for parents and teachers - How to talk to children about terrorism…

Child Safety Online - Social Media Guidance

The government has set the persistent absence percentage at 90% and all schools have to show that they have a robust system in place to track and support any attendance below this level.

Teachers monitor the attendance in their class carefully and any concerns are referred directly to our Attendance Team. If your child cannot attend school for any reason, you must contact the school on the first day of absence to inform us. Please then remain in contact daily while your child is absent from school.

Parents are legally responsible for ensuring their children receive education under section 7 of the Education Act 1996 and that they regularly attend school.

This means that children must:

• arrive at school on time
• attend regularly
• be suitably clothed
• be in a condition to learn.

All children between the ages of 5 and 16 (compulsory school age) are required, by law, to attend the school at which they are registered. Legal action can be taken if it is considered that a parent or carer is not fulfilling their parental responsibility to ensure their child receives a full-time education.

Failure to ensure regular attendance may result in the matter being placed before the Magistrates’ Court under Section 444(1a) of the Education Act 1996. Penalties can include fines up to £2,500 for each parent, consideration of a parenting order, or a period of imprisonment.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced penalty notices as an additional sanction to address poor school attendance. This means that for pupils with unauthorised absence from school (i.e., any absence that the school has not permitted for), their parents or carers may be subject to a fine of up to £60 per parent for each child (increases to £120 if not paid within 21 days).

For more information from the Government, please visit the following website:

Department of Education (DfE) Behaviour and attendance

You must speak with the school at the earliest opportunity if you have any problems securing your child's attendance. The school and the Education Welfare Service will give you advice and support to help you fulfil your responsibility to secure improvement in your child's attendance.

There may be a time when you feel that you need to request leave for your child during term time. If this is the case, please contact 01527 832376 for guidance about whether the circumstances are exceptional.

Please be advised that in line with the government’s plea to parents not to take children out of school during term time, we encourage parents to book family holidays during the 13 weeks of school holidays. Headteachers may not grant leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. This means that, unless such exceptional circumstances exist, all absence for a holiday or similar reasons will be unauthorised.

Schools are no longer able to authorise any leave of absence during term time for holidays unless there are exceptional circumstances.  This could result in a Fixed Penalty fine of £60 per parent, per child.  If not paid in 21 days this will rise to £120.

1. Talk to the school if there are any problems or worries
We can help! We can only help solve a problem if we know about it. Staying away from school because of a problem only makes matters worse. If you are struggling to get into school, please talk to us.

2. Eat healthily
A healthy diet can help keep children’s immune system strong so that they can fight general viruses.

3. Get plenty of sleep
Getting enough sleep is vital for staying fit and healthy.

4. Get lots of exercise
Keeping fit helps you to keep bugs away.

5. Make medical appointments outside of school time wherever possible
Most doctors and dentists are happy to oblige.

6. Take holidays in the school holidays
School will only authorise leave in exceptional circumstances. Unauthorised leave may result in a Penalty Notice fine being issued.

7. Pack school bags and get school uniform ready the evening before
Being organised means, you are much less likely to be late in the morning.

8. Come back to school as soon as you are feeling better after being ill
Do not miss school for minor upsets and don’t stay away longer than is really necessary.