Shirley Walters Safeguarding & Intervention Officer at RPS
What makes Safeguarding Children ‘Outstanding’ at RPS
Social care and RPS DP’S
At RPS we have 6 Designated Persons (DP’s): Head Teacher Deputy Head Assistant Head Inclusion Manager Safeguarding & Intervention Officer Children’s Centre Manager All DP’s attend a weekly Safeguarding meeting
Safeguarding Meeting Agenda •Day-care and children’s Centre (includes all vulnerable families known in the reach area) •share information regarding all children on the schools safeguarding list including those on our behaviour plan (9) and LAC •share information relating to parental involvement, arguments, disputes, complaints from parents •share information from meetings with social care when necessary •update DP’s regarding welfare requests from social care •Share concerns from staff regarding students •Collectively make decisions regarding the well being of RPS children
All DP’s have a ‘caseload’, they have responsibility for the following:
Role of the DP
‘In house’ systems
Admissions How we manage ‘new admissions’
DATA
Early Intervention Attendance Attendance data is vital to identify trends early on, noting causes for concern, early onset of possible family crisis. The role at RPS is not seen as an administration duty, it is the absolute contrary – we see it is an ‘open book’ to the life of the student. We mirror the EWO system of referrals within the school setting, if this doesn't not work refer to the Early Help EWO. Children's wellbeing/welfare in the home We have tried to develop our in-house systems to ensure communication is robust. ‘All ‘staff having eyes, ears opens to what they see & hear. We have created easy systems to enable staff to share this information on a daily basis to the schools DP’s Home - school partnership (Tiered approach) •class teacher to parent (informal) •additional member of staff included to raise increased awareness and concern from the school (informal) •formal meeting •referral to outside agency Document all meetings informal and formal
Early Intervention Supporting the social and emotional needs of the child RSP has a consistent approach, we are sensitive when dealing with sometimes difficult conversations and put aside our own discomfort of approaching welfare concerns, all staff are aware of this approach i.e. if the child has an unpleasant odour – it is our duty to let the parent know if a child's clothes are consistently dirty - it is our duty to let the parent know if it is noted that there is no change in the areas of concern - it is our duty to let the parent know and make the necessary referrals in the first instance to the Early Help Team CP, CIN plans At RPS we insure that all staff that need to know…actually are informed Class Teacher, support staff, Learning mentor, does the child know who ‘knows’ about their situation?, at RPS we have a consistent approach with the child and their parents with a foundation of being open, honest and professional, the focus at all times needs to be ‘what is best for the child?’
Early Intervention Good enough parent? Model the social care system ‘in house’, firm and fair approach, it does ruffle feathers but in the long run it’s the fairest approach – we believe we are not empowering our parents to make effective change by ‘holding’ and containing their ‘crisis’ within the schools four walls, it has to be an approach of Question; is this child at significant risk of harm emotionally, physically, sexually? Question; are we seeing ‘good enough’ parenting? Question: what would I want for my own child?
Ofsted What did they want to see? •
Well documented visual proof of our safeguarding systems
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Staff members that not only were confident to speak at length about their roles but who were also confident to speak broadly about their co-workers roles with a clear understanding of how they are linked together
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Proof of progress in the form of data, understanding of trends, strengths and areas for improvement with a plan of what needs to be done and how it will be achieved
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Understanding of our children and their families’ and their individual barriers to their learning