Safeguarding Newsletter Issue 14

Safeguarding Newsletter

The Safeguarding Team

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

Delyth Lynch Deputy Head (Safeguarding) Biology 07825 419190

Deputy DSL David Walker Deputy Head (Pastoral & Wellbeing) Physics 07717 765343

Deputy DSL Ed Venables Director of Admissions Economics 07766 168286

Assistant Deputy Head Safeguarding & Head of Online Safety Jess Goves P&R teacher 01344 751774

Deputy DSL Tom Wayman Assistant Head (Pupils) English 07766 448086

Deputy DSL Gaby Moretti Chambers Operations Manager (Wellington Health & Fitness Club) 01344 444243

If you are concerned for a child’s welfare, health or safety or if you have concerns about the behaviour of any adult – parent, member of staff or member of the general public – please contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead or a Deputy immediately.

A note from the DSL

This term has felt like a lot of the strands of safeguarding have been pulled together; I wouldn’t say that we have a beautiful tapestry of a perfect utopia but increased resourcing in the area of online safety (led by Jess Goves), the appointment of our new Director of EDI (Naima Charlier) and Tom Wayman starting in his role of Assistant Head (Pupils) has meant that the topography of safeguarding has felt a little more settled. Alongside this, the Government have spared all DSLs any major changes in legislation this September. Safeguarding, however, never lies still and the needs of young

people will always be at the centre of the decisions that the College makes; worry not that we have been sitting twiddling our fingers for the last few weeks! ‘What’s going on?’ provides an overview of the team’s work and I am also delighted to include the latest headline results from the student ‘staying safe’ survey that was completed in October. A few weeks ago I met with the Parents’ Forum representatives and they were keen to have some feedback around what the College had done since ‘Everyone’s Invited’, so we have focussed in on that in the ‘In the Spotlight’ section.

As I highlighted in my ‘Year Ahead’ talks the role that you play in safeguarding your children is utterly vital but it can also be a difficult landscape to navigate. To make the journey even harder, just when you think you have set your compass and are looking out at a lovely view, the mist descends again as your child moves into another phase of development and total mystery. A particular area of focus for the staff this term is about being “professionally curious” and remembering that behaviour is communication with meaning, or “a skill not yet learned or a need, not yet met.” (Marshall Rosenberg, Non-Violent Communication). Take time to explore and understand what might be happening for your child rather than making assumptions or taking a single source of

In the Spotlight

information at face value. Being a “professionally curious parent” is about looking, listening and taking the time to understand what might be behind your child’s actions. Parents are the ones who can provide the compass when the mists descend, allowing your child to walk safely – to safety – knowing that they are understood and valued.

Stay safe,

Sex and Consent “Life after Everyone’s Invited”

Two years ago, Soma Sara began sharing her experiences of rape culture on Instagram. She triggered a movement, Everyone’s Invited, which gave survivors an anonymous space to share their stories More than 50,000 testimonies have been submitted since then, triggering an Ofsted review into how schools in England handle sexual abuse and issues relating to it. As you will be aware, Wellington initiated their own inspection in this area and, despite the inspection report being very positive. embarked upon an education programme across staff and students in order to ensure that any gaps in provision were addressed and issues around sexual harassment were highlighted and addressed.

Within the safeguarding team, Delyth Lynch led work within the staff body. Three training sessions were held (September 2021 and January and April 2022) in order to raise awareness about what sexual violence and harassment was, understanding what skills staff needed to assist them in helping young people and to highlight the work of Colourful Peach. Sexual Harassment ‘First Responders’ were trained and staff and students collaborated on a education booklet

called “Notice It” which gave staff a toolkit to call out students appropriately on misogynistic language and behaviours.

Dave Walker led on student education engaging with ‘Colourful Peach Arts & Education’ – the brainchild of Ella Simms who has had a long association with Wellington through the Global Social Leaders programme. Colourful Peach works with a diverse team of inspiring facilitators to deliver the content of the course which can be divided into three main areas – whole school inputs, Class Catalysts and the Student Panel Programme:

Whole School Inputs

The first element of the new provision has targeted the whole school. Every single year group has had between 4 and 6 workshops (repeated annually) on topics related to sex and consent with the Colourful Peach team, our external practitioners. The curriculum has been co-created with Wellington students so that it truly reflects the needs of our community and give students the opportunity to contribute ideas and solutions. This augments the increased provision, mainly targeted at 4th Form, in our own Wellbeing taught curriculum (approx. 1 lesson per week for a

term). Additionally each year there has been a whole school assembly devoted to this topic.

Class Catalysts:

We recognise that opinions about big topics are formed in everyday settings and conversations around the college and within houses. With such a hot topic, it’s easy for facts to get lost. To help us combat misinformation and dispel myths, we have trained selected members of the Wellington community. The nomination process meant that every student was asked who they think was suitable for the role. The students who participated received 2 additional training sessions focused on empowering them to call out inappropriate or unhelpful behaviour and promote respectful relationships in houses. Where possible, they also supported workshops with younger year groups and all Class Catalysts received a certificate to confirm their attendance at training.

Student Panel Programme (SELP):

Additionally, we created a Student Panel that is open to students in the 4th form and above. This represents the student body, helps to design the sex and consent program for the rest of the school, and even helps lead some sessions where possible and appropriate. These students meet weekly to oversee the programme for 2 years, considering what is working

well, and what could be improved, so that the programme is suited to the needs of every Wellingtonian.

You can gain an excellent insight into the work undertaken by viewing this video

Has it made a difference?

Impact measurement is something which schools are notoriously bad at, however, we took the opportunity to ask students about their experiences of sexual harassment in the annual ‘staying safe’ survey. The results were striking.

There has been a 40% decrease in those who said that they had been sexually harassed in the last 12 months. This is made up of a 60% decrease in those reporting sexual harassment by a Wellington College student and a 29% increase in those reporting it occurring by someone else.

Of those that said they had been sexually harassed, 90% were female and the most common form of sexual harassment was someone making sexual jokes, comments or gestures. This was followed by someone asking for a naked picture (“nude”). Those that are more likely to be asked for a nude are in the 4th and 5th form.

Whilst these numbers are moving in the right direction, there remains much more to do in this area and there is no sense that we have “ticked this box” and are moving on.

Ella and her team will be using this information to further inform their education work across the College and students and staff will continue to smash survivor stigma and prevent harm from happening to others.

“We want our students to be the advocates for a world that moves beyond sexual violence in the future.” (Dave Walker)

It seems appropriate to give the final words of this article to Ella herself. “The feedback last year from students was really positive. They reported a clearer understanding of consent and about the prevalence of sexual violence. 97% stated that they believed the work was leading to positive change in the Wellington College and 100% of the 6th Form agreed with the statement ‘we all have a part to play in ending sexual violence.’ Within the SELP, we will continue to innovate together. The leaders are helping to design an assessment for their peers which will allow Wellington to meet the requirements outlined by the

Department of Education, that asks schools to have the same high expectations in this subject as they do in other areas of curriculum. They will also identify opportunities for social action related to anti-sexual violence and the student body will be invited to ‘Pitch In,’ donating anywhere between 20 minutes and multiple hours of their time to give to a selected cause. We’re excited to see what inventive ideas the students come up with and this outwardlooking approach is already making a difference.

There are times when working in this field can be bleak but one thing that keeps me going is the passion of the Wellington students, especially those who have joined our leadership programme. The founding members worked incredibly hard last year and, entirely of their own volition, have chosen to return for a second year. They are joined by new members we have gained who share our passion for preventing harm and smashing survivor stigma.

I love the thought of these students being asked one day by their own young relatives about what life was like around the time of #MeToo and #Everyone’s Invited and how they made a real difference.”

What’s Going On?

The results of the ‘staying safe’ survey: On 14th October the students completed the ‘staying safe’ survey. This completely anonymous survey undertaken by the safeguarding team is carried out in order to ascertain if students feel safe at the College, find out what they would do if placed in different situations as well as take a deep dive into any trends and patterns particularly around child on child abuse. The results are used to inform the safeguarding ADP and highlight areas of concern within the College. Last year, for example, the students asked for more regular, lighter touch, surveys to check on their wellbeing and so GoVox has been implemented (the initial feedback is very positive). This year four additional questions were included about inclusion and belonging. An overview of the findings is shared with parents, staff, students and Governors. Some of the key highlights from this year are:

• Passive by-standing continues to decrease; the levels of reporting to other individuals has remained similar, however there was a small increase in the overall percentage of students who would speak to a family member about an inappropriate incident within the College

• Pupils were open in their responses and willing to share their experiences – even more so than in previous years

• Pupils are most likely to speak to an HM about concerns; very few students stated that they would not speak to any individual when harm was being done to another individual

• There were several comments made about ‘laddish’ behaviour by groups of boys and by older years pushing into the lunch queues

Currently, the results are being analysed by key teams within the College: ELT, HMs, Heads of Year and the Pastoral Leadership Team. This year they will also be shared with two student groups – the Culture Champions and EDI Ambassadors. They will assist the safeguarding team in identifying the key areas of focus and implement a plan to make changes in the areas which have been identified as needing work or action. The results will then be communicated to the pupils. Progress will be reviewed regularly and a report made to the Safeguarding and Pastoral Governor’s committee in June. The basic statistics are given below, but if you would like to know any further details from the survey please do contact a member of the safeguarding team.

An insight into the world of safeguarding at Welly

What have the Values Champions been up to?

Lead Values Champion, Gemma Nicholas, writes “We began this half-term with unveiling our name change at INSET and sporting new lanyards, as well as welcoming 3 new members to the team – Catherine Willis-Philips, Hilary Birkin and Byron Baumann. Since September we have buddied up with 44 new staff to introduce them to College and provide an additional warm welcome. Another member of the team is now VBA trained and another 3 of the team are Mental Health First Aid trained. We have written 85 cards to staff who received a values nomination and have celebrated and acknowledged events such as World Values Day. In addition to this we have spoken to other organisations such as the FA, the NHS and local schools to share best practice and exchange ideas.”

A safer recruitment update

In October, 10 staff were trained in VBA interviewing and have been welcomed to the team. Keeping Children Safe in Education, introduced the requirement for online searches to be conducted as part of safer recruitment checks to identify any concern regarding safeguarding or reputational risk (such as inflammatory social media posts). In order to fulfil this commitment, Wellington College have contracted a third party company, Verifile, to undertake these on our behalf to ensure checks are robust and to ensure consistency of approach.

NMS 20.10

The NMS (“National Minimum Boarding Standards”) are another set of very important DfE standards which boarding schools must meet to safeguard and protect all children in their care. NMS 20.10 states ‘No boarders have access to staff residential accommodation, other than in exceptional circumstances. Where this occurs, a one-to-one situation should be avoided with boarders with another adult always present. There is no inappropriate favouritism or inappropriate one-toone contact between staff and boarders.’ A footnote has been added to the standard which outlines what ‘exceptional’ might look like and so Dave Walker and Delyth Lynch have been working alongside HMs to ensure that everyone is aware of this and how to risk assess a situation so that a social event in private accommodation could happen, provided it is risk assessed and relevant paperwork completed. A risk assessment has also been completed to allow the Master to continue his year group meals in the Lodge.

Student training

We now have a group of new Mental Health Ambassadors who will work closely with their HMs and Jenny Griggs in order to further reduce the stigma around mental health and encourage students who may be struggling with their mental health to seek help. This year we have also introduced EDI Ambassadors into the houses who will work alongside Naima Charlier around diversity and inclusion. On Wednesday afternoon, Chloe Whitelaw is also working with a group of students who are looking to address culture within houses. The newly named “Culture Champions” are looking at the concepts of bystander apathy – what lies behind this, how to highlight this concept and also work to produce a toolkit where students can feel empowered to call out others when they make an inappropriate comment or behave in a way which is not in line with the College values. The safeguarding team have also made visits to every year

group – to introduce themselves and highlight the work that they do within the College.

Staff training

Over 80 staff have completed their level 1 training (required for all those working in a school) so far this term. The training consists of two parts – the theoretical side is covered in three videos and then individuals are then required to attend a discussion group where scenarios are discussed and staff get the opportunity to speak about their roles and share good safeguarding practices with colleagues. 7 weekly ‘brain teaser’ emails have also been sent to staff and have a new look this academic year; they also recommend a watch, a listen and a read and share good news safeguarding stories. The themes so far this term have included ‘visitors on site’, EDI, racism and SEND. Bespoke safeguarding training has also been held for our visiting music and drama teachers and the domestics department.

Governor oversight

Chaired by Felicity Kirk, the Safeguarding and Pastoral Governor’s Committee met in October to discuss several whole school pastoral and safeguarding issues. These included presentations on the College well-being curriculum (by Ian Morris), the safeguarding annual development plan, a review of the risk register and a discussion on Governor involvement and engagement with safeguarding this academic year. At the end of October, the annual safeguarding report was presented to the full Board and they also approved the Safeguarding Policy.

The Safeguarding webpage

Very shortly there will be a new safeguarding page which you will be able to access from the College website. Details will be shared in due course. Not only will this provide up to date information from the safeguarding team, but it will also serve as a repository of resources and include back copies of the safeguarding newsletter. Delyth Lynch attended the Parents’ Forum a few weeks ago to gain ideas about how best to engage with parents on safeguarding topics. Various ideas were suggested and we are looking at how we might produce podcasts and videos for parents which will also be accessible from this page. Watch this space!

And Other News...

Final IICSA report

The 20th October was an incredibly important and defining day for child protection in the UK; the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IISCA) was published. Frustratingly for all those involved, events in Westminster overshadowed the report and recommendations which it is hoped will act as a catalyst for change and that every level of society will work together to tackle child sexual abuse. Since 2015, IICAS has had 15 investigations with over 6,000 experiences being shared with the Truth Project and 87 recommendations or change have been made. There is no doubt that several of these recommendations will change safeguarding within education and the DfE will look to build them into new versions of KCSIE and the NMS in the future.

Smoking, drinking and drug use in Young People in England, 2021 (NHS Digital)

The NHS recently published the results of a two-yearly look at young people’s use of alcohol, smoking and drugs. It also took the opportunity to ask questions about the impact of lockdown. There are some interesting results: 90% of 11-16 year olds said that they had never tried cigarettes and only 1% of those surveyed said they were regular smokers. It may come as no surprise that the use of e-cigarettes and vaping has increased by 9% with more girls vaping than boys. There has also been a fall in recent illicit drug use (a decrease of 24%) and young people were most like to obtain helpful information about drugs from their parents (70%). You can read the full report here.

Child

Mental Health

The BBC has released a new Panorama episode which focusses on the mental health of children and young people in the UK. You can watch the documentary ‘Mental Health: Young lives in crisis’ here

Barnardo’s have released the results of a poll identifying parent’s concerns about the mental health of children in England. 61% of parents said that their children were

experiencing mental health difficulties and this was negatively affecting their child’s performance at school. You can read the news story here

The Children’s Society has released a blog on how to speak with children and young people about wellbeing. You can read this blog here

Sport

The Child Protection in Sport Unit has released a new animation for parents as part of their Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport campaign. The new campaign aims to equip parents with the knowledge and confidence to raise safeguarding concerns at their child’s sports club / organisation. You can watch the animation here.

Parent Lanyards

As you know, we welcome parents on site and we are very unique in that we also allow parents to come into the V&A café to meet their children and other members of staff. In order to do this, we do require that if you are coming into the V&A to wear your PARENT LANYARD. This will enable the staff to identify who you are. Please do not be offended if a member of staff asks you to wear your lanyard – we need to be sure that everyone who is on site should be here and we want to keep your children safe!

e-guarding

Jess Goves in her new role as Head of Online Safety has been working hard to audit our current online and e-safety provision. The priorities for this term include:

• Creation of daily report to be sent to Head of Online safety highlighting inappropriate searches (e.g. porn, gambling etc.)

• Online Safety Team to use 360 degree safe online audit tool to monitor progress and produce reports on provision of online safety.

• 3rd and 4th form to receive 3 assembly/tutorial sessions in Michaelmas and Lent terms focusing on ‘online reputation’. Review success of the programme through gathering feedback from 3rd and 4th form pupils as well as tutors.

• Identify ways to involve pupils in decision making around all aspects of online safety.

• Online safety team to review and lead consultation on Mobile phone use policy. Gather views of staff and pupils.

Jess will normally write this section of the newsletter but is currently recovering from an operation. We look forward to learning from Jess in the future and harnessing her knowledge and experience in this important area. Jess has written to you all with this newsletter about the College’s enrolment with National Online Safety Please do read her letter and sign up – there is a wealth of resources and excellent guidance for parents.

Want to talk about it?

The UK Safer Internet Centre has announced the theme for next year’s Safer Internet Day (7th February 2023) as ‘Want to talk about it?’ The theme encourages young people to express their opinions about the online safety support they receive and how they feel that they can help shape it. Jess Goves will be working with her online safety team of staff and students in order to celebrate this day and to make sure that we are listening to the students and ensuring that their voices are being heard. You can read more about the day here.

Sexting and online safety

We Protect Global Alliance has published a blog about young people self-generating and sharing sexual content. The blog provides guidance for parents on topics such as helping children understand risks and teaching them about setting health boundaries. You can read the news story here

The SWGfl (South Western Grid for Learning) continues to offer a range of really useful resources for parents about online safety and advice. Their parent page is here. In September they also launched a new podcast series about online social media use. You can listen here.

Digital Families 2022

Parent Zone held their first face to face conference since 2019 at the end of October. Parent Zone was set up in 2008 in order to provide resources and help families with the challenges of the online world. The conference bought together experts from the online world. You can read more about the themes, watch the full live stream recordings of the talks and read more about what was learned by accessing this page. You can also listen to Parent Zone’s podcast ‘Tech Shock’ here.

Molly Russell inquest

The inquest found that Molly “died from an act of selfharm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content.” The NSPCC continues their work to get the government to strengthen the Online Safety Bill and hold all tech companies to account to ensure children are protected online. Read the article from the Guardian here.

Digital Childhoods: a survey of children and parents

The Children’s Commissioner for England has published findings from a survey of children and their parents on online safety. The report includes responses from 2,005 children and young people aged 8 to 17, and their parents. It reports that children are exposed to a range of harmful content online, including sexualised images, violent content, self-harm content and anonymous trolling. Half of children who had seem harmful content reported this to the platform they saw it on, with a quarter of children saying nothing happened in response. You can read the report here

Introducing...

our new Deputy DSL - Tom Wayman

Tell us your story…

I became a teacher in 1999, starting out at Acland Burghley School in Tufnell Park, North London. The three, absorbing years at this fully-mixed Comprehensive school remain the most formative in my career. These were followed by eight years at King’s College School, Wimbledon, which included several years as Head of English. My family and I moved to Crowthorne in 2011 during which time I have been surprised to find myself Head of English, HM of the Orange, Senior HM and, now Assistant Head, Pupils. This most recent role has a sinuous flexibility to it meaning I am able to support colleagues and pupils with a range of issues which arise on the more behavioural axis of our school life while also working alongside the Admissions team, helping, in particular, with the transition of prospective pupils into the school.

How does your new role link the behavioural / discipline side of the College with safeguarding?

Historically, the disciplinary side of schooling has been occasionally semi-detached from some of the wider contexts in which to understand and support pupil behaviour. I am firmly of the view that the disciplinary sits ‘inside’ the pastoral and that, as such, there is nothing that exists ‘outside’ my remit from a safeguarding perspective: from the Dining Hall to Staff Duties to Disciplinary investigations, the aim and outcome moves towards the same magnetic pole – sustaining a College which looks, feels and is safe for everyone. Any prism containing c.1060 teenagers is going to emit a fairly rich spectrum of refracted behavioural outcomes which need anticipating and responding to through precise but varied lenses. Being able to support our pupils’ journey by helping open up the widest understanding of what makes them tick, while assisting the pastoral team in equipping our young people with the tools for self- and social-awareness, is endlessly motivating.

What has been your biggest learning so far in the role?

It has been interesting to move from the “intensive” environment of a singular boarding house, the Orange, to a more “extensive” role which allows me to graze across the campus while still maintaining a pupil-facing responsibility. It has been liberating, and occasionally daunting, to widen my focus from 64 pupils to the whole school. This is, however, mollified by the fact it is a joy to be part of such a collaborative and supportive pastoral team and it has been deeply rewarding getting to know a wider group of pupils across all the Houses.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working? When not working, I like to hit the kitchen and engage in some fairly experimental and occasionally edible cooking. A lot of my role as a teacher, both in the English classroom and outside it, is verbal in nature; to be able to flick on some good music (some of the stranger reaches of Spotify seem to hit the spot) and enter the tactile world of chopping, baking, frying and then eating is a much needed counterbalance. As is trying to fix the evercrumbling state of our House in France: there is a place for ‘mindful rendering’ in the DIY manuals, I feel.

Tell us one thing that no one at Wellington knows about you!

Apparently, I was expelled from my nursery school for throwing chairs around. I feel I owe my mother an apology. (She ran the nursery). [Delyth Lynch –unbelievably, this is something we have in common...I too was asked to leave my nursery school as well…I threw a milk bottle.]