Safeguarding at The Cornerstone Academy

Safeguarding at The Cornerstone Academy

Safeguarding Statement

Cornerstone Academy is committed to providing the highest possible standards of safeguarding and child protection. The aim of safeguarding and child protection is to ensure the safety and well-being of a student, and the student’s interests, should always be paramount.  The School has a duty to consider at all times the best interests of the student and take action to enable all students to achieve the best outcomes.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.

We have a safeguarding team who you can speak to about any safeguarding concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact them if you have a concern.

Who is Who at The Cornerstone Academy

First point of call:
Safeguarding Officer (SO) 
safeguarding@cornerstoneacademy.org.uk

Designated Safeguarding Leads for the School 
Mrs Kim Stray - strayk@cornerstoneacademy.org.uk
Mrs Sascha Turnbull - turnbulls@cornerstoneacademy.org.uk

Looked after children Teacher - Safeguarding Lead
Mrs Kim Stray

Local Governing Body - Safeguarding

Nominated Safeguarding Governor of Local Governing Body  
Denise Jenkins

Safeguarding Policy

Our safeguarding policy takes into account the procedures and practice of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Local Authority and the published safeguarding arrangements set out by the Local Safeguarding Children Board.  The Cornerstone Academy is committed to providing the highest possible standards of safeguarding and child protection. The aim of safeguarding and child protection is to ensure the safety and well-being of a student, and the student’s interests, should always be paramount.

Child Confidentiality

Members of staff have a professional responsibility to share relevant information about the protection of students with other professional agencies. This can include Social care, Early Help services, Police and other agencies that may support your child. A member of staff must, therefore, never promise confidentiality.

Recording of Safeguarding Concerns at Cornerstone Academy

At Cornerstone we use a software called CPOMS. CPOMS is a software application used for monitoring child protection, safeguarding and a whole range of other pastoral and welfare issues. Every member of staff across the school has an obligation to report any concerns which they may have for any student.

At Cornerstone CPOMS allows all members of staff to record information in a safe and secure way and have relevant people alerted immediately. The access is highly restricted and only the Safeguarding Leads have access to view and action the reports made. All members of staff that are not the nominated Safeguarding Leads or Officers have reporting access only.

CPOMS is used across many schools and education settings and the records can be transferred like normal to a students future education or provision.

Domestic Abuse Alerts

Our school is part of Operation Encompass. This is a police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse. 

Operation Encompass means that the police will share information about Domestic Abuse incidents with our school soon after they have been called to a domestic incident.  

All Key Adults have attended an Operation Encompass local briefing as well as national online training. 

Please click the link below to see our Operation Encompass Safeguarding Statement:

Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) service should be contacted when there is concern raised, or an allegation made, against an individual who works or volunteers with children.

The LADO works within children’s services and gives advice and guidance to anyone who has concerns about the behaviour of an adult who works with children and young people.

For Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole areas, as formed in April 2019, and can be contacted via:

  • Telephone:    01202 456744 (LADO Main Telephone line)
  • Email:               LADO@BCPcouncil.gov.uk
  • Direct Dial:     Laura Baldwin (01202 456708) and John McLaughlin (01202 453992)

Where there is an immediate risk or concern for a child, please contact the Police via 999 or contact Children’s Social Care on 01202 735046.

If your enquiry is outside of normal office hours (Mon-Fri 8.30am – 5.15pm), please contact the ‘Children’s Out of Hours Service’ on: 01202 738256.

If the child resides in the Dorset area, please contact Dorset Children’s Social Care on 01202 228866.

Support from External Agencies

Early Help Advice Point for Families (EHAP)

Sometimes you may need help with wider family matters. BCP Council has a range of Early Help support services for families. 

Contact the BCP Council Children’s Services First Response Hub if you: 

  • are worried a child or young person is at risk of, or is being hurt or abused
  • know of a child or young person who may be vulnerable without additional help and support
  • want to know more about the services available to support children, young people and their families
Young People

If you are a young person in Poole who feels that you would like some help or advice the following link may be helpful: 

Number 18 Youth access point : https://www.upinbcp.co.uk/yap/number-18-poole 

Address: 18 Hill Street, Poole, BH15 1NR 

Telephone: 07880 480602 

Local Organisations

www.bournemouth-poole-lscb.org.uk/home
www.dorsetlscb.co.uk/
The partnership work of local organisations to promote the welfare of children and young people.  

www.poolefamilyinformationdirectory.com/kb5/poole/fis/home.page
A directory of all the local services available to families.    

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education
Department for Education.

What is Prevent?

Prevent is the name given to a national strategy which aims to stop people from becoming violent extremists or supporting terrorism. You can speak to your safeguarding lead about any concerns or contact Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub. 

Prevent/Anti Radicalisation: If you are worried about Radicalisation of a child, The following link can offer advice. www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/dedicated-helplines/protecting-children-from-radicalisation/ 

Educateagainsthate.com - The Purpose of this site is to give parents, teachers and school leaders practical advice on protecting children from extremism and radicalisation.

Parent Info - Preventing violent extremism, What parents can do

Kooth - Online Support for Young People

We would like to remind you of the availability of our online service to support the wellbeing and resilience of your students.

Kooth is a web based confidential support service available to young people. Kooth provides a safe and secure means of accessing mental health and wellbeing support designed specifically for young people.

Kooth offers young people the opportunity to have a text-based conversation with a qualified counsellor. Counsellors are available from 12noon to 10pm on weekdays and 6pm to 10 pm at weekends, every day of the year on a drop-in basis. Young people can access regular booked online counselling sessions as needed. Outside counselling hours’ young people can message our team and get support by the next day.

When students register with Kooth they will have support available to them now and in the future. Support can be gained not only through counselling but articles, forums and discussion boards.  All content is age appropriate, clinically approved and fully moderated.

To find out more visit www.Kooth.com  where young people can register and others can find out more about the service.

Kooth - Online Support

Kooth - Sign Up

Young Minds

Young Minds has a Crisis Messenger service which provides free, 24/7 crisis across the UK. Young people can access the text-message based service by texting YM to 85258.

NSPCC Information

As parents, you want to make sure that your children develop healthily and thrive. The NSPCC can help you with advice on how you can build strong relationships with your children and keep them safe.
It's more than just physical safety. A big part of keeping children safe is making sure to look after their emotional and mental well-being. Helping them develop healthy emotional bonds from infancy can have a lifelong effect, and a strong relationship can make it easier when you want to discuss issues such as expressions of sexual behaviour or self-harm.
As your child grows older, you'll also worry about how to keep them safe when you're not always around. When is a child old enough to be home alone? And how can they keep safe when they're out on their own? You'll also want to teach them about online safety and the dangers of sexting.
Of course, some people find it awkward to talk about some subjects. So if you don't know how to talk to your child about difficult issues, these pages on the NSPCC website will provide helpful advice and support.

Information sourced from www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/ 

Please see the link below for the latest information from the NSPCC regarding letting children out on their own:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/services-and-resources/research-and-resources/2015/out-alone/

Safeguarding and Internet Safety

Parent Guidance

Childline have produced an app to help individuals keep on line chat within safe boundaries - please click on this link and take a look -  ChildLine Zipit App

 We will be distributing this app to all students with an iPad in school (provided they have registered with Meraki)

 it is available for all Smartphones, iPads and Android Tablets   please encourage your child to use it.

E-safety advice and guidance for schools, parents, and students

Internet Matters – helping parents keep their children safe online

Safe School’s Team E-safety newsletter - summer

Safe School’s Team E-safety newsletter - spring

Safe School’s Team Parents e-safety newsletter - summer

Safe School’s Team Parents e-safety newsletter - spring

Safe Schools Team

E-Safety Adviser Newsletters

Mobile Phone Safe Usage Toolkit

E-Safety

E-Safety champion for Cornerstone is Mr D Elliott

www.e-safetysupport.com/blog#.U72frhZ4X9k
Support and advice for schools and parents / carers on e-safety  

www.vodafone.com/content/parents.html
Advice to help parents and carers stay in control of safety, no matter the age of your child  

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware/
NSPCC Advice for parents

UK Safer internet Centre
Here you can find e-safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe on the internet

Thinkuknow
Click here to find the latest information on the sites you like to visit, mobiles and new technology. Find out what’s good, what’s not and what you can do about it. If you look after young people there’s an area for you too – with resources you can use in the classroom, at home or just to get with it. Most importantly, there’s also a place which anyone can use to report if they feel uncomfortable or worried about someone they are chatting to online.

Parents Guide to Technology
Is an online resource providing advice about the benefits, capabilities and potential risks of smartphones, gaming devices, tablets and internet-enabled media players. Highlighting safety tools as well as setting out top tips to help parents encourage their children to stay safe.

Click here to view our E-Safety Policy

Click here to view our Sway Newsletter - Self Image and Identity

Anti-Bullying
You can get in touch or raise any bullying concerns to the below email:
antibullying@cornerstoneacademy.org.uk

www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/
A coalition of organisations and individuals working together to stop bullying  

www.antibullying.net
An independent organization offering support for anti-bullying  

www.bullying.co.uk
Part of Family Lives, a charity supporting parents and carers

Cyberbullying: Advice for headteachers and school staff

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

Advice for parents and carers on cyberbullying

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

Preventing and tackling bullying 

https://www.gov.uk/government/...

Click here to view our Antibullying Policy

ChatHealth Messaging Service
Text your School Nurse

During these unsettling times, as a parent of a child aged between 11-19 years old you may be worried about your child’s health and wellbeing and be unsure about how to get the help they need.

Our School Nurses are still here to help - your child can text them for confidential advice and support on a wide range of issues.

Young people aged 11-19 years old can send a text to:

07480 635511

We can help young people with all kinds of things like:

  • Emotional health
  • Relationships
  • Self-harm
  • Bullying
  • Alcohol
  • Healthy eating
  • Drugs
  • Smoking

Your ChatHealth messaging service is run by Dorset Healthcare Public Health School Nursing Team and is available Monday to Friday between 8.30am-4.30pm (this includes school holidays but not bank holidays).

We aim to reply to you within one working day and you should get an immediate bounce-back to confirm we received your text. Texts will not be seen outside of normal working hours. If you need help before you hear back from us, contact you GP, NHS 111 or dial 999 if it is an emergency.

More information can be found at https://www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/our-services-hospitals/physical-health/school-nursing

Young Carers

Please contact the school if your child is a young carer

Useful Links

ThinkUkNow - Click here to find the latest information on the sites you like to visit, mobiles and new technology. Find out what’s good, what’s not and what you can do about it. If you look after young people there’s an area for you too – with resources you can use in the classroom, at home or just to get with it. Most importantly, there’s also a place which anyone can use to report if they feel uncomfortable or worried about someone they are chatting to online.

Parents Guide to Technology - is an online resource providing advice about the benefits, capabilities and potential risks of smartphones, gaming devices, tablets and internet-enabled media players. Highlighting safety tools as well as setting out top tips to help parents encourage their children to stay safe.

UK Safer Internet Centre - Here you can find e-safety tips, advice and resources to help children and young people stay safe on the internet

Safer Schools - The SSCT can support schools and other professionals working with young people to provide 1 to 1 or group education (including restorative conversations) on low-level school crimes, bullying, anti-social behaviour and online safety issues. SSCT can also provide advice to professionals and to parents and carers. 

County Lines - County Lines is a form of Criminal Exploitation where urban gangs persuade, coerce or force children and young people to store drugs and money and /or transport then to suburban areas, market towns and coastal towns (Home Office, 2018).  It can happen in any part of the UK and is against the law and a form of child abuse. The ‘lines’ refer to mobile phones that are used to control a young person who is delivering drugs, often to towns outside their home ‘county’.   https://mcusercontent.com/a8a5b42a486fe4c6b83f98b58/files/414bde61-c163-d496-5503-4990922b61c9/County_Lines._Leaflet_for_Parents.pdf 

New for parents:
7 questions asked with the best advice for keeping children safe.

Pace - Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation

Parent Info - Preventing Violent Extremism, What Parents Can Do

Educate Against Hate - Parents Hub

CEOP - Reporting child abuse online

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