Safeguarding Children

Introduction
Bullying
Bereavement
Child Sexual Exploitation
Child Criminal Exploitation / County Lines
Sexual Harrassment
Mental Health
Online Safety
Useful Websites

Morton Academy will remain vigilant in respect to all types of abuse and neglect; and the specific safeguarding issues highlighted in the most recent guidance: Keeping Children Safe in Education.

The Academy Policy for Safeguarding and Child Protection is available on the website in the policies section. This policy details what the Academy will do to safeguard its students as well as detailing information about abuse and procedures within school to tackle this.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead at Morton Academy is Mr Will Tyler (Assistant Principal), Deputy Designated Safeguarding leads are Mrs Pam Hannah (Pastoral Support) and Mrs Emily Lewis (Attendance Officer).

Morton Academy takes safeguarding students extremely seriously and will unapologetically do this to the highest standard. If you have concerns about a child, do not wait to act- Contact the police on 101, or if the nature of your concern is urgent, dial 999. You can also contact the local safeguarding hub on 0333 024 1727 to report concerns anonymously.

All students at Morton Academy are entitled to learn in a safe and supportive environment. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable. If bullying does occur, students are encouraged to share their worries with a member of staff, they will be listened to and reassured that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively. We are a telling school, meaning that anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to report it. Staff remain vigilant to bullying of any nature including – bullying targeting a students race, religion or culture; bullying targeting a students sex or gender including homophobia, transphobic or misogyny.

All teaching staff are trained annually to identify incidents of Harmful Sexual Behaviours and Peer on Peer abuse.

Useful references:

www.childline.org.uk

www.kidscape.org.uk

http://www.peersupportvic.org/

http://ceop.police.uk/

https://www.bullying.co.uk/advice-for-parents/

Bereavement facts:

Every 22 minutes a parent of dependent children dies in the UK
Up to 70% of schools have a bereaved pupil on their roll at any given time
92% of young people will experience a significant bereavement before the age of 16 years

We understand that bereavement can have a significant impact on our young people and therefore seek to support any student or their family who face the loss of a loved one. We are able to consider a range of appropriate methods of support in school as well as signpost to external agencies such as Child Bereavement UK. All teaching staff are trained in Bereavement and Loss annually to support our school community as effectively as possible during these difficult moments.

https://www.childbereavementuk.org/

https://www.winstonswish.org/

Child sexual exploitation is where young people are given things like affection, gifts, money in exchange for performing sexual acts. Children are often led to believe that they are in a loving and trusted relationship and consent can be confused with grooming. This means that the child trusts their abuser and don’t always understand that it is abuse.

Child sexual exploitation can happen to anyone and can be framed as a friendship, a role model or romantic relationship. Child sexual exploitation can happen online or in person. The links below provide support for parents and carers and young people who are concerned about child sexual exploitation.

Child Sexual Exploitation & How to Keep Your Child Safe | NSPCC

Say something- National service providing young people with a means of reporting CSE through a free, 24/7, anonymous helpline. This service will not replace existing local services or existing helpline or service provision, but may generate additional information about exploitation in your area. ‘Say Something’ helpline - Call or Text 116000

Criminal exploitation is where a child is coerced, pressured or blackmailed into committing crimes such as carrying weapons or drugs or stealing. These young people may feel they have no choice and can be victims of abuse and violence.

County lines is a police term that refers to urban gangs who recruit young people often to move drugs from large cities to smaller suburban and coastal areas. Children as young as 12 have been exploited to carry drugs for gangs.

Criminal exploitation and gangs | NSPCC

Following on from the Everyone’s Invited campaign, RRMA have undertaken surveys with staff and students to address issues of harmful sexual behaviour, sexual harassment, misogyny and misandry. Results indicated that students felt confident to talk to staff regarding any inappropriate or uncomfortable situations, but were unsure of how to report incidents anonymously. To ensure that students, staff and parents have access to this method of reporting the Academy has an anonymous reporting form on the website which is checked at regular intervals by safeguarding staff.

For parents please see link below from the Children’s Commissioner for advice and guidance to talk about these issues with your children.

https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cco_talking_to_your_child_about_online_sexual_harassment_a-guide_for_parents_dec_2021.pdf

Please see guidance on support for mental health issues here:

Mental Health Champions Pathways Guidance document

Mental Health Resources

The Academy works tirelessly to ensure that our students understand the importance of keeping themselves safe online – whether this is on social media platforms, exchanging messages and images or recognising fake news. The links below offer guides for parents to help them understand how to support their child online.