As part of Safeguarding Awareness Week please click on the link for practical advice on supporting your child and their mental health: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/

Online Safety:

Advice for Parents Internet Matters https://www.internetmatters.org/ From age-specific online safety checklists to guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, you'll find a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world. UK Safer Internet

Advice Centre
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre The latest tips, advice and resources to help children and young people have a safe and positive time online.

Parent Zone
https://www.parents.parentzone.org.uk/ A hub of advice for families from Parent Zone's experts.

NSPCC Net Aware
<https://www.net-aware.org.uk/> O2 and the NSPCC have come together to provide advice and support around online safety.

Think U Know
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Concerned-about-your-child/ If you're concerned about your child and need information or further help and support, you're in the right place.

We all have a statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children and young people in our care. We have safeguarding policies and systems in place to help their safety and ensure a consistent approach to practices throughout the school, followed by all staff.

We are committed to working closely with parents and carers for the benefits of our pupils/ students. We also work with a range of professionals to support our pupils/students and their families to get the right help at the right time.

Out of Hours

Our school’s opening times are 8.00am until 4.00pm Monday to Friday. Outside of these times, and during school holidays, you will not be able to contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead or the Designated Safeguarding Deputies; any messages left will be responded to when we return to school.

If you have any concerns about the welfare of a child or young person during these times, please contact the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub on 0114 273 4855 (24-hour service).

If you think a child or a young person is in immediate danger, please call the Police on 999 at any time.

If you are a child or young person and are worried or feel unsafe then you can get help from Childline a free, private and confidential service. You can chat online or on the phone, 0800 1111, any time.

Safeguarding Policies

Our safeguarding policies are available on our policies page.

Online Safety

Children and young people use the internet regularly and may be involved in more online activity than their parents and carers. Some children and young people may have greater technical knowledge than their parents and carers, but they may be unable to identify the risks of giving too much personal information online, and may be unable to spot scams as readily as adults. So, take time to get involved with your child’s or young person’s internet use and teach them about online safety which includes the following.  

More detail is on the information commission website https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/online/social-networking/

Staying Safe Online

 1)      Don’t post any personal information online – like your address, email address or mobile number.

2)      Think carefully before posting pictures or videos of yourself.  Once you’ve put a picture of yourself online most people can see it and may be able to download it, it’s not just yours anymore.

3)      Keep your privacy settings as high as possible

4)      Never give out your passwords

Internet Filtering and Monitoring

All Internet access in school is filtered and monitored via our Smoothwall system. 

Useful Information and Links

Operation Encompass – Domestic Abuse Help and Support

Operation Encompass is an initiative which enhances communication between the police and schools where a child or young person is at risk from domestic abuse. The purpose of the information-sharing is to ensure schools have more information to support the safeguarding of children and young people. By knowing that the child has had this experience, the school is in a better position to understand and be supportive of the child's needs and possible behaviours. Operation Encompass will complement existing safeguarding procedures. More details and support can be found on the links and numbers below:

• Operation Encompass
• Independent Domestic Abuse Services
• Sheffield Domestic Abuse Co-Ordination Team

Helpful Contact Numbers

• Women’s Aid National Domestic Abuse Helpline Tel: 0808 2000 247  Free phone 24 hour  
• Rape Crisis National Helpline  Tel: 0808 802 9999 
• Men's Advice Line  Tel: 0808 801 0327 
• GALOP national LBGT + domestic abuse helpline  Tel 0800 999 5428
• Samaritans  Tel 116 123  Free phone 24 hour

Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership

The Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership works to ensure: 

• Every child and young person in Sheffield grows up free from fear of abuse or neglect 
• Improvements in the safety of all children and young people in Sheffield. 

The joint leaders of the partnership are: 

• Sheffield City Council 
• South Yorkshire Police 
• NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SY ICB) 
• Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership - scsp (safeguardingsheffieldchildren.org)

2023-24 - Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership - Sheffield education settings

CEOP – Online Safety

If children or young people or parents or carers are worried about the way someone has been communicating with a child or young person online, you can visit Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command online to make a report and seek support using the link below:

CEOP Safety Centre

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Please click on the link below to access a range of mental health and wellbeing resources.

Tapton School Academy Trust - Health and Wellbeing (taptontrust.org.uk)

Walking Home Alone

At parents request and with parent/guardian consent children in year 6 can walk home alone after school. Before making this decision we would ask you to consider the following:

• Is your child road safety aware? Does your child cross roads safely?
• Are they mature enough to take on this level of independence?
• Would they know what to do in an emergency or if they had an accident?
• Do they have a mobile phone in case of emergencies? (Ensure phone is charged)
• Will they behave responsibly and safely?
• How does your child feel about walking home alone?
• Are there any roads to cross?
• Consider possibility of strangers approaching
• More risk in winter months, darker earlier
• Reflective clothing (coats/bags)

Parents are responsible for their child's safety outside of school. Children must be collected after an after school club. There is no legal age limit for a child to stay home alone, but it's against the law to leave a child alone if it puts them at risk (NSPCC). Every child is different, it's up to parents to decide if their child is ready to walk home alone.

County Lines

County lines is a term to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exploiting illegal drugs using dedicated mobile phone lines and can happen locally and across the UK. Children and vulnerable adults are exploited to move, store and sell drugs and money. Offenders use coercion, intimidation, violence and weapons to ensure compliance of victims. (Keeping Children Safe in Education).

Child Criminal Exploitation

This occurs where a person or group take advantage to coerce, control and manipulate or deceive a child under 18. This does not always involve physical contact – it can also occur through the use of technology.

Potential signs to look out for - Children may be:

• Frequently missing from home or school, often found out of the area and missing without explanation
• Suddenly have significant amount of money, new phones or new clothing
• Linked to groups of young people/young adults who are older or controlling
• Poor school attendance
• Unexplained injuries
• Isolated from their normal peer group and become secretive
• Become withdrawn/stressed/anxious/angry
• Unexplained bus/train tickets