Safeguarding and Well-Being
Safeguarding
Safeguarding our students is paramount and the School takes its safeguarding responsibilities seriously as set out in our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, which can be found on our Policies page
This policy has been devised in accordance with North Northamptonshire County Council guidelines and:
- Pace UK information.
- Prevent Information Guide for Parents
- Keeping Children Safe in Education
- Working Together to Safeguard Children
- Keeping Children Safe Online
Child Protection
In accordance with the Department for Education guidelines, the school has a duty to keep parents/carers informed of its responsibilities with regards to Child Protection. In line with this, should the school have reason to suspect a child is at risk, it is our duty to inform the relevant agencies of our concerns and to work with them as required.
In particular, we are expected to notify Social Services if there is unexplained absence of more than two days for a student who is on the Child Protection Register. Another duty is to inform the Education Welfare service if any student is missing from school for 10 days without notification having been received.
Should you or your child have any concerns about safeguarding, please contact either:
| Designated Senior Lead | Mr Steve King |
|---|---|
| Deputy Designated Senior Lead | Mrs Heidi Angel |
| Safeguarding Officer | Mrs Victoria Angel |
| Safeguarding Officer | Mr Kai Collins |
| Safeguarding Officer | Mrs Jeanette Birnie |
| Safeguarding Officer | Mrs Ann-Marie Black |
| Safeguarding Officer | Mrs Lynn Ellison |
| Safeguarding Officer | Mr Steve Harvey |
| Safeguarding Officer (6th Form) | Miss Sue Magee |
| Safeguarding Officer | Miss Lucy Price |
| Safeguarding Officer | Mrs Claudia Turner |
Promoting Positive Well-Being and Mental Health
We are passionate about ensuring that our students adopt a positive growth mind-set and the resilience needed to be successful in and beyond a modern British society.
Praise and reward is a strong feature of our culture and there is nothing that we like better than being able to recognise all the positive contributions that our students make, for example through: rewards, positive phone calls home, postcards, termly House events and our annual Pride of Latimer Awards. This supports students to feel recognised and valued.
Students are encouraged to engage in all that the School has to offer in order to support their well-being:
- Our Personal Development Programme (PDP)
- Our Physical Education and Health and Well-Being curriculum
- Our enrichment programme, including our range of leadership activities
- House activities and competitions.
We do recognise that at any time, a student may need additional help and support. For these times, we have developed a Mental Health and Well Being strategy which includes:
- Having a trained Senior Mental Health Lead
- Delivering awareness training for staff including trained Mental Health First aiders
- Setting up external partnerships with local organisation such as Northamptonshire Mental Health Team, Service Six, Youth Works, Souster Youth Counselling Service, Ngage and Kettering Mind.
In order to contribute to national research in this area, we are currently participating in research by the Northamptonshire Mental Health team seeking views of parents, students and staff to further develop our practice.
Should a student feel that they need support they can speak to a member of staff or use our reportaconcern@latimer.org.uk email address (please also visit the Wellbeing section of our website under Information).
Should a parent or carer feel that their child needs additional support, please contact Mr King, Senior Mental Health Lead: sking@latimer.org.uk or Mrs Strudwick, Wellbeing Officer: kstrudwick@latimer.org.uk
Identifying and supporting young carers at The Latimer Arts College
At The Latimer Arts College we are aware that some of our pupils are young carers. A young carer is someone under 18 who is caring unpaid for a family member who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. They often take on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. Research suggests there are at least 700,000 young carers in the UK, but, many do not realise they are a young carer.
We know that young carers may need a little extra support to enjoy and do well at school. At The Latimer Arts College we are committed to ensuring that all pupils who are young carers are identified, and supported effectively by offering:
- Bi-weekly lunchtime drop ins
- Morning Boost- Between 8:00 and 8:20am, Young Carers can use their fingerprint in the canteen to grab a free piece of toast or a cereal bar — no charge, just a little help to start their day right.
- Free Stationery -If Young Carers need pens, pencils, or anything else for school, please see Mrs Stewart — everything is free of charge, just use your fingerprint.
- Breaktime Support in MA8- At breaktime, Young Carers can see Mrs Strudwick in MA8. They are welcome to pop in for a free Biscuits, drink, crisps, stationery, or just a friendly chat.
- Lunchtime homework club
- Homework support and understanding of caring responsibilities
- Liaising with teachers on their behalf
- Liaising with Young carers Northamptonshire Young Carers | Northamptonshire Carers Association
If you think your child might be a young carer, or could be affected by any of the issues we’ve highlighted, please contact either myself or Steve King, Assistant Principal on hangel@latimer.org.uk or sking@latimer.org.uk or alternatively telephone 01536 720300 to speak to me directly.