Safeguarding - Barr's Hill School

Under the Education Act 2002 (Section 175), schools must make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Parent/carers should know that the law (Children Act 1989) requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

The staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with the parent/carer, and where possible, seek their consent to a referral to Social Care. This will only be done where such discussion will not place the child at increased risk of significant harm. Schools will seek advice from Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded.

Parents/carers will appreciate that the designated person for safeguarding (child protection) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.

Please click here for a direct link to the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

Click here to view the whistleblowing policy

Latest News

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Safeguarding from Sexual Harassment & Sexual Violence

Barr’s Hill School takes very seriously it’s responsibilities to safeguard and support students around these issues. The Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy and the Behaviour policy makes clear that no form of sexual harassment, bullying or violence will be tolerated. Victims and perpetrators will receive a comprehensive response, please see the above policies for further details.

If any young person or parent wants to raise a concern about any incident in school or out of school, then the school will work closely with the victim and the parents and ensure the relevant agencies, such as the police and social care are involved as appropriate. Please contact one of the Designated Safeguarding Leads at the school if you have any concerns about young people.

NEW Dedicated NSPCC helpline 0800 136 663

The new helpline will provide both children and adults who are potential victims of sexual abuse with the appropriate support and advice. This includes how to contact the police and report crimes if they wish. The helpline will also provide support to parents and professionals too.

There is further helpful information on the NSPCC.org.uk website.

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Student Wellbeing App

See the student made intro video here https://youtu.be/mT5qAgvpSUE

The Student Wellbeing App is now ready for you to download and use. Please get involved and feedback any ideas for how to improve it via your student leaders/tutors.

DownloadPa the App to your phone/tablet using the attached instructions (or watch this 1 minute guide https://www.loom.com/share/d2d13f9cb76540fab04f52d548fed620
Everyday that you open the app there will be a Smiley Survey. Please fill this in honestly so that your school can keep track of how you are feeling. You can also add comments to help them understand how best to support you
In the To Do section are any videos or websites that school would like you to view. Once you’ve watched or viewed them then mark them as Done and they will move to the Done section
Please answer the Survey in the app

If you need support you can always speak to your tutor or other staff. There is a message feature in the app, but please only use this if you need support, so we are not distracted by other messages.

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Parental Controls and Security

Students safety is our first priority and everyone’s responsibility. Please click here and follow these guidelines to help keep young people safe online: Online Safety Recommendations for Parents

Our experts at Virgin Media have launched handy tools to help parents of web-ready kids stay ahead of the curve, including ‘Switched on Families’ and Internet Matters’. Click here for more information – Parental Controls and Security

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Keeping children safe from abuse and harm (Updated 29-06-2020)
The DfE has jointly published new guidance with the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Public Health England on keeping children safe from abuse and harm. This guidance brings together sources of information about the main risks children may be vulnerable to during the coronavirus pandemic and includes signposts to available help and support.

Dear Parents/Carers,

Safeguarding Information during COVID 19

Safeguarding has never been more important so please know that the school is still aiming to ensure the right support gets to the right place, wherever possible given the current restrictions. The local family hubs are working hard to support families who are in need, so if you have any concerns about neighbours or yourselves please highlight the support available. We will also try and update this page as more information about support becomes available.

Please see the newsletter on the virtual school page of the school website for some helpful information about mental health and online safety tips. There is also a guide for parents on the virtual school page as students spend more time online during this period out of school, having discussions with your children about finding a healthy balance and staying safe has never been more important.

If you have any concerns you can email safeguarding@barrshill.coventry.sch.uk and we will do our best to respond with some helpful advice.

Hillfields Harmony Hub – https://www.facebook.com/pathwaysfamilyhub 024 7678 8444, PathwaysFamilyHub@coventry.gov.uk

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Dear Parents/Carers,

We have received the below concern from West Midlands police. It has also been publicised in the media. It is a good reminder of how important it is that parents are fully aware of the apps or websites our young people are using. We recommend that parents have an open dialogue with young people about the positives and negatives of all social media. You might like to ask them regularly “which apps do your friends use most?”, “what is the latest craze?” and “have there been any problems online?”.

Please read the warning below and also the online safety advice at the following sites.

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/what-is-live-streaming/