Safeguarding

Student safety and welfare

The Earls High School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. It is the school’s duty to refer to Children’s Social Care where there are concerns about a child’s safety.

We are proud members of the Stour Vale Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) and work closely with pastoral and safeguarding teams across the MAT to: share information, share good practice, work within the MAT to find workable solutions for students and families, pool resources and learn across phases with primary and secondary colleagues working together.

The Earls High School works closely with Dudley Safeguarding and adopts the policies, processes, reporting methods and thresholds presented by (Dudley Safeguarding People Partnership (DSPP). Due to the geographical position of the school we also work regularly with other Local Authorities including: Worcestershire, Birmingham and Sandwell. Where necessary we complete different referrals and thresholds based on the home local authority of the student.

The key safeguarding contacts in the school are:

    • Designated Senior Leader (DSL) – Mr P Ramage
    • Deputy Designated Senior Leaders – Our Pastoral Team are all fully trained safeguarding leaders
    • Safeguarding Governor – Mrs J Morris
    • E-safety lead – Mr N Ridley

Reporting a safeguarding Concern

If you have reason to believe that a child or young person is at immediate risk from harm, contact the Police on 999.

If you are concerned about a child or young person please call Dudley Children’s Services Team on the telephone numbers below.
 

If you have any concerns about the safety and welfare of one of our students, no matter how small that concern might seem, please contact the school:
 

Safeguarding guidance for parents and carers

Supporting children and young people to make safe and healthy choices is an ongoing challenge for parents and schools alike. We achieve success when parents and school staff work together with the best interests of our children at the centre.

Statutory guidance & school policies

The links below provide important information regarding the safeguarding of students here at The Earls High School.

How the school supports children and young people to be safe

Online Safety

All members of staff are trained in and receive regular updates in online safety and recognising and reporting concerns. Our Acceptable Use Policy recognises that internet safety is a whole school responsibility. We recognise our responsibility to educate our students, teaching them the appropriate behaviours and critical thinking skills to enable them to remain both safe and legal when using the internet and related technologies. These issues are addressed within the curriculum, in registration, assemblies and also at parents’ information evenings.

We ensure that filters are in place to prevent access to unsuitable sites and we will monitor the use of the school network and internet to ensure that any student attempting to access inappropriate, abusive or harmful material is appropriately advised and/or supported.

Safeguarding in the Curriculum

Safeguarding and wider child safety issues are addressed through the curriculum as appropriate, especially in form time, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), Information and Communication Technology (ICT),  and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). Curriculum maps are available here:

Support from the Pastoral Team

Every student at The Earls has a form tutor. In many circumstances, the tutor is a good place to start for a student or parent to report a minor safeguarding concern. For more serious issues, address your concern in the first instance to the appropriate year coordinator <link to pastoral team page>, all of whom are trained safeguarding leaders.

Safeguarding guidance for students

Helping you to keep yourself safe, healthy and happy is the most important job that we, as teachers and support staff have. The years between 11 and 16 can be tough, with pressure from all directions: parents, friends, exams and social media. All staff at The Earls are committed to helping you.

Your staff, here to help…

Every member of our school staff is trained to keep to safe. In a crisis, you can turn to anyone on the school site and they will help you.

For everyday worries and concerns, your form tutor is a great place to start. You may feel most comfortable talking to a subject teacher that you know well.  This is OK too.

Some of you work closely with a teaching assistant or other members of the pastoral team. You might find it easier to talk to them.

Outside of school hours, or if you don’t want to talk face to face use our tell@earls.dudley.sch.uk email address to confidentially report any concerns that you have.

The person who has responsibility for your safety and welfare at school every day is your Year Coordinator. If it is a serious matter or you don’t want to discuss it with your tutor then they are the person to turn to. Every year coordinator is a fully trained and experienced safeguarding leader.

Mrs Bryant, Mr Baker and Mrs Wycherley are our Heads of School. They support your Year Coordinators and are our Senior Pastoral Leaders. They are always ready to support students with safeguarding concerns.

Mrs Morris our wonderful school councillor meets regularly with students who need extra support. Your Year Coordinator will refer you to Mrs Morris.

You can make an appointment to see the school nurse through your Year Coordinator.

Mr Fox and the rest of the school leadership team will pause whatever they are doing to support a student in need. Mrs Hirsch, Mrs Houston and Mrs Sevier all mentor individual students. Mr Toulston leads the school on behaviour and attendance and Mr Ramage is the school’s Designated Safeguarding Leader (DSL)

Useful links

Police: 999 in an emergency / 101 for other calls

School Nurse: Please contact the school main office 01384 816105

Mental Health support: for young people experiencing a mental health crisis. Text YM to 85258

Emergency Duty Team: Children’s social care – 0300 555 0050 (9 am-5 pm Mon-Fri) or 0300 555 8574 (out of hours)

Your GP: (by phone)

Childline: 0800 1111 or Info and advice | Childline

Kooth:  Kooth.com

iZone – Our local Directory of Services

iZone is a fantastic resource to support children and young people in the Dudley Area. It is a directory of local links, national links and Mobile Apps to support you. It covers areas such as:

    • Mental Wellbeing
    • Physical Health
    • Family relationships
    • Substance Misuse
    • Sexual Health

The Earls High School works closely with many of the agencies listed on iZone