Looking after and supporting the development of the whole child

Arrow Vale fully recognises its responsibilities for safeguarding children and young people and works with the Local Authority and other agencies to ensure the safety of children and young people in our care. As a school, we aim to create a culture of vigilance. All staff within the school are aware that safeguarding the students in our care is everyone’s responsibility and that we always work in the best interests of the child, listening to the voice of the child wherever possible. All staff, governors and volunteers are encouraged to foster an attitude that ‘it could happen here’ and they are made aware, and reminded of, the protocols to follow should they have a concern about a child or young person’s safety or well-being.

Mr Crane is the Designated Safeguarding Lead who is a member of our Senior Leadership Team and is responsible for ensuring the safety of both students and staff.  The Senior Designated Deputy Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Downes and the Designated Deputy Safeguarding Leads are Ms H Barnes,  Mrs N Ierston, Mr T Preston, Mr N Linington all of whom support Mr Crane in his duties. Mrs Stanley is our Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for extremism and radicalisation and a Designated Deputy Safeguarding Lead.

Throughout the academic year, we raise the profile of safeguarding and safer schools with assemblies on Bullying, Sexual and Gender Identity, Online Safety, Diversity, Domestic Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Peer on Peer Abuse, Sexual Harassment and many more. This ties in closely with our SMSC and Learning 4 Life programme.

Mr Crane and Mrs Downes meet every half-term with the local policing team where we share information to ensure the safety of all our staff, students and their families.

Each safeguarding concern is treated with dignity and respect, and we work closely with families, external agencies, and the students themselves to ensure they feel safe, nurtured and receive the appropriate level of support to allow them to achieve their full potential.