Safeguarding & Child Protection
Springfield Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children whilst at the academy, at home, on-line, and in the community. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Every child’s welfare is of paramount importance. Our academy will establish and maintain an ethos where children feel safe and secure, are encouraged to talk, and are listened to. Children at our academy will be able to talk freely to any member of staff if they are worried or concerned about something.
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. We recognise that staff at our academy play a particularly important role as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children to prevent concerns from escalating. All staff are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned.
All staff will, through training and induction, know how to recognise indicators of concern, how to respond to a disclosure from a child and how to record and report this information. We will not make promises to any child and we will not keep secrets. Every child will know what the adult will have to do with any information they have chosen to disclose.
If you have any concerns or questions please don't hesitate to come in and talk to us. All staff are here to help.
Our Designated Safeguarding Leads are:
- Senior Safeguarding Lead - Mrs V Shelley
- Deputy Safeguarding Lead - Mrs H Bodenham
- Deputy Safeguarding Lead - Mrs H Bonser
- Deputy Safeguarding Lead - Miss L Ogle
- Deputy Safeguarding Lead - Mrs L Oliver
What is Safeguarding?
- providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge
- protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online
- preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
- ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy
Our current Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy can be found below and also in the 'policies' section of this website.
What to do if you are concerned about a child's safety
During term time:
If you are concerned about the safety of a child during normal school time, please don't hesitate to come into school and ask to meet with a member of the school's Safeguarding Team. There will always be a member of the team on-site or contactable by the school office.
During the school holidays, weekends or outside of school hours:
If your concern arises at a time that the school is closed, please use the contact numbers below to share your concern:
- Nottingham City Children's Social Care Team:- 0115 876 4800
- If you believe that a child is at immediate risk and in need of protection then you should call the Police on 999 immediately.
- If you feel that a child is at risk of abuse or neglect, but not in immediate need of protection, you should call the Police on 101.
- NSPCC - If you are someone who wants to speak to someone because you are worried about a child's safety or wellbeing but are not sure what to do, you can phone the NSPCC Free Helpline on 0808 800 5000.
- See the SPA Safeguarding poster for further advice on who to contact with a concern.
Useful links
Click on the links below to visit useful websites linked to Safeguarding and Child Protection:
Childline - is a British counselling service for children and young people aged up to 18 in the United Kingdom provided by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. They deal with any issues which cause distress or concern; some of the most common issues include child abuse, bullying, mental illness, parental separation and or divorce, teenage pregnancy, substance misuse, neglect, and psychological abuse.
NSPCC - is the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The NSPCC help to protect children who are at risk of abuse, find the best ways to prevent child abuse from ever happening and help children who have been abused.
CEOP - Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command - is a law enforcement agency and is here to help keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse and grooming online. They help thousands of children and young people every year who have been in this situation. They are here to help and give you advice, and you can make a report directly to them if you are worried about online sexual abuse or something has happened online which has made you feel unsafe, scared or worried for yourself or someone else. This might be from someone you know in real life, or someone you have only ever met online.
Operation Encompass - Operation Encompass is a police and education early information safeguarding partnership enabling schools to offer immediate support to children experiencing domestic abuse.