Safeguarding (child protection) policy
Overview
The Pixel Gang strives to create an environment where safety, learn
ing, fairness, truth, respect, and inter-dependence are promoted. Consequently, the overall aim of this policy is to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children in our care, regardless of age, class, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or beliefs.
Our policies cover all safeguarding issues including ...
- eSafety
- discrimination (sexual, racism, ageist etc)
- harassment
- bullying (physical, verbal and cyber)
- homophobia
- equal opportunities (social, gender, access to learning etc)
We recognise that all adults who come into contact with the children whilst they are in our care have a duty to safeguard and protect them and should demonstrate commitment and priorities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
If we have concerns about the safety or welfare of a learner we we will discuss our concerns with parents and guardians, and if necessary, make a referral to the relevant agency, be that the Local Authority or police.
Bromley children's services
If you would like to raise a concern or speak directly to our local authority's childrens services here are the contact details ..
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) - Bromley
Telephone: 020 8461 7373 or 020 8461 7379 or 020 8461 7026)
Telephone out of hours - 030 03038671
Email: mash@bromley.gov.uk
You can also contact the National Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Children ..
NSPCC helpline
Telephone: 0808 800 500
Email: help@nspcc.org.uk
If you wish to discuss any aspect of Child Protection please speak with our designated Safeguarding Officer Matt Ottewill.
Implementation
Issues surrounding possible scenarios are discussed with all staff and are integral to all staff training. Potential areas of dispute are identified as early as possible.
Management responsibility for the effectiveness of our measures lies with our director (Matt Ottewill).
Policies apply to all staff as well as learners. Staff are vetted and tested on their ability to implement our policies. All academic staff are required to complete certified Safeguarding and IAG training.
Safeguarding officer
Our designated and trained safeguarding lead officer is Matt Ottewill.
Complaint procedures for parents and learners
Processes for dealing with complaints are covered in our Parents & learners Complaints Procedures
Complaints procedures for staff
In the event of a complaint from a staff member, the complaint will be dealt with directly by staff member Lucy Richardson (lucyjanerichardson@gmail.com).
1) The complaint will be submitted to Lucy Richardson. A copy of the complaint / appeal will be held on file for a minimum period of 3 years.
2) If the staff member remains unsatisfied with the response of the directors, or if the directors feel unable to resolve the situation, the staff member should consult the appropriate external agency (eg qualification awarding body, funding partner, employment tribunal or police).
In the event of a grievance concerning our partners/funders, we will arrange contact between the complainant and funding body.
In cases where the appeal goes beyond the directors, a file is created in which all subsequent meetings, discussions and communications are entered. At this stage it becomes the responsibility of the appropriate external agency to keep all parties informed of developments. If the appeals process highlights discrepancies in the evaluation standards, the directors may be overridden/led by the appropriate external agency.
3) All appeals procedures will be administered in line with our stated Equal opportunities policy.