Gumley House School FCJ

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Safeguarding

Every child matters

The health, safety and wellbeing of every child is our paramount concern and that is why we listen intently to our students and their concerns. We want to work in partnership with parents and carers to help our students achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution.  You can see how to contact our Safeguarding Team here.


The member of staff with responsibility for Safeguarding and Child Protection is:  
Mrs F Russell
Mrs Russell's office is next to Student Welfare on the ground floor of D Block (behind Student Services). 

The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is
Mrs Hasker
Mrs Hasker's office is on the ground floor of A Block in room A01.

The Safeguarding and Child Protection Governor is 
Georgina Ioannides

Worried about a child?

If you are concerned about a child at Gumley House, please email/contact the Safeguarding Team or telephone 020 8568 8692.

If you are contacting us out of hours (before 8am and after 5pm) you can contact the NSPCC helpline for support and advice for free - call on 0808 800 5000 or contact NSPCC online.

Children can contact Childline any time to get support themselves.

In an emergency please call 999 or or in a non-emergency call 101.

Gumley House School FCJ: Safeguarding Policy

You can view our other school policies here


Safer Recruitment
To promote a safe environment for students, our Safer Recruitment Policy includes all checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks in accordance with current legislation. 

In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002 and “Keeping Children Safe in Education“ Sept 2023, we have a Designated Safeguarding Lead for Child Protection (Mrs Russell) who is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and Deputy Headteacher, and has received appropriate training for this role.  It is her responsibility, together with Mrs Hasker, to ensure that all staff in contact with children receive Child Protection awareness training on a regular basis. 

Occasions do arise when our concern about a child means we must consult other agencies. Whilst we would always aim to work in partnership with parents there may be exceptions to this when concerns are raised for the protection of a child. 

On very rare occasions Social Care, whilst undertaking an investigation under s47 of the Children Act 1989, may want to speak to a child without a parent’s knowledge. This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies and would only be done in situations where a child might be at immediate risk. To gain consent at this point may increase the level of risk to the child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost.

The procedures that we follow have been laid down by the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all.

These Policies, along with links to our other key safeguarding policies, can be accessed on our dedicated Policies page. 


PREVENT
Building resilience of young people and the promotion of fundamental British values is at the heart of preventing radicalisation and is covered extensively with our young people throughout their PSHE lessons, which is a core subject delivered across all year groups in Key Stage 3 and 4.  Children at Gumley House have a safe place in which they can discuss controversial issues, and be given the knowledge and confidence to challenge extremist beliefs and ideologies.  

The school's internet filtering system effectively prevents students from accessing dangerous websites and students receive regular lessons and assemblies on e-safety.  All teaching staff have completed the appropriate training to help them spot students in danger of radicalisation and new staff receive training in their safeguarding duties. Our school works closely with the local police and Children's Services to offer support to any students identified as being at risk

For an introduction to the Prevent duty and an explanation of how it aims to safeguard vulnerable people from being radicalised, HM Government has created an e-learning module following consultation with a range of individuals and organisations. The module has been created with the feedback of teachers, local authority officials, community-based groups, youth workers and many others.


FGM
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a growing cause of concern in schools.  It has been estimated that over 20,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of FGM in the UK each year, and that 66,000 women in the UK are living with the consequences of FGM. 

FGM is child abuse and a form of violence against women and girls, and therefore it is dealt with as part of existing child and adult safeguarding/protection structures, policies and procedures. It is illegal in the UK to subject a child to female genital mutilation (FGM) or to take a child abroad to undergo the procedure – Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. Despite the harm it causes, FGM practising communities consider it normal to protect their cultural identity. The age at which girls are subject to FGM varies greatly from shortly after birth to any time up to adulthood. The average age is 10 to 12 years.

At Gumley House, our staff are trained in dealing with FGM and are alerted to the following key indicators:

  • A child’s family comes from a community that is known to practise FGM.
  • A chid may talk about a long holiday to a country where the practice is prevalent.
  • A child may confide that she is to have a ‘special procedure’ or to attend a special occasion.
  • A child may request help from a teacher or another adult.

Any female child born to a woman or has a sister who has been subjected to FGM will be considered to be at risk, as much as other female children in the extended family. Any information or concern that a child is at risk of FGM will result in a child protection referral to Children’s Social Care.

The new mandatory reporting duty for FGM under the Serious Crime Act 2015, requires teachers in England and Wales to report known cases of FGM in under 18-year-olds to the police. Guidelines on mandatory reporting can be found here.

Further guidance on FGM can be found here.

Call the FGM helpline if you're worried a child is at risk of, or has had, FGM. It's free, anonymous and they are available 24/7. Call them on 0800 028 3550, or email them at fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk


Further Resources 
You may also find the resources below helpful supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of your child.

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