Safeguarding

At King's Leadership Academy Wavertree, we believe that every student has the right to feel safe, valued, and empowered to pursue their full potential. Inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela, "There is no passion to be found playing small," we are committed to creating an environment where young people are not limited by fear, neglect, or harm – but are supported to grow with confidence, resilience, and ambition.

Meet the Safeguarding Team at King’s Wavertree

Kings Leadership Wavertree operates a safeguarding team approach with a split focus on both early help and child protection.

The team meets operationally daily and strategically every half term and discusses and takes action to safeguard the most vulnerable children in school. The team members are key support staff throughout school who work closely with all year groups to ensure they are safe both in and out of school. The team is as follows:

• Mr M Myers (Designated Safeguarding Lead SLT)
• Mr D Mughal (Deputy DSL)
• Mr B Barker (Principal)
• Mr K Graham (Vice Principal)
• Mr S Panter (Head of Safeguarding - Great Schools Trust)

Key Functions of the Safeguarding Team

The DSL will lead the safeguarding team and allocate tasks to safeguarding team members via regular team meetings.  The DSL will have management oversight of the safeguarding work completed by the safeguarding team.  Below is a list of the some of the tasks that the DSL will undertake:

• Contribute to Combined Assessments, complete DASH risk assessments (in relation to Domestic Abuse), complete CSE screening tools.
• Make contact with Children’s Social Care/ Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) when there is an identified child protection issue.
• Make referrals to appropriate statutory and non-statutory services for support.
• Support to children and their families by taking the Lead Professional role.
• Attend and deliver Safeguarding Training (whole school training)
• Challenge practice and decisions in line with the LSCB Escalation Policy
• Have a thorough understanding of the thresholds for support from Children’s Social Care e.g. Children in Need of protection and children in need of care
• Support each other (De Briefing opportunities and reflective learning opportunities) 
• Champion and know who your vulnerable children are.  The Safeguarding Risk Register should be reviewed at Safeguarding Team meetings on a regular basis.
• Monitor and lead on CPOMS referrals and concerns

The Safeguarding Team Approach to safeguarding children

This is considered to be the best practice to manage safeguarding at school level.  Practically, there is always cover for absence and a number of professionals trained to know what to do if there were concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child.  It also encourages a culture of working collaboratively and making decisions together, with the child at the heart of the team’s practice.  The team approach is supportive to the DSL, who will as a result of a team structure, never work in isolation and take the sole responsibility for safeguarding. 

Importantly, the DSL leads the safeguarding team and on a day to day basis decisions will be made by the DSL.  Team members need to be clear of their role within the team and what is expected from them.  Debriefing and reflective practice is an important part of safeguarding practice and should be routinely built into safeguarding team meetings.

Safeguarding is the absolute priority for all staff at King's Leadership Academy Wavertree. It is embedded throughout the school. As a school, we are committed to the 4 P’s of safeguarding;  

• Prevention –  it is better to act before harm occurs. 
• Proportionality – to take the least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented. 
• Protection – support and representation for those in need. 
• Partnership – working with external services and with our community.  
• Accountability – accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding. 

All of us at King's Leadership Academy Wavertree do our utmost to ensure that children learn in a safe, caring, and enriching environment. All our students are taught how to identify risky, unsafe or problematic situations, how and when to seek help, how to develop positive and healthy relationships and how to avoid situations where they might be at risk of being exploited.
We have a statutory responsibility to share any concerns we might have about a child in need of protection with other agencies and in particular the police, health, and children’s services. Staff at the school are not able to investigate child protection concerns but we do have a legal duty to refer them to the most appropriate agency.  
We will always discuss their concerns with parents/carers. Consent for any referrals will be sought unless to do so would: 

• Place your child at risk of significant harm or further risk of significant harm; 
• Place a vulnerable adult at risk of harm; 
• Compromise any enquiries that need to be undertaken by children’s social care or the police. 

Our first concern and responsibility will always be your child’s welfare. We have a duty to protect children first and always. Such consultation may result in a formal referral which could prompt visits from social care and/or the police. We understand that this can be a very distressing experience. Staff at our school will always follow the procedures that have been put into place by the Liverpool Safeguarding Children Partnership when making a formal referral. 
If needed, our school will seek to employ the services of an interpreter.

Advice for Parents/carers

If you have a concern about your child, a relative or another pupil who attends this school please contact us on the following:

• Mr M Myers (Designated Safeguarding lead) Tel: 0151 452 6318
• Email: safeguarding@kingswavertree.com

You can also speak to any other member of the safeguarding team and contact them on the school number. Please leave a message and we will get back to you at the earliest opportunity.
You can also report child abuse to your local council via the GOV.UK webpage. 
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. If you are feeling anxious, stressed, or low, help is available.

Early Help:

King's Leadership Academy Wavertree is committed to providing Early Help to our students and their families. 

What is Early Help? 

• Identifying needs of children, young people, and their family across a continuum of need (see LSCB's ‘Responding to Need Guidance and Levels of Need Framework’). 
• Understanding and responding quickly to identified needs. 
• Listening to children and families so that their views inform what happens next. Supporting and re-focusing resources from crisis to prevention, and helping to avoid concerns repeating over time. 
• Supporting families to achieve their full potential and thereby mitigate the impact of issues such as child poverty and health inequalities. 
• Providing the context for multi-agency working to help children and families achieve improved outcomes

Support in School:

• Speak to our Pastoral Team for advice
• Access our School Counsellor (book an appointment)
• Visit the Wellbeing Hub during break/lunch

External Support:

Kooth – Free, anonymous online mental health support (www.kooth.com)
YoungMinds – Text ‘YM’ to 85258 for crisis support
NHS Mental Health Services – Call 111 for urgent help