Over the last year, we have been looking at the support structures available to us in dealing with Safeguarding within North Hill House School. As a result of this, we have developed a series of support mechanisms to provide the best practice and outcomes for anyone needing support around Safeguarding.
We looked at reporting processes and this highlighted the need to refresh and update the structures we had to build a smoother transition of reporting, while also looking at what is being reported.
We have developed a threshold document, which aids the reporting of any concerns. The document gives guidance, resources available, and the responsibilities of the staff in the reporting process. This has become an embedded practice with the support staff at North Hill House. The threshold document is specific to North Hill House and will continue to develop and grow as the needs of the school changes.
The team has shown great empathy and professionalism in dealing with the pupils’ concerns and with the support of the Safeguarding Team liaise with other professionals.
Alongside the development of a threshold document, the online reporting system has also been updated in accordance with these reporting needs. The system has a clear definition of how to complete the reports and the levels to report under. The whole Safeguarding Team are alerted to any reports that are made and the Safeguarding Team co-ordinate the completion of these. The system is fluid and clear and with weekly Safeguarding meetings, this enables the team to keep abreast of cases.
As a school, we have training available to the staff, looking at Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016, Radicalisation, Prevent, FGM, and Bullying including Cyber-bullying. We have created an online survey to support the understanding of the staff, increasing knowledge, and a monitoring tool for our audit process. We will increase the input for training looking at CSE, risk assessments and Suicidal Ideation. As updates and amendments are made to any process, this is cascaded to the teams via staff meetings and the Principal’s weekly newsletter.
The Safeguarding Team has worked tirelessly in supporting the very best outcomes in the practices within North Hill House and continues to strive for an outstanding standard.
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North Hill House School provides specialist education and care to young people aged 6 to 19 years with high-functioning autism, who exhibit deficits in areas of communication and social interaction which may also include ADHD and dyslexia.
If you would like to place a young person into North Hill House School or would like more information on the services we provide, please call our dedicated referral line today on 0808 159 9400.