At Brook Mead Academy we are committed to creating a happy and safe environment for all members of our academy community. We work closely with our scholars and their parents/carers to ensure that our young people are safe both inside and outside of school. We also work closely with a range of partners and agencies including Leicestershire Police, Social Services, Early Help, CAMHS, Prevent and others.

We explicitly teach our scholars about how to be safe through our weekly PSHE sessions and embed safeguarding topics into the wider curriculum – for example, we take opportunities to teach our scholars about internet safety during Computer Science and about grooming during our Oliver Twist module in English. We also ensure that our scholars are taught about safeguarding through dedicated assemblies, workshops, and events throughout the year.

Please note, we have a statutory responsibility to share information with other agencies, including the police, social services, Early Help and health care providers. In most cases, we will always endeavour to inform parents/carers of our intention to make a referral, however, in some cases, we may be advised to not inform parents/carers until reasonable enquiries have been made. The school will always act in line with relevant legislation to ensure that we act in the best interests of the child. If you would like any further information about safeguarding, please contact Mrs Aylmer-Teago, the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

TMET Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy v 14.0 (1)

Reception Safeguarding Poster 2022 (002)

BMA Safeguarding leaflet

BMA Safeguarding Team 

Name Role
Mrs Aylmer-Teago DSL
Ms Hindocha Deputy DSL
Mr Rule Deputy DSL
Miss Samuel Deputy DSL

Online Safety

CEOP – YouTube

Online Safety for Children – Tips & Guides | NSPCC

Parents homepage (thinkuknow.co.uk)

Information, Advice and Support to Keep Children Safe Online (internetmatters.org)

Information about Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), trafficking and county lines

A Parents Guide to Child Sexual Exploitation Webinar – YouTube

Spotting the signs of CSE – Parents Against Child Exploitation (Pace) UK (paceuk.info)

Female Genital Mutation (FGM)

The NSPCC has set up a FGM helpline, which is free, anonymous and 24/7. If you’re worried a child is at risk of, or has had, FGM,

Telephone: 0800 028 3550

Email: [email protected]

Forced Marriage

Telephone: 020 7008 0151

Email: [email protected]

Domestic Abuse

Telephone: 0808 80 200 28

Website: UAVA

Email: [email protected]

Domestic and sexual abuse (leicester.gov.uk)

Bullying

Bullying and harassment (leicester.gov.uk)

Leicester City Council

Telephone: 0116 454 1004

Website: Children’s social care (leicester.gov.uk)

Leicestershire County Council

Telephone: 0116 305 0005

Website: Report abuse or neglect of a child | Leicestershire County Council

Leicestershire Police

101/999

Childline

Telephone: 0800 11 11

Website: Childline | Childline

NSPCC

If you are worried about a child, even if you are unsure, contact the NSPCC for help, advice or support.

Telephone: 0808 800 5000

Email: [email protected]

Website: NSPCC | The UK children’s charity | NSPCC

The Samaritans

Telephone: 116 123

Email: Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen

Online Safety – Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency (CEOP)

Complete a report when something happens online that makes you feel scared, worried or unsafe.

https://www.ceop.police.uk/CEOP-Reporting/

Brook Mead Academy is an Operation Encompass school. This is a Police and Education information sharing partnership which enables schools to offer immediate support for children and young people witnessing domestic abuse. Information is shared by the police with the Academy’s safeguarding team prior to the start of the school day following an incident of domestic abuse in the previous 24 hours or over the weekend which has been attended by police officers. This information enables appropriate support to be given, dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child.  Children experiencing domestic abuse are negatively impacted by this exposure; domestic abuse has been identified as an Adverse Childhood Experience and can lead to emotional, physical and psychological harm. For more information, please click Home : Operation Encompass

Free breakfast for all scholars.

Safeguarding themes inbuilt into our carefully sequenced curriculum: PSHE, Computer Science (online safety), English (Oliver Twist and exploitation)
Staying safe based assemblies/agency led workshops & groups
Parenting support: Dedicated Afternoon Teas/ Support for financial applications
1:1 mentoring via our pastoral team
On site Senior Mental Health Lead: Mrs Aylmer-Teago
Behaviour and learning support
Counselling provision: Relate counselling, every Tuesday
Peer to peer support, scholar parliament and Anti-Bullying Ambassadors
Information in key areas around the school
Dedicated routes for disclosure: [email protected] and the “Talk to us” post-box

SG Early Help poster

As our children grow into more independent internet users, they develop their own habits in relation to their online use. It is important that parents and carers are aware of how to keep their children safe online and keep up to date with the latest platforms, apps and messaging services that could pose a risk to their safety.

One of the best ways to keep your child safe is by having frank and honest discussions about their online behaviours. You should also consider managing their devices and setting up parental controls on your home broadband. This link will help you to set up controls on your home devices. Parental Controls & Privacy Settings Guides – Internet Matters

Talking to your child as early as possible about online safety is one of the best ways to protect them. Tips on how to talk to your child about online safety:

  1. Talk early and often. Talk to your child about online safety as soon as they are old enough to own or have access to devices. The earlier you start to have these conversations, the easier it will be to maintain them.
  2. Choose to talk to your child when you are due to spend some time together – so for example, over dinner, or during their bedtime routine. Bring digital experience into normal, everyday conversations.
  3. Open up and share too! Model the behaviour that you would like to see in your child. Be open and encourage them to be open too.
  4. Create a safe space for your child to open up. Always try to ask open ended questions and avoid jumping to conclusions. Try to ensure that your child feels listened to.

If you would like any further information or support in relation to online safety, please contact your child’s Assistant Head of Year or Mrs Aylmer-Teago.

Websites that Parent need to know

Parents can report any concerns in relation to online contact or abuse via CEOP. CEOP stands for Child Exploitation and Online Protection and is governed by law enforcement agencies. Please click the link to find out more.

https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre.

The Internet Matters website is also a hub for information, support and advice. Please follow this link to find out more information about cyber bullying, fake news, inappropriate content, online grooming, radicalisation, online reputation and more.

Online safety issues – advice to support children| Internet Matters

Are you worried about online abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online? Please click on the logo below for more information.