Safety and wellbeing
Safety and wellbeing underpins all that we do and is of paramount importance to us. We teach students to be safe and to look after themselves and others through our Expect Excellence, Ready, Respectful, Resilient Mindset and through our day to day curriculum.
E Safety
All students receive lessons on keeping safe and wellbeing. Our IT systems are set up to filter and block inappropriate sites and images and to monitor student usage.
Trying to keep children safe online is an ever changing problem for parents too. Please follow this link to look at ways you can help keep your children safe online.
This link provides useful information about the safe use of social media.
If you have any concerns about internet safety and/or wish to report something that you feel is inappropriate, please click here to access the CEOP website ( child exploitation and online protection )
Other useful links are:
Safeguarding:
Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means:
- Protecting children from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of children's health or development
- Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances with the provision of safe and effective care
- Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes
Safeguarding includes child protection, health care plans, health and safety, site security, safety on school trips, anti-bullying work and so much more.
The academy’s Child Protection Team consists of Mr A Atkinson Designated Safeguarding Lead )
V Lee - (Deputy DSLs and Progress and Achievement Leaders)
A Haigh - (Deputy DSLs and Progress and Achievement Leaders)
E Garbutt - (Deputy DSLs and Progress and Achievement Leaders)
E Woolley - (Deputy DSLs and Progress and Achievement Leaders)
The academy adheres to the following three DFE safeguarding documents (most recent versions):
- Working Together to Safeguard Children
- Keeping Children Safe in Education
- The Prevent Duty
The academy has a suite of safeguarding documents which are reviewed regularly and can be found in the Policies and Documents section of this website. If you cannot find what you are looking for please contact the academy and we will be only too happy to help you.
All staff receive regular Child Protection and Safeguarding training and are aware of the procedures for passing on concerns within the academy.
Pastoral Care:
Pastoral care is key to the holistic approach we take at South Axholme Academy. Form tutors are a key contact for all our students and parents and provide a focussed and welcoming start to the school day. We pride ourselves on developing good relationships between students and teachers
The Pastoral Team is made up of teaching and non-teaching staff who work in a variety of ways to ensure students are safe and happy at school. The Academy also works closely with a myriad of external agencies to ensure that all students have every opportunity to access a full and varied curriculum.
If you would like to raise general pastoral concerns please contact your child’s form tutor. For safeguarding concerns please contact your child’s Progress and Achievement Leader. In both instances you can email admin@southaxholme-iet.co.uk who will forward your concerns to the relevant staff member.
Key figures within the Pastoral Team include:
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C Barnes Assistant Principal Year 11
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A Haigh Progress and Achievement Leader Year 10
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E Garbutt Progress and Achievement Leader Year 9
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E Woolley Progress and Achievement Leader Year 8
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V Lee Progress and Achievement Leader Year 7
All staff working with children have a legal responsibility to pass on to the relevant authorities any concerns or allegation that a child has been abused or harmed in any way. Usually this will be through the academy's Designated Safeguarding Lead. While this may be of concern to parents, staff have a legal responsibility to disclose this to other authorities who will then investigate.
While we take safeguarding of our students very seriously, sometimes young people prefer to talk to outside agencies. Here are some websites to support students and parents:
LGBTQ
Drugs/Alcohol
Emotional Wellbeing
Young Carers
Radicalisation/Extremism
Behaviour
As an academy we consider good behaviour and high standards of politeness and good manners from the whole community, to be an essential condition for effective teaching and learning to take place. It is a primary aim of our academy that every member of the academy community feels valued and respected, and that each person is treated fairly. We teach students to know the difference between right and wrong and to develop tolerance and understanding and expect parents to support this. This is modelled by staff working with students in the academy and also through the curriculum including the PSHE curriculum (Personal, Social and Health Education) and the RSE curriculum.
The academy works collaboratively with parents, so students receive consistent messages about how to behave at home and at the academy. We try to build a supportive dialogue between the two and inform parents if we have concerns about their child's welfare or behaviour. Our full Behaviour policy can be found here
Bullying:
The Academy does not tolerate bullying of any kind. If we discover that an act of bullying has taken place, we act immediately to stop any further occurrences of such behaviour, working with both parties involved in the incident. While it is very difficult to eradicate bullying, we do everything in our power to ensure that all students attend school free from fear. Our full Anti-Bullying policy can be found here
Home-Academy Agreement:
The Academy has devised a Home-Academy agreement that is sent to all parents at the start of the academic year. We hope that all parents will support the academy in making sure that they and their children sign and support the South Axholme Home-Academy Agreement. This details the obligations of academy staff, parents and students in ensuring all work together for the education of your child. The form tutor signs the agreement on behalf of the academy to make clear our commitment to you as parents.
Emergency contact details:
In case of accident, emergency or illness at school, staff will take all possible steps to contact you immediately. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes in employment, contact details ( address, mobile phone number and work contact details ) or domestic circumstances as soon as they occur, using the Arbor app or by contacting the academy so that the necessary details can be updated.
We also ask all parents to register with Parent Mail so text alerts can be sent in emergency - for example if we have to close the academy due to extreme bad weather.
Mobile Phones:
Mobile phones are not banned from the academy as we accept that some students and parents see the possession of mobile phones as an aid to safety and security.
However, if a student does bring a mobile phone to school, it must be switched off during the day, kept out of sight and not used for any reason on school premises, or on school trips or sports fixtures organised off the premises, unless the student has the express permission of a member of staff and uses it under their supervision.
The academy will not accept liability for the theft, damage or loss of a mobile phone and the student has to accept full responsibility for it at all times.
If a student is seen with their mobile phone (not necessarily using it) the phone will be confiscated until the end of the academy day. If a student repeatedly commits this breach of code, further sanctions will be put in place appropriate to the level of the breach.
Buses
North Lincolnshire Council produce a document called Code of Conduct for Safe Behaviour on Buses. Within this document are advice sections for both parents and students, outlining what is expected whilst travelling on school buses. Students are advised and reminded about acceptable behaviour on buses through assemblies and form time activities. Bus prefects travel on all buses to help ensure that all students who use these services can do so safely and without incident. To download a copy of this document please click here
Also published by North Lincolnshire Council is the Home to School Transport Policy for Pupils of Statutory School Age. This document contains advisory information for parents such as what to do in the event of moving home or misplacing a bus pass. To download a copy of this document please click here.
Further documents which you may find informative are as follows: