Safeguarding

Whitehill Community Academy understands its responsibilities towards child protection and safeguarding and prioritises student safety. We are committed to ensuring that students feel safe in their education, and if we suspect that a child has been harmed, or may come to harm, we will take action to safeguard and protect that child. We have a range of policies and procedures in place to support our safeguarding commitment. This includes our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, and our Anti-Bullying Policy. These policies are available in the Key Policies and Statements section. Part of our role is to educate children and young people on how to keep themselves safe whilst online, using mobile technology, as well as helping them to understand what is considered abuse. There are links to external sites below which provide help and advice for parents and carers, as well as students themselves.

Designated Safeguarding Leads

The academy has the following named staff who staff, students or anyone with a concern can speak to:

To read more about our approach to keeping all children and young people safe and ensure they fully understand where they can access support and advice, see our Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy.

British Values and Prevent

Through our culture at Whitehill Community Academy, we embrace the core British values:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect
• Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.

Students encounter these principles in a holistic way throughout everyday school life, incorporating lessons (where appropriate), form time, assemblies and whole school events. Under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, Whitehill Community Academy is aware that we must have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism, and that this is known as the Prevent Duty. In order to fulfil the Prevent Duty, staff have received training to support them in identifying young people who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and the academy is committed to accessing further training to ensure that all staff are aware of this duty. If staff do identify students for whom this may be a concern, they should apply the usual Child Protection procedures and refer their concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). The Designated Safeguarding Lead will contact Calderdale Council’s Prevent Coordinator should there be concerns about a young person or family linked to potential radicalisation or extremism. The Prevent Coordinator will then assist the DSL regarding whether a referral is required to the Channel Panel. Further details can be found in the Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy.

Useful Safeguarding Links

We produce information for parents on keeping their child safe and how to contact the team, which can be found in our Safeguarding section. In addition, please find below some external websites that provide advice and guidance on a range of safety issues.