Perryfields Academy is a thriving school located in Oldbury, Sandwell. This is an exciting opportunity to make a significant difference to the life chances of our students. You will have an important role in building on the good standards already achieved at Perryfields. We are very proud of the achievements our students make academically and in many other spheres. We aspire to provide the very best educational opportunities and outcomes for all of our students and OFSTED acknowledge the progress we are making; awarding us ‘Good’ in January 2018.
Main Purpose
· As a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the DSL will take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection across the school (including online safety). They will participate in strategy discussions and inter-agency meetings, and contribute to the assessment of children.
· They will advise and support other members of staff on child welfare, safeguarding and child protection matters, and liaise with relevant agencies such as the local authority children’s services and police.
· Some safeguarding activities may be delegated to deputies, but the DSL will retain ultimate lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection.
· Lead whole school attendance working closely with the Attendance Officer and Welfare Manager.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
· To be an active lead for safeguarding to ensure safeguarding standards are being met and maintained across the school, and that safeguarding issues are addressed in a timely manner.
· Refer cases of abuse and neglect to the local authority children’s services, cases of radicalisation to Channel and cases where a crime may have taken place to the police.
· Refer cases to the Disclosure and Barring Service where a person is dismissed or leaves due to risk or harm to a child.
· To be the point of contact for all safeguarding partners and any safeguarding concerns within our student and family community.
· Inform the Headteacher of safeguarding issues, especially ongoing enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 and police investigations, and the requirement for students to have an appropriate adult.
· Liaise with the case manager and the local authority designated officer(s) (LADO) for child protection concerns in cases which concern a staff member.
· Liaise with staff on matters of safety, safeguarding and welfare (including online and digital safety), and when deciding whether to make a referral by liaising with relevant agencies so that children’s needs are considered holistically.
· Liaise with the senior mental health lead and, where available, the mental health support team, where safeguarding concerns are linked to mental health.
· Promote supportive engagement with parents and/or carers in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including where families may be facing challenging circumstances.
· Work with the Headteacher and relevant strategic leads, taking lead responsibility for promoting educational outcomes by:
· Knowing the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children in need are experiencing, or have experienced.
· Identifying the impact that these issues might be having on children’s attendance, engagement and achievement at school.
· The above includes:
· Ensuring the school knows which children have or have had a social worker, understanding
their academic progress and attainment, and maintaining a culture of high aspirations for this
cohort.
· Supporting teaching staff to provide additional academic support or reasonable adjustments to
help these children reach their potential.
· Complete risk assessments and monitor to ensure review cycle timelines are accomplished and
actions are completed, linking to Provision Mapping.
· In conjunction with the SLT and DDSLs, provide support to relevant staff in relation to safeguarding
referrals and risk assessments.
· Conduct regular assurance audits within the school to ensure effective safeguarding principles and
practices are embedded.
· Act as a source of support, advice and expertise for all staff in relation to safeguarding matters.
· Ensure child protection files are kept up to date, kept securely and remain confidential.
· Ensure files are only accessed by those who need to see them, and that where a file or content within it is shared, this happens in line with information sharing advice as set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).
· Understand the importance of information sharing, both within the school, with other schools and colleges on transfer, and with the safeguarding partners, other agencies, organisations and practitioners.
· Adhere to relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
· Continually monitor all safeguarding logs on Provision Mapping, ensuring maintained with sufficient detail and that actions are logged and completed.
· Make sure records include: a clear and comprehensive summary of the concern; details of how the concern was followed up and resolved; record of any action taken, decisions reached and the outcome.
· Where children leave the school (including in year transfers):
· Ensure their child protection file is securely transferred to the new school as soon as possible, separately from the main student file, with a receipt of confirmation, and within the specified time set out in KCSIE.
· Consider whether it would be appropriate to share any additional information with the new school before the child leaves, to help them put appropriate support in place.
· Ensure each member of staff has access to, and understands, the school’s child protection policy
and procedures, especially new and part-time staff and trainee teachers.
· Work with the governing board to ensure the child protection policy is reviewed annually (as a
minimum) and the procedures and implementation are updated and reviewed regularly.
· Ensure the Safeguarding and Child Protection policies are available publicly and regularly updated,
and that parents/carers are aware of the role of the Academy in making referrals about suspected
abuse or neglect.
· Link with the safeguarding partner arrangements to make sure staff are aware of any training
opportunities and the latest local policies on local safeguarding arrangements.
· Help promote educational outcomes by sharing information with teachers and school leadership
staff about the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children who have or have had
a social worker are experiencing.
· Remain abreast of contextual safeguarding concerns within the local area and be strategic in raising
awareness and education of such topics.
· Implement strategies and processes to promote online safety, recognising the additional risks that
children with SEN and disabilities (SEND) face online.
· Issue and monitor completion of all statutory safeguarding training for whole school and discuss with
the rest of SLT any training gaps to be addressed.
· Ensure own knowledge and skills are up to date with contemporary statutory policies and attend
relevant or refresher training courses as required.
· Lead the attendance team, monitoring and evaluating whole school attendance on a termly basis.
Working with students, families, external support and the pastoral team to monitor year group attendance, improve persistent
absence figures and to ensure interventions are implemented as and when necessary to improve attendance and punctuality.
· Undertaking any other duties which may be reasonably regarded as within the nature of the duties
and responsibilities of the post/grade.
· As a key member of the SLT, complete daily duties to uphold the standards of the school.
This job description is current at the date shown, but in consultation with you, may be changed by the Headteacher to reflect or anticipate changes in the job commensurate with the salary or job title
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £36,371.00-£44,624.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
Schedule:
- Monday to Friday
Application deadline: 08/07/2022
Expected start date: 01/09/2022
For more information and to apply: Indeed
