Director of Safeguarding, St Christopher School, Letchworth

APPOINTMENT OF A TERM-TIME PLUS (40HOURS PER WEEK)
DIRECTOR OF SAFEGUARDING

Role

The role of the Director of Safeguarding is to create and maintain, along with key pastoral leaders in the school a community in which students will thrive. The community will be alert to safeguarding issues and the responsibilities of all adults and young people in the school are clear.

Reporting ultimately to the Head but responsible to Head of Senior School and working closely with Senior Pastoral Staff across the School we have a vacancy for a Director of Safeguarding to work term-time, full- time (40 hours a week; 08:00-17:00 but with a requirement to be flexible and work beyond where case work demands). The role will require some rotational emergency cover during the school holidays.

The Director of Safeguarding will take the lead, as the School’s DSL, in safeguarding across the Early Years, Junior and Senior Schools. They will be responsible for guiding six Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSLs) and staff, pupils, governors and volunteers, ensuring a safe environment for all. The post is a Senior Leadership Team position and is non-teaching to enable the time commitment required of this role.

We require someone with a high level of experience of working with families and children in a school setting, who has excellent communication skills (written and verbal). They will need knowledge of agencies relevant to children’s social work, eg. CAMHS, MASH, Children’s Services, LADO, Police, Channel and how to make a referral. They will need the ability to cope with stressful situations and have difficult conversations and make difficult decisions.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• • Work closely with the Senior Pastoral Lead and Head of the Junior School and other pastoral staff to co-ordinate approaches so pupils receive appropriate information and guidance commensurate with their age and maturity.
  • Understand all professional responsibilities in accordance with the School’s policies and procedures relating to safeguarding, Prevent, Health and Safety, and ISI.
  • Review the Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy annually, updating it in line with policy and best practice.
  • Manage and administer the use of MyConcern, identifying and reporting on trends across the School.

Inform colleagues of emerging needs and patterns of concern, so they can be assimilated into PSHE and other programmes.

• • Prepare Risk Assessment Management Plans for students who are vulnerable.
  • Monitor and review referrals that are made.
  • Support positive educational outcomes by understanding the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children in need are experiencing, or have experienced, and understand the impact that these issues might be having on children’s attendance, engagement and achievement at the School.
  • Support staff in the provision of additional academic support or reasonable adjustments to help children who have, or have had, a social worker, recognising that there may be a lasting impact on the student’s educational outcomes.
  • Work with Pastoral staff, Nurses and Individual Needs teams to ensure there is clear accessible safeguarding support for the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) students.
  • Guide staff and students on the unique risks associated with online safety and have relevant knowledge and up-to-date capability required to keep children safe whilst they are online at the School.
  • Supply staff with resources and attend any relevant training courses or refreshers.
  • Alert staff to the specific needs of children; especially those with SEND, those with relevant health conditions, and young carers, and those vulnerable to bullying, grooming or radicalisation.
  • Understand the assessment process for providing early help and statutory intervention, including local criteria for action and local authority children’s social care referral arrangements. Understand how local authorities conduct case conferences and reviews and be able to contribute to these effectively when required to do so.

Designated Safeguarding Lead

• • Act as the School’s Dedicated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). This may involve working in the school holidays or out of hours when concerns are raised or on school trips or in the boarding community.
  • Ensure that staff and students know how to recognise and report concerns, including vulnerability to radicalisation and extremism, and national safeguarding issues e.g. Everyone’s Invited.
  • Undertake the statutory safeguarding training (at least annually) for all staff, volunteers, students and governors and that it is recorded appropriately. This may include refresher training.
  • Support the work of the HR Manager by carrying out regular checks on safer recruitment practice and procedures including ensuring that regular monitoring and auditing of the Single Central Register of

Appointments is undertaken by those responsible for its compliance.

• • Be the lead source of support, advice and expertise within the School when deciding whether to make a referral, by liaising with relevant agencies.
  • Take the lead in reporting abuse and neglect, possible criminal behaviour, radicalisation concerns, cyber-related issues and safeguarding concerns about any member of staff, to the appropriate bodies.
  • Keep the Governing Body informed of safeguarding and welfare matters by submitting regular reports.

Liaise regularly with our Governor with responsibility for safeguarding.

• • Keep detailed, accurate, secure written records of concerns, including low level concerns, and referrals.
  • Respond promptly to parental enquiries by telephone, letter or email as per the School’s communication guidelines and generate a positive relationship with individuals and the parental body as a whole. Keep accurate records of communications with parents and students and attend meetings as required.
  • Monitor referrals to ensure there is always an appropriate response and review the effectiveness of referrals that are made.
  • Take part in strategy discussions and interagency meetings, and/or supporting other staff to do so, and contribute to the assessment of children.
  • Liaise with the Senior Pastoral Lead, Head of Junior School (as applicable) and Head to inform them of issues, especially ongoing enquiries under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 and police investigations.

Other

• • Understand relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
  • Undergo regular safeguarding training to ensure a first class understanding of this key role.
  • Lead on all areas of compliance relating to safeguarding, ensuring that staff understand and follow the

School’s policies and processes. Be conversant with ISSR and NMS and ISI paperwork so that the
School is compliant and inspection-ready. Update the School’s SEF as necessary in support of the Head of Senior School.

Qualifications:

Level 3 Safeguarding Training. It would be desirable to have a good honours degree in Psychology, Nursing, Social Work or Counselling or a related discipline or study. Evidence of relevant and recent continuing professional development in related areas.

Personal Qualities and Competences

• Energy, resilience and optimism to lead the School through day-to-day challenges whilst maintaining a clear strategic vision and direction.
• An ability to work as part of a varied team but with a single-minded skill-set when necessary and an ability to cope with stressful situations.
• To show an aptitude for conflict resolution and the ability to work under pressure and prioritise effectively.
• An ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships and personal boundaries with children and young people whilst acknowledging the informal distinctiveness of St Chris as a school.
• Committed to safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion.

The School

Founded in 1915, St Christopher School is an atypical independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged 3-18. We have 520 pupils and 200 teaching and non-teaching staff.

We have no school uniform and everyone is called by their first name. We have no religious affiliation and welcome students and staff of all faiths and none.

Our Ethos

We treat our young people as individuals and aim for them to develop competence and resourcefulness, social conscience and moral courage, the capacity for friendship and a true zest for life.

Salary:

Based on a 40 hour working week, the role is placed on the Support Staff Salary Scale between Point 35 to Point 40. The Full Time Equivalent (FTE) for the role is £38,899.36 to £44,784.94 per annum. Working term-time plus, one – 37 weeks, with some emergency cover. The actual salary for the role is £31,867.55 to £36,689.20 included in this figure is 5.6 weeks of contractual holiday and bank/public holiday.

Benefits:

• The successful candidate will be entitled to join the St Christopher contributory Pension Scheme. Currently the School contributes 8% towards the scheme and matches individual’s contributions to a maximum contribution by the School of 12%.
• The School operates health benefit and death-in-service schemes for staff.
• Employee Assistance Programme, an independent, free and confidential advice service that can offer both practical advice and emotional support.
• Part remission of fees at St Christopher School for children of employees (subject to our normal entry procedures). Please note that remission of school fees is not a contractual entitlement. The Governors reserve the right to vary the rate of remission or to withdraw it altogether.
• Free parking on site.

In order to apply for this post candidates are required to complete the St Christopher School Application form and send this, along with a letter of application, to:

Emma-Kate Henry
Head
St Christopher School
Letchworth Garden City
Hertfordshire SG6 3JZ

tel: 01462 650850

Application Deadline: 12:00 noon Monday 2nd January 2023.

We are happy to accept applications by email or post.

Interviews: Interviews will be held week commencing 9th January 2023

Early application is advised we reserve the right to close the advert early.

Child Protection

At St Chris we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The School is committed to safeguarding children and has rigorous safer recruitment procedures in place. An Offers of employment are subject to satisfactory safeguarding checks including but not limited to, Enhanced DBS clearance.

Data Protection

In the course of employment at the School, staff may have access to confidential information relating to pupils and their families and are required to exercise due consideration in the way they use such information. Staff should not act in any way which might be prejudicial to the School’s interest.
Information which may be included in the category covers both the general business of the school and information regarding specific individuals. A strict code of confidentiality must be adhered to at all times.
The School is registered under the Data Protection Act 1984 and staff must not at any time use the personal data held by the school or disclose such data to a third person.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Salary: £31,867.55-£36,689.20 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Free parking
• On-site parking
• Wellness programme

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work Location: One location