At Waycroft the health and safety of all children is of paramount importance. Parents send their children to school each day with the expectation that school provides a secure environment in which their children can flourish. We therefore have to ensure that this expectation becomes reality.
In order to do this, a wide range safeguarding policies are in place and reviewed regularly. If there are any concerns about pupils’ welfare this will be discussed with parents and/or carers.
Where there are child protection concerns, the Headteacher will inform parents/carers prior to making a referral to social care. In exceptional circumstances, where it is felt children will be placed at increased risk by informing parents/carers about a referral to social care, the Headteacher will make a referral without their knowledge.
We want to work with all stakeholders to keep Waycroft pupils safe from harm and where appropriate to access services to support families.
Waycroft Academy is very lucky to have one of Bristol’s largest sites. The grounds are used extensively for sport and ‘free range play’ and the buildings are kept in a very good state of repair. We have a large number of solar panels and systems in place to save energy wherever possible through automatic lighting and double glazed windows.
The Governors and staff have developed the site security and safety over a number of years. There are security cameras, alarm systems and direct links to emergency services. All adults working alone with children have been passed by the Disclosure and Barring Service. On entering the building, visitors agree to our safeguarding systems and wear a visitor’s badge.
If you notice anything which could compromise the safety of Waycroft pupils please contact the academy immediately.
The councillors and school staff team are committed to keeping our children safe and we regularly review our school policies and procedures to ensure that everything is being done to fulfil our duty of care. All staff are familiar with the government’s guidance for schools – Keeping Children Safe in Education.
The Safeguarding Policy can be found along with all other academy policies on the Policies page under the Key Information menu.
We are an equal opportunities employer. At least one member of every interview panel has had Safer Recruitment training. All offers of employment are subject to a disclosure and barring check (DBS), medical clearance and satisfactory references.
We use a filtering system provided by Bristol City Council to prevent access to websites that are not suitable for learning.
Computer use is supervised and monitored by the class teacher so that to see what websites our students are using for their classwork.
Steps are taken to protect the children from unsuitable emails and cyber bullying. Our email system is disabled for our students and only re-enabled when there is a class topic which requires this feature.
Children are also taught how to use computers and the internet safely and we also partake in Safer Internet Day.
You can read more about digital safety using the links below.
Social media
The minimum age to open a social media account on services such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp is between 13 and 16. Parents may choose to allow their children to use these services but we cannot recommend this. To keep your children safe on social media, parents should ensure the correct privacy settings are enabled, and appropriate adult supervision is provided while online.
A great website to check for age ratings can be found below:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews
WhatsApp is a free mobile messaging app which allows users to send and receive messages, images and videos to their existing phone contacts, using an internet connection. WhatsApp users can create groups and send messages to lots of their friends at the same time.
Instagram is a photo and video sharing app that is popular with teens. People on Instagram can connect with one another through comments, captions and hashtags on photos and videos.
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/social-media-guides/instagram
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website that is owned by Google. There are a range of safety features such as reporting tools and restricting access to inappropriate content in Safety Mode.
Fortnite
Fortnite has a PEGI rating of 12, which PEGI has said is due to the ‘frequent scenes of mild violence. It is not suitable for persons under 12 years of age’.
This PEGI rating only takes into account the content in the game and not the contact element, where players may be exposed to swearing and offensive language from strangers, either through audio or on-screen text chat.
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/blog/parents-guide-fortnite-battle-royale
As part of our ongoing e-safety we have recently updated a facility that allows children, parents and careers to report and inform us of any e-safety concerns they may have. A website link has been created that launches an online dialogue-box. That information is then sent to an allocated email address in school, and the issues can be looked at and dealt with accordingly.
We all enjoy using the internet, it can be fun and it allows us to find out lots of information BUT there are some rules to follow to keep ourselves and each other safe. Please look at the information here to give you advice and always ask someone at home or a teacher or TA if you have any questions. Every year you will receive e-safety lessons in PSHE and there will be e-safety assemblies on a regular basis.
Remember to use WHISPER to make an alert about anything which is worrying you about the internet or gaming. (See below or the CONTACT page of this website).
Remember, everything on the list below uses the internet.
Article 17 and Article 36 from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child both relate to children’s right to be safe on the internet.
Article 17 (access to information from mass media)
Every child has the right to reliable information from the media.
This should be information that children can understand. Governments must help protect children from materials that could harm them.
Article 36 (other forms of exploitation)
Governments must protect children from all other forms of bad treatment.
Prevent is about safeguarding people and communities from the threat of terrorism. Prevent is one of the four elements of CONTEST, the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy. It aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.
Incidents of extremism and radicalisation are rare and as such when they do occur, make the news. As with all safeguarding issues, it is important to be vigilant, and not complacent, but also not to panic.
Prevent defines extremism as: “Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces.”
Radicalisation is defined by the UK Government within this context as “the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups”.
We live in a wonderfully diverse world, with both differences and similarities to celebrate. Exploring religious and different social beliefs, in a peaceful and non-violent way, is part of growing up and should not be confused with something more sinister. The best way to PREVENT extremism and radicalisation is by open discussion and increased understanding of each other.
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual abuse. Sexual abuse may involve physical contact and or noncontact activities, such as involving children in the production of sexual images, forcing children to look at sexual images or watch sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways or grooming a child in preparation for abuse including via the internet.
CSE can occur over time or be a one-off occurrence and may happen without the child’s immediate knowledge, for example through others sharing videos or images of them on social media. CSE can affect any child who has been coerced into engaging in sexual activities. This includes 16- and 17-year-olds who can legally consent to have sex. Some children may not realise they are being exploited. For example, they may believe they are in a genuine romantic relationship.
While all staff should speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) with regard to any concerns about female genital mutilation (FGM), there is a specific legal duty on teachers. If a teacher, in the course of their work in the profession, discovers an act of FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under the age of 18, the teacher must report this to the police.
