Oakfield Lodge staff are committed to the safeguarding and wellbeing of all students, by creating a culture of safeguarding.
We work hard to ensure that student safeguarding and wellbeing is our top priority, and have a team in place to support our students and their families. Working closely with our partner agencies to make sure that the right support is coordinated to reach a positive outcome.
If you have any concerns about your child please do not hesitate to contact a member of the safeguarding team at the school.
Our safeguarding & child protection policy and Wellbeing policy can be located on the main policy page of the website. If you require a hard copy please contact school reception.
Department for Education Policy links:
Safeguarding Team:
Prevent Duty:
Prevent is part of the UK Governments Counter-terrorism strategy CONTEST. The purpose of Prevent is to safeguard and support people to stop them from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism, as well as support the rehabilitation and disengagement of those already involved in terrorism. The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 places a duty on ‘specified authorities’ (higher education institutions, local authorities, schools, further education institutions, the health sector, prisons and probation, and the police) to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. This is also known as the ‘Prevent Duty’.
The objectives of Prevent are to:
- tackle the ideological causes of terrorism
- intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation
- enable people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate
We recognise our Prevent Duty through:
- This Prevent Statement being on our school website and displayed throughout the school in key areas.
- All of our staff at Oakfield undertake Prevent Training via the Home Office.
- Safeguarding Team complete Prevent 2 and 3 training via the home office.
- We link with the North-West Prevent Co-ordinator to ensure we are up to date on currents news.
- Our school has a Prevent Risk Assessment and we receive updates via Cheshire Counter Terrorism Local Profile, on current threats.
- Part of our visitor checks is checking materials being used with our students.
- We embed British Values through our school.
- A practiced lockdown procedure.
- Link with Educate against Hate calendar.
British Values:
Our school is committed to providing a broad and balanced curriculum and within this to support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development. In fulfilling this commitment we are guided by the following principles.
Values underlying public life are broadly the same in all democratic countries. Each country, however, has its own history and context, and therefore certain distinctive ways of recognising and implementing universal values.
In addition to values underlying public life there are essential values in the everyday life of the school and in close personal relationships, and these too must be promoted and practised.
Everyone has a range of different loyalties and backgrounds, and therefore values can sometimes be in tension or conflict with each other.
Understandings of Britishness should be as inclusive as possible, and care must therefore be taken to challenge and remove negative and demeaning stereotypes of certain groups and communities. How universal values are implemented in practice is frequently controversial.
We welcome our duties under the Education Reform Act 1988 to support pupils’ SMSC development and in this way to contribute to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of society as a whole.
We recognise that SMSC development includes, but is by no means limited to, promoting the values which underlie public life in the United Kingdom, as also in very many other countries, and which were outlined in documents issued by the Department for Education in autumn 2014 about fundamental British values.
Wellbeing & Mental Health:
All Schools have an essential role to play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of their students, by developing approaches tailored to their particular needs.
Oakfield lodge has a number of ways to support students with their Wellbeing and Mental Health, we is an accredited ACSEED Award school; a quality assurance mark granted to schools that have made supporting the mental health of their students a considerable strength:
- Mental Health Trained Staff.
- Learning Mentors.
- PSHE & RSE delivery.
- Student Council containing a regular Wellbeing agenda point.
We also offer all students weekly one to one sessions with our Vyson Counsellor.
We have a Student Council which includes a regular wellbeing agenda point.
Staff provide a nurturing environment and follow the PACE model
Playfulness
Acceptance
Curiosity
Empathy
5 Ways to Wellbeing Model
We embed the ‘Five ways to wellbeing’ model into our culture:
Connect….
Be active….
Take notice….
Keep learning….
Give…..
Operation Encompass Statement:
Our school is part of Operation Encompass. Which is a national police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership, which supports children who experience Domestic Abuse. Operation Encompass is in place in every police force in England and Wales, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. Children were recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right in the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act. Operation Encompass means that the police will share information with our school about all police attended Domestic Abuse incidents, which involve any of our children PRIOR to the start of the next school day. The notification informs us about the context of the incident and includes the Voice of the Child.
The Key Adult (DSL) and their deputy (DDSL) have completed Encompass Key Adult training. The Key Adult/s have then led training for all staff and Governors about Operation Encompass, the prevalence of Domestic Abuse and the impact of this abuse on children. As part of annual Safeguarding Refresher Training. All staff are encouraged undertake the online training if this wish for more information. As a school we have also discussed how we can support our children who are experiencing Domestic Abuse on a day-to-day basis and particularly following the Operation Encompass notification.
Our parents are fully aware that we are an Operation Encompass school and we ensure that when a new child joins our school the parents/carers are informed about Operation Encompass.
The Operation Encompass notification is stored in line with all other confidential safeguarding and child protection information on CPOMS. The Safeguarding Governor will report on Operation Encompass in the termly report to Governors. All information is anonymised for these reports.
We have used the free Operation Encompass Handbooks to inform our thinking and displayed posters around the school to remind pupils and staff about it. We are aware that we must do nothing that puts the child/ren or the non-abusing adult at risk.
We have used the Operation Encompass Key Adult Responsibilities checklist to ensure that all appropriate actions have been taken by the school.
When the Head Teacher, DSL or DDSLs leave the school and other staff are appointed, they will ensure that all Operation Encompass log in details are shared with the new Head Teacher /Key Adults and that the new member of staff will undertake the Operation Encompass online training.
Our DSL undertook update training in September 2024
Our DDSL undertook update training in September 2024
Our Lead Safeguarding Governor undertook update training in September 2024
As a mentoring team we support the students in group sessions on a one to one basis.
We nuture the students and support them to be more confident, self regulate, have high aspirations, manage relationships and be kind to themselves and others.
Our session are oracy based and we have constructive discussions, listening to each other and responding positively respecting each opinions even if we don’t share them.
We discuss wellbeing , physical and mental, and we provide the students with strategies to promote wellness.
At Oakfield:
We have an effective filtering system in place for all school devices, blocking harmful websites, and allowing us to follow up on attempted access. Students can only use school devices once the acceptable use policy has been signed by them and parent/ carer.
At Home:
Whilst our devices are still protected, student shave access to a number of their own devices. Talking regularly with your child can help keep them safe online. Making it part of daily conversation, like you would about their day at school, will help your child feel relaxed.
It also means when they do have any worries, they’re more likely to come and speak to you.
But it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the different technology, the language that children use, the huge number of games and apps which are available and the potential risks.
Their needs and behaviour will be changing and they may find talking to you about difficult topics embarrassing.
Social Media Checklists:
You can check that yours and your children’s social media sites are safe and protected here, with these easy guides:
Oakfield Lodge is an accredited AcSeed school.
The AcSEED Initiative is a concept founded by young people with direct personal experience of mental illness at a young age. Their combined experiences have been used to identify and recommend a range of best practices that could have helped significantly in identifying and supporting their emerging emotional difficulties during school years.
The AcSEED Award is a quality assurance mark presented to schools that have made a substantial effort to support the mental health of their students. It encourages and rewards the provision of high quality emotional wellbeing services, from the broad provision of information right through to appropriately targeted intervention. Based on best practices, the scheme defines a set of standard criteria that all schools must meet in order to receive the award.
Any UK primary or secondary school can apply for The AcSEED Award which requires an initial self-assessment and subsequent review and ratification by representatives of The AcSEED Initiative.
More information can be found at: http://www.acseed.org
100% of Parents/Carers agreed that ‘My Child feels safe in school’ & ‘When I have concerns, the school responds quickly and effectively’ – Parent/Carer Survey 2024
Useful contacts:
Cheshire East Consultation Service (CHECS): 0300 123 5012 (option 3)
Emergency Duty Team (Out of Hours): 0300 123 5022
Safeguarding of Children Concerns (Children living in other authorities):
Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO): 01270 685904 / 01606 288931
Prevent referrals: Prevent Referral Process
Police: 999 (Emergency) / 101 (Non-emergency)
Mental Health Helpline: 0300 303 3972
Adult Safeguarding: 0300 123 5010
Website Links:
DfE Safeguarding Policies
Bullying
Gangs and Violence
Healthy Relationships
Online Safety
PREVENT, Radicalisation and Extremism
Substance Abuse
Pupils are considerate of each other’s needs. They say that bullying is very rare and that discriminatory and prejudicial language is never heard. Pupils told inspectors with a refreshing simplicity that ‘we just accept people for who they are.’
OFSTED 2018
The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
OFSTED 2018