Safeguarding Overview

Feedback from Osfted Monitoring visit 2023

"members of the safeguarding team are very visible around the school, and this helps pupils to feel safe. All pupils spoken to have a named adult who they can go to if they are worried or concerned." ​

"The ‘Staying safe at Grove and beyond’ programme underpins this, where pupils learn how to stay safe online and in the community."

SEE HERE FOR THE SAFEGUARDING AUDIT 2022

"Through a strong focus on a clear strategy regarding “Keeping Safe at Grove Academy”, and a diligent response by senior leaders …. the culture of safeguarding has been significantly strengthened at Grove…."

• Pupils feel safe and report that they are safe due to the care staff show them
• Pupils can clearly identify trusted adults they would turn to if they had a concern
• Staff are secure when using the systems and processes established by the school regarding safeguarding

Everyone at Grove Academy shares an objective to help keep our children safe. 

We do this by providing a safe environment for children to learn and play, identifying children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, and taking appropriate action with the aim of making sure they are kept safe both at school and at home. 

In order to achieve this, we have systems in place which are designed to: 

• Prevent unsuitable people working with children.
• Promote safe practice and challenge poor and unsafe practice.
• Identify instances in which there are grounds for concern about a child’s welfare and initiate or take appropriate action to keep them safe.
• Contribute to effective partnership working between all those involved with providing services for children and young people. 

The words 'safeguarding ' and 'child protection' are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. Safeguarding is what we are doing for all our children; child protection refers to the policy and procedures we have for referring and supporting children at risk of serious harm, or who have been seriously harmed. The definition of safeguarding is given in 'Keeping Children Safe in Education'. There are four key elements: 

• Protecting children from maltreatment. 
• Preventing impairment of children's health or development. 
• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes. 

We work with parents, the Local Authority and other professionals to maintain children's safety. We also follow procedures set out by the local Safeguarding Children's Board and take account of guidance issued by the Department of Education (Dfe), and document 'Keeping Children Safe in Education'.

All members of staff are responsible for safeguarding but in addition we have a number of staff with designated safeguarding responsibilities. 

The safeguarding team can be contacted by emailing safeguarding@groveacademy.co.uk 

The Safeguarding Team at Grove Academy are:

Further advice can also be found on the Slough Safeguarding Partnership website: 
https://www.sloughsafeguardingpartnership.org.uk/ 
Tel: 01753 875362 
If you would like more information on our policies and procedures, then please refer to our policies page, or call into the office for a copy of our policies, alternatively telephone: 01753 517359