Safeguarding
On this page, you will find the details of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSLs) and what to do if you ever have a safeguarding concern about your child or any other child here at HCACP.
You will also find a number of links which will provide you with useful information about a range of safeguarding concerns and issues and this is updated on a regular basis.
The Safeguarding Team
If you have any safeguarding concerns, in the first instance please call the Academy on 0208 771 2261 or via the email addresses below. In the first instance, please contact Ms Amos (DSL) or Andre Gordon (AWM).
For safeguarding concerns outside regular Academy hours please call 07850-211-087. This number is available weekdays during term time until 6pm.
Any email regarding safeguarding that is being sent during school holidays (or any period where the Academy is closed), should also be sent to info@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk and the duty DSL will pick up the concern.
| Name | Role | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Rigby | Principal / Whole Academy Designated Safeguarding Lead | S.Rigby@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk |
| Carla Price | Senior Vice Principal / Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead | C.Price@harrisdulwichboys.org.uk |
| Daniel Opoku | Vice Principal / Designated Safeguarding Lead/Prevent Lead (DSL) | OpokuD@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk |
| Marsha Amos | Senior Pastoral Manager / Designated Safeguarding lead | M.Amos@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk |
| Daniel Buss | Assistant Principal / Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead | BussD@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk |
| Janet Cusick | Attendance Officer (DDSL) | CusickJ@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk |
| Jon Barnes | Complex Needs Mentor / Deputy Designated Safeguarding lead | BarnesJ@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk |
| Alica Penfold | Pastoral Manager / Deputy Designated Safeguarding lead | APenfold@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk |
| Andre Gordon | Academy Welfare Manager (AWM) | gordona@harriscrystalpalace.org.uk |
Our safeguarding statement of intent
The aims of the Academy safeguarding policy are Prevention, Protection and Support in line with child protection guidelines. The Academy is therefore committed to the vital contribution that all governors, staff and support staff make to safeguarding students. We aim to ensure that child protection concerns and referrals are handled sensitively, professionally and in ways that support the specific needs of the individual child. Through providing a caring, safe and stimulating environment which promotes the social, physical and moral development of all our students, we aim to foster an atmosphere of trust, respect and security.
Working to safeguard children
To ensure that all students are safe, we work in conjunction with partnership agencies, staff, parents, visitors and members of the community to support our safeguarding procedures. We take our responsibilities for safeguarding children in our care seriously. Many students have expressed their appreciation of the amount of support that the school has given them.
We work closely with our Safer Schools Team (Metropolitan Police) and they act as a first point of contact between the Academy and the police.
HCACP recognises the difficulties that young people and their families face in today’s society every day. We are committed to offering equal opportunities and support to all of our students.
The school runs activities and workshops to raise awareness during the school year to support students’ understanding and management of potentially unsafe or concerning situations including bullying, online safety and other specific safeguarding issues that may arise.
Support and mentoring schemes are made available to students to equip them with the required tools to make the right decisions and develop independence whilst keeping themselves safe by knowing how to access help when they need it.
Please see below the specific safeguarding concerns that could arise and some links to guide you.
Child missing from education
At HCACP we have put in place appropriate safeguarding policies, procedures and responses for children who go missing from education, particularly for those with persistent absences.
All children, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to a full time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have. Local authorities have a duty to establish, as far as it is possible to do so, the identity of children of compulsory school age who are missing education in their area.
It is essential that all staff are made aware of the signs to look out for and the individual triggers to be aware of when considering the risks of potential safeguarding concerns such as travelling to conflict zones, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), forced marriage and criminal exploitation.
All schools must inform their Local Authority of any student who fails to attend school regularly, or has been absent without the school’s permission for a continuous period of 10 school days or more, at such intervals as are agreed between the school and the local authority. Download the Children missing education: statutory guidance for local authorities.
Child on child abuse including sexual harassment and violence
At HCACP we have a culture of safeguarding. The Academy does not tolerate any form of sexual harassment or violence. As per government guidance in 'Keeping Children Safe In Education 2023', the academy works on the assumption that sexual harassment and violence ‘could happen here' and insists that no member of our community ever treats sexual violence or harassment as 'banter' or 'a part of growing up'.
In order to ensure our culture of safeguarding is consistent and embedded throughout, the academy puts a series of proactive measures to reduce the risk of such incidents. Along with regular reinforcement, staff and student training and consistency, the key strategy is education. Specifically of appropriate behaviour through our PSHE/RSE programme.
The academy also ensures that staff and students are trained to ensure they can recognise potential signs of abuse and how to report them. The academy educates students to understand sexual harassment may appear in many forms, and all members of our community have a duty to report any possible sign of sexual harassment or violence. These may include but are not limited to:
- Sexual comments, such as telling sexualised stories, making lewd comments, making sexualised remarks about clothing and or appearance and calling someone sexualised names
- Sexualised “jokes” or taunting
- Physical behaviour, such as; deliberately brushing against someone, interfering with someone’s clothes
- Online sexual harassment. This may be standalone, or part of a wider pattern of sexual harassment and/or sexual violence
- Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nudes images and/or videos
Sexualised behaviour sits on a continuum with five stages:
- appropriate – the type of sexual behaviour that is considered 'appropriate' for a particular child depends on their age and level of development
- inappropriate – this may be displayed in isolated incidents, but is generally consensual and acceptable within a peer group
- problematic – this may be socially unexpected, developmentally unusual, and impulsive, but have no element of victimisation
- abusive – this often involves manipulation, coercion, or lack of consent
- violent – this is very intrusive and may have an element of sadism
When the academy is made aware of an alleged incident of sexual harassment or violence we take every step to ensure the student making the disclosure feels supported. The academy then completes a detailed investigation and works with our local safeguarding partners to arrive at a fair conclusion, before recording the incident and outcomes on CPOMS.
Talking to your child about online sexual harassment: A guide for parents,
As noted, sexual harassment can take place anywhere and at anytime.
Please click HERE to download a copy of Talking to your child about online sexual harassment: A guide for parents, which supports parents in discussing online sexual harassment with their children.
Please feel free to also contact the Academy for a recording from our recent parents seminar which focuses on 'parenting in a digital world' and the Parents’ Forum presentation on online safety and harmful sexual behaviour.
Childline ‘Report, Remove’
Childline has released support for children of all ages to help remove nude images shared online. To get the imaged removed, visit the website. The child will need to:
- Select their age
- Create a Childline account to receive updates on the report
- Report the image or video to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
The only information you will give to the IWF are the images, videos or URLs you report. There is space to add information such as where the image or video is on a webpage. Childline will never see what pictures and videos or URLs you share with the IWF. The only information the IWF shares with Childline apart from your case number is if they will take down your images or videos, and why.
Female genital mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs. It is illegal in the UK and a form of child abuse with long-lasting harmful consequences. Professionals in all agencies, and individuals and groups in relevant communities, need to be alert to the possibility of a girl being at risk of FGM, or already having suffered FGM.Click here to download the FGM Booklet for Professionals and Families.
Child sexual exploitation
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people receive something (for example food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, gifts, money or in some cases simply affection) as a result of engaging in sexual activities. Sexual exploitation can take many forms ranging from the seemingly ‘consensual’ relationship where sex is exchanged for affection or gifts, to serious organised crime by gangs and groups. What marks out exploitation is an imbalance of power in the relationship. The perpetrator always holds some kind of power over the victim which increases as the exploitative relationship develops. Sexual exploitation involves varying degrees of coercion, intimidation or enticement, including unwanted pressure from peers to have sex, sexual bullying including cyber bullying and grooming. However, it is also important to recognise that some young people who are being sexually exploited do not exhibit any external signs of this abuse. Visit the NSPCC website for more information about preventing abuse.
Keeping children safe in education - government guidance
The government publishes statutory guidance for schools on keeping children safe in education settings. See the guidance for school and college staff.
Specific safeguarding issues
Expert and professional organisations are best placed to provide up-to-date guidance and practical support on specific safeguarding issues. Please visit www.nspcc.org.uk. Also available is the government guidance on the issues listed below via www.gov.uk
- Working together to improve school attendance
- child missing from home or care
- child sexual exploitation(CSE)
- bullying including cyber bullying
- domestic violence
- drugs
- fabricated or induced illness
- faith abuse
- female genital mutilation(FGM)
- forced marriage
- gangs and youth violence
- gender-based violence/violence against women and girls (VAWG)
- mental health
- private fostering
- preventing radicalisation
- youth-produced sexual images
- teenage relationship abuse
- trafficking
Online safety
The Think You Know website is created by the police for parents of children at secondary school. It contains useful information about:
- what children are doing online
- how to talk to children about what they are doing online
- what risks your child might face
- what tools are there to help them stay safe.
Think You Know have also produced a Parent’s Guide to E-Safety and also the following booklets to provide parents/carers with helpful information on how to explore and monitor their children’s apps.
In January 2018 the Department for Education issued new guidance on searching, screening and confiscation of electronic devices in school. Download the guidance here: Searching, screening and confiscation at school.
TikTok. We are also aware of the growth of TikTok, a very popular social media platform for young people.
Feel free to Download TikTok: What parents need to know, which has been produced by the Metropolitan Police and National Online Safety. The leaflet also details key safety tips for parents.
Other useful information and advice
My Phone - keeping it safe - guidance from the police
www.getsafeonline.org – Free up-to-date security advice
www.ceop.police.uk – Website of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/professionals-online-safety-helpline - Resources for professionals working in the area of safeguarding with children and young people, but could also be of interest to parents
Kidscape - Helping young people, parents and professionals with the skills to tackle bullying and safeguarding issues across the UK
Childline – Childline is a private and confidential service for children and young people up to the age of 19
NSPCC – The leading children’s charity in the UK
Talk to Frank – Advice for young people
