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Safeguarding
This page is designed to be a source of information about safeguarding for the community, parents and students alike - to help inform and educate everyone in our school community.
Your child and their health and safety is our number one priority. We strive to make sure that every student in the academy feels secure, well cared for, and able to reach their full potential. A copy of our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
All our staff, other professionals, parents/carers and students work together to know the rules about keeping children safe. They understand the importance of following procedures and listening to each other, especially when there are concerns about safety.
We aim to ensure that all safeguarding and welfare concerns or referrals are handled sensitively, professionally and in ways that support the needs of the individual student. Through providing a caring, safe and stimulating environment which promotes the social, physical and moral development of all our students, we foster an atmosphere of trust, respect and security.
The academy works hard to reduce all the kinds of harm that children can suffer, including abuse, bullying, discrimination and avoidable injuries. If you have any concerns at all about the safety or welfare of a child please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our safeguarding team
The Harris Academy Orpington safeguarding team is:
- Designated Safeguarding Lead Officer (DSL): Martin Paterson on 07718 670849
- Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL): Alex Spooner & Amanda Woodyatt
- Prevent Lead: Richard Carey. You can contact Mr Carey on 07598 513735
- Designated anti-bullying member of staff: Martin Paterson
- Designated staff members to support students with medical needs: Alyson Pompei and Kendall Tucker
- Designated staff member responsible for supporting looked after children: Martin Paterson
- Governor responsible for safeguarding, child protection, first aid and medicines: Peter Harris
- Designated member of staff with responsibility for health and safety: Tony Conboy
- Attendance Officers: Gwen Collier and Jill Daniels
Safeguarding poster
A safeguarding poster is displayed in key places around the academy. This is to ensure that every stakeholder connected to the academy can approach staff to share any safeguarding concerns.
For concerns about an adult
For concerns about an adult, please contact the Executive Principal, Mr Astin, directly via Clair Standing at c.standing@harrisbromley.org.uk or 0208 768 7701.
If your concern is about the Executive Principal or you feel unable to approach Mr Astin, then you can contact Carolyn English, Secondary Director for the Harris Federation, on carolyn.english@harrisfederation.org.uk.
Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). The LADO for Harris Academy Orpington can be contacted at: Lead for Education Safeguarding, Quality Assurance Unit. Telephone 020 8461 7669 or 020 8313 4325 (via the Orpington Safeguarding Children Board). Email: LADO@bromley.gov.uk.
A whistleblowing helpline is available from the NSPCC (tel 0800 028 02825).
The Prevent Duty and Channel
The Prevent Duty is a duty on all schools to help prevent people being drawn into terrorism. The academy’s lead person dealing with the Prevent Duty is Richard Carey. The Prevent Duty aims to safeguard our students against radicalisation, extremism and any actions or beliefs that are contrary to British values and our academy ethos. It is designed to:
- Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it
- Prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support.
Harris Academy Orpington opposes all form of extremism. We define ‘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. The academy will work closely with the counter-terrorism referral programme Channel. Channel is a multi-agency approach to identify and provide support to individuals who are at risk of being drawn into terrorism. The programme aims to protect vulnerable people by:
- Identifying individuals at risk
- Assessing the nature and extent of that risk
- Developing the most appropriate support plan for the individuals concerned.
The academy believes and actively supports the view that all students should be protected from radicalisation and extremism.
Download a parents' guide to extremism and radicalisation. The Educate Against Hate website, created by the Department for Education and the Home Office, gives parents, teachers and school leaders practical advice and support to help keep children safe from the dangers of extremism.
Exam stress
Tests and exams can be a challenging part of school life for both students and parents. At Harris Academy Orpington we will soon be teaching our students about mindfulness to help cope with stress. There are also lots of other ways to cope with the stress of exams. Why not download the Childline ‘Beat Exam Stress’ guide for tips and suggestions.
E-safety
The online world is becoming vaster with young people using social media and the internet to explore opportunities for learning and creativity. However, while the internet is a great resource, there are risks and dangers that every student should be aware of to help protect themselves and be safe online.
Our E-Safety Policy can be accessed from the link at the bottom of this page. Should you have any concerns about your child's e-safety simply call the school and ask for our safeguarding officers or speak to any member of staff.
The academy teaches students e-safety as part of the personal, social, health education (PSHE) curriculum. However, it is vital that parents are aware of the risks and what they can do to develop a culture of e-safety in the home.
E-safety resources for parents
Here are some resources about online safety for parents/carers that you might find helpful.
- Keeping your child safe online – a checklist for parents and carers
- Cyberbullying – what it is and what to do about it
- Accessing inappropriate websites leaflet
- Facebook parents' guide
- Online grooming – the risks children face online
- Think You Know – website with useful information about, for example, what children are doing online, what risks they face and how to help them stay safe.
- The NSPCC website (Keeping Children Safe section) has useful information on topics such as online safety, sexting, parental controls and Share Aware, a campaign which provides straightforward advice to parents on how to keep 8-12-year-olds safe on social networks
- The 5 digital parenting rules that REALLY matter – from ParentInfo.org.uk, which also has useful information about privacy settings and Digital Resilience – A Parent's Guide
- Getsafeonline.org – free up-to-date security advice
- cybermentors.org.uk – online support for children
- ceop.police.uk – website of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
- bbc.co.uk – guidance on online safety
Other useful sites
- Childline – help and advice on a wide range of issues
- Bullying – KidScape: preventing bullying, protecting lives
- Sex and relationships – NHS Live Well sexual health pages
- Drugs – Talk To Frank
