Introduction

Yellowbird Education is fully committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all its pupils and staff.

Our aims are to:

• Establish and maintain an environment where children feel secure, are encouraged to talk and are listened to.
• Maintain an environment built on positivity, care and a love of learning.
• Ensure that children’s mental as well as physical health is monitored, protected and promoted in everything we do.
• Establish and maintain a safe environment through our safer recruitment procedures and our visitors to site procedures.
• Work with parents to build their understanding of, and commitment to, the welfare of all our children.
• Help children to establish and sustain satisfying relationships within their families, with peers, and with other adults.
• Allow children to thrive under the care and supervision of our teaching and support staff.

Statement of intent

Yellowbird Education will:

• Ensure that all staff keep children at Yellowbird Education workshops safe and never cause them harm (emotional or physical).
• Ensure that there is a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) who will receive advanced safeguarding training every two years.
• Ensure that the DSL is known by all other members of staff.
• Ensure that all staff are given appropriate safeguarding training and support, being aware of the different signs of abuse and understand their responsibilities to refer these concerns accordingly to the DSL.
• Ensure that all staff have read Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 Part 1 and Annex A.
• Develop a culture of “It could happen here” where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a pupil, staff members should always act in the best interests of the pupil.
• Keep written records of any safeguarding concerns, securely stored for confidentiality.
• Develop close working relationships with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for all of the boroughs in which the company works – currently Hammersmith and Fulham and Wandsworth.
• Ensure that all safer recruitment procedures are followed and staff are appropriately trained on appointment.

Every pupil should feel safe and protected from any form of abuse and neglect.

As part of their safeguarding training, all staff should understand the indicators of abuse and neglect and specific safeguarding risks so that they can identify them and report any concerns about the children with whom they work. The indicators and key safeguarding risks for the Yellowbird Education community and beyond are set out in Annex B of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024.

Members of the Yellowbird Education team should also feel able to raise any safeguarding concerns, whether current or non-recent, safe in the knowledge that they will be supported, the matter will be handled sensitively, and appropriate action taken.

Anyone about whom a concern is raised should feel confident that they will be supported, and the matter will be handled sensitively, and that appropriate action will be taken.

This policy forms part of the company’s approach to promoting child safeguarding and wellbeing, which seeks to involve everyone at the company to ensure that the best interests of pupils underpins and is at the heart of all decisions, systems, processes and policies.

Roles and responsibilities

Safeguarding young people at Yellowbird Education workshops is everyone’s responsibility.

All Staff:

• are responsible for ensuring that children are protected from harm and that there is satisfactory growth and development of each individual.
• are expected to understand and follow Yellowbird Education’s Safeguarding policy.
• are expected to provide a safe encouraging environment in which children should be treated with respect and listened to.
• are to ensure that they are fully trained in the relevant safeguarding expectations for their role of working with children.
• have the responsibility to identify and report any suspected abuse and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children.
• should know how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report a concern immediately.
• are to liaise with the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and in their absence a Deputy DSL, over any issues and keep written records detailed and accurate.
• may raise concerns or make a referral directly to external agencies; however, they should inform the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) as soon as possible.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mr James Kelly (jameskelly@yellowbirdeducation.co.uk 07782645694)

Yellowbird Education will ensure that the DSL:

• is appropriately trained
• acts as a source of support and expertise to Yellowbird Education Staff
• keeps written records of all concerns when noted and reported by teachers or when disclosed by a child, ensuring that such records are stored securely
• refers cases of suspected neglect and/or abuse to children’s social care or police
• develops links with relevant statutory and voluntary agencies
• ensures that all teachers have read the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and KCSIE
• keeps and maintains records of training on child protection and safer recruitment procedures
• ensures that the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is reviewed annually

In the DSL’s absence, the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) (Miss Stefanie Ross 07766724071) will be available.

Other Trained Staff:

Mrs Janie Richardson, Mr Viv Richardson, hello@yellowbirdeducation.co.uk

What to do when receiving a disclosure

Listen carefully and keep an open mind. Do not take a decision as to whether or not the abuse has taken place.

Do not ask leading questions, i.e. a question which suggests its own answer. Use ‘tell me, explain to me, describe to me’ (TED) questioning. It is particularly important not to continue questioning a pupil if they disclose something which suggests that a criminal offence may have been committed – the Police will need to take the lead on investigating and your questioning might compromise possible criminal proceedings.

Reassure the pupil, they are being taken seriously and they will be supported and kept safe so that no victim will be given the impression that they are creating a problem by reporting abuse, sexual violence or sexual harassment and no victim ever be made to feel ashamed for making a report.

Do not give a guarantee of absolute confidentiality. Explain the need to pass on the information in accordance with this policy so that the correct action can be taken.

Keep a sufficient written record of the conversation (see below). All other evidence, for example, scribbled notes, mobile phones containing text messages, clothing, computers, must be kept securely with the written record.

Pass on the record when reporting the concern in accordance with this policy.

Recording a concern

Staff must report all concerns to the DSL.

Records should be factual and signed and dated, with the name of the signatory clearly printed in writing. Records should include:

• the pupil’s details: name; date of birth; address and family details;
• date and time of the event / concern / conversation;
• a clear and comprehensive summary of the event /concern / conversation;
• details of how the concern was followed up and resolved,
• a note of any action taken and by whom, decisions reached and the outcome;
• the name and position of the person making the record.

The DSL will make a judgement with the support of the DDSL, while referring to the LADO and the LSCP thresholds document where relevant, as to whether the concern requires escalating to the local authority.

Allegations against staff

As per the guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 and Working together to Safeguard Children (December 2023), any allegation against a member of staff must be taken seriously and duly investigated.

Yellowbird Education operates a culture of openness and honesty. Staff are advised to refer yourself to the DSL where, for example, you have found yourself in a situation which could be misinterpreted, which might appear compromising to others, and / or on reflection if you believe you have behaved in such a way that may fall below the standards expected of you.

Equally, as a member of Staff, you must immediately follow this policy to report any concerns you have about the conduct of a member of Staff or any other adult (which could include adults not employed by Yellowbird Education). This includes any concern however it arises, for example behaviour you have witnessed, a concern raised with you by a colleague, pupil, parent or another adult, or as result of checks or information brought to your attention.

What needs to be reported?

Reporting all concerns: all concerns must be raised whether they are considered to be “low level” concerns or conduct which may meet the harm threshold.

Low level concerns: a low-level concern is any concern, no matter how small, and even if no more than a sense of unease or a “nagging doubt”, that a member of Staff may have acted in a way that is inconsistent with expected professional standards and / or the staff Code of Conduct, whether inside or outside work. No concern is too small or minor to raise under this policy.

Concerns that meet the harm threshold: allegations that may meet the harm threshold are those that might indicate a person would pose a risk of harm if they continue to work in their present position, or in any capacity with children, for example where the individual has:

• behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child; and / or
• possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child; and / or
• behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he or she would pose a risk of harm to children; and / or
• behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children. This includes behaviour that may have happened outside Yellowbird Education which creates a transferable risk.

Definition of Harm: it is important to understand the types of conduct that may be harmful to children, and to recognise that harm may not be limited to the most obvious types of physical abuse. There is no single legal definition of harm but to assist your understanding of what may amount to “harm” you should consider the following:

• the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 which does not give a definition of harm, encouraging people to apply a “normal, everyday meaning”;
• the Children Act 1989 defines: “harm” as “ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development [including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another]”;”ill-treatment” as including “sexual abuse and forms of ill treatment which are not physical”; “health” as “physical or mental health”.

Online Safety

Yellowbird Education puts in a range of measures to prevent any risks of online safety and cyber bullying from occurring during the camps and workshops.

Yellowbird Education operates a no phones policy for pupils. Were a child to require to bring a mobile phone in to the workshops, they would need to give this to the course leader on arrival and have it returned at the end of the day.

Any pupil who is using a personal device (laptop, iPad etc.) to word process their work due to their specific access arrangements will not have access to the internet while working in any of the Yellowbird schools. They will be required to email their work directly to the course leader when they get home and have internet access.

As per the Staff Code of Conduct, staff are to avoid using mobile phones in front of pupils. Only the directors will have access to the internet while on site to carry out administrative tasks away from pupils.

Whistleblowing

If any Yellowbird Education employee or member of the Yellowbird Education community wishes to raise concerns about poor or unsafe safeguarding practices at the company or potential failures by the company or its staff to properly fulfil its safeguarding responsibilities, the NSPCC whistleblowing helpline is available for staff who do not feel able to raise concerns about child protection failures internally.

Date reviewed: July 2024

Date of next review: July 2025