Our team here at St Weonards Academy, are always available to speak to you regarding any concerns you may have.
Angela Clarke is currently the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Hollie Preece-James Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all children, staff and visitors to the school.
We are very ably supported by the Hereford Marches Federation of Academies pastoral team led by Mrs McColl the Safeguarding Manager who is based at Lord Scudamore Academy. She supports us with regular updates, on-going training and is the contact person that we can get extra support and advise from.
From time to time families may need extra support which schools’ are now able to provide.
We would also like to reassure you that we rarely share information with other agencies about your child without first speaking to you.
Even if we make the difficult decision that we need to speak to Social Care about your child we will always undertake to share our intention to do so with you unless we deem that to do so could put the child at greater risk of harm, or impede a criminal investigation.
We fully understand that this can be a very distressing set of circumstances but we can only reassure you that we follow the procedures required by Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Board.
Mrs McColl is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Safeguarding Manager for the federation. All Deputy Heads in the federation schools are also trained to deal with any child protection issues. Please do not hesitate to contact Mrs McColl should you have a worry or concern regarding a child protection or safeguarding issue.
Designated Safeguarding Lead/Assistant Head – Jan McColl
Family Support Worker – Cheryl Ryder
Our most serious responsibility is to keep children safe from harm when they are in our care. All visitors including parents must report to the main office before coming into school.
Within our team we have a trained first aiders who can treat minor injuries. If we are seriously concerned about your child in any way, we will contact you and may ask you to collect them from school or we call 999 if immediate medical attention is required. Whenever there is an accident, we consider whether it could have been avoided and whether anything can be done to prevent it happening again.
The school will assist pupils who need medication during school hours, particularly where this will help a child maintain regular attendance. Parents or carers will need to complete a form at the school office for this assistance to take place. However, the following points should be noted:
Parents/carers are requested to inform the Head teachers or Deputy Head teacher of any relevant medical history that may affect the child’s general development or performance in school. If a child becomes ill or has an accident at school, parents/carers will be contacted so that arrangements can be made for getting the child home or for seeking medical attention, should this be necessary.
The premises sub-committee of the governing body meets regularly to discuss on-going maintenance, repairs and development of the school building. Health & Safety Audits of the School building and grounds are carried out on a regular basis.
In line with Council policy and in the interests of pupil safety, we ask people to refrain from bringing dogs onto the school site. The school also operates a non-smoking policy. For child protection and fire safety purposes, the school has a visitors’ book, situated at the school entrance to record all those people visiting the site.
In order that parents can easily be contacted, we request that they inform the school office if telephone contact numbers or address details change. We would also request that the class teacher be informed if the arrangements for collection of pupils will be different from the usual stated routine.
Members of staff are responsible for the well-being of the child during the school day, as the parent or carer is at all other times. Our designated Child Protection Officer and Pastoral and Safeguarding Manager is Mrs Jan McColl. Regular discussions between all staff and parents or carers are encouraged, to ensure as full and accurate a picture as possible of all aspects of the children’s pastoral care.
We can offer a variety of support in school. If you think your child would benefit from some extra support please speak to Miss Clarke.
At St Weonards, we see Mental Health as an absolute priority, and not only for the children within our care. There are a number of useful websites online that are there to support parents, carers and the wider family, as well as children and young people. Here are a few useful links:
You’re never too young to talk mental health:
Support and self-care for parents and carers:
https://www.annafreud.org/parents-and-carers/self-care-for-parents-and-carers/
Explains different mental health problems, causes and different kinds of help available. Also includes tips for friends and family:
Prevention of young suicide:
Samaritans:
Early Help means providing the Right Help at the Right Time to help children and families work through any difficulties they may have in their life.
As a family or young person, there may be times when you need some extra support. If you can, talk to a professional you feel comfortable sharing this information with. It’s really important to talk…
Click on the following links for more information:
Email
admin@stweonards.hmfa.org.uk
Phone
01981 580352
Contact
Mrs A Williams
Address
St Weonards Academy
Mount Way,
St. Weonards
Hereford
HR2 8NU