At Lincoln Carlton Academy we are committed to supporting children and families in all areas of their lives.

Emily Burford is the Pastoral Assistant Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Becky Malam and Amy Melhuish are the Deputy Designated Leads (DDSL), which means that they are your first port of call for any worries that you have around the pastoral needs or safeguarding of your child.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility at Lincoln Carlton Academy. All staff know that it is their responsibility to promote the welfare of the children within our care, and they know how to report any concerns that they have.

Identifying any worries or concerns at an early stage is key so that intervention can be implemented at the earliest opportunity. Our priority is to ensure that children feel happy and safe, that their needs are being met both at home and school and that children know who to talk to if they feel worried about something.

We have a set of clear policies and procedures for safeguarding children, which are outlined in our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy on the Policies page of this website.

Pastoral support

We want everyone to flourish and be the best that they can be. At the heart of this is our relationships with our children in school. We ensure that we get to know them by finding out what makes them laugh, what they are good at as well as what helps them when they are sad or unsure.

The same goes for the families within our school community. Through open and honest conversations, we can find out what works well for your family as well as finding out if anything needs to change. Emily and Becky work closely with Ruth Clark who is the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo) in school.

As a team we ensure that any pastoral support (for example, for a mental health need or a bereavement) is tailored to the needs of the child. We hope that any support that is implemented supports the child to feel secure and ready for the challenges that each day brings.

We believe that safeguarding in school, our pastoral support, our Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education and our promotion of mental health will enable your child to make progress and excel in their future school journey.

You can contact Emily, Becky or Amy in the following ways:

Emily Burford eburford@lincolncarlton.anthemtrust.uk 01522 522633

Becky Malam rmalam@lincolncarlton.anthemtrust.uk 01522 522633

Amy Melhuish amelhuish@lincolncarlton.anthemtrust.uk 01522 522633

Reporting concerns out of school hours

If you suspect or believe a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm (including any form of mistreatment or abuse) you should ALWAYS report your concerns.

In an emergency always dial 999.

If there is no immediate danger to the child, or if you need some advice or information, you can contact the Children Services Customer Service Centre (CSC) on 01522 782111. If it is outside normal office hours you can contact the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 01522 782333.

For information about safeguarding in Lincolnshire, please go to the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership by clicking the link below: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/safeguarding/lscp

You can also contact the NSPCC for advice and support regarding reporting abuse. Please follow the link below for further information: Reporting child abuse and neglect | NSPCC

Our school is also part of the Operation Encompass initiative which informs us of any domestic abuse incidents at home. For more information about Operation Encompass, please follow the link below: https://www.operationencompass.org/

Working with parents, carers and the wider family network

At Lincoln Carlton Academy, we know that partnership with parents, carers and the wider family network is key to ensuring that the children in our care thrive and that any worries or concerns are shared at the earliest opportunity. If you do have a worry about your child, and you feel that you need further support, an Early Help Assessment (EHA) can be initiated by a professional who you feel that you have the best relationship with. An Early Help Assessment is a supportive process where worries can be discussed and a plan to support can be implemented. A Team Around the Child (TAC) is where parents, carers, the child and any other professionals or agencies come together to support your child.

Within school, we work in partnership with our Early Help consultant, Faye White, to ensure that we are providing the best support to our children, their families and their wider family networks and whether we could be doing more to support them.

By following the link below, you will be able to read a leaflet which contains further information about Early Help Assessments and Team Around the Child.

TAC parent Leaflet (lincolnshire.gov.uk)

Please find below some testimonies from parents relating to the TAC process:

What is the thing that has made the most difference to your family life?

“TAC is a place to sit, talk about our problems and not feel judged. We can come in with anything. We are still held to account for our behaviour. There is a voice for the children too”.

 

What is the best progress your family have made? How did you get there?

“The relationship with me and my child has developed. I now have the confidence and skills to parent. This was through the work of the previous early help worker and Mrs Burford. The progress is down to the TAC process”.

 

What is the best way that your child's life has changed?

“There are no worries at home. It is a happier, safer household”.

Contextual safeguarding and links to the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (LSCP)

At Lincoln Carlton Academy, we have highlighted some key contextual safeguarding issues which may have an impact on our children and families within our local community. These are:

• Children with SEND
• Young carers
• Child on child abuse (CCA) / SVSH
• Domestic abuse
• Online safety
• County Lines (links to child criminal exploitation - CCE)
• Drug and alcohol misuse
• Anti-social behaviour

The Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (LSCP) strategic priorities between 2022-2025 are:

• Tackling child exploitation
• Enhancing the emotional wellbeing of children and young people
• Promoting healthy and respectful relationships
• Identify and reduce the impact of neglect on children and young people
• To identify and reduce the impact of sexual and physical harm
• To identify and reduce the impact of Domestic Abuse on children, young people and their families.

We ensure that that both the contextual safeguarding issues we have highlighted, as well as the strategic priorities from the LSCP, are threaded through and supported by our policies, procedures, culture, curriculum and training.