Guidance for Parents & Carers

We recognise the importance of early intervention to avoid situations escalating. We hope that parents/carers feel confident and comfortable to speak to members of staff and urge them to do so as soon as a concern arises or a need is identified. Within school, there is a wealth of expertise amongst the staff team that can be utilised. Please refer to the school’s Supporting Families Information which lists the range of support that can be accessed from within school. Where the support required is beyond the expertise of school staff or where a multi-agency approach would be beneficial, school will liaise to involve the necessary services/organisations.                            

In line with good practice in safeguarding, schools are expected to actively seek to understand the lived experiences of pupils. Pupils are taught to recognise who trusted adults are and encouraged to tell a trusted adult if there is anything they are worried about. To equip pupils with the vocabulary to be able to communicate any worries, Pitcheroak uses the So Safe programme and materials. This encompasses a set of tools to encourage social safety by providing a simplified and rule governed model that teaches the type and degree of verbal and physical intimacy appropriate within relationships with different categories of people.

Safeguarding is embedded within the Pitcheroak curriculum and delivered as part of a progressive continuum that is also adapted in order to address individual pupil needs as required. Details of coverage across Key Stages can be found in the ‘Curriculum’ section of this website.

Useful sources of information to help parents/ carers to keep their children safe include:

Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership – advice and guidance on safeguarding issues and how to register concerns about a child or young person that may need safeguarding.

NSPCC – The NSPCC is the UK’s leading children’s charity, preventing abuse and helping those affected to recover.

Childline – Get help and advice about a wide range of issues, call us on 0800 111, talk to a counsellor online, send Childline an email or post on the message boards.

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 – This sets out the legal duties that must be followed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in school.

Barnardo’s – UK charity caring for and supporting some of the most vulnerable children and young people through their range of services.

Kooth.com – this is a site offering free, safe and confidential online counselling and guidance to pupils who may need support with anxieties and worries that they have.

DFE Parental Guidance Keeping Children Safe during community activities, After-School clubs and tuition.pdf – This document provides information to help parents and cares choose a safe out of school setting for their children to attend.

Keep them safe – Parents Against Child Exploitation (Pace) UK (paceuk.info) – This is a national charity that supports parents and carers to safeguard their children and disrupt child exploitation.

Home-or-out-alone-guide.pdf – This is the NSPCC guide to help parents and carers to decide if their child is ready to stay home or go out alone.