Nothing is more important to us than the safety and welfare of our students. We take rigorous steps to ensure that children stay safe and do not come to any harm. We work closely with parents/carers and a range of professional external agencies to secure this.

We have worked hard to ensure this section of the website has information, advice and guidance available to you and to your child at any point in the day.

If you have any concerns, no matter how small they may seem, about the safety or welfare of any child, please contact the school’s Designated Lead for Safeguarding: Mr James Cope jcope@thediscoveryacademy.co.uk

The Discovery Academy will always adhere to the most up to date guidance to ensure young people are safe from harm at all times. Our policy is regularly updated to reflect the most recent guidance for keeping children safe in education.

The latest guidance can be found below or at:

Keeping Children Safe in Education – Publications – GOV.UK

Safeguarding Statement of Intent
Alpha Academies Trust is wholly committed to ensuring that all children and adults are cared for in a safe and secure environment.  To fulfil this commitment, a number of safeguarding arrangements are in place.

Policy and Procedures
We will ensure all policies and procedures in respect of safeguarding children are up to date and in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education. The policies are accessible to all staff through the website. Policies and procedures are reviewed and revised by the Alpha Board of Trustees on a regular basis.

Board of Trustees Responsibilities
The Trust Senior Strategic Lead for Safeguarding (Paula Smith) reports to the Inclusion, Community and Engagement Committee on all Safeguarding issues. Alpha Academies Trust works with the local Safeguarding Children Board of Stoke On Trent.

Disclosure & Barring Checks
Alpha meets statutory requirements in relation to Disclosure & Barring Service – all staff and volunteers who work with Alpha who meet the ‘regulated activity test’ (Freedoms Act 2012) is required to undergo an enhanced DBS check prior to employment.

Safeguarding Leads/Child Protection Officers
The Board of Trustees for Alpha Academies Trust has ultimate responsibility for Safeguarding issues.  Operationally, this responsibility is delegated to the Trust Executive Lead (Paula Smith), who leads on policy issues in relation to the safeguarding of children across the Trust. Within each Academy in the Trust there are Designated Safeguarding Leads and Safeguarding Officers who lead on Safeguarding issues within their relevant location. They are clear about their role, have sufficient time and receive relevant support, and training, to undertake their roles, which includes close contact with outside agencies including social services, the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board and relevant health care organisations.

Provision
All academies have Mental Health 1^st Aiders and Mental Health and Wellbeing provision. All students have access to Welfare teams in each Academy. The Trust has a thorough curriculum which teaches how to keep safe throughout.

Training
All eligible staff and volunteers are required to undertake relevant safeguarding training and this is regularly reviewed by each DSL to ensure it is up to date. A training database for all staff and volunteers is maintained, while training needs are reviewed throughout the organisation by audit. Safeguarding briefings to all staff in the Trust are sent out half termly.

Audit
Alpha has robust audit checklists to ensure that safeguarding systems and processes are working. The audit includes: the monitoring of Academies Single Central Records, the monitoring of policies and procedures including, ‘Allegations against Professionals’ and the monitoring of training for all employees and volunteers, guidance and support. A further audit from all Academies in the Trust is created and sent to the Local Authority.

If you are at risk or in immediate danger, please dial 999.