Safeguarding
Safeguarding Contacts
If you are ever concerned about the safety or wellbeing of your child or another young person, you can always contact the school and ask to speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or one of the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads.
| DSL | Dr J. Gowen | jgowen@nks.kent.sch.uk |
| DDSL KS3 | Mr R Hoyte | rhoyte@nks.kent.sch.uk |
| DDSL KS4 | Mr T Sparrow | tsparrow@nks.kent.sch.uk |
| DDSL KS5 | Mr D Freear | dfreear@nks.kent.sch.uk |
All can be contacted through the school number – 01233 620045.
Please don’t worry whether a concern is ‘serious’ enough to involve us. If in doubt contact us and we will be very happy to offer advice and to support your child and the wider family.
Outside of school hours or if a child is at immediate risk of harm, please contact:
- Kent Social Care and Health Integrated ‘Front Door’ – 03000 411111 (outside office hours 03000 419191)
- and/or the Police on 101/999.
What is Safeguarding?
The Norton Knatchbull School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This is the school’s number one priority.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children means:
- Protecting children from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
- Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
The school has a whole-school safeguarding policy and associated procedures in place to ensure that any issues are dealt with efficiently and appropriately.
All staff have been trained to be able to detect signs that a young person is not thriving or being subject to abuse or neglect and any concerns will be acted upon in line with our Safeguarding procedures.
NKS is fortunate to have a large safeguarding team, all of whom have received DSL training. The team includes student support managers for each year group, pastoral support managers and the Heads of Year.
Useful contacts
KENT educational safeguarding service
South Kent: Kroner House, Eurogate Business Park, Ashford, Kent TN24 8XU
03000 42 31 54
Local Authority Designated Officers
The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) deals with allegations against staff who work with children either in education or the wider workforce.
To contact the LADO Team please call 03000 41 08 88 or email kentchildrenslado@kent.gov.uk.
Kent School Health Referral
Kent School Health support children and young people aged four to nineteen. They can help with a range of issues young people might face including:
- children and teen's sleep
- children and teen's behaviour
- children and teen's healthy lifestyle
- puberty and growing up.
Parents can refer their children directly to this service. You can also find lots of helpful information to support your child's development, and keep them healthy and safe in their Kent Child and Kent Teen sections.
Children and Young Peoples Counselling service
The Children and Young People’s Counselling Service offers counselling to support the emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people aged four to 19.
Children and young people might show signs they are struggling and need more support including:
- nervousness or anxiety
- difficulty concentrating
- difficultly sleeping
- avoiding school or activities
- feeling low and not good about themselves
- loss of appetite, or sometimes increased appetite
- not wanting to be with friends or family.
They offer up to six counselling sessions to help a young person gain understanding and develop strategies to help them feel better.
Some Resources
The NSPCC has lots of useful resources for parents. Links to some of these are below:
This both helps parents decide when it is safe to leave their children home alone and
helps parents decide if a child is ready to be out on their own and gives advice on preparing them for different situations such as walking to and from school by themselves, attending sports or holiday clubs, or going out to play with friends.
Positive parenting
Gives advice on setting boundaries for children, building relationships with them and keeping cool when children’s behaviour is challenging.
Supporting a child who has mental health problems and/or suicidal thoughts
What parents can do about self-harm
Online safety information for parents
Advice on talking to children about drugs and alcohol
Help talking about difficult topics
Helping children deal with divorce and separation
Good mental health is essential for the wellbeing of all learners. You may find the information found on the Young Minds website useful.
Child sexual exploitation can happen anywhere. You may find the information through the Pace UK website informative and of interest.
Students at NKS can also access Kooth, an online counselling and emotional wellbeing support service for children and young people that is available free at the point of use. This service offers free, safe and anonymous support.
Shout is also a very good service. This is a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope, including young people.
Keeping Safe Online
The Internet is an incredible resource. It allows young people to connect, communicate, and be creative in so many different and positive ways. However, technology is always changing and it can be difficult to know whether your child is safe. Our young people need advice and protection when it comes to managing their lives online.
If used incorrectly, social media can be very problematic and a potential source of bullying and a cause of mental health issues.
