Safeguarding
As a school we take safeguarding very seriously. We support students experiencing difficulties from a Child Protection (CP) point of view both individually and working with families and outside agencies.
Our safeguarding team is made up of the pastoral Year Office staff who deal with matters of concern, and our CP team made up of Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads. Contact details for these staff can be found in the BMS Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy.
Reporting a Concern of Abuse or Neglect
If you have any concerns that a child you know is at risk of serious harm through abuse or neglect, it is crucial that you report your worries to an appropriate agency. These agencies can also offer support for you and your family if you feel you need help.
Useful links:
You can contact Front Door for Families to raise any concerns you may have by following this link. Once they have received your information they will make a decision about how best to respond to your concerns.
If you are feeling worried about a child’s safety, you can also report your concerns to the NSPCC, who will offer you support and advice here.
Online Safety
As we are increasingly relying on technology to keep us all connected in the present climate, it is important that parents/carers are aware of the apps and programs that their children are using. This document provides a range of links for you to explore so that you can learn more about the latest internet safety developments.
Anti-Bullying
Blatchington Mill School is a safe, secure and happy environment, where we all – students and staff – look out for each other. We take personal security extremely seriously and have robust safeguarding procedures; recognised by Ofsted as outstanding. For some time, we have had highly effective anti-bullying strategies in place (including anti-cyber bullying), so our students can learn in a secure and calm environment in each Year Group and our Year Team staff are committed to supporting the academic and emotional development of each student in their care.
School Site
The school has recently upgraded our fire safety equipment and our alarms are regularly tested. There is security lighting across the site ensuring no pools of darkness around campus and outside of the core school day our doors are locked and access is via key pads only, ensuring additional security for all participants in extra curricular activities. The site is covered by CCTV cameras which are used to investigate breaches of security. Access to the images is restricted to a small number of staff whose access is monitored. We have electronic gates at all of our entrances and these are controlled by staff at our two reception desks as part of our rigorous safeguarding procedure for monitoring and managing visitors to the school.
Online
Online, students are safeguarded and data is protected by internet content filters at Brighton and Hove Council, by our own filters onsite, a Threat Management Gateway firewall and the Securus network activity monitoring system. Students are given clear online safety guidance in PSHE lessons as well as in Computing lessons. They are taught about the impact of their digital footprint and the need to keep themselves safe.
We also provide guidance for families. Any students who make mistakes online which may compromise their safety, or that of others, are supported by the Year Office and Safeguarding Office (where appropriate). Blatchington Mill School follows the standards of GDPR and is registered with the Information Commissioners Office.
For more detail on our policies relevant to safeguarding, please see our policies page.