Safeguarding

Safeguarding Team

Meet the safeguarding team

Padgate Academy operate a safeguarding team approach with a split focus on both early help and child protection. The team meet every half term to discuss and take action to safeguard the most vulnerable children in the academy.

The team members are key support staff who work closely with all year groups to ensure all students are safe both inside and outside of the academy.

The team is as follows:

Designated Safeguarding Leads

Mr D Vickery – Assistant Principal
Ms K Jones – Designated Safeguarding, Mental Health & Wellbeing Lead

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mrs K Bretherton – SENDCo
Mrs K Mills – Pastoral Leader
Miss R Cooke – Attendance Officer

Safeguarding Team

Miss S McKittrick – Inclusion Manager and Family Support Liaison
Mrs J Smith – Lead Practitioner, Designated Provision
Mrs J Hawley – Director of Studies – Student Support
Mrs C Houghton – Teaching Assistant
Miss N Parkinson – Pastoral Leader
Miss J Lyons – Pastoral Leader
Mrs J Hunter – Pastoral Leader
Miss M Bretnall – Pastoral Leader
Mrs D Balmer – Director of Studies – Basics

Key functions of the safeguarding team:

The DSL will lead the safeguarding team and allocate tasks to safeguarding team members via regular team meetings. The DSL will have management oversight of the safeguarding work completed by the safeguarding team.

Below is a list of the some of the tasks that the DSL will undertake:

Contribute to professional assessments for cases open to Early Help, Child in Need & Child Protection.
Complete DASH (Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment & Honour Based Violence) risk assessments.
Complete & submit screening tools, eg. CCE, CSE & neglect.
Make contact with Warrington Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) when there is an identified child protection issue.
Make referrals to appropriate statutory and non-statutory services for support.
Provide support to children and their families by taking the lead professional role on Early Help Assessments where appropriate.
Attend and deliver safeguarding training to all members of staff within the academy.
Challenge practice and decisions in line with the LSCB Escalation Policy where appropriate.
Have a thorough understanding of the thresholds for support from children’s social care.
Support members of the safeguarding team through debriefing & supervision opportunities.
Champion and know who your vulnerable children are. The safeguarding risk register should be reviewed at safeguarding team meetings on a regular basis.

The safeguarding team approach to safeguarding children:

The team approach is considered the best practice to managing safeguarding at academy level. Practically, there is always cover for absence and a number of professionals trained to know what to do if there were concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child. It also encourages a culture of working collaboratively and making decisions together, with the child at the heart of the team’s practice.

Importantly, the DSL leads the safeguarding team and on a day to day basis, decisions will be made by the DSL. Team members are clear of their role within the team and what is expected from them. Debriefing and reflective practice is an important part of safeguarding, and is routinely built into safeguarding team meetings.

Advice for parents/carers

If you have a concern about your child, a relative or another pupil who attends Padgate Academy please contact Mr D Vickery (Designated Safeguarding Lead) or Ms K Jones (Designated Safeguarding, Mental Health & Wellbeing Lead) on 01925 822632, or email dvickery@padgateacademy.co.uk or kjones@padgateacademy.co.uk.

You can also speak to any other member of the safeguarding team by contacting them on 01925 822632. If they are unavailable, please leave a message and we will get back to you at the earliest opportunity.

Signposting & agencies we work with

KOOTH
Samaritans
Happy OK Sad
St Joseph’s
Amparo
Papyrus
Childline
My Life Warrington
CEOP (Child Exploitation & Online Protection)
Stonewall
RASASC (Rape & Sexual Assault Support Centre)

Safeguarding Newsletter

PREVENT Duty

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Safeguarding Resources

Out of Hours/Mental Health Support

At Padgate Academy, we are dedicated to supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of every student. Guided by our core values of positivity, resilience, integrity, determination, and endeavour, we strive to create a safe, inclusive, and nurturing environment where every child can thrive.

We understand that growing up comes with challenges, and the teenage years can be a time of significant emotional and social development. By promoting positivity, we aim to encourage an optimistic mindset, helping students navigate these challenges with confidence and hope. Through fostering resilience, we empower our students to face difficulties with courage and bounce back stronger from setbacks.

Integrity is at the heart of our approach, ensuring that we are honest, empathetic, and transparent in supporting our students’ mental health needs. With determination and endeavour, we work tirelessly to provide the highest standard of care and support, helping each student to achieve their full potential both emotionally and academically.

On this page, you will find information about the various ways we support mental health at Padgate Academy. From in-school mentoring and pastoral care to partnerships with local and national mental health services, we take a holistic approach to wellbeing.

We also value the importance of working in partnership with parents and carers. Together, we can build a strong network of support, ensuring our students feel empowered to overcome challenges and grow into confident, well-rounded individuals.

Explore this page to learn more about our mental health initiatives, resources, and how our school values shape everything we do. If you have any questions or would like to discuss how we can further support your child, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

If you or your child is at imminent risk of harm, contact 999.

If you believe a crime has been committed, contact the police on 101.

Additional Support Services

Mental Health Crisis Service

If you or your child are in a mental health crisis, the NHS have a dedicated mental health option on their 111 service. They can be contacted to discuss immediate concerns and risk advice. Support is available 24/7. Note: This service has replaced the old crisis line and response team numbers, which are no longer in use

Out of Hours Children's Services

If you have concerns about the safety of a child outside of normal working hours (9am-5pm), please contact the Out of Hours team on 01925 444400

Mental Health Support Team

We are very lucky to be one of the schools in the area who have access to the Mental Health Support Team (MHST), which is a service who provide evidence-based interventions to students who may be experiencing difficulties with issues such as anxiety and low mood.

In order for children to access the service, they must be referred by school. There is a consultation once every half-term, during which school explain the child’s needs. The MHST will then either accept the child for assessment, or suggest a more appropriate service. Once accepted, the MHST will be in touch with parents/carers and will invite you to contribute towards the assessment. Once assessed, a care plan is agreed, and most follow-up appointments for intervention will be held in school.

The consultation is limited to four children per half-term.

For more information about this service, please visit the following link:

https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/health-and-wellbeing/patient-leaflet-library/mhst-in-warrington-leaflet-for-parents

Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS)

This is the NHS mental health umbrella service that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties which may exceed the threshold for the MHST. Once a child is referred to their service, CYMPHS will then formulate a plan to ensure they receive the most appropriate mental health intervention (e.g. counselling, CBT, family therapy, etc.) via the most appropriate service (e.g. St Joseph’s, CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service) etc.)

For more information about the service, please visit: https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/our-services/warrington/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-service

Kooth

Kooth provide free, anonymous online counselling and mental health resources/information to young people.

This is a valuable resource for children who may have never spoken to anyone about their mental health before, or if they are on a waiting list for further intervention. All counsellors are fully qualified and accredited. Support is provided via text message in real-time. Children can sign up by visiting www.kooth.com.

Childline

Childline offers a plethora of information, advice and resources for various topics including mental health, exam stress, healthy relationships, bullying, online safety and more. These can be access by visiting https://www.childline.org.uk/

They also offer 1:1 support with counsellors which children can access at any time via webchat, phone or email. Children can access the online chat with counsellors by visiting: https://www.childline.org.uk/get-support/1-2-1-counsellor-chat/

Children can also call 0800 1111 for telephone support.

Samaritans

Samaritans is a listening service available to anyone at any time of day or night. They can be contacted by calling 116 123, emailing jo@samaritans.org, or writing to:

FREEPOST

Samaritans Letters

Papyrus

Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide are an organisation who aim to aim to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives, by providing support for people under the age of 35. They aim to break the stigma around mental health and provide young people with coping skills for when they are in crisis.

Further information can be found by visiting https://www.papyrus-uk.org/

Their helpline can be accessed by phoning 0800 068 4141, texting 88247, or email support can be accessed by emailing pat@papyrus-uk.org

BEAT - Eating Disorders

BEAT provide information, resources and advice to people struggling with issues around eating, as well as advice for parent/carers of children who are struggling with this.

The website also includes chat rooms so that users can share their experiences with other users and access peer support in a safe, controlled online environment.

They also offer a free telephone helpline which is available Monday-Friday between 3pm-8pm by calling 0808 801 0677. Calls do not show up on itemised telephone bills.

Further support can be accessed by visiting https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/

Winstons Wish

Winston’s Wish are an organisation that who specialise in supporting children through bereavement.

Anyone can speak to a bereavement support worker by calling 08088 020 02 between 8am to 8pm on weekdays (excluding bank holidays) or by emailing ask@winstonswish.org

The website contains lots of resources to support children through grief, and advice for parents/carers.

Parents/carers can also refer their child to non-urgent bereavement counselling by visiting https://winstonswish.org/

They also provide a dedicated young person’s website called TalkGrief, which can be found by visiting: https://www.talkgrief.org/

Shore Space

This is a website for children who are worried about harmful sexual behaviour; either from someone else, or themselves. It is a completely anonymous space where they can get advice on matters including what to do if they are worried about a friend, an adult, grooming, or if they are having harmful sexual thoughts. There is also a topic library with educational resources on lots of topics regarding sexual behaviour, including the law, pornography, managing difficult emotions, and consent. The address for the website is: https://shorespace.org.uk/