Safeguarding & Wellbeing

Guru Nanak Multi-Academy Trust fully recognises its responsibilities for safeguarding and child protection. Safeguarding incidents could happen anywhere and staff should be alert to possible concerns being raised in school. All staff may raise concerns if they believe there is a risk of immediate or serious harm to the child. Student safety is always our top priority.

If you or your child have any concerns, please speak to a member of our safeguarding team. All members of the safeguarding team are Level 3-Local Safeguarding Children Board, Group 4/5 trained.

Please see our MAT Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy below, which has been updated in line with the most recent Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance.

Email: safeguarding@gnsa.co.uk

 

 

Additional Safeguarding Level 3 Trained Staff

CEOP's Child Protection Advisors

Are you worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online? Make a report to one of CEOP's Child Protection Advisors

https://www.ceop.police.uk/ceop-reporting/

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School Safeguarding Software for Reporting Concerns

Safeguarding our children and vulnerable adults is paramount. Securely logging, tracking and dealing with data is vital in an educational setting. To ensure the safety and welfare of our students and residents, GNSA staff are trained to log concerns on the Safeguard My School platform. 

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Paper based systems, individual documents on segregated software programs, can cause communication failures, secure data lost and an extremely difficult way to track information. Safeguard My School provides you with a permission levelled, secure and easy to use contact database allowing for quick and simple logging of data, a referral system, links to external resources, evidence and reports for external bodies.

 

Counsellor and Drama therapist services

At GNSA we offer an in-house counselling and drama therapist service to students to try and address the emotional needs that children and young people can have in response to experiences such as family breakdown and reconfiguration, bereavement, loss, family and peer relationship difficulties, anxiety and bullying.

Counselling

Counselling can be an effective source of support for pupils, enabling them to function better both in and outside of school, enhancing their resilience and giving them resources to manage any future difficulties. Our Counsellor is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP).

Drama Therapy

The Drama therapist is an accredited member of the British Association of Drama Therapists (BADth) and has extensive drama and movement background, specialising in the use of creative play, stories, and movement as tool for exploration of feelings.  Sessions are client led and give equal time to allow a natural progression of exploring the past and how this affects the present thinking and actions. 

Mental Health Ambassadors

A small group of sixth form students have been trained by Mental health First Aid England (MHFA) to offer a service to our students that allows them to be honest and open about their feelings. The training has equipped the students to know how to deal with some minor issues but know how and when to refer more serious concerns.

The course entitled ‘Youth MHFA Lite’ is designed to raise awareness on young people’s mental health issues and help support them more effectively. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students who gained such valuable insight on issues surrounding mental health which are sometimes not deemed to be as important as physical illnesses. Students are able to drop in to visit the ‘I see you’ group at lunchtimes in a designated area or write a note of worry about themselves or a friend in a box which is monitored regularly.

Seasons for Growth

This program supports students in understanding and responding to the issues they may experience as a result of death, separation, divorce or any other significant change or loss in their lives. The programme consists of four levels from the ages of 6 years to 18 years and comprises of eight formal sessions, one celebration session and two reconnection sessions, the latter of which is optional.

‘Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)

What is an ELSA? 

ELSA is an initiative developed and supported by educational psychologists. It recognises that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are also addressed. Mrs Grewal and Mr Dhillon are our qualified Emotional Literacy Support Assistants here at Guru Nanak Sikh Academy. They have been trained by Educational Psychologists to plan and deliver programmes of support to pupils who are experiencing temporary or long-term additional emotional needs. The majority of work is delivered on an individual basis, but sometimes small group work is more appropriate, especially in areas of social and friendship skills. ELSA sessions take place in our ELSA room which provides a calm, safe space for the child to feel supported and nurtured. 

The sessions are tailored to meet the individual needs of the child and the programme usually runs for 10-12 weeks.  The sessions are fun and include activities like role-play, games, reading books, arts, and crafts and therapeutic activities such as mindfulness. ELSA sessions take place in our very own ELSA Room which provides a calm and relaxing space where the children can explore their emotions and feelings in a safe and caring environment ensuring each child feels supported and nurtured.

In ELSA we aim to provide support for a wide range of emotional needs:

• recognising and understanding emotions
• building self-esteem 
• social skills
• friendship skills
• anger and behaviour management 
• Loss and bereavement 
• relaxation techniques
• transition/ change

How does ELSA work?

If you have any concerns about your child's emotional wellbeing, please speak to your child's class teacher who will be able to offer advice and assistance in the first instance. 

However, Mrs Grewal and Mr Dhillon also work closely with Miss A O'Leary (primary) and Miss H Lowder (secondary) our School SENCO to identify children that would benefit from ELSA intervention.  

Supporting not fixing

It needs to be appreciated that an ELSA's job is to support the children not to fix their problems but to provide them with the skills they need which can then be transferred into their school and home life. 

Tootoot

Tootoot has been introduced with the aim of enabling pupils across the MAT to report any concerns or worries in a discrete and confidential way. It is an online reporting platform which promotes pupil voice and provides students with an alternative method of disclosing information and seeking support. The safeguarding team are alerted instantly when a disclosure is made and next steps are put into place. For further information visit www.tootoot.co.uk. 

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Anti-bullying Ambassadors- Diana Award

Each year a new group of Anti-bullying ambassadors are trained by the Diana Award. The training provides training and resources and support for people who are experiencing bullying behaviour, those who want to support someone who is experiencing bullying behaviour and for people like us, who are passionate about promoting an anti-bullying culture and communities of kindness. These students add another level of support for students who may be reluctant to come forward to an adult at first. Anti-bullying ambassadors impart their knowledge to other students in the school through assemblies and workshops. 

https://www.antibullyingpro.com/about