Safeguarding

What is Safeguarding? 

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. 

In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all at St Margaret Clitherow ensure the approach is child-centred. This means that St Margaret Clitherow consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.

St Margaret Clitherow recognise that no single practitioner can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.

The purpose of safeguarding children is to:

• Protect them from abuse, maltreatment and exploitation.
• Prevent anything from harming their health or development.
• Ensure they can grow up under safe and effective care.
• Take action to ensure they have the best outcomes in life.

As part of our Safeguarding offer, St Margaret Clitherow and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi Academy Trust (OLoL CAMT) have a team of people who lead on safeguarding our students, they are our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs). 

St Margaret Clitherow DSLs are also the people who will support with any concerns raised around children’s health, wellbeing and safety, as described above. If you have a concern regarding the wellbeing, health, development, relationships or safety of a child, please use the contact details below.

Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) contact details:

Miss O’Neill, Designated Safeguarding Lead. SENDCO

Mrs Sweeney-McGinty, Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead. Headteacher

Miss. Cartledge, Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Ms. Cattigan, Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Tel: 0115 915 0296
Email: admin@st-margaretclitherow.nottingham.sch.uk

Safeguarding hotline number for OLoL:
Tel: 0115 855 0557
This will be diverted to our safeguarding team between 9am-3pm weekdays, and will send a voicemail to the safeguarding team outside of these times.

Moira Dales (Trust Safeguarding Lead)
Tel:07852133114
Email: m.dales@ololcatholicmat.co.uk

Nottingham City Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO):

Mona Cook and Jodie Turner

For LADO enquiries call: 0115 87 65166 or LADO@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Safeguarding Culture and Context Statement for SMC

Safeguarding remains at the heart of everything we do and there is a strong culture of vigilance across St Margaret Clitherow Academy. The safety and well-being of our children is of paramount importance, and we work hard to protect pupils from harm and danger while equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to keep themselves safe.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. All staff receive regular safeguarding training and understand the importance of maintaining a mindset that “it could happen here.” Staff are professionally curious, notice changes in behaviour, listen carefully to pupils, ask questions and act promptly when concerns arise. We promote an open-door approach with parents and carers, working closely with families to offer support, guidance and early help where this is appropriate.

Staff have a strong understanding of our local context and the safeguarding challenges faced by our community. While neglect remains the most common form of abuse across Nottingham City, our key contextual safeguarding themes include family breakdown, emotional health and wellbeing, and issues relating to legal chastisement. We also remain alert to wider contextual risks, including online harm, child-on-child abuse, antisocial behaviour in local areas and the unsafe use of public spaces. Some pupils may experience additional challenges linked to deprivation, family stress, housing instability or mental health, which can affect their wellbeing, safety and ability to thrive. We recognise that as pupils grow older, increased independence and access to digital technology can bring new and changing risks.

These contextual factors inform our safeguarding practice and the support we provide to pupils and families. Guided by our Catholic values, we foster a culture where children feel safe, valued, heard and confident to speak up. Our curriculum plays an important role in this, teaching children how to recognise risks, make safe choices and seek help when they need it.

We work closely with families and, where appropriate, external agencies to ensure that concerns are identified early and that children and families receive the right support at the right time. Our safeguarding arrangements, policies and procedures are regularly reviewed to ensure they reflect the needs of our pupils and our local context.

For more information about safeguarding at St Margaret Clitherow Academy, please see our safeguarding policies on the school website or speak to one of our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), who will be happy to discuss our safeguarding procedures and offer support and guidance regarding the safety and well-being of our children.