It is the primary responsibility of the school to ensure systems are in place to promote and support the health and wellbeing of students when at school or involved in school activities.
It is the primary responsibility of the school to ensure systems are in place to promote and support the health and wellbeing of students when at school or involved in school activities.
Learning and wellbeing are inextricably linked – students learn best when their wellbeing is optimised, and they develop a strong sense of wellbeing when they experience success in learning.
This wellbeing framework supports St John’s School in creating positive school cultures and embedding student wellbeing in all aspects of school life through connecting the learning environment, curriculum and pedagogy, policies, procedures and partnerships for learning and life.
St John’s School always demonstrates an explicit commitment to wellbeing and to communicate this commitment to the school community.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding legislation and government guidance say that safeguarding means:
- Protecting children from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of children’s physical and mental health or development
- Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- Acting to enable all children and young people to have the best outcome
Safeguarding includes child protection, health care plans, health and safety, site security, safety on school trips, anti-bullying work and so much more.
St John’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and safety of all students and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
We are fully committed to ensuring that consistent, effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support families, students and staff at school. Using My Concern to report and record any incidents, safeguarding concerns reviewed and actioned by our trained as ‘Designated Safeguarding Leads’ (DSL).
The School’s Safeguarding Team consists of:
- Kate Parkinson (Designated Safeguarding Lead)
- Mr Colin Guyton (Headteacher)
We take our safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously here at St John’s School and have a large number of staff who are DSL trained. They include:
- Mr Steve Dixon (Assistant Headteacher)
- Mrs Katie Gardiner (Head of Key Stage 3)
- Mrs Hayley Stonier (Head of Key Stage 4)
- Mrs Kelly Bonar (Head of Key Stage 5)
- Mr Andrew Holden (Special Educational Needs Coordinator)
The school adheres to the following three DFE safeguarding documents:
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018
- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022
- The Prevent Duty 2015
All staff are trained annually in safeguarding. Core safeguarding staff complete more regular training around a wide range of safeguarding issues.
The school will, in most circumstances, endeavour to discuss all concerns with parents about their children. However, there may be exceptional circumstances when the school will discuss concerns with Social Care and/or the Police without parental knowledge (in accordance with Child Protection procedures, which focus solely on the best interests of the child). The school will, of course, always aim to maintain a positive relationship with all parents. The school’s child protection policy is available publicly.
Student raising safeguarding concerns
Students are encouraged to raise any concerns that they deem to affect their wellbeing or the wellbeing of others. They may do so in person to a trusted member of staff or by using the form that can be accessed with a St John’s School student email address through the use of this QR code.
The Curriculum
The curriculum at St John’s School enables all students to explore themes around health and wellbeing. All subjects offer opportunities to promote health and wellbeing and it is explicitly covered in many of the themes studied in SMSC. This means that students fully understand the importance of health and wellbeing and are equipped to make choices that will help positively affect it.
A varied theme of physical activity is available both within the curriculum and as extra-curricular activities that help promote physical well-being. These are very well attended and accessible to students of all abilities.
Pastoral System
The school has a strong team of tutors with each key stage headed up by a strong pastoral leader. Tutors provide the first point of contact for any student who may be experiencing any difficulty. Tutors have a mentoring role and this offers students an extra opportunity to discuss any issues they may have. Should an issue not be able to be resolved by the tutors they will be able to signpost any pupil to the relevant agency to ensure that they receive timely and appropriate support.
Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions
St John’s School follows the DCS policy directive on caring for any pupil with a medical condition. Should it be deemed necessary this may lead to the formulation of an Individualised Health Care Plan in conjunction with parents, pupil and school nurse. Should this require school to store medicine that may be needed in an emergency situation then it will be stored and administered under the guidelines set out in the DCS policy. The school has a number of staff who are trained in First Aid and this is in line with the school’s First Aid policy. This should ensure that students with medical conditions are able to follow a full curriculum as far as is practicable.
ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)
Should a student be experiencing a particular issue then it may be appropriate to receive Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) support. ELSA can assist with a range of issues from managing emotions to assistance with forming and maintaining positive relationships. Many LSAs are ELSA trained in addition to the SENCO. Should you feel your child would benefit from this service then please contact the SENCO.
Highly Trained Staff
All St John’s School staff are regularly briefed on the latest trends regarding safeguarding and well being. Staff complete a range of mandatory training to ensure that they are able to recognise any difficulty a student may be experiencing and be able to support pupils or signpost effectively to ensure that students are cared for, protected and able to make informed decisions.
External Agency Support
The school has a number of external agencies attached that are available to support pupils in a number of ways that can help health and well-being. These can be used to primarily affect academic performance or positively impact on health and wellbeing more directly. The agencies can be deployed to work with an individual or with families to help support pupils.
Advice and Support for Parents
- SBA Police Emergency Number: 112, if a child is at risk of immediate harm
- SBA Police Non-Emergency Number: 1443
- Cyprus Single Point of Contact: 00357 2596 3609
- British Forces Social Work Service (Episkopi): 00357 2596 3603
- British Forces Social Work Service (Akrotiri): 00357 2527 5838
- Episkopi Medical Centre: 00357 2596 3255
- Akrotiri Medical Centre: 00357 2527 6553
- SAFA School Nurse: 00357 2596 8065
- Headteacher: Colin Guyton: 00357 2596 3234, to raise allegations against staff
- Area Chief Education Officer: Nicola Goulding: 00357 2596 2888
Useful websites:
https://safeguarding.thekeysupport.com/preventing-radicalisation/ The Prevent Duty guidance and link to online training
www.fgmelearning.co.uk FGM guidance and link to training
www.eif.org.uk Early Intervention Foundation
www.signsofsafety.net Signs of Safety
www.nspcc.org.uk NSPCC
www.change4life.co.uk for healthy eating
www.youngminds.org.uk for mental health
www.fpa.org.uk for sexual health and contraception
www.nhs.uk for smoking cessation advice
www.youngminds.org.uk Young Minds
www.barnardos.org.uk Coronavirus advice for parents
www.actearly.uk If you are worried about someone close expressing extreme views or hatred