Safeguarding
At Harris Girls’ Academy East Dulwich we have designated child protection and safeguarding officers who you can contact if you have any questions or concerns relating to either child protection or safeguarding.
Please see our Parent Advice Hub for other sources of support, guidance and information on issues related to safeguarding.
Our safeguarding team
The designated senior leadership team member for child protection and safeguarding is Aimee Robson, Vice Principal: behaviour and welfare (including safeguarding) a.robson@harrisdulwichgirls.org.uk
The Prevent lead is Aimee Robson, Vice Principal: behaviour and welfare (including safeguarding) a.robson@harrisdulwichgirls.org.uk
In addition to the Designated Lead for Safeguarding there are a team of deputy designated safeguarding leads. The deputy child protection and safeguarding officers are:
Ms M Noah, Director of Pastroal Care
Ms R McGowan-Reid, Pastoral Manager
Ms A Luis, Post 16 Administrator & Safeguarding
Ms P Slater, Attendance and Admissions Manager
Ms S Murray-Thompson, Health Hut Manager
Ms M Davis, Assistant Principal, SENCO
Ms N Mataria, Assistant Principal
Ms J Young, Principal
Out of hours safeguarding concerns
If you have a safeguarding concern during any period the academy is closed, please call Southwark Childrens’ Social Care on 0207 525 5000, or contact MASH@southwark.gov.uk.
If you think a child is in immediate danger or in the event of an emergency, please call 999.
Our safeguarding poster
The safeguarding poster pictured below is displayed around the academy, in every classroom and office. This is to ensure that every stakeholder connected to the academy can approach key staff (and any member of staff) to share any safeguarding concerns.
The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) is:
Eva Simcock, Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), Southwark Council.
The LADO’s role is to provide advice and guidance to employers and other individuals/organisations who have concerns relating to an adult working with children and young people, including volunteers, agency staff and foster carers. The LADO can be reached on 0207 525 0689 and further information is provided here.
Letting us know about any concerns
If you have any concerns you can raise them with Christine Lamb, Child Protection Officer, or relevant Head of House (see above). You can also telephone the post 16 managers. You can contact staff on 0207 732 2276 or email info@harrisdulwichgirls.org.uk.
Please do explore our Key information pages further for any detail about school policies. The academy policy for safeguarding, and Keeping Children Safe in Education, can be found below.
Main safeguarding and welfare concerns
Please visit out Parents Advice Hub for details of useful websites and other resources relating to issues that parents need to know about.
Abuse
Sadly, young people can experience physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. Staff are well-trained and extremely vigilant at the academy and we have a very strong culture of safeguarding.
Pupils feel safe to report concerns to us and can do so via the SHARP system or by speaking to any member of staff. The heads of house, our post 16 managers, the Education Welfare Officer, our police officer and many of the senior leadership team are fully safeguarding trained. All concerns reported to us are dealt with sympathetically and supportively and with the child at the centre of the process.
Sexual violence and sexual harassment
As a school with a predominantly female student population, we recognise that misogyny and sexism have a disproportionate impact on our students’ lives and we seek to use every opportunity to support young people in challenging the thinking that can lead to sexual harassment and sexual violence.
We have a strong PSHE programme for all pupils which emphasises safe and supportive relationships and which is designed to equip pupils with the knowledge to practice safe behaviours in their relationships and understand what is acceptable and not acceptable.
We take any report of sexual violence and sexual harassment extremely seriously wherever and whenever this may have happened and have a pastoral team highly skilled in supporting our pupils. Please do report any concerns to the head of house or post 16 managers.
Mental health concerns
Adolescence is often a challenging time for young people, and it is most commonly the period in which concerns around mental health and wellbeing emerge.
The academy has a strong focus on the promotion of excellent mental health and wellbeing in our assembly and PSHE programme. We have a range of support mechanisms available for pupils and parents, including our Mindfulness Programme, Yoga, the Health Hut, and Counselling Service. Head over to our Parents’ Advice Hub for further information about the main mental health concerns and how to support your child.
Keeping safe on the internet and social media
The online world is a wonderful place for young people to explore, with unprecedented opportunities for learning and creativity. But just like the real world there are risks and dangers they should be aware of, and which we can act to protect them from.
As an Academy we teach students how to stay safe online. But it is also vital that parents are aware of the risks and what they can do to develop a culture of e-safety in the home. We advise all parents to regularly check their child’s phone and apps and have open discussions about what they see on their phones and how to stay safe. We run annual e-safety workshops for parents-please do attend when they run. You will be informed about these well in advance.
If you have any concerns about your child's e-safety there is always someone at the Academy who is available to talk to you. Simply call the school and ask for a member of the safeguarding team.
Head over to the Parents’ Advice Hub for further information about social media and how to keep your child safe.
Exposure to extreme views: extremism and radicalisation
These are polarised times, and we recognise that young people can be at risk of being drawn into extremism and radicalisation in many forms. In children, this is primarily considered as a safeguarding risk.
We work with our pupils to help them understand the dangers of extremism and radicalisation through our assembly and PSHE programme. Elements of British values, especially those of tolerance, mutual respect and understanding are fully reinforced across the academy through our policies and practices.
