Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (Alternative/Off-Site Provision)

St Thomas More Catholic Academy, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST3 2NJ

14 days remaining to apply

Start date details
As soon as possible
Closing date
29 January 2025 at 9am
Date listed
14 January 2025

Job details

Job role: Pastoral, health and welfare
Other support roles
Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern: Full time: 37 hours per week Term Time + 4 weeks + INSET
Contract type: Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary: FTE £30,060, Actual Salary £28,916

What skills and experience we're looking for

We are seeking a highly qualified and experienced individual to join our team as the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead. The successful candidate will play a critical role in taking responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, support staff to carry out their safeguarding duties, and liaise closely with children's social care and other services. The role will suit an adaptable, flexible and resourceful individual who can demonstrate drive and relentless focus on acting in the best interests of our students in overseeing the safety and well-being of our students in accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education legislation. The post supports the DSL and two other DDSLs, in addition, the post holder will lead the safeguarding of alternative and off-site provision.

Principal duties and responsibilities

Act as a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead and support the Designated Safeguarding Lead in all aspects of safeguarding within the school.
Stay up to date with relevant legislation, guidance, and best practices in safeguarding and mental health, including maintaining up to date knowledge of the local safeguarding and mental health services.
Implement policies and procedures in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education legislation and ensure all staff are aware of their responsibilities relating to safeguarding.
Operationally and strategically lead on safeguarding and mental health and wellbeing initiatives within the school, working closely with key stakeholders and external agencies.
Provide support and guidance to staff on safeguarding and mental health issues with specific concerns and refer students to appropriate support services when necessary.
Work with the academy’s safeguarding team, SENCO, pastoral team and other members of staff, including through participation within multi-disciplinary meetings, to co-ordinate holistic support for students who present with safeguarding and mental health difficulties.
Attend safeguarding meetings, either planned or in response to safeguarding needs, with external partners, including during school holidays
Produce analysis updates to support with Headteacher, Governing Board and/or Director scrutiny, meetings and audits.
Ensure policies and practices are adhered to in supporting students requests for assignment deadline extensions, considerations for exam arrangements, mitigating circumstances applications.
Organise and promote effective safeguarding, mental health, resilience and wellbeing to staff across the academy.
Forge effective links with the local authority’s specialist providers as well as parents/carers, children’s social care and a range of external partner agencies.
Deliver CPD and briefing sessions around safeguarding, mental health and well-being, including Level 1 safeguarding training.
Implement and maintain an Inclusions Matrix detailing agencies available to support the wellbeing of students.

Specialism

Lead the coordination of, and support for, students accessing individual alternative providers, offsite directions and/or managed moves including through quality assurance of alternative providers, and close partnership working with parents.
Communicate plans with support teams around the student including pastoral, form teachers or the SEN team.
Act as a single point of contact for alternative and off-site provision, including with the local authority.
Provide specialist advice to the pastoral team and SEN team for students that they are supporting when concerns are raised around their alternative and off-site provision.
Monitor, track and respond to attendance and performance for individual students to ensure that needs are being met by the provision.
Attend regular meetings to refer and review students to relevant alternative provision.
Coordinate and review agreed adapted curriculum agreements to ensure that arrangements are meeting needs.
Complete regular visits to, and maintain contact with, individual providers.

Professional Accountabilities (this list is not exhaustive and should reflect the ethos of the school)

The post holder is required to be aware of, and comply with, policies and procedures relating to safeguarding, child protection, health, safety and security, online safety, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person. In addition, they are to contribute to the achievement of the school’s objectives through:

Safeguarding

Promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young persons you are responsible for or come into contact with.
Support with the leadership of safeguarding in ensuring a positive culture of safeguarding.

Financial Management

Personally accountable for delivering services efficiently, within budget, and to implement any approved savings and investment allocated to the service area.

People Management

Comply and engage with people management policies and processes
Contribute to the overall ethos/work/aims of the academy.
Establish constructive relationships and communicate with other agencies/professionals.
Attend and participate in regular meetings.
Lead and participate in training and other learning activities and performance development as required.
Recognise own strengths, areas of expertise and use these to advise and support others.

Equalities

Ensure that all work is completed with a commitment to equality and anti-discriminatory practice, as a minimum to standards required by legislation.

Health and Safety

Ensure a work environment that protects people’s health and safety and that promotes welfare and which is in accordance with the Academy’s Health and Safety policy.

What the school offers its staff

The school is proud to be able to offer a number of benefits to its employees including:

Access to CareFirst 24/7 our EAP confidential support
Cycle to work scheme
Sick pay
Wellbeing forum
Termly staff breakfasts
Weekly rewards to the employee of the week
Continued Professional Development reviewed annually

Commitment to safeguarding

Positions are exempt under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointments will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). All appointments made are also subject to satisfactory references, medical clearance and Right to Work in the UK.