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Designated Safeguarding Lead

The Birley Academy, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S12 3BP

This job expired on 27 February 2024 – see similar jobs

• Start date details

  As soon as possible

• Closing date

  27 February 2024 at 9am

• Date listed

  9 February 2024

Job details

• Job role:
  • Learning support or cover supervisor
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £40,221- £45,441

What skills and experience we're looking for

• The DSL will take responsibility under the leadership of the Deputy Headteacher and Headteacher, for safeguarding and child protection across the school (including online safety). They will take part in strategy discussions and inter-agency meetings and contribute to the assessment of children. They will advise and support other members of staff on child welfare, safeguarding and child protection matters, and liaise with relevant agencies such as the local authority and police.

The DSL will have ultimate lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection.

The DSL forms part of the Academy Senior Leadership Team, they will therefore be expected to perform duties and attend meetings in line with all senior leaders in the academy.

At L.E.A.D we have a strong vision and four core principles, to lead, empower, achieve and drive. These principles underpin the day to day culture for support to our academies.

Main Responsibilities:

Managing Referrals

• Refer cases of suspected abuse and neglect to the local authority children’s social care as required.
• Provide support for staff who make referrals to local authority children’s social care.
• As required, refer cases to the Channel programme where there is a radicalisation concern.
• Provide support for staff who make referrals to the Channel programme.
• Refer cases to the Disclosure and Barring Service where a person is dismissed or left due to risk or harm to a child.
• Refer cases where a crime may have been committed to the police.
• Keep detailed, accurate, and secure written records of concerns and referrals.

Working with staff and other agencies

• Line management and development of the Safeguarding Officer(s)
• Act as a source of support, advice, and expertise for staff.
• Act as a point of contact with relevant external safeguarding partners.
• Liaise with the Headteacher to inform them of issues, especially ongoing enquiries under section 47 of the Children’s Act 1989 and police investigations. This includes being aware of the need for children to have an appropriate adult.
• Liaise with the ‘case manager’ and the local authority’s designated officer(s) (LADO) for child protection concerns in all cases where a member of school staff is involved.
• Liaise with staff on matters of safety, safeguarding, and welfare (including online and digital safety), and when deciding whether to make a referral by liaising with relevant agencies so that children’s needs are considered holistically.
• Liaise with the senior mental health lead and, where available, the mental health support team, where safeguarding concerns are linked to mental health.
• Promote supportive engagement with parents and/or carers in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including where families may be facing challenging circumstances.
• Work with the Headteacher and other relevant strategic leads, taking lead responsibility for promoting educational outcomes by:
• knowing the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children in need are experiencing or have experienced.
• identifying the impact that these issues might be having on children’s attendance, engagement and achievement at school.
• Ensuring staff know which children have or have had a social worker, understanding their academic progress and attainment, and maintaining a culture of high aspirations for this cohort of students.
• Support teaching staff to provide additional support or reasonable adjustments to help these children who have or have had a social worker reach their educational potential.

Information sharing and managing the child protection file

• Ensuring child protection files are always kept up to date.
• Keeping information confidential and stored securely.
• Ensuring that records include a clear and comprehensive summary of the concern, details of how the concern was followed up and resolved; a note of any action taken, decisions reached, the rationale for this decision and the outcome.
• Ensuring child protection files are only accessed by those who need to see them, and that where a file or content within it is shared, this happens in line with information sharing advice as set out in KCSIE.
• Where children leave the school (including in-year transfers) securely transfer their child protection file to their new school as soon as possible, separately from the main pupil file, with receipt of confirmation, and in line with the most up to date KCSIE guidance.

Raising Awareness

• Ensure staff can access and understand the school’s child protection and safeguarding policy and procedures and that these are effectively followed, especially new and part-time staff.
• Ensure the school’s safeguarding and child protection policies are known, understood and used appropriately.
• Work with the governing board to ensure that the school’s child protection policy is reviewed annually (as a minimum) and that the procedures and implementation are updated and reviewed regularly.
• Ensure the safeguarding policy as well as other safeguarding related policies are available and easily accessible to everyone in the school community.
• Ensure that parents have read the safeguarding policy and are aware that referrals about suspected abuse or neglect may be made, and the role of the school in this.
• Link with the local safeguarding children board (LSCB) to make sure staff are aware of training opportunities and the latest local policies on local safeguarding arrangements.
• Be alert to the specific needs of children in need, those with special educational needs, and young carers.
• Establish a culture of listening to children among all staff, ensuring that children’s feelings are heard where the school puts measures in place to protect them.
• Help promote educational outcomes by sharing information about welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children who have or have had a social worker are experiencing with teachers and the school leadership team.

Training

• Complete regular training in line with current legislation to develop and maintain the knowledge and skills required to carry out the role and meet the requirements of KCSIE, including those outlined in the ‘training, knowledge and skills’ section of annex C.
• Complete prevent training and be able to:
• Support the school or college in the meeting the requirements of the prevent duty.
• Provide advice and support to staff on protecting children from the risk of radicalisation.
• Complete training on female genital mutilation (FGM) and be able to:
• Provide advice and support to staff on protecting and identifying children at risk of FGM.
• Report known cases of FGM to the police and where needed, help others to do so.
• Refresh knowledge and skills at least annually so remain up to date with any developments relevant to the role and current legislation.
• Understand the assessment process for providing early help and intervention.
• Develop a working knowledge of how local authorities conduct a child protection case conference and a child protection review conference.
• Attend and contribute effectively to child protection case conferences when required to do so.
• Have relevant knowledge and skills to identify, understand, and respond to specific harm including risks to children with SEND, young carers, those with relevant health conditions, the impact of adversity and trauma, mental health and well-being and the risks of online safety.
• Understand and appreciate the importance of information sharing, both within the school, and with the safeguarding partners, other agencies, organisations and practitioners.
• Understand the unique risks associated with online safety and have the relevant knowledge and up to date capability required to keep children safe while they're online at school.
• Have relevant knowledge of the additional risks that children with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND) face online and the capability to support children with SEND to stay safe online.
• Access resources and attend any relevant or refresher training courses.
• Encourage among staff, a culture of listening to children and taking account of their wishes and feelings, in whatever measures the school puts in place to protect them.
• At regular intervals, access up to date refresher training e.g., in the form of e-bulletins, attending meetings with other designated safeguarding leads or by taking time to read and digest safeguarding developments and at least annually to keep up to date with any developments relative to the role.

Other responsibilities

• Undertake safer recruitment training and support the school to follow best practice.
• Contribute to safeguarding reports to the governing board.
• In conjunction with the SENDCo ensure pupils with medical conditions are appropriately supported.
• Oversight and responsibility for evacuation and lockdown procedures working in conjunction with site team and the Headteacher.
• In conjunction with the Assistant Headteacher responsible for behaviour, identify pattern and trends in relation to bullying and unkind behaviour.
• In conjunction with the Assistant Headteacher responsible for personal development ensure a robust safeguarding curriculum is in place that meets the needs of the local community.
• Work with and/or act as the Designated Teacher for LAC (if applicable).
• Model best practice and always uphold the principles of confidentiality and data protection (GDPR).
• Support with the wider school community i.e., duties throughout the day.
• Undertake home visits to targeted families as required.
• Act as first aider as required.
• To act in accordance with the school’s policies, including the requirements of keeping children safe in education (KCSIE), the school’s child protection policy and GDPR among others.
• The DSL will be required to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and follow school polices and the staff code of conduct.
• During term time, the DSL/DDSL should always be available during school hours for staff in school to discuss any safeguarding concerns. Ideally this will in person but can also be via phone or video calling in exceptional circumstances.
• This job description allocates duties and responsibilities but does not direct the particular amount of time to be spent on carrying them out and no part of it may be construed. This job description is not necessarily a comprehensive definition of the post. The duties may be varied to meet the changing demands of the academy at the reasonable discretion of the Headteacher.
• Employees will be expected to comply with any reasonable request from a manager to undertake work of a similar level that is not specified in this job description.

What the school offers its staff

• Competitive Salary
• Generous pension scheme
• Enhanced annual leave
• Employee Assistance Programme including free counselling provisions
• Widely available CPD opportunities
• Access to Trust occupational health provisions including free physio
• Access to staff discounts platform
• Travel expenses
• Free eye tests for VDU users
• Free seasonal flu jabs

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

This job post has expired.

Upload additional documents

If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.

The Birley Academy Support - DSL Candidate Pack.pdf - 3.03 MB (opens in new tab)

About The Birley Academy

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 16
• Education phase: Secondary
• School size: 1091 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 16
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report (opens in new tab)
• School website: The Birley Academy website (opens in new tab)
• Email address: hr@birleysecondaryacademy.co.uk
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/the-birley-academy (opens in new tab)

The Birley Academy is a popular secondary academy in the southeast of Sheffield. We have a modern building set on a pleasant campus with excellent facilities.

We believe that our students are entitled to nothing but the best and are fully committed to transforming the school into an exceptional place to learn.

We can offer you students who are keen to become their best selves; student who will make you remember why working in a school is so special; staff who are hardworking and who want the best for our school; a
leadership team who are passionate and dedicated to making The Birley Academy brilliant and a supportive and aspirational Trust.

Our vision is simple: to ensure that we constantly challenge ourselves and our students to aspire to our very best, enjoying learning and being active members of the learning community. As part of the L.E.A.D. Academy Trust, we work with all stakeholders including parents, local businesses, community leaders and our partner primaries to represent and best meet the needs of our students.

Arranging a visit to The Birley Academy

To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email hr@birleysecondaryacademy.co.uk.

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