Home

Safeguarding at Holte

Safeguarding at Holte School

Safeguarding children and young people is central to everything we do at Holte School, and, as such, it features prominently throughout the whole website.

However, this section of the school’s website gives an overview of the policies, partnerships, programmes and mechanisms that are in place to safeguard the children and young people who attend Holte School.

Key Safeguarding policies are available on this website in the ‘Information’ section under ‘Policies’.

At Holte, we fully recognise our responsibility for safeguarding children and young people. It is difficult to accept, but every child can be hurt, put at risk of harm or abused, regardless of their age, gender, religion or ethnicity. That is why we do everything within our power to:

  • protect children from maltreatment;
  • prevent impairment of children’s health or development;
  • ensure that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
  • take action to enable all children and young people to secure the best outcomes while they are under our care within Holte School.

The action we take at Holte to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play and we recognise, and take our part, very seriously in this. We ensure that we operate a child-centred safeguarding system. We recognise that children want to be respected; have their views heard; to have stable relationships with their teachers, built on trust; and to have consistent support for their individual needs.

In our most recent Ofsted inspection (2019) it was commented that, “Leaders and staff understand the challenges that many of their pupils face. They are determined to do all they can to keep them safe. Teaching pupils to keep themselves safe and healthy is at the heart of all the school does. Staff teach pupils how to protect themselves from the dangers they may face in the local community. These include gang violence and knife crime. Pupils learn about the importance of healthy relationships and what to do when they are anxious. Staff are alert to the signs that pupils might need extra help, because leaders have trained them very well. Staff pass on any concerns they have, and leaders deal with these effectively. Strong links with many outside agencies mean that leaders ensure that pupils get the help they need, when they need it.”

In 2021 the school underwent a 3 day Safeguarding audit undertaken by the Safeguarding Alliance. Some of the comments that came out of that process were –

“Safeguarding is at the heart of Holte School. The ethos of the school is child focused which all stakeholders buy into. Safeguarding is a priority and is seen in every aspect in the school. The School has an evident culture of excellent safeguarding awareness and understanding.”

“The Designated Safeguarding Lead (“DSL”) is highly respected and knowledgeable in the field of safeguarding and has created an environment of best in class safeguarding practice that is enabling staff and pupils to thrive in a safe and nurturing environment.”

“Pupils overwhelmingly feel safe at the School and believe that the School community cares for them at all times.”