Safeguarding
Here at QEHS we provide guidance to members of the school community on all manner of matters linked to the development and well-being of the students in our care. We work closely with other agencies such as health and social care in order to secure the best outcomes for our students at all times. The following links provide school staff with information and support on wider developmental matters such as safeguarding. They may also be useful to parents who are keen to further develop their own understanding of such areas, and so have been included here for ease of access.
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Deputy Headteacher (Students & Welfare)
Diane Hall
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Senior Mental Health Lead
Mrs Lucy Lia
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
SENDCO
Mrs Emily Walsh
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Assistant Headteacher/Head of Sixth Form
Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership
Peer Pressure for Young People
Our Safeguarding Statement
Queen Elizabeth’s High School is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for students, staff and visitors and promoting a climate where children and adults will feel confident about sharing any concerns they may have about their own safety or the well-being of others.
We are committed to the vital contribution all Governors and staff make to ensuring the safeguarding of our students remains a priority. We aim to ensure that child protection concerns and referrals are handled sensitively, professionally and in ways that support the specific needs of the individual child.
Through providing a caring, safe and stimulating environment which promotes the social, physical and moral development of all our students, we aim to foster an atmosphere of trust, respect and security.
To ensure that all students are safe, we work in conjunction with partnership agencies, staff, parents, visitors and members of the community to support our safeguarding procedures. We take our responsibilities for safeguarding children in our care extremely seriously.
Keeping Children Safe in Education - Government guidance
The government publishes Keeping Children Safe in Education: Statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding children and safer recruitment
British Values
At QEHS we promote democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, and for those without faith. We do this partly through the curriculum in Citizenship lessons where we promote British Values overtly.
In Year 7, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs is delivered and discussed in Religious Study lessons. Views are challenged and supported by knowledgeable and caring staff who care deeply about respect and tolerance. Democracy is evident across the school as students vote their peers on to the student council, leadership group and cabinet. Student voice is strong and we often act or make important changes to many aspects of the school simply by listening to the student council and in doing so, show them that their voices are heard. Behaviour in QEHS is excellent and, through our PSHE programme, our students know and respect the law.
At QEHS we are proud of our students and encourage them to celebrate their culture and beliefs in a safe and nurturing environment. We have links through our international schools accreditation with China and Tanzania and have been part of an exchange programme with these countries. In addition to this, we organise numerous trips abroad to enrich our students’ education and to give them experiences and knowledge of other countries and their cultures. QEHS staff have been trained on their Prevent duty directly by the police and the school has been cited as “an example of good practice” because of our collaborative work.
Prevent Duty
The Prevent duty has two specific strategic objectives to safeguard our students against radicalisation, extremism and any actions or beliefs that are contrary to British Values and our ethos.
- Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it.
- Prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support.
We oppose all forms of extremism. We define ‘extremism’ as vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
Our Safeguarding team work closely with the counter-terrorism referral programme “Channel”. Channel is a multi-agency approach to identify and provide support to individuals who are at risk of being drawn into terrorism.
The programme uses a multi-agency approach to protect vulnerable people by:
- identifying individuals at risk
- assessing the nature and extent of that risk
- developing the most appropriate support plan for the individuals concerned.
The Prevent Programme
Government guidance is used to underpin all of our work at QEHS. The following documents have been consulted to aid Safeguarding:
Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs. It is illegal in the UK and a form of child abuse with long-lasting harmful consequences. Professionals in all agencies, and individuals and groups in relevant communities, need to be alert to the possibility of a girl being at risk of FGM, or already having suffered FGM.
Child Sexual Exploitation
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people receive something (for example food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, gifts, money or in some cases simply affection) as a result of engaging in sexual activities. Sexual exploitation can take many forms ranging from the seemingly ‘consensual’ relationship where sex is exchanged for affection or gifts, to serious organised crime by gangs and groups. What marks out exploitation is an imbalance of power in the relationship. The perpetrator always holds some kind of power over the victim which increases as the exploitative relationship develops. Sexual exploitation involves varying degrees of coercion, intimidation or enticement, including unwanted pressure from peers to have sex, sexual bullying including cyber bullying and grooming. However, it is also important to recognise that some young people who are being sexually exploited do not exhibit any external signs of this abuse. Visit the NSPCC website for more information about preventing abuse.
Specific Safeguarding Issues
Expert and professional organisations are best placed to provide up-to-date guidance and practical support on specific safeguarding issues. Please visit www.nspcc.org.uk. Also available is the government guidance on the issues listed below via www.gov.uk
- child missing from education
- child missing from home or care
- child sexual exploitation(CSE)
- bullying including cyber bullying
- domestic violence
- drugs
- fabricated or induced illness
- faith abuse
- female genital mutilation(FGM)
- forced marriage
- gangs and youth violence
- gender-based violence/violence against women and girls (VAWG)
- mental health
- private fostering
- preventing radicalisation
- youth-produced sexual images
- teenage relationship abuse
- trafficking
Child on Child Abuse Including Sexual Harassment and Violence
At Queen Elizabeth’s High School we have a culture of safeguarding. We do not tolerate any form of sexual harassment, sexual assault or sexual violence. As per government guidance in 'Keeping Children Safe In Education 2024', the school works on the assumption that sexual harassment, assault and violence ‘could happen here' and insists that no member of our community ever treats sexual violence, assault or harassment as 'banter' or 'a part of growing up'.
In order to ensure our culture of safeguarding is consistent and embedded throughout, the school puts a series of proactive measures in place to reduce the risk of such incidents. Along with regular reinforcement, together with staff and student training and consistency, the key strategy is education. Specifically, of appropriate behaviour through our PSHE/RSE and assembly programmes.
The school also ensures that staff and students are trained to ensure they can recognise potential signs of abuse and how to report them. We educate students to understand that sexual harassment may appear in many forms and all members of our community have a duty to report any possible sign of sexual harassment, assault or violence.
When the school is made aware of an alleged incident of sexual harassment, assault or violence we take every step to ensure the student making the disclosure feels supported. Our Safeguarding team then completes a detailed investigation to arrive at a fair conclusion, before recording the incident and outcomes on CPOMS (The school’s management system for behaviour and safeguarding). The school will work with the local police if a crime has been reported
