Our aim at Catshill Middle School is to make sure our children feel safe and secure both inside school and at home.  Staff work together as a family to make sure that our pupil's wellbeing is our top priority. 

We have a responsibility to our pupils to take swift and rightful action if there is cause for concern with any child. If concerns are raised with any member of staff, or they feel concerned about a pupil at Catshill Middle School, staff will follow our safeguarding policy. 

Our policy is reviewed annually, shared with all staff and governors and can be viewed here. 

It is our responsibility to safeguard pupils at CMS and childhood abuse is completely unacceptable. 

We have guidance to follow when any staff may start having reason to suspect a child safety may be at risk. The priority is to safeguard the child/family, and we will work closely with other departments and outside agencies to achieve this. 

All staff and volunteers who work at Catshill Middle will undergo an enhanced DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check before employment as well as undertaking relevant safeguarding training and receiving annual updates as appropriate.

Our safeguarding training includes Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE,) Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) the Prevent Strategy, Online Safety, and Peer on Peer abuse; including Sexual Harassment.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead for child protection is Mr R. Duerden.

The Deputy Designated Leads for child protection are Mrs T. Andrews and Miss J. Shingler. 

The Governor with responsibility for safeguarding is Catherine Shearwood.

GET URGENT ADVICE 

Family Front Door.

If you believe that a child or young person is at immediate risk from harm contact the Police by telephone: 999

If you want to refer a child or young person to Children's social care in an emergency please contact the Family Front Door.

If you do ​need to speak to Family Front Door by phone, you can call 01905 822666

Staff are available Monday to Thursday from 9.00am to 5.00pm and Fridays from 9.00am to 4.30pm.

For assistance out of office hours (weekdays and all day at weekends and bank holidays): telephone: 01905 768020

Childline.
 Childline is a free, private and confidential service that you can access online and on the phone. They can provide help and support for people up to their 19th birthday.

Samaritans.
You can access confidential emotional support at any time from Samaritans either by calling 116 123 or emailing [email protected]

SHOUT. 
24/7 text service, free on all major mobile networks, for anyone in crisis anytime, anywhere. It’s a place to go if you’re struggling to cope and you need immediate help. Text 85258.

Child Exploitation and Online Protection command.
CEOP help children stay safe online. If anybody acts inappropriately towards you or another child or young person online (such as sexual chat, or being asked to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable); you can report it here.

This information has moved to Family Support - Early help. 

When we give our children a smartphone or any device with Internet access we need to guide them to use it and complete transparency between parent and child goes hand in hand with being safe online. We understand that checking your child's phone may feel uncomfortable for you and your child and there is a good chance your child may be resistant to this. However, a phone is an extremely powerful device, and it instantly gives children the world at their fingertips.

Sit down with your child and explain it isn't about knowing every detail about their life, their friendships or what films they are watching on Netflix but monitoring their usage is about making sure apps are being used safely, sensibly and correctly. 

The NSPCC campaign to keep children safe online will give you more guidance and information on how you can do this, or call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. 

There are many resources available for you to access, that can help keep your child safe online, it can be a learning curve for the whole family but being open and honest about their Internet usage is key in keeping them safe. 

Here are a few simple tips to implement at home: 

1. Start the conversation: as we mentioned before, be open and honest about Internet safety. Here is a great quiz, that you can do as a family to break the ice and make these conversations easier. 

2. Set parental controls. Advice on how to do this can be found here. 

3. Learn as a family. Visit Childnet for resources and information on keeping safe online. 

4. Set a strong password. Show your child what a strong password is by giving them an example. Passwords should be changed regularly and not shared with anyone else. 

What is online grooming? 

Grooming is when someone builds an online relationship with a young person and tricks them or pressures them into doing something sexual.

If you are concerned that your child is being sexually abused or groomed online, this might be from someone they know or someone they have only ever met online you need to file a report HERE. If your child is in immediate danger please call 999. 

Pupils need to attend school regularly to benefit from their education. Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. Children with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and secondary school. 

The government expects schools and local authorities to:

• promote good attendance and reduce absence, including persistent absence
• ensure every pupil has access to full-time education to which they are entitled
• act early to address patterns of absence
• parents to perform their legal duty by ensuring their children of compulsory school age who are registered at school attend regularly
• all pupils to be punctual to their lessons

Parents have a duty to ensure that their children of compulsory school age are receiving suitable full-time education. 

How can parents help? 

• Establish a good routine in the morning and evenings so your child is prepared for the school day ahead.
• Ensure your child arrives at school on time—not late.
• Try to arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours.
• Always inform the school if your child is absent due to illness.
• Take family holidays outside term time.
• Talk to your child about school and take an interest in their school and homework.
• Attend all parents evenings and school events where possible.
• Praise and reward your child’s achievements at school. Always support school staff in their efforts to control difficult or challenging behaviour.
• Discuss any problems or difficulties with the school—staff are here to help and will always be supportive. Please have a read through our attendance booklet for more information and how we can help. 

Missing 5 minutes of school a day adds up to 3.5 days per year! Every minute and every day counts, read more here. 

For more information on the government guidelines please visit: Department of Education (DfE) Behaviour and attendance. 

At Catshill Middle School, the wellbeing of our pupils is our top priority. Every year we appoint Wellbeing Champions to help organise wellbeing activities.

This year we had a full week of activities, the week aims to give pupils the opportunity to experience the 5 Ways to Wellbeing:

• connect
• be active
• take notice
• keep learning
• give

Pupils were given the chance to choose activities they wanted to try and every pupil watched the Disney film 'Inside Out', a film that focuses on our emotions and wellbeing. It reminds us to give ourselves permission to not be okay and how tricky it can be managing our feelings as we grow. 

At Catshill Middle school, our pupils are shown there are many ways we can manage our emotions, Lego therapy in the Orchard Room with Mrs Dix and Miss Donnelly, games clubs at lunchtime and zones of regulation to help our pupils recognise their feelings. 

We work alongside Kooth and urge all parents to take a look and consider using this tool with your family. Kooth is a free, safe and anonymous place for young people to find online support and counselling. This short video gives more information and how Kooth can benefit. 

Catshill Middle School is privileged to have a full time Qualified Mental Health Practitioner (MHP) that works in school to help guide and support our pupils as they grow and learn to manage their emotions. 

Our MHP, who has also completed the designated senior mental lead in school certificate, is based in The Orchard Room, which offers a quiet, safe, non-judgemental space fo invited pupils who struggle with social aspects of school life. 

A typical day starts with a morning meet and greet for those pupils who may find it difficult to come into school (for a variety of reason). Once in school, our MHP, is able to sit down with them, go through their timetable and talk about the day ahead. Once the bell goes, they will join their friends and peers in the first lesson.  

Throughout the day, structured interventions will take place, either individual mentoring or in small groups. All sessions will be monitored and evidence based, so their will be a record of their progress, which helps determine the next step for the individual pupil. Every session in Orchard is confidential, unless safeguarding concerns are raised. Parents/carers will have the opportunity to discuss progress and recommendations. 

Sessions will cover:

Social Skills
Social Competency
Health Promotion
Friendships
Anxiety
Stress
Low Mood
Bereavement
Speech & Language
Emotional Intelligence
Confidence Building

Any interventions that are with an outside agency, for example: YMCA or Touchstones are also facilitated by our MHP, and take place in The Orchard Room. 

There is no time limit at Orchard, we work with our pupils as long as they need. Sometimes this is short term, sometimes for their duration of time at Catshill. The 'one size fits all' approach does not work and our MHP and all staff at Catshill work hard to make sure each pupil receives the individual interventions and support they need, not just for their time at CMS, but to prepare them for when they do leave us eventually. 

Any member of staff is able to make a referral to The Orchard Room, so if this is something you feel would be beneficial to your child, please speak to your child's form tutor in the first instance.