Safeguarding throughout Mercian Educational Trust

Safeguarding of pupils in our care is of paramount importance and at the heart of all we do. Pupils who are safe, supported and happy thrive and able to maximise their learning opportunities and potential.

All who come into contact with children and their families play a role in promoting and developing a strong culture of safeguarding within each school and across the Trust. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all our staff make sure their approach is child centred. This means that they consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.

To support this approach, in all schools we have highly trained Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL). DSLs & DDSLs ensure that there is always the latest up to date knowledge and support available to staff. The Trust further supports DSLs & DDSLs through a programme of safeguarding supervision, conducted by our Trust Safeguarding Champion.

All Trust safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures are up to date and in line with

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE). The majority of Safeguarding policies are publicly available on School Websites. Further protocol and operational policies are accessible to all staff and Governance Levels through the Trust policy portal.

Policies and procedures are reviewed and revised by the Trust Board annually. Contextualised safeguarding information is available on each schools’ website, for example, the name of the Designated Safeguarding Lead and deputies.

The links below provide further information related to safeguarding