King Edward VI College

Safeguarding means;

·         Promotion of your health and development

·         Ensuring your safety and care

·         Ensuring you are offered the best life chances

·         Protection from abuse and neglect

·         Prevention of bullying and harassment.

The term ‘Safeguarding’ embraces both the protection of  children ( under 18)  and vulnerable adults  and  highlights preventative approaches to keep our student, staff and visitor population safe. Safeguarding encompasses students’ health and safety, welfare and well-being.

The College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff, students and volunteers to share this commitment. We have developed a Safeguarding Policy and other related policies that aims to meet this commitment.

Our policies cover:

o    Abuse and neglect

o    Prevention of discrimination

o    Anti-bullying and harassment

o    Promoting good  attendance and behaviour 

o    Safety and security.

o    Confidentiality

o    Policies related to drugs and smoking.

If you, as a student at the College have any concern about yourself or any other student’s well being, safety or rights, then you should talk to one or more of the following:

o     Your Personal Tutor

o    A subject Teacher

o     Your Head of Year

o     One of our four  designated Safeguarding Officers  

o    Make an appointment with our Counsellor at Student Services

E-safety - 3 C’s of e-safety

 Contact
Contact via the Internet can mean that people have access to people and groups anywhere in the world. This can often have very positive advantages however, be aware that if you are making contact with people you do not know, you should limit the amount of personal information that can be viewed. Unprotected personal profiles could make you subject to online grooming, racial hatred, online bullying and potential assault.

If you feel unsure about contact that you have made via the Internet please report the person either to the police, your parents (if applicable), your Tutor or a member of the Safeguarding team at the College. If the contact has been made via a social networking site such as Facebook, MySpace or Bebo, you can also report the user via the website.

Content

It should be remembered that once any information/photographs are posted on social networking sites they become the property of the site. This means that although the image/information may be deleted by you, a copy of it is still owned by the respective site and you no longer have control of this information/image. If you publish inappropriate material online you are at risk of prosecution. For example, inappropriate images of a child, criminally obscene content or content containing or inciting racial hatred.

Conduct
Sometimes people carry out activities which are deliberately meant to upset, offend or intimidate someone. These could be via a social networking site, a website or mobile phones. Cyber bullying is a real issue; if you believe you are being bullied please talk to your Tutor, parent (if applicable) or someone from Student Services.