Safeguarding
Every child has the right to be treated with dignity and respect – to be free from abuse and neglect. Thames Park Secondary School will follow recommended guidelines to safeguard our students from harm, neglect or abuse and ensure our students are provided with safe and effective care that enables them to have the best outcomes.
Thames Park Secondary School takes safeguarding our students very seriously. We follow safer recruiting procedures and all our staff and governors are regularly trained on Safeguarding matters so they are equipped to identify and act on any concerns relating to:
- Bullying
- Cyberbulling
- Racist, disability, homophobic and transphobic abuse
- Radicalisation and extremist behaviour
- Child sexual exploitation
- Sexting
- Substance misuse
- Gang activities and youth violence
- Domestic violence, sexual exploitation, FGM and forced marriage
Any concerns about actual or potential harm, neglect or abuse will be treated with a high degree of sensitivity so that a child at risk will be protected. The nominated person with responsibility for setting procedures in motion if child abuse is suspected or reported is Mr Jose The safeguarding team at the school consists of Ms McNeill who is deputy designated safeguarding lead and Mrs Chitty, Mr Stevens, Miss Backhurst and Ms Stonell, all level 3 trained.
From time to time students will participate in school events and photographs may be taken. These may be used either in school publications or the local press. If you do not want your child to be photographed, please inform the school in writing.
At Thames Park, all students are encouraged to download and instal the Tootoot app.
Tootoot makes it simple for our students to report anything from bullying to a mental health concern. The simple-to-use app makes it easier for our students to speak-up and gives them confidence that their concerns are being taken seriously.
Please help us to safeguard all students by asking your child to download the app for their phone. They may never know when it might be useful, the app can be used to raise concerns about themselves but also any concerns they may have about their peers.
Please find below links to our current Safeguarding Policies
Keeping Children Safe In Education 2024
We would strongly encourage all parents and carers to download the National Online Safety App from the National College. The App is regularly updated to deal with current trends or issues that young people are experiencing.
At Thames Park we work closely with the Local Authority to keep young people safe. Please find a link to the Thurrock Safeguarding Children Partnership. This website will inform you of all that Thurrock is doing to safeguard young people as well as pointing adults in the right direction if they want to report cocncerns about a child.
Please find below links to supporting material:
- Thinkyouknow (advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online)
Advice and help on child safety for parents - Keeping children safe in education
Statutory guidance for schools and colleges - Get Safe Online
Advice and help about online safety - NSPCC
Advice, guidance and support - Educate Against Hate
Practical advice for parents, carers, and staff on protecting young people from extremism and radicalism - Childline
What to do if you are bullied online - Internet matters
Support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online - Parent info
Support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online - LGfL
Support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online - Net-aware
Support for parents and careers from the NSPCC
