Safeguarding

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Merchants' Academy is committed to the vital contribution all teaching and non teaching staff make to safeguarding and the protection and welfare of children and young people. We aim to ensure that all child protection and welfare 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.

A copy of the Academy's Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy can be downloaded from this page.

The Student Support Centre provides the central provision for student welfare within the Academy.

Merchants' Academy Safeguarding Team 

Designated Safeguarding Lead for Secondary Mrs Sharon Beesely 

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead Secondary: Miss Emma Tatters (Safeguarding Manager)

Designated Safeguarding Lead for Primary is Mrs Sarah Flannigan (Head of MA Primary)

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads for Primary are: 

Mrs Lisa Bannister ( Deputy Head)

Mrs Amy Greenslade (Family Support Worker)

Mr Joshua Bassett (Assistant Head)

Mrs Kelly Shearing (Pastoral)

Mrs Kelly Phipps (Pastoral) 

Deputy Designated Safeguarding leads for Secondary are:

Ms Lynn Broome (MA Secondary)

Miss Emily Shelton (MA Secondary)

Ms Hannah Green (Assistant Head)

 

Who's Who at Merchants' Academy Primary? -  safeguarding-poster-November-2024.pdf

Who's Who at Merchants' Academy Secondary? - Safeguarding-Poster-MAS-3.pdf


Learn about the Bristol Safeguarding Board website here 

 

Merchants' Academy Primary Safeguarding Policy 2024-2025 CP-and-Safeguarding-Policy-2024-25-MA.docx

Safeguarding is…

  • How well pupils are taught to keep themselves safe
  • How well the school protects pupils from bullying, racist abuse, harassment or discrimination, and promotes good behaviour
  • The effectiveness of health and safety policies and procedures
  • The effectiveness of arrangements to provide a safe environment and secure school site
  • How well the school meets the needs of pupils with medical conditions
  • How appropriately child welfare and child protection concerns are identified and responded to by the school
  • How effectively the school works with key agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
  • The extent to which the school ensures that adults working with children are appropriately recruited and vetted, and receive appropriate training, guidance, support and supervision to undertake the effective safeguarding of pupils.

Our culture of vigilance

At Merchants' Academy we:

· Believe safeguarding and protecting children is everyone’s responsibility

· Identify signs of concerns immediately

· Train all our staff to the highest level

· Keep all staff updated with new guidance and policies

· Monitor attendance thoroughly

· Have rigorous monitoring of vulnerable students

· Communicate regularly with external agencies

· Listen to our students

· Care for each other

· Have an open culture

· Support students and their families

· Teach our students to keep safe at all times

Contextual safeguarding.

Online safety

Think U Know is a set of resources developed by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre at website: www.thinkuknow.co.uk.

Know IT All is a set of resources developed by Childnet International at website: http://www.childnet-int.org/kia

The NSPCC Share Aware campaign has useful facts and advice for Parents/carers: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware/

The NSPCC provide excellent parent and student support about protecting yourselves online, especially during the school holidays. It is really important to ensure you KNOW the signs of e-safety risks, like grooming, exploitation or cyberbullying, you actively LOOK for things like changes in behaviour, or secretive screen time, and then ACT to ensure you protect and potentially save your child or yourself from Online Harm. For more information about to protect individual devices, from parent locks and controls, to understanding the risks and dangers around online devices and the internet, please see https://www.internetmatters.org/ where you can pick your child’s device and it will give you a step by step guide to support.

There are also really useful guides to all aspects of online safety for parents, including live streaming, online influencers and gaming here: Parent Guides | Skips Safety Net

Online Grooming

Online grooming is where someone befriends a child online and builds up their trust with the intention of exploiting them and causing them harm. Harm caused by grooming can be sexual abuse, both in person and online, and exploitation to obtain sexually explicit images and videos of the child.

Information about online grooming for parents:

Watch this information video: Online grooming - what parents need to know

Watch this information video: What is online grooming? A guide for parents | Internet Matters

Substance Misuse

Substance Misuse relates to the use of anything which could be deemed as unhealthy to take into the body, from vapes and cigarettes to alcohol and illegal drugs, or even overuse of prescribed drugs.  

When someone is misusing substances, it does not make them a bad person. Often, the use of substances is linked to a person’s mental health, with the user feeling temporary relief when they use alcohol or drugs.

For young people and children, the main form of substance misuse is vaping. As they get older this can develop into misuse of alcohol and cannabis. For information for children specially around Vaping, which is a national concern at the moment, FRANK, which offers advice and support on a range of substances, is a great resource https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/vapes  

Bristol Drugs Project: Youth Team

The Youth Team at Bristol Drugs Project  supports young people living in Bristol who use drugs or alcohol.

They work with young people aged 11 to 19 years, or up to 24 if they have a learning difficulty or disability.

The team also offers support to young people who are concerned about a family member who uses drugs or alcohol.

They aim to help young people deal with problems early, before they experience a greater level of harm.

Contact the BDP Youth team:

Developing Health and Independence (DHI)

Transition services

DHI provide support to gradually move from the young people's substance use service to the adult one. It recognises the differences in how these services are provided and the impact that a sudden shift can have on young people accessing support.

Young People's Substance Misuse Treatment Service

The Young People's Specialist Substance Misuse Treatment Service provides support for people under 18 who:

  • use drugs or alcohol
  • have additional mental health needs alongside their substance use

To speak to a member of staff or to make a referral, call 0117 342 5729.

Drugs and Young People's Project (DYPP)

The Drugs and Young People's Project provides support for people under 18 who:

  • have a social worker
  • use drugs or alcohol themselves
  • or are affected by a parent or carer's drug or alcohol use

They also support some young people who are working with Families in Focus.

Call 0117 377 2997.

National Associations

The National Association of Children of Alcoholics is a charity in Bristol.

Alateen hold online or in-person meetings for 12- to 17-year-olds to help them understand alcoholism and support each other in a safe, supervised environment and support each other in a safe, supervised environment.

Neglect

Neglect is the ongoing failure to meet a child's basic needs and the most common form of child abuse. A child might be left hungry or dirty, or without proper clothing, shelter, supervision or health care. This can put children and young people in danger. And it can also have long term effects on their physical and mental wellbeing.

It is important to recognise that whilst it can be intentional, physical neglect can be caused unintentionally by parents in low-income households (even where one or more parents are working) due to not having the money required to meet a child’s basic needs.

Types of neglect:

  • Physical neglect
    A child's basic needs, such as food, clothing or shelter, are not met or they aren't properly supervised or kept safe.
  • Educational neglect
    A parent doesn't ensure their child is given an education (allows or encourages low attendance at school).
  • Emotional neglect
    A child doesn't get the nurture and stimulation they need. This could be through ignoring, humiliating, intimidating or isolating them.
  • Medical neglect
    A child isn't given proper health care. This includes ailing to ensure a child receives adequate dental care and refusing or ignoring medical recommendations.

More information about neglect can be found at https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/neglect/  

If you have concerns about a child you can refer these to First Response. 

Domestic Abuse 

If you, your child or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, please reach out for support:  

Report domestic abuse - GOV.UK

Domestic abuse: how to get help - GOV.UK

Economic deprivation

Cost of living pressures can affect our mental health and wellbeing, making us feel stressed, anxious or low. Talk to friends and family about how you're feeling. There are local organisations that can also help, and it's important to look after your own wellbeing.

We Are Bristol helpline

You can call the free We Are Bristol helpline to get information and advice about the cost of living crisis, including where to get help about:

  • financial benefits
  • food
  • mental health and wellbeing
  • finding your nearest Welcoming Space

Call for free on 0800 694 0184 between 8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

The Citizen Service Point

If you need more advice and support around the cost of living that you've not been able to get from this page, or the organisations listed, visit the Citizen Service Point.

Support in Bristol 

To find out what support in available in Bristol, download the pdf worrying about money leaflet (pdf, 823 KB) which provides advice and a list of support organisations you can contact. 

Reducing the risk of serious youth violence

We work closely with the local authority, the Police and other agencies to prevent our students becoming involved with or the victim of violence. We also appeal to the wider community to also report any concerns they have: 

Report online material promoting terrorism or extremism - GOV.UK 

Report hate crime - GOV.UK

Report | Avon and Somerset Police (to report a wide range of concerns or crimes) 

Sexual Violence and Harassment

What is sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment is any kind of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature that makes you feel humiliated or intimidated, or that creates a hostile environment.

When someone calls you insulting sexual names, talks about you in a sexual way that makes you feel uncomfortable (like commenting on your body), or spreads sexual rumours about you, that’s sexual harassment. It can happen in person, over the phone, or online.

Sexual harassment can make you feel anxious, depressed and lead to other problems, such as difficulties sleeping.

‘Everyone’s Invited’ – Support

Many of you will have seen media coverage of a website called ‘Everyone’s Invited‘ where survivors of sexual harassment and rape have shared their stories anonymously to shine a light on this national issue.

At Merchants’ Academy, we continue to proudly promote a culture that fosters respect and healthy relationships and challenges abuse of all kinds.

As an academy we will always:

  • Enable all children to report concerns freely and in the knowledge that they will be taken seriously
  • Challenge any form of derogatory language or behaviour
  • Ensure our curriculum helps to educate pupils about appropriate behaviour
  • Work with external agencies where appropriate to ensure the right support is in place for all

We would also like to highlight some of the support available to you. In addition to contacting us here at the academy at any time, the NSPCC has recently created a helpline (0800 136 663) for parents/carers and young people, and they can also be contacted via help@nspcc.org.uk.

The following websites also provide additional information and support:

Child Criminal Exploitation

Criminal exploitation is also known as ‘county lines’ and is when gangs and organised crime networks groom and exploit vulnerable children to sell drugs. Often these children are made to travel across counties and they use dedicated mobile phone ‘lines’ to supply drugs. Being involved in county lines can make children extremely vulnerable to other forms of abuse.

You can find more information about Child Criminal Exploitation, including signs and where to get help from:

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a type of sexual abuse. When a child or young person is exploited they’re given things, like gifts, drugs, money, status and affection, in exchange for performing sexual activities. Children and young people are often tricked into believing they’re in a loving, consensual relationship. This is called grooming. They may trust their abuser and not understand that they’re being abused.

You can find more information about CSE, including signs of CSE and where to get help from:

Report child sexual exploitation 

Click: Useful Links

 

Click on the below links to read or download the documents:

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