Safeguarding And Child Protection
Safeguarding and child protection is one of the basic needs to maintain a healthy, happy, safe, learning and motivational environment. As a Graduate Trainee in WIN School, I had to carefully understand the Safeguarding policy, and they defined it as “ The process of protecting children from maltreatment, preventing the impairment of health or development, ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and taking actions to enable all children to have the best outcomes”. The procedures are followed and implemented by all staff members and monitored by the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)- Mr. Neijin Pathrose - to ensure that everyone is well trained and aware of school safety measures and precautions. Safeguarding proceduresStaff responsibilitiesAll staff are in duty when it comes to child safety. All teachers/staff, upon recruitment, sign the code of conduct which is basically a guideline to a healthy teacher – student relationship within the reasonable and acceptable boundaries.
The Code of conduct includes; treating students with respect, encouraging positive behavior, be a good listener, being alert and aware of changes and/or any signs of abuse, maintain appropriate conversation with students, Identify situations where children and their families would benefit from early help and, referring all concerns about child safety to the designated person at school Dr. Ritika Anand, Vice Principal and Mr. Neijin Pathrose, Deputy safeguarding leader when necessary. Attendance and morning registration are very important procedures and essential for successful attainment, frequently missing school days affect child progress and his/her learning journey, that’s why parents must ensure to communicate reasons for absence to school when it occurs and required to present any medical notes when applicable. Registration takes place after the gates close at 7:50 until 8:15 just before the first lesson starts and its recorded manually and to SAMS (School Administration Management System). During that time, form tutor has the opportunity to discuss important matters highlighted by the school principal regarding any behavior/ academic issues or reinforcements, for example; antibullying awareness, child safety reminders, academic achievers, etc.
Collaboration between parents and school teachers/staff to school attendance is very important for the safety of all students. Leadership responsibilitiesThe leadership works closely with students, he is always available to support the community and, listens to children’s needs and feelings specially those of special needs. The leadership is well trained and regularly updated on Safeguarding and child protection policy according to UAE Law and ensures that all staff receive a regular training on the safeguarding policy and guidelines to be able to report any incident effectively. Any safeguarding issues are reported and recorded into school management system and to the safety leader, after which, the school has the duty to report to children social care or the police if needed. Inside School safetyThe school has many other policies than Safeguarding and Child protection which are directly related to child safety inside school campus as well. Safe recruitment is the first one I witnessed as an appointed GT at WIN School.
The Human Resources officer asked for my police clearance, passport copy and my personal ID to provide identity evidence since I will be temporarily training at school. Before I got my blue lanyard for employee, as a visitor, I had to present my personal ID to obtain a visitor’s badge, different color lanyard than staff for easy identification and I had to report to reception first and state the reason for my visit before I enter the campus. This made me feel safe and secure about myself and my children at their schools. Bullying is a major offence and another form of abuse which has to be stopped immediately and dealt with, all incidents of bullying are reported and active supervision by teachers and/or staff members during break time helps prevent bullying incidents. For health safety, the school has Two well equipped clinics, one in the primary building and the second one in the secondary building. They have 2 doctors and 4 nurses working full time until 4:00pm. In case any child is staying back after school, an acknowledgment slip is sent to the parents, and the clinic to ensure there is a nurse and doctor available in campus in case of injuries. Adding to that, students go through regular medical check-up and dental check-ups.
First aid training is offered to all teachers within the school and as of now, WIN has 39 qualified teachers on campus. Fire drills are scheduled once per term, however, ONLY during the school first term they conduct 3 drills, and this is specially arranged to ensure new teachers and new students are aware of the procedures in case of emergency. Inside classroom safetyDuring my observation the past week, I noticed that all classes are designed in a way where every child is visible to the teacher and, emergency exists posters are in all classes and school corridors. To avoid any injuries or accidents inside the classroom, teachers usually set a classroom routine the lockers are kept outside for easier and safer accessibility. E-safety is another important safety measure for all children and teachers. Students are constantly reminded to use it responsibly; all sites and downloads are carefully monitored and may be blocked by GEMS if they are not in compliance with the E- policy. The school uses the (SMART) policy, it is communicated to all children during assemblies, even though there are no posters in classes, students sign a contract agreement that they agree and accept to follow school’s policy and this contract is filed, and parents are informed. Children at school are very responsible and alert, they are always taught how to identify risk, how to minimize it and how to behave maturely and that is during their PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Education) lessons.
