Safeguarding

Charterhouse is committed to ensuring the welfare and safety of all our pupils. We believe that to learn effectively pupils need to be and feel safe and happy.

This includes promoting the right to protection from all types of abuse.  We believe that effective safeguarding is ‘Everyone’s Responsibility’ (pupils, parents, staff, governors and volunteers).  All our staff are well trained and vigilant for signs of any pupil in distress and are confident about applying our clear safeguarding processes, underpinned by robust policies, to avert and alleviate any problems.

Safeguarding means:

  • Protecting children from maltreatment
  • Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
  • Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
  • Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Child Protection means:

  • A statutory process undertaken to protect specific children who are ‘suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm’                                                                       

Our Approach

We adopt an ‘it can happen here’ attitude and use ‘professional curiosity, healthy scepticism and cautious optimism’ in our practice when making assessments and decisions about the safeguarding of young people.

We understand that children and young people face a range of pressures and challenges in life and our aim is to guide them to make the right decisions and to be there for them when things go wrong.  Our Welfare Management Committee manage a list of pupils requiring additional pastoral support.  We favour early interventions and, adopt a lead professional approach. This means that one of our team works with the pupil and their family to produce a package of support to be used either as concerns emerge or proactively in response to contextual safeguarding issues identified through our monitoring activity.

Our In-House Expertise

We are fortunate to have a wealth of expertise ‘in-house’ to support safeguarding and welfare, including the following:

  • Safeguarding Team
  • Pastoral Team
  • Wellbeing Team (including counsellors and a Clinical Psychologist)
  •  Hunt Health Centre (GPs, Nurses, Lead Nurse and School Medical Officer)
  • Learning Support and SEND
  • Chaplaincy

We also have excellent relationships beyond the School walls with local authorities, including Surrey County Council, local police, local Prevent officers and our local rape and sexual assault support centre. 

Core DSL Team

Our ‘core’ DSL team are listed below but we believe in a culture of ‘over-training’ and are working towards all Heads of House and Welfare Management Committee members being trained at least to Level 3.

 The School uses CPOMS to record and track any worries or concerns about pupils, allowing us to have a clear overview of what’s happening for a young person in our care and to reflect on their experience over time.

We complete an annual safeguarding audit in partnership with our governors, to reflect on good practice and to highlight areas to develop over the next academic year.  We are constantly striving to improve standards and innovate to ensure that we provide the best possible care for our young people.  We use Watchguard internet filter which enables the DSL to receive regular reports so that she can monitor use of the internet and promote online safety throughout the School.

Policies

We have the following policies to support our Safeguarding:

  • Safeguarding and Child Protection
  • Prevent
  • Promotion of Good Behaviour
  • Drugs
  • Alcohol
  • Visitors and Contractors
  • Children Missing Education
  • Registration & Attendance
  • Whistleblowing
  • Managing Allegations and Low-Level Concerns
     

What Should You Do If You’re Worried About a Young Person?

You may wish to contact the School and speak to one of our DSLs if you are worried about one of our young people.  Alternatively, if you are concerned, you can also contact Surrey County Council’s Children’s Single Point of Access (CSPA).

If you think a child is in immediate danger – don't delay:  call the Police on 999.

The NSPCC website has advice about the signs, symptoms and effects of child abuse and neglect:

There’s a range of guidance and information on Surrey Safeguarding Children’s Partnership website.

What should you do if you are worried about an adult’s behaviour?

Please report directly to the Head: head@charterhouse.org.uk

If you are concerned about the Head’s behaviour please report to the Chair of Governors by email to: clerktothegovernors@charterhouse.org.uk

We have an excellent relationship with our Local Authority Designated Officer and work in partnership to ensure the highest standards of professional conduct, from every adult on site.

Non-recent Child Abuse

Non-recent child abuse, sometimes called historical abuse, is when an adult was abused as a child or young person under the age of 18. Sometimes adults who were abused in childhood blame themselves or are made to feel it’s their fault. But this is never the case: there's no excuse for abuse.  Following our 'Say Something' campaign in 2021, we would like to invite anyone with concerns about non-recent abuse at Charterhouse to contact dsl@charterhouse.org.uk