Safeguarding

At Leigh Academy Hugh Christie, your safety and wellbeing is our priority. We uphold high standards of safeguarding for our pupils, staff and community.

We listen to our pupils and take any concerns seriously. All school staff are trained in Keeping Children Safe, as well as receiving ongoing updates and training e.g. online safety, Prevent, and County Lines. Children at Leigh Academy Hugh Christie can talk to any staff member regarding a concern and are also made aware of the Safeguarding Team (safeguarding@hughchristie.latrust.org.uk)

All staff are trained to look out for signs of abuse or neglect, and are required to report these to the Safeguarding Team. Allegations and concerns are reported proactively and are taken seriously by all. Appropriate action is then taken by the Safeguarding Team.​

The procedures which we follow have been laid down by the Kent Area Safeguarding Team and the Governing Body has adopted a Child Protection/Safeguarding Policy in line with this, for the safety of all.

On occasion our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies. We will ensure that all concerns are discussed with parent/carers first, before any referrals are made, unless we believe that such a move may be contrary to a child’s welfare.

Worried About A Child?

If you are a member of staff at Leigh Academy Hugh Christie with a Safeguarding concern about a child, please log your concern on Bromcom.

If you are a member of staff at Leigh Academy Hugh Christie with a Safeguarding concern about a child, please log your concerns via Bromcom

If you are a parent, family member, member of the public please contact us via email on safeguarding@hughchristie.latrust.org.uk

Or contact the Front Door via:

In a child is in immediate danger, please call 999.

safeguarding within the curriculum

The Safeguarding Team

Our team is dedicated to supporting you and can be reached during the school day (Term Time)

  • Mr Harris (DSL) – Vice Principal and Head of Attenborough College
  • Mr Sargent (DDSL) – Vice Principal and Head of Coe College
  • Miss Cranham (DDSL) – Angelou College
  • Ms Miller (DDSL) – Attenborough College
  • Ms Harding (DDSL) – Coe College
  • Mrs Stubbs (DDSL) – Sixth form
  • Mrs Moll (DDSL) – Assistant Principal Inclusion
  • Marion Seymour – Safeguarding governor

The school Safeguarding email address is safeguarding@hughchristie.latrust.org.uk

Report a Safeguarding Concern Out of Academy Hours

We are committed to supporting our students and families and aim to respond to all emails as promptly as possible.

Please note that staff working hours are typically 8:30am – 4pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Emails received outside of these hours, at weekends, or during school holidays will be responded to on the next working day.

If you are concerned about a safeguarding matter which is outside of academy hours, then please contact the Police on 101 or Kent  Social Services on 03000 41 91 91. If it is an emergency, then please contact 999.

As parents/ carers, you can also self-refer to a number of services and there is a wealth of free support you can access online or via the phone to support your child. Further guidance and advice is provided from a variety of services outlined on the following websites: ChildLine, NSPCC and CYPMHS.

Further Support

ChildLine (0800 1111) – ChildLine offers one to one counselling over the phone, to talk about anything you are finding difficult. You can register for free to access one to one counselling online if you would prefer. You can also access a mood tracker, tips to support your mood and wellbeing, and other ideas to support with every day challenges such as exam stress, friendship issues and family disputes.

SHOUT – If you are looking for emotional support, or just want to talk to someone, you can text “Kent” or “Medway” to 85258 for 24 hour mental health crisis support via text.

NHS – You can call 111 for non-emergency medical advice and select option 2 for mental health crisis support. This service is for anyone, of any age, who is feeling unsafe due to their mental health.

 Fearless (part of Crime Stoppers) – If you are concerned about criminal activity, including criminal or sexual exploitation of other young people, you can report your concerns anonymously on 0800 555111 They also have a website for more information about this service.

CEOP – CEOP run a service for young people to report harmful online communication and/or online abuse here Report to CEOP They also have information about staying safe online.

Anxiety & Mental Health

Sexual Violence and Harassment

Child-on-Child Abuse

Healthy and Respectful Relationships

Safeguarding Websites and Links

Other Useful Safeguarding Websites that are available to staff and parents.

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a national scheme that operates jointly between schools and all police forces.  Operation Encompass means that our academy will be told, prior to the start of the next school day, when police have attended an incident of domestic abuse where there is a child or young person who attends our academy who is related to any of those involved in the incident. 

We have ensured that a member of our staff, (Designated Safeguarding Lead) known as a Key Adult, has been trained about Operation Encompass procedures. This allows us to use the information that has been confidentially shared with us by the police, to understand how a child may be impacted by domestic abuse and to then offer support to the children in our care.