Students are taught to keep themselves safe in a range of situations through the personal development programme, information and communication technology lessons, assemblies and tutor periods.
ofsted
Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, teaching and non-teaching, governors and volunteers to share this commitment.
Safeguarding Team:
You can find an overview of the range of approaches and tools we use at Highdown School to safeguard young people below - 'Safeguarding What We Do'
What parents should do if they have safeguarding concerns
If a parent has concerns about any child’s safety or well-being they should contact the school’s Safeguarding Officers immediately. All incidents will be investigated and if necessary outside agencies may be informed. You can email the safeguarding team at DSO@highdown.reading.sch.uk (not a 24-hour service) or phone the school on 0118 901 5800 during the school day.
If, at any point, there is a risk of immediate serious harm to a child, and the school is closed, you can call the Children's Single Point of Access [CSPoA] on 0118 9373641 (9am-5pm Monday to Friday). Outside these hours, contact the Emergency Duty Team on 01344 786543. Alternatively, contact the Police on 101 or 999.
Parentwise: this is a new resource provided by the Department for Education for parents/carers to identify a range of risks, online and offline, for young people; what signs to look out for; and for advice and guidance.
What students should do if they have safeguarding concerns
If a student is feeling unsafe or if they have concerns about the safety of another student they should talk to the designated safeguarding officers. If they feel more comfortable talking to another member of staff they should talk to their Mentor or Head of Achievement who will pass the information on.
Those who feel unable to talk to an adult can email safeguarding@highdown.reading.sch.uk from their school Microsoft 365 email account (or dso@highdown.reading.sch.uk from another email account) and their concerns will be followed up by our safeguarding team.