The protection, care, guidance and support of students

5.1

Health, safety, and safeguarding

What good looks like

Safeguarding is good when students are safe on site and online, staff know how to pass on a concern the same day, and the school can show that concerns were acted on. Policies match the building, the buses, the clinic, and the people on duty. A policy in a folder is not the system.

Stages

1. Weak

   There are gaps that leave students at risk: unclear reporting, unsupervised areas, untrained staff, or concerns with no record of action. Students are not confident about whom to tell.

2. Acceptable

   Arrangements meet the basic requirements and most staff know the route for a concern. Records and training are uneven, and some practical checks are late.

3. Good

   Day-to-day protection is effective. Staff are trained, concerns are recorded and reviewed, and the site, transport, and clinic are checked on a schedule that is kept.

4. Very Good

   Safeguarding is proactive. Students know how to get help, patterns are spotted early, and leaders test the system rather than assuming it works.

5. Outstanding

   A culture of protection is visible in ordinary decisions. Records are thorough, students feel safe and say so with reasons, and reviews lead to changes that last.

Practical actions

• Weak: Make the reporting route unmistakable

  This week, name the safeguarding lead and the deputy, put the route on one card for every adult, and log every concern from the last term that has no outcome. Do not wait for a new policy draft.

  Department toolkit

• Acceptable: Close training and site gaps

  List staff without current training and the site checks that slipped. Finish both within a month. Walk the arrival, break, and dismissal with the lead and write down what changed.

  Department toolkit

• Good: Test the route, then read the pattern

  Once a term, ask a sample of staff and students what they would do with a concern, and compare that with the log. Look for repeated places, times, or year groups and change supervision there.

  Department toolkit

Evidence to prepare

• Named leads. Lead, deputy, and how to reach them today, including when the lead is off site.
• Concern log review. A dated review showing actions, not only entries. Names redacted when shared.
• Training record. Who was trained, on what, and when, including new staff.
• Site and transport checks. The latest checks for the building, clinic, and any buses the school runs or contracts.

5.2

Care and support

What good looks like

Care is good when adults know students as individuals, including their wellbeing and learning needs, and when support changes what happens in class. Guidance for the next phase of school is practical and on time. Students of determination are included in the life of the school, not parked beside it.

Stages

1. Weak

   Students with difficulties are unnoticed or passed between adults. Guidance is late or generic. Wellbeing concerns have no owner.

2. Acceptable

   There is a system of care and it works for many students. Support outside class is stronger than the change inside class, and older students get advice that is broad rather than specific.

3. Good

   Staff know the students they teach, support is coordinated, and students receive useful guidance. Monitoring shows whether help made a difference.

4. Very Good

   Care is personal and effective. Students, including those who struggle, are known well, and guidance is timely and followed through.

5. Outstanding

   The school is unusually attentive without being intrusive. Support is precise, students thrive, and the approach is shared so it does not depend on one kind adult.

Practical actions

• Weak: Give every student a named adult

  Make sure each student, especially in higher year groups, has an adult who would notice a change. Write the list. In the first month, that adult speaks to any student flagged by attendance or wellbeing.

  Department toolkit

• Acceptable: Bring support back into the lesson

  For five students receiving extra help, write the change the class teacher will make and review the classwork after three weeks. If only the withdrawal group improved, redesign the help.