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Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy

1. Policy Statement

Aslan Academies is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

We believe that:

  • Every child has the right to feel safe, supported and protected.

  • Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

  • The welfare and best interests of the child are paramount.

  • Children should be listened to and their views taken seriously.

  • Safeguarding concerns should be acted upon promptly.

  • Abuse, neglect, exploitation, bullying, discrimination and unsafe practice are never acceptable.

We take a child-centred approach to safeguarding and work in partnership with schools, families and relevant safeguarding agencies.

2. Scope of this policy

This policy applies to all directors, employees, self-employed coaches, volunteers, contractors and anyone working on behalf of Aslan Academies.

It applies to all Aslan Academies provision, including:

  • Before and after-school clubs

  • Extra-curricular activities

  • Holiday camps and programmes

  • Activities delivered in community venues

  • Events and other activities involving children

For the purposes of this policy, a child is anyone under the age of 18.

3. Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Aslan Academies is:

Georgina Ingram – Director / Safeguarding Lead
Email: info@aslanacademies.com
Telephone: 07539 247902

Any member of staff may receive a safeguarding concern or disclosure. Staff must act promptly and pass safeguarding information to the DSL.

When working within a school, staff must also follow the school's safeguarding procedures and report concerns immediately to the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead.

If the Aslan DSL is unavailable during school-based provision, reporting to the school's DSL must not be delayed.

If a child is in immediate danger or there is an immediate risk of serious harm, call 999.

4. Working With Schools

When Aslan Academies delivers provision within a school, we work within the school's safeguarding arrangements.

Our staff must:

  • Follow the individual school's safeguarding and child protection procedures.

  • Know how to contact the school's DSL or safeguarding team.

  • Report safeguarding concerns immediately to the school's DSL.

  • Inform Aslan Academies' DSL where appropriate.

  • Follow the school's procedures concerning allegations or concerns relating to staff, visitors or contractors.

  • Cooperate fully with the school and relevant safeguarding agencies.

  • Never attempt to investigate a safeguarding concern themselves.

Where a school's procedure requires an immediate referral to Children's Social Care, the Police or another safeguarding agency, staff must follow that procedure without delay.

5. Safer Recruitment

Aslan Academies follows safer recruitment practices appropriate to roles involving children.

These include, where appropriate:

  • Enhanced DBS checks, including barred list checks where legally applicable.

  • Identity verification.

  • Reference checks.

  • Verification of relevant qualifications and experience.

  • Safeguarding questions during recruitment.

  • Consideration of unexplained gaps or concerns arising during recruitment.

  • Clear roles and responsibilities.

  • Ongoing supervision and monitoring.

No recruitment check replaces the need for continued safeguarding awareness and appropriate supervision.

6. Staff Training

All staff working with children receive safeguarding and child protection training appropriate to their role.

Staff also receive:

  • Prevent awareness training.

  • Behaviour management guidance.

  • Clear safeguarding reporting procedures.

  • Guidance on professional boundaries.

  • Safeguarding updates and refresher training.

Staff working within schools must familiarise themselves with the safeguarding information and procedures required by that school.

7. Recognising Abuse

Staff are not expected to investigate or diagnose abuse. They are expected to recognise possible concerns, listen, record and report.

Safeguarding concerns can include:

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Physical abuse – deliberately causing physical harm or injury.

Emotional abuse – persistent intimidation, humiliation, threats, coercion or behaviour that damages a child's emotional wellbeing or development.

Sexual abuse – forcing, enticing or exploiting a child to participate in sexual activity, including non-contact and online sexual abuse.

Neglect – persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical or psychological needs.

Child-on-child abuse – abuse between children, including bullying, physical abuse, sexual harassment, sexual violence, coercive behaviour and harmful behaviour within relationships.

Child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation – situations where children are manipulated, coerced or exploited for another person's benefit.

Online abuse – grooming, exploitation, harassment, sexual abuse, harmful content or other abuse facilitated by technology.

Domestic abuse – including the impact upon children who see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse.

Radicalisation – grooming or influence that draws a child towards terrorism or extremist ideology.

Discriminatory abuse – abuse, harassment or bullying associated with race, disability, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or another protected characteristic.

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Staff should remain alert to changes in behaviour, unexplained injuries, distress, withdrawal, changes in attendance or wellbeing, inappropriate sexualised behaviour, concerning online activity or something a child says.

Indicators do not prove abuse, but concerns must not be ignored.

8. Responding to a Disclosure

If a child tells a member of staff something concerning, staff should:

  • Listen carefully.

  • Take the child seriously.

  • Remain calm.

  • Allow the child time to speak.

  • Use only minimal, non-leading questions where clarification is necessary.

  • Never promise secrecy.

  • Explain that the information needs to be shared with someone who can help.

  • Record the concern factually as soon as possible, using the child's own words where possible.

  • Report the concern immediately.

Staff must not investigate, confront an alleged perpetrator, speculate or discuss the concern with people who do not need to know.

9. Recording & Reporting a Concern

Aslan Academies has a Safeguarding Report Form.

Safeguarding records should include, where known:

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  • The child's details.

  • Date, time and location.

  • What was seen, heard or disclosed.

  • The child's own words where possible.

  • Relevant injuries, behaviour or observations.

  • Details of any witnesses.

  • Who the concern was reported to and when.

  • Actions taken and decisions made.

  • Any referral or outcome known to Aslan Academies.

 

Records must be factual, completed promptly and stored securely.

10. Child-on-Child Abuse and Bullying

Aslan Academies recognises that children can abuse other children.

Behaviour must never be dismissed as "banter", "part of growing up" or normal behaviour between children.

 

This can include:

  • Bullying and cyberbullying.

  • Discriminatory harassment.

  • Physical abuse.

  • Sexual harassment or sexual violence.

  • Coercive or controlling behaviour.

  • Harmful sexual behaviour.

  • Inappropriate sharing of sexual images.

  • Hazing or initiation-type behaviour.

  • Abuse within teenage or intimate relationships.

 

Concerns will be taken seriously and reported through safeguarding procedures.

11. SEND and Additional Vulnerabilities

Some children may experience additional barriers to recognising or reporting abuse.

This can include children with SEND, communication difficulties, children experiencing discrimination, looked-after children, children affected by domestic abuse or children experiencing exploitation.

Staff must make reasonable adjustments where appropriate and must not assume that concerning behaviour, injury or distress is simply a consequence of a child's disability or additional need.

12. Professional Boundaries and Code of Conduct

All staff must:

  • Treat children with dignity and respect.

  • Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

  • Avoid unnecessary isolated one-to-one situations.

  • Never use degrading, aggressive, discriminatory or sexualised language.

  • Never engage in sexually suggestive behaviour or inappropriate touching.

  • Never use physical contact or exercise as punishment.

  • Never form inappropriate personal or sexual relationships with children.

  • Use appropriate authorised communication channels.

  • Report behaviour or interactions that could reasonably raise a safeguarding concern.

13. Online Safety and Communication

Aslan Academies recognises that online behaviour can create safeguarding risks.

Staff must:

  • Not privately message children through personal accounts.

  • Not exchange personal social media details with pupils.

  • Use authorised communication channels.

  • Maintain professional boundaries online.

  • Report safeguarding concerns involving messages, images, social media or online behaviour.

Online safeguarding concerns are treated as seriously as concerns occurring in person.

14. Photography and Video

Appropriate parental/carer consent must be obtained for identifiable photographs or video.

Images must be appropriate and handled responsibly.

Staff must not use personal devices to photograph or film children unless specifically authorised under an agreed procedure.

Personal or sensitive information must not be unnecessarily published alongside images.

Any concern about inappropriate photography, filming or image sharing must be reported.

15. Prevent and Radicalisation

Aslan Academies trains staff to recognise and report concerns relating to radicalisation and extremist grooming.

Concerns about radicalisation are treated as safeguarding concerns and referred through the appropriate safeguarding route.

When working within schools, staff follow the school's Prevent and safeguarding procedures.

16. Health, Safety and Supervision

Safeguarding includes providing a physically safe environment.

Aslan Academies maintains appropriate:

  • Risk assessments.

  • Supervision arrangements.

  • Emergency contact information.

  • First-aid provision.

  • Medical information.

  • Emergency procedures.

The age, needs, abilities and circumstances of children must be considered when planning activities and supervision.

17. Concerns and Allegations About Staff

Any safeguarding concern about a director, member of staff, coach, volunteer or contractor must be reported promptly.

This includes concerns that an adult may have:

  • Harmed a child.

  • Put a child at risk of harm.

  • Behaved in a way that may indicate they are unsuitable to work with children.

  • Behaved in a way inconsistent with expected professional standards.

Where provision is delivered within a school, the school's procedure for allegations and low-level concerns must also be followed.

Where appropriate, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), Police, Children's Social Care or another relevant authority will be consulted.

18. Low-Level Concerns

A low-level concern is behaviour by an adult working with children that may be inconsistent with expected professional standards but does not, on its own, appear to meet the threshold for a formal allegation.

"Low-level" does not mean insignificant.

Staff should report concerns rather than deciding themselves whether behaviour is serious enough. Patterns of behaviour can be important.

19. Whistleblowing

Staff are expected to raise concerns about unsafe safeguarding practice, failures to follow procedures or inappropriate behaviour.

No person should suffer detriment for raising a genuine concern in good faith.

Concerns should normally be raised with the Aslan DSL or, where school-based, through the school's safeguarding or whistleblowing arrangements.

20. Information Sharing, Confidentiality and Data Protection

Safeguarding information is confidential, but confidentiality must never prevent appropriate action to protect a child.

Information will be:

  • Shared only with people who need it for safeguarding purposes.

  • Accurate and relevant.

  • Limited to what is necessary.

  • Shared promptly where delay could increase risk.

  • Recorded and stored securely.

Information is handled in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

21. Early Help and Multi-Agency Working

Children should receive the right help at the right time.

Where concerns indicate that a child or family may benefit from additional support, Aslan Academies will work with the relevant school and safeguarding professionals to support appropriate early help or referral.

Where a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, the matter must be referred promptly through statutory safeguarding procedures.

22. Policy Review

This policy is reviewed at least annually and sooner where:

  • Legislation or safeguarding guidance changes.

  • Aslan Academies' provision materially changes.

  • A safeguarding incident indicates that a review is required.

Policy updated: September 2026
Next review: September 2027

Safeguarding Contact

Georgina Ingram
Director / Designated Safeguarding Lead
Email: info@aslanacademies.com
Telephone: 07539 247902

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.

Aslan Academies takes safeguarding extremely seriously. All staff hold Enhanced DBS checks and safeguarding training. We work closely with partner schools and follow strict child protection procedures to ensure every child is safe, supported, and protected.

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