Safeguarding
The Mercia Academy adopts a child centred and co-ordinated approach to safeguarding.Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families and carers has a role to play in safeguarding children. At Mercia Academy all adults make sure their approach is child-centred. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:
- 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.
All of the staff at Mercia Academy have a role to play in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
If you need to contact the school's safeguarding leads during the school day, please contact via the following details below Monday - Friday between 8:00 - 15:30.
| Named Staff and contacts | ||
| Designated Safeguarding Lead | Mrs M Payne | [email protected] |
| Deputy Safeguarding Lead |
Mrs K Lundman Mrs G Francis |
|
| Prevent Single Point of Contact | [email protected] | or [email protected] |
| Chair of Governors | Dr Alan Jones | [email protected] |
Safeguarding out of hours support
Should you require any advice or support with safeguarding, please refer to the following contacts
|
Derbyshire County Council Starting Point |
If you have significant concerns about a child’s safety | |
| Childline |
18 or Under? Childline offers free, confidential advice and support whatever your worry, whenever you need help. |
|
| NSPCC |
Contact the NSPCC helpline If you're worried about a child, even if you're unsure, contact our professional counsellors for help, advice and support. |
0808 800 5000 |
| The Samaritans | Confidential emotional support | |
| Kooth | A provider of online mental health services for children, young people and adults | Website |
| FRANK | Confidential drugs information and advice | |
| COMPASS | Parental self referral service for direct support that provides prevention and early intervention emotional wellbeing and mental health support to Children, Young People and Families | Website |
| Children's Mental Health Services (CAMHS) | A service that is available across Derbyshire for Families to self refer for Children and Young Persons mental health support. | Website |
| Child Safety Online | A practical guide for parents and carers whose children are using social media. | Download |
Youngminds Crisis Messenger
The YoungMinds Crisis Messenger text service provides free, 24/7 crisis support across the UK. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis and need support, you can text SHOUT to 85258.
We know that finding the right support is important, especially if you need someone to talk to right now. We aim to connect every texter to a trained volunteer promptly to provide crisis help. They will listen to you and help you think more clearly, enabling you to know that you can take the next step to feeling better.
It is free and confidential to text our service from the following major networks: EE, O2, Three and Vodafone.
These include - BT Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Mobile, iD Mobile, Sky, Telecom Plus, Lebara and GiffGaff. Some Android phones issue a warning that you will be charged for texting us, provided you are on one of these networks this warning is incorrect and you will not be charged. If you text us from a network not on this list, you may be charged for the messages and appear on your bill, because some networks do not provide the capability to message short codes.
For more information click here to visit their website.