Bishop Fox’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of all children and young people. We endeavour to provide a safe and secure environment for children, young people, visitors and staff. We promote a climate where all are confident in sharing any concerns about their own or another’s safety and wellbeing and take the approach that ALL students will be listened too, believed, taken seriously and appropriately supported.
Our continued intent is to:
- Maintain an ethos and environment where students feel safe and secure.
- Support students who may have been or are at risk of any form of abuse. This will include home; community or other spaces they inhabit.
- All staff and Trustees are trained and fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of all students.
- Child Protection concerns are dealt with in a timely and sensitive manner in accordance with policies and procedures and involving the most appropriate statutory stakeholders.
Our Child Protection Policy and Safeguarding Policy can be found here.
Key Safeguarding Personnel can be found here.
The designated Trustee for Child Protection is Lorraine Darke.
What To Do If You Have A Safeguarding Concern
If you have a safeguarding concern about a child, young person or adult that attends the school then please follow the instructions below for reporting your concern.
During school hours – contact the school on 01823 289211 and ask to speak to one of the key safeguarding personnel named above.
Out of school hours or weekends – please contact one of the below numbers:
- Somerset Direct on 0300 1232224
- Evening and weekends – Social Services Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 03001 232327
Other Useful Contacts:
- Samaritans Helpline – 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
- Childline – 0800 1111
- Bereavement support – 0808 808 1677 or email helpline@cruse.org.uk
Who Can Students Talk to in School About a Concern?
Bishop Fox’s School promotes that all students or visitors can approach any member of staff to report a safeguarding concern. Staff will listen and seek relevant additional advice as necessary.
Students will choose who they want to talk to, but the following people have some additional skills to support students:
- Their form tutor
- Their Head of Year
- Their Pastoral Lead Officer
- Any member of the Pastoral Team
Useful safeguarding website links for students and adults that need support:
- Beating Eating Disorders
- Childline
- Crimestoppers
- Fearfree
- Galop
- Information about drugs
- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024
- Mankind
- National domestic abuse help
- NSPCC
- Rape Crisis
- Respect Phoneline
- Respond
- Rights of Women
- Rosa Support
- Safeline
- Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership
- Understanding knife crime
- Somerset Drugs and Alcohol Service
- SEND Somerset Local offer – keeping safe online
- Somerset Young Carers
- Vapes and Young People
All staff receive annual Child Protection and Safeguarding update training and are aware of the procedures for passing on any causes for concerns within school. These can relate to Child Protection, Student Welfare, E-Safety, Radicalisation or other causes for concern. If any members of the school or local community have concerns about the welfare of a child in the school, please pass them on to the School Child Protection Team.
Anti-Bullying Advice for Parents: https://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/all-about-bullying/celebrating-difference-schools/secondary-school-pack