Safeguarding

Blackpool Sixth is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of all students, staff and visitors. Having a safe environment is so important so our students can devote their efforts to being successful in their studies, developing their character and planning for their futures.

All staff are carefully selected using recruitment and selection procedures designed to emphasise our commitment to safeguarding. All posts, including volunteers, are subject to enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance. We ensure that all staff receive appropriate safeguarding training and are aware of their responsibilities if a student discloses, or is suspected to be suffering from, any form of abuse or harm.

What does safeguarding involve?

Safeguarding and protecting the welfare young people involves:

  • protecting them from maltreatment, abuse and/or neglect;
  • preventing impairment of mental or physical health;
  • taking action to enable all young people to have the best outcomes.

Are you worried about yourself or another young person being affected by:

  • bullying/harassment/other peer-on-peer abuse
  • abuse at home or college
  • online safety
  • mental health
  • substance misuse
  • exploitation (sexual or criminal)
  • risk of radicalisation (being drawn into extremism or terrorism)
  • homelessness

If  you answered YES to any of the above…

Please talk with your pastoral mentor or any member of staff if you have any concerns about your safety/wellbeing or the safety/wellbeing of others. 

If you are a parent/carer or member of the public and you are concerned about a student, please call the main college switchboard on 01253 394911 and ask to speak to a member of the safeguarding team. 

You can also contact a member of the safeguarding team directly via email:

  • Stuart Ormson, Designated Safeguarding Lead

Email: stuart.ormson@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk 

  • Tim Craven, College Lead for Safeguarding and Student Standards

Email: tim.craven@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk 

  • David Williams, College Lead for Student Wellbeing.

Email: david.williams@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk

 

What to do if you have a safeguarding concern when college is closed

If you feel at immediate risk, contact the Police on 999

If you are worried about welfare/wellbeing then call social care for advice…

  • If you are a resident in Blackpool, call  01253 477299
    • (out of hours: 01253 477600)
  • If you are a resident in Fylde or Wyre, call 0300 123 6720
    • out of hours 0300 123 6722)

The NSPCC is available for advice or information, call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000. The helpline is open Monday to Friday 8 am – 10 pm or 9 am – 6 pm at the weekends. You can also email help@nspcc.org.uk for support or advice.

What if I am struggling emotionally and need someone to talk to?

The CASHER Team, based at Blackpool Victoria Hospital are available for young people up till the age of 25 who require urgent mental health support out of normal hours. Tel 07717 150304 or 07795 452781or 07810 696565

The Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can contact them by phone on 116 123 or via email on jo@samaritans.org. Common reasons people contact the Samaritans are Common reasons people contact us are:

  • relationship and family problems
  • loss, including loss of a friend or a family member through bereavement
  • financial worries
  • feeling stressed or anxious
  • college or study-related stress
  • loneliness and isolation
  • depression
  • painful and/or disabling physical illness
  • heavy use of or dependency on alcohol or other drugs
  • thoughts of suicide

Where can I get advice and guidance about Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

NHS advice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ 

Where can I get advice about other health concerns?

NHS advice: www.nhs.uk

Digital healthy colleges https://blackpoolsixth.blackpool.digitalhealthyschools.co.uk allows you to search for over 300,000 health-related apps that have been evaluated and recommended as safe by the NHS.

What if my family or friends are struggling for food?

Fylde Foodbank: St Annes, Lytham, Kirkham, Warton and rural areas of Fylde: https://fylde.foodbank.org.uk/

Blackpool Housing/Food Banks: https://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Residents/Advice-and-support/Discretionary-support-scheme.aspx

Other links

Operation Encompass

Blackpool Sixth Form participates in Operation Encompass. Operation Encompass is a unique Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership which ensures that a young person’s college is informed, prior to the start of the next college day, that there has been an incident of Domestic Abuse or any incident in which the young person has been exposed in which they are considered to be vulnerable to harm, and which might then have an impact on them in college the following day.

Each school/college is informed of all such incidents, not just those where an offence can be identified or those which are graded as high risk. The partnership recognises that all incidents of Domestic Abuse/vulnerability can be harmful to children and young people. This information will be shared throughout the year, including holidays and weekends. Information will only be shared with the college by the police where it is identified that a young person was present, witnessed or was involved in a domestic abuse incident.

Nominated members of staff, known as ‘Key Adults’, have been trained to liaise with the police. At Blackpool Sixth our Key Adults are the Designated Safeguarding Lead, Stuart Ormson, and the four Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads, Tim Craven, Tom Holland, Dave Williams and Nicola Threlfall. They will be able to use information that has been shared with them, in confidence, to ensure that the college makes provision for possible difficulties experienced by children or their families. The Key Adults will keep this information confidential, and will only share it on a need to know basis, for instance, to the pastoral mentor and teachers of the young person. It will not be shared with other students.

Operation Encompass was first introduced in Plymouth in February 2011, and has proved very effective in providing appropriate and timely support to young people affected by domestic abuse. This initiative has been implemented across the whole of the Lancashire Police area.  If you would like some more information about it, you can view it online at www.operationencompass.org.

We are keen to offer the best support possible for our students and a recent review of Operation Encompass showed that it is beneficial and supportive for all those involved.