Safeguarding & Concerns
South Charnwood High School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and safety of all pupils.
South Charnwood High School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the health, safety and wellbeing of every child and this is why we listen intently to our students and their concerns. We want to work in partnership with parents and carers to help our students achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution and we are committed to ensuring that consistent, effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support families, pupils and staff at school. All concerns are dealt with by fully trained staff.
Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mrs Juszkiewicz, Assistant Headteacher. She is supported by Mrs Coles, Safeguarding & Vulnerable Pupils Manager. Our DDSL's are Mr Andrews, Mrs Allfree, Mr Peake and Mrs Ackland.
How will I learn about safeguarding concerns?
The school will, in most circumstances, endeavour to discuss all concerns with parents about their children. However, there may be exceptional circumstances when the school will discuss concerns with Social Care and/or the Police without parental knowledge (in accordance with Child Protection procedures).
On very rare occasions Social Care, whilst undertaking an investigation under s47 of the Children Act 1989, may want to speak to a child without a parent’s knowledge. This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies and would only be done in situations where a child might be at immediate risk. To gain consent at this point may increase the level of risk to the child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost.
The school will, of course, always aim to maintain a positive relationship with all parents and whilst we would always aim to work in partnership with parents there may be exceptions to this when concerns are raised for the protection of a child.
The procedures that we follow have been laid down by the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all.
Worried about a child?
Should you have a concern which you consider to be a safeguarding issue, please use the Safeguarding/Concern contact form below or telephone Mrs Juszkiewicz/Mrs Coles(DSL/Safeguarding & Vulnerable Pupils Manager) on 01530 242351.
The form below will send a message directly to Mrs Juszkiewicz in complete confidence. It is school policy to reply to concerns within 48 hours, however, an immediate response cannot be guaranteed when contacting us via email.
If you need support out of hours you can contact the NSPCC helpline for support and advice for free - call 0808 800 5000 or contact NSPCC online.
Children can contact Childline any time to get support themselves.
In an emergency please call 999 or in a non-emergency call 101.
Safer Recruitment
To promote a safe environment for students, our Safer Recruitment Policy includes all checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks in accordance with current legislation.
In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002 and “Keeping Children Safe in Education“ Sept 2025, we have a Designated Safeguarding Lead for Child Protection (Mrs Juszkiewicz) who is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and Assistant Headteacher, and has received appropriate training for this role. It is her responsibility, alongside Mrs Burton, to ensure that all staff in contact with children receive Child Protection awareness training on a regular basis.
Helpful Advice and Information
Please click here to see our Safeguarding Statement/Child Protection Policy
| Name | Information | Phone | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety UK | Anxiety helpline | 08444 775 774 | |
| anti-bullying alliance | Support and advice about bullying | ||
| Beat Youth Line | Eating disorder helpline | 0808 801 0711 | |
| Bereavement UK | Bereavement help | 0800 634 9494 | |
| Black Lives Matter | A parents guide | Black lives matter booklet | |
| Calm | Helpline for boys aged 15+ | 0800 58 58 58 | |
| Cancer Support | Cancer support line | 0808 800 1234 | |
| Child Bereavement UK | Child bereavement helpline | 0800 028 8840 | |
| Childline | 24 hours helpline for under 18s | 0800 11 11 | |
| Child Safety Online | A practical guide for parents and carers whose children are using social media. | ||
| CAMHS Family Therapy Team | A new service that has been set up for families across Leicester and Leicestershire. Families can ring and self-refer for support. | 0116 2952909 | www.youngminds.org.uk |
| Crimestoppers | Crime prevention | 0800 555 111 | |
| Crime Victims | Victim support | 08453030900 | |
| Cruse Bereavement Care | Support for bereaved children | 0808 808 1766 | |
| FREEVA | Free from violence & abuse | 08088020028 | |
| First Response | Report abuse or neglect of a child | 0116 305 0005 | |
| Grief Encounter | Support for bereaved children | 0808 802 0111 | |
| Kidscape | Keeping safe, bullying & how to cope | 020 7730 3300 | |
| Kooth | Online support for young people | ||
| Mental Health Foundation | Mental health issues helpline | 020 7803 1100 | |
| MIND | Mental health issues helpline | 0300 123 3393 | |
| National Missing Persons | Parents helpline | 0500 700 700 | |
| No Panic | Help with anxiety disorders | 0844 967 4848 | |
| NSPCC | 24 hour child protection helpline | 0800 800 5000 | |
| The Proud Trust | LGBT and youth support | 0161 660 3347 | |
| OCD UK | Obsessive compulsive disorder help | 0845 120 3778 | |
| Papyrus | Young suicide prevention | 0800 088 4141 | |
| Relate | Relationships help | 0300 100 1234 | |
| Royal college of psychiatrists | Helping children cope with worries and anxieties | ||
| Runaway Helpline | Parents helpline | 0800 800 70 70 | |
| Safer Internet | Tips, advice and resources to help keep your child safe online | 0344 800 2382 | |
| Samaritans | 24 hour suicide prevention line | 08457 90 90 90 | |
| Stop Smoking | Quitting helpline 9am-9pm | 0800 00 22 00 | |
| Talk to Frank | Confidential drugs information and advice | 0300 123 6600 |
|
| Youth Access | Discuss problems confidentially | 020 8772 9900 | |
| Young Minds | Emotional help | 0800 802 5544 |
Teen Mental health - A Guide for Parents
Family Empowerment Hub: A place for you to explore, learn, be inspired and empowered to support your family. Come along and discover FREE content covering topics such as family wellbeing, teen wellbeing and parenting.
Live Safe is a digital space that aims to provide information and support to young people and parents/carers in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Curated by the Violence Reduction Network (VRN) and with content produced from across the partnership, Live Safe brings together key information about issues that can affect young people’s safety. It covers subjects such as knife carrying and violence, criminal exploitation, gangs, online safety and substance use. It also provides young people with some guidance and tools to be active bystanders and make a positive stand against violence.
Designed with young people in mind, Live Safe purposely does not include partner organisations' logos and strives to make information as accessible and as relevant as possible. The VRN has recently worked with the subject matter experts within the Network and local young people to co-design additional content as well as update the imagery used.
Parents and carers can also find accurate and useful information about the same issues so they have the knowledge and tools to keep their children safe and know what to do if they are concerned. In time, there will be an additional section for professionals. Users can also find links to credible national organisations and further resources.
Shout - 24/7 text messaging mental health support
Give us a Shout 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.
Shout knows that finding the right support is important, especially if you need someone to talk to right now. They 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.
For more information Click Here
