Safeguarding

Safeguarding and Welfare Resources

Please click on the drop down icons for more information.

Brandhall Primary School safeguarding information:

 DSL Contact Information

 Safeguarding Governor

Our Safeguarding Governor is Mike Crump. He can be contacted via the school office.

 

What we offer in school:

Annual Safeguarding Day

 

Every year after SATS are finished, Year 6 have an Annual Safeguarding Day.

During the day, they complete workshops with various visiting agencies. These include workshops from DECCA (about the dangers of smoking, alcohol and drugs), Rewind UK (about anti-racism and challenging radicalisation), and the Sandwell Council Anti-Social Behaviour Team (about how to promote and live in healthy communities).

Year 6 also have visits from Sandwell Police’s Child Sexual Exploitation Team, who educate them about the risks of gangs, exploitation and County Lines. Black Country Women’s Aid also regularly deliver sessions on healthy relationships. We believe that this package of visits and workshops will help educate our children how to stay safe as they prepare to move to secondary school.

Sandwell Wellbeing Charter Mark

We are happy to say that Brandhall Primary was awarded the Sandwell Well-Being Charter Mark by Sandwell Inclusion Support. In order to gain the Charter Mark, the school was visited regularly by a team of Educational Psychologists, who looked at the different ways in which the school supports our pupils, families and staff.

About the Sandwell Well-Being Charter Mark:
“The Sandwell Well-being Charter Mark has been co-developed by Inclusion Support’s Educational Psychologists and Sandwell Council’s Public Health Department as a way to recognise the promotion of positive mental health and well-being in Sandwell schools.

The project addresses the well-being and mental health of all those in the school community by gathering the views of parents, staff, and pupils.

It is an Action Research Project, using qualitative data, listening to the views of pupils, parents and staff to celebrate a school’s current achievements and further develop the work that they are already involved in.

The Charter Mark School Audit is comprised of:

• An emotional health and well-being audit for schools linked to the Charter Mark.
• The development of an action plan.
• The option of support to implement a social, emotional learning programme to be incorporated into the taught curriculum.

The Charter Mark is underpinned by the eight principles described by Public Health England:

 

It requires collaboration with the Senior Leadership Team within the school, using an action research approach to engage and support the school through the process. It takes a year to complete the cycle and the award lasts for three years, after which it can be renewed.

The emotional health and well-being audit includes the Pupil Well-being Survey, an online staff survey, and focus groups with both pupils and parents. Focus group questions are differentiated for primary, secondary and specialist schools. ”

 School Counsellor

We are lucky to have a qualified counsellor working in school every week. Wayne has a wealth of experience working with children and adults.

Wayne works in school every Tuesday from 10am until 3pm. For more information on how to refer your child for counselling, please contact Mr Moore via the school office.

 

 

The agencies we work with:

Beam

“We are an emotional health and well-being drop-in service for young people aged 5-18 (or up to 25 if you’re a care leaver) who are registered with a GP in Sandwell.

You can drop in anytime and talk to us about how you’re feeling. Our team of experienced well-being practitioners and volunteers will listen to whatever is troubling you.”

To find out more click here Sandwell Beam.

Black Country Women's Aid

“Black Country Women’s Aid (formerly known as Sandwell Women’s Aid) is an independent charity which has supported survivors of abuse and exploitation in the West Midlands for 30 years.

Our sensitive and holistic support helps over 8000 victims of abuse each year to escape from violence, cope with trauma and rebuild their lives. We believe that no-one should have to live in fear of violence and abuse. We listen, we support, we care.

BCWA won Investors in People’s One to Watch Award and the Black Country Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year in 2015. BCWA was nominated for a Human Trafficking Foundation Award in 2017 for our outstanding contribution to the fight against modern slavery.”

To find out more click here Black Country Women's Aid.

Breaking Silence

“Breaking Silence provides Counselling & Creative Therapeutic Support to children, young people and their families affected by self-harm in Sandwell and aims to promote recovery.”

To find out more click here Breaking Silence.

 Edward's Trust

“We offer support to parents and any adults affected by the death of a child, children and young people who have had someone important to them die, or have a parent, significant carer, brother, sister, other family member or friend who is terminally ill.”

To find out more click here Edward's Trust.

Food Bank: Quinton and Oldbury

“We offer a warm welcome, a hot drink and chance for you to sit down and talk with someone. We have a range of information to try and help meet your needs and signpost to other organizations. We give toiletries as well as the three days supply of food.”

Both Mr Moore and Miss Hart are authorised to issue Food Bank Vouchers. Please contact them via the school office.

Locations and opening times:

NSPCC/Childline

 

We have regular visits from the NSPCC and Childline, who deliver assemblies to Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. They help teach children in the Infants and Juniors learn about how to keep safe and who to talk to if they feel worried or scared.

Operation Encompass

Our school has been given the opportunity to take part in a project that will run jointly between Education and West Midlands Police.

Operation Encompass is a police and education safeguarding partnership that supports children and young people exposed to domestic abuse. It aims to ensure schools are notified in a timely manner of any domestic abuse incident where a child was either present or registered at the address. This early notification should mean that, in most cases, schools are alerted in readiness for the children arriving at school the first working day following an incident.

Operation Encompass will also ensure that a member of the school staff, known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the local authority and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been involved in, or exposed to, a domestic abuse incident.

We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved.

ParentZone

ParentZone visit us each year to deliver Digital Resilience assemblies which help us learn about how to stay safe online. We also regularly send ParentZone articles and newsletters home to parents, so we can all keep up to date with how to stay safe online in an increasingly technological age.

PCSO

We have a great working relationship with our local Police Community Support Officer, Alison. She is a regular face in school and we have worked with her on a number of exciting projects.

We are in regular touch with Alison regarding a range of subjects and she is always on hand to help out or offer advice to anyone in the Brandhall community.

Prevent

 

We work closely with the Sandwell PREVENT team. The Prevent team work with our Year 6 students every year to help them understand the risks of radicalisation and extremism. The Prevent team also provide regular updates to our DSLs as well as training for all of our school staff.

Sandwell Children's Trust

School are regularly in touch with Sandwell Children’s Trust. We take advice from the MASH team and refer to children’s services should we have any concerns. Our staff receive regular safeguarding training from the local authority.

Sandwell Young Carers

“Sandwell Young Carers provides guidance and support to children and young people (aged 5-18) whose health, education and social lives have been affected as a result of caring for a dependent family member.”

To find out more click here Sandwell Young Carers.

Sandwell Family Hubs

 

Family Hubs are focused on providing help at every stage of the parenting journey; offering the right help, in the right place, at the right time by offering services and support for all families in Sandwell with children aged 0 – 19 (or 25 with SEND) and extra support is available for families during pregnancy and in your baby’s first years.

To sign up for more information or to find services, courses and sessions near you please visit their website.

Sandwell Family Hubs' Mobile Spoke also visits Brandhall Primary School each month and offers services such as the mobile library, advice sessions and twilight play sessions for nursery children. Keep your eye out for more information on your ParentMail account.

Sandwell Family Information Service

The Sandwell Information Service is an excellent place to find out what is on offer in Sandwell, from leisure activities to support for families. For more information, please visit Sandwell FIS.

West Bromwich Albion Foundation

 

“The Albion Foundation is the official charity partner of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. Our vision is to create a proud Albion family, engaged, inspired & achieving its potential.

We use the power of football to deliver excellence in wellbeing, behaviour change and active lifestyles.

Our goal is to deliver 10 million hours and make a difference to 100,000 lives, in the next 10 years.”

The Albion Foundation are a regular feature in school. They send members of their team to support small groups, work in class and lead activities on the playground. They also help deliver food to families in need.