Safeguarding

What to do if you are worried about the safety or welfare of a child.

You can report concerns to Derbyshire County Council’s Child Protection team by calling 01629 533 190.

If you think a child is in immediate danger you should call the police on 999 or, if less urgent, on 101.

If you are a child in school you can talk to any adult about your concerns.

Students in school can report bullying or sexual harassment (in or out of school) by emailing Chapel Calls it Out: chapelcallsitout@chapelhigh.org.uk.

Contact Childline.

The schools approach to safeguarding

Safeguarding is our highest priority. All staff receive regular training in all aspects of safeguarding. The school has six designated safeguarding leads (DSLs):

Senior DSL Paula Griffiths pgriffiths@chapelhigh.org.uk
Deputy DSL Damian Wightman dwightman@chapelhigh.org.uk
Deputy DSL Clair Louis clouis@chapelhigh.org.uk

We use our Learning for Life programme to teach young people how to stay safe. This includes staying safe online, in relationships, understanding substance abuse and many other areas of personal safety.

All of our staff undergo rigorous checks before being appointed.

Our processes meet the requirements of Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Our safeguarding policy is here.

We work closely with other agencies to keep children safe, these include Derbyshire Social Care, the NHS, the police, local GPs, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, other local schools and colleges. We will share information with these services to keep children safe.

If you are a professional, you can contact our safeguarding team for non-urgent enquiries using safeguarding@chapelhigh.org.uk.

Early Help

The school provides early help services to children and families. Our family outreach manager is:

Mrs A Parry aparry@chapelhigh.org.uk

Mrs Parry works full-time in term time and on Tuesdays during school holidays.

Mental Health Support

Mental health and wellbeing matters to all of us and we know that our physical and mental health need to be nourished in the right way. We want all of our students and colleagues to have a sense of belonging at school and to feel happy and safe. At Chapel High School, mental health is of paramount importance, and so we have a dedicated team whose aim is to give students strategies to cope with arising issues and to know who to turn to if they need advice. Mrs Griffiths is the senior leader responsible for our whole school approach to mental health. Additionally, our pastoral team are mental health first aiders.

We aim for our students to be taught strategies and skills to cope with matters when they feel stressed, anxious or overwhelmed. We do this through the delivery of learning for life lessons, tutor time activities and assemblies. We also have student mental health champions. They help to run a wellbeing hub at lunchtimes for students who may be having a difficult day and want a quiet space to be alone, chat with friends, or take part in a mindfulness activity, such as craft. We also provide information on display boards to signpost places they can go if they need help.

If, as a parent, you have any emerging concerns about your child’s mental health please contact their pastoral lead in the first instance. They will assess the next steps for your child’s needs. This may include access to our school counsellor, family outreach manager or ELSA. We also work with Compass Changing Lives’ Mental Health Support Team (MHST) who facilitate intervention workshops for students, or for parents who may need additional support.

If you’re concerned during holiday time, our family outreach manager is Mrs Parry, who works on Tuesdays during school holidays: aparry@chapelhigh.org.uk

Child and parental support

Below is a list of online support for parents, if you need some advice or support with your child’s needs:

• Our termly parental wellbeing newsletter, which was launched in 2024
• The Derby and Derbyshire Portal for mental health support is here

The website provides resources and contact details to support children, adults, and those with disabilities and neurodiversity (autism, ADHD etc.). It also includes information on suicide prevention.

• https://www.kooth.com/ Kooth is an app you can download to help students with their mental health. It includes a chat group with trained mental health professionals and strategies for improving wellbeing
• https://www.youngminds.org.uk/   Young minds is a charity who has resources for students and parents on how to talk about mental health and wellbeing and strategies to support families who might be struggling
• https://www.annafreud.org/ Anna Freud is a children’s mental health charity with resources for parents and children on coping strategies and where to turn to for help

Adult Support

Having and supporting positive mental health and wellbeing is a priority for all teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and other adults at Chapel High School. Some suggested places for advice and support are detailed below:

• The NHS recommends you talk to your GP first, as they can refer you to access mental health services. Find out more on the NHS website here
• The Derby and Derbyshire Portal for mental health support is here. The emergency helpline number is 0800 0280077

The website provides resources and contact details to support for adults, those with disabilities and neurodiversity (autism, ADHD etc.). It also includes information on suicide prevention.

• Text SHOUT to 85258 or visit www.giveusashout.org/

Online safety

Children today have access to and are influenced by a range of online media and need guidance and support in order to know how to make best use of technology without putting themselves at risk. We address this through our Learning for Life programme and through work in ICT lessons but parents will clearly play the biggest role in monitoring children’s use of social media. This can be a daunting task and keeping in touch with developments is very challenging.

This page aims to provide you with information and links to further sources of advice to help you in this.

Thinkuknow: parents
The latest information to help parents understand the internet and realise what the risks are, so that they can support their children's internet use.

Thinkuknow: students
The latest information on the sites teenagers like to visit, mobiles and new technology.

CEOP
CEOP allows anyone to easily report online exploitation or abuse.

Working online in school

At school, we filter all internet content and students have restricted access to the internet on the school network. Students’ mobile devices cannot be connected to the school network. We insist that mobile devices are switched off and in bags during the school day. We cannot of course prevent students from accessing online content using their mobile devices once they have left the school site.