Prevent Policy

 

Metal Clay Academy  believes equality and diversity is integral to our inclusive curriculum, creative innovation and for the enjoyment and fulfillment of our courses.. We are committed to providing an environment that promotes safety, positive wellbeing, equality and celebrates diversity. This contributes to sustaining an accessible and inclusive environment for all learners, staff, visitors, community, and commercial partners that we engage with.

Safeguarding and Prevent

 

Key objectives

This Safeguarding and Prevent Policy has five key objectives:

1. To promote and reinforce shared values; to create space for creative learning and to listen and support student comments and concerns.
2. To break down segregation among different learner communities by supporting interfaith and intercultural dialogue and understanding, and to engage all learners in playing a full and active role in wider engagement in society.
3. To ensure the safety of learners and that Metal Clay Academy is free from bullying, harassment and discrimination.
4. To provide support and appropriate sources of advice and guidance for learners who may be at risk. 
5. To ensure that students and tutors are aware of their roles and responsibilities in preventing violent extremism and the process of declaring any concerns.
6. In order to achieve these objectives the strategy will concentrate on six areas.
   
   

1. Leadership, management and values

To provide an ethos which upholds core values of shared responsibility and wellbeing for all learners, staff and visitors and promotes respect, equality and diversity and understanding.  

This will be achieved through:

• Promoting core values of respect, commitment, integrity and innovation including equality and diversity, democratic society, learner voice and participation.
• Building staff and learner understanding of the issues and confidence to deal with them.
• Metal Clay Academy  to implement the PREVENT Duty Risk Action plan.
• Regular reporting from course administration and learning logs.
• Action planning and accountability.
  
  

2. Training

All tutors, staff members and volunteers receive annual Prevent training. Training is provided for new staff as part of the staff training programme and is part of the whole Metal Clay Academy safeguarding and child protection training plan.

All learners receive training on Prevent as part of their induction.

3. Teaching and learning

To provide a curriculum which promotes knowledge, skills and understanding to build the resilience of learners, by undermining extremist ideology and supporting the learner voice.

This will be achieved through:

• Delivering effective training on Prevent to all students.
• Ensuring that regular opportunities arise where reference can be made to Prevent so that these concepts are embedded in the curriculum.
• Embedding equality, diversity and inclusion, wellbeing and community cohesion.
• Promoting wider skill development such as social and emotional aspects of learning.
• A curriculum adapted to recognise local needs, challenge extremist narratives and promote universal rights through various projects, events and campaigns.
• Developing the learner’s critical thinking skills which will support them in resisting extremism.
• Encouraging active citizenship/participation and learner voice.
• Focussing on narrowing the attainment gap for all learners.
• Identifying any vulnerabilities or worrying changes in learner behaviour and reporting it to the Designated Safeguarding Representative.
  
  

4. Learner support

To ensure that staff are confident to take preventative and responsive steps working with partner professionals, families and communities.  

This will be achieved through:

• Establishing strong and effective learner support services and processes.
• Listening to what is happening in the Academy and the community through learner voice mechanisms including learner council and satisfaction surveys.
• Implementing anti-bullying strategies and challenging discriminatory behaviour.
• Helping learners and staff know how to access support from Metal Clay Academy  and/or through community partners.
• Signposting or providing in-house welfare and support that meets the demographic of our learners.

Supporting at-risk learners through safeguarding and crime prevention processes.

• Focussing on narrowing the attainment gap for all learners.
  
  

5. Learner engagement and enrichment

Metal Clay Academy  has a learner engagement and enrichment strategy to enable learners to engage at all levels of the organisation to shape and enhance the learner experience. 

Initiatives are being explored or have been introduced to strengthen the cohesion of our learners and staff including: 

 

• Learner Progress Reviews
• Learner Induction sessions
• Enrichment activities
• Learner social activities 
• Raising awareness and promoting events that celebrate our diverse learner community focusing on cultures and faith as part of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Calendar.

6. Managing risks and responding to events

To ensure that Metal Clay Academy  monitors risks and is ready to deal appropriately with issues that may arise. 

This will be achieved through:

• Understanding the nature of the threat from violent extremism and how this may impact directly or indirectly on the Academy.
• Understanding and managing potential risks within Metal Clay Academy  and from external influences.
• Metal Clay Academy  must ensure that all students are free from radicalising influences in their learning environment. This must be carried out in progress reviews and ensuring that the employer adheres to our Prevent policy.
• Introducing a new Safe Working Practice Guide which identifies the behaviours it expects from all staff.
• Safer selection and review practice.

• Risk assessments and reviews of students, tutors. visitors, suppliers,  and contractors.
• Creating and monitoring a learner risk register and training admissions staff to be able to identify and raise concerns prior to a candidate enrolling on any of our programmes.
• Supporting and encouraging staff to develop and use the skills required to challenge appropriately.
• Develop learning/expert coaches, delivery staff and class representatives who will have the knowledge, skills and confidence to lead debates about controversial issues.
• Responding appropriately to events in local, national or international news that may impact on learners and communities.
• Ensuring measures are in place to minimise the potential for acts of violent extremism within the Academy.
• Creating an infrastructure and embedding processes and resources that will help to respond appropriately to a threat or incident within the Metal Clay Academy 
• Referring immediate causes for concern, where appropriate to our local Police Force or the Force local to any remote training venue.
• Internal training to ensure that all staff know that they must notify senior management immediately if they have concerns about a learner, a member of staff or an employer.
  
  

Managing disclosures – Receive, Reassure, React and Record

Guidance for staff if a learner comes to them to raise a Prevent concern about either themselves or another student.

Receive

• Do not ask questions or probe for information as this may contaminate evidence and prohibit a police investigation.
• Listen to what is being said, without displaying shock or disbelief.
• Accept what is said.
• Make a note of what has been said as soon as practicable.
  
  

Reassure

• Reassure the learner, but only so far as is honest and reliable. For example, don’t make promises you may not be able to keep e,g. ‘I’ll stay with you’ or ‘everything will be alright now’.
• Do reassure and alleviate guilt, if the learner refers to it. For example, you could say:
• You have been brave to tell me.
• I am glad you came to me.
• I am sorry this has happened.
• This was not your fault.
• We are going to do something together to get help.
• Do not promise to keep it a secret as your professional responsibilities require you to report the matter.
  
  

React

• React to the learner only as far as is necessary for you to establish whether or not you need to.
• Do not criticise the alleged perpetrator.
• Do not ask the learner to repeat it all for another member of staff. Explain what you have to do next and who you have to talk to. Reassure the learner that it will be a DSL and no one else. Try to see the matter through yourself and keep in contact with the pupil. Ensure that if an interview undertaken by the police is to follow, that the learner has a support person present if the learner wishes it (possibly yourself).
  
  

 

Record

• Make some very brief notes at the time on any paper which comes to hand, and write them up as soon as possible.
• Do not destroy your original notes in case they are required by a court.
• Record statements and observable things, rather than your ‘interpretations’ or ‘assumptions’.
  
  

Recording

Concerns about students should be recorded on the individual/personal chronological form and put in a personal folder and on the BAJ central ‘at risk’ log sheet, which will detail the concerns about a student, discussion with the appropriate Designated Safeguarding Lead, or  in their absence, another appropriate member of the safeguarding team and parents or carers where appropriate, and any agreed actions and outcomes. 

Records should be signed and dated and kept in chronological order. Group actions minutes in child protection conferences/strategy meetings must be implemented.

Recording is a tool of professional accountability and is central to safeguarding and protecting students. It is not always possible to know whether a small or vague concern held today may increase as the days or weeks pass and later form the substance of a child or vulnerable adult protection referral. For this reason it is vital that concerns are recorded accurately so that they can be monitored and emerging patterns noticed. All records will be kept in a secure storage facility that only the DSL and deputy DSL’s will have access to. Private learner information concerning Prevent Issues will not be kept on our IT systems. We will however keep a password protected central log on our system to keep account of learners who have had a Preventissue. No detailed account of the issue will be kept on this log and only the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Deputy Safeguarding Leads will have access to the password and central log.