Safeguarding

The Kingston Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff, trustees, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment. We have created a school where the well-being of every child is of paramount importance by providing an environment that is caring, positive, safe and stimulating and that promotes the social, physical and moral development of our pupils; we strive to ensure that students should feel safe, secure, well cared for and able to achieve their full potential.   

Reporting concerns

If you are worried about the safety or well-being of a child at The Kingston Academy, please contact Reception on 020 8465 6200 and ask to speak to a member of the safeguarding team; alternatively you can call 07519 738 760 (7am to 7pm during term time). Outside of these hours, if the concern is medical please attend your nearest Emergency Department and if non-medical please contact the  Single Point of Access (SPA). If a child is in immediate danger please call 999. You can see our safeguarding poster here. If you are worried about a child who does not attend The Kingston Academy you can contact SPA on the link above. For safeguarding concerns about an adult who is working with children where you feel that you cannot report this directly to the school, please contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). 

If a pupil is worried about themself or another member of our community they can speak to any member of staff or they can report their concern online using the online Worry Box, which is found in the TKA Bookmarks on their Chromebook. They can also report concerns anonymously, if they so wish. 

Whole School Approach

Our staff understand the importance of our commitment to safeguarding and encourage a culture where students feel safe to share any worries that they may have and trust that they will be listened to. Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy, which is underpinned by Keeping Children Safe In Education from the Department for Education, ensures that all staff are aware of their responsibilities with regards to safeguarding, that they know what to do if they have a concern and that they recognise signs of abuse. It aims to ensure that children and young people at The Kingston Academy are protected from harm and where we become aware of concerns, we take appropriate action; this can be through providing support in school and may mean sharing information with our external partners, such as Early Help, Children’s Services, the Police or Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services. 

Students learn about safeguarding themes through our pastoral and personal development curriculum. We want every child to know who they can speak to if they are worried about themself or someone else. 

We recognise that some children may be especially vulnerable to abuse, for example those with Special Educational Needs or those living in adverse circumstances. We recognise that children who are abused or neglected may find it difficult to develop a sense of self worth and to view the world in a positive way, and that their behaviour in school may be challenging. We recognise that some children who have been harmed may harm others. We take a considered and sensitive approach in order that we can support all of our pupils. 

While safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, particular safeguarding concerns will be supported by our safeguarding team: 

Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnership have a variety of resources available for children, parents and carers on a variety of safeguarding themes, which can be found here. 

Useful resources for students, parents and carers: