Keeping our children safe
Safeguarding
Everyone in our community which includes staff, parents, families and learners have an essential role to play in making it safe and secure. As an alternative provision, we recognise our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in our care with their best interests at the centre of our work.
Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do. We are totally committed to safeguarding young people and foster a culture of safety within our provision. We have a highly trained team of staff who understand the safeguarding risks that our young people face. We are aware that some young people make choices that put them at risk, and we work proactively with our learners, their families and other agencies to help them avoid putting themselves into unsafe situations.
Designated Safeguarding Leads
Visiting The Bridge
Wherever possible, visits to The Bridge should be pre-arranged. All visitors must report to reception first and not enter the centre via any other entrance. At reception, all visitors should explain the purpose of their visit and who has invited them. They should be ready to produce formal identification. All visitors will be asked to sign in through our electronic system, which includes a photograph of the visitor being taken.
Visitors should wait in the reception area until they are met by an appropriate staff member to be escorted to their destination. On departing the provision, visitors should leave via reception, sign out of the building, return their visitor badge and be seen to leave the premises.
All visitors will be issued with a lanyard, which will hold the visitor’s badge. This should be worn and displayed prominently while on the provision site. Visitors wearing the following lanyards are allowed to access the centre unaccompanied:
- Blue lanyard – staff
- Yellow lanyard - contractors
- Green lanyard – visitor lanyard (for those who are ‘DBS checked’)
A member of provision staff should accompany visitors wearing the following lanyard at all times:
- Red – visitor lanyard
How to report safeguarding concerns
If there is a concern that a learner is being harmed, is at risk of harm, or a disclosure has been received (intentionally or unintentionally), it must be reported to a member of the safeguarding team (above) immediately via the office. Record your concern through MyConcern as soon as possible.
Both of these actions must be carried out.