Purpose of the post
•Ensure that the people of Gwynedd are at the heart of everything we do.
•Ensure guidance for the Department and Gwynedd schools in the safeguarding field.
•Ensure specialist support for the Department and Gwynedd schools in the safeguarding field and support for vulnerable pupils.
•Ensure that learners taught outside of school are safe by taking an active role, in collaboration, for their safeguarding.
Responsibility for functions
•Laptop, Mobile Phone
Main duties
Ensure that Authority staff working with children receive training to equip them to carry out their child protection responsibilities effectively.
⁠Child Protection Training
•Prepare and review annually a training package for Education department staff.
•Prepare and review annually a training package for the designated person(s), Headteacher, and designated person of each Governing Body modifying and keeping it up-to-date in a three-year cycle.
•Prepare and review annually a refresher training package for the designated person(s) to present to the rest of the school staff every year.
•In accordance with the training suitability annual verifying guidelines through the Safeguarding Board.
•Continuously develop training to meet the needs of the users while ensuring the quality of the training materials.
Other Training
•Develop training from scratch as a result of local or national priority.
•Work with the Learning and Development department and external agencies, where appropriate, to plan and deliver various training related to the field of child safeguarding in education.
•Develop new packages to support schools/providers in the child safeguarding field as required.
Record Training
•Keep a record of all individuals who have received child protection training, noting specific details of the trainee and the date.
•Check that all Schools/providers keep an up-to-date training register of all staff.
•Support the (LEA) to keep a record of all individuals who have received other training, noting specific details of the trainee and the date. ⁠
Review any training in response to child practice reviews.
Ensure that the Department and Gwynedd Schools have current and appropriate policies and procedures.
Policies and Procedures
•Prepare and review annually a package of model policies and procedures on all aspects of child safeguarding.
•Ensure that all model policies and procedures are in line with national guidance and the Local Safeguarding Board.
•Ensure that all Schools receive up-to-date copies of the latest documentation annually.
•Ensure Gwynedd schools implement their Safeguarding Children policy.
•Work with the Safeguarding and Well-being Quality Leader to review and re-prepare where necessary, Policies and Procedures relating to key issues that may be relevant to child protection such as;
•health and safety, prevention/restraint, bullying;
•school trips, pupil transport, residential visits, exchange visits between schools;
•child employment, work experience;
•taking photographs and using photographs of children;
•pupils without a school place;
•showers and changing arrangements;
•parents and other voluntary helpers;
•first aid and administering medication;
•arrangements for after-school clubs;
•using the internet safely;
•children with parents/carers who suffer from a mental illness or disability;
•children with parents/carers who misuse drugs or substances; and
•children in residential schools outside the local authority.
Ensure that the Department safeguards children who are out of mainstream education in accordance with the guidelines.
•Protect and promote the welfare of children who have not had a school place, or have been excluded from school, including those taught in pupil referral units or by the home tutor service.
•For children home-schooled by parents or carers, to build effective relationships with those who are homeschoolers to protect the educational benefit and well-being of children and young people.
Ensure the Department of Education's input into strategic issues.
•Represent the Department and offer guidance at national, regional, authority level meetings and in relevant sub-groups.
•Submit regulatory feedback from the meetings to the attention of the Safeguarding and Wellbeing Quality Leader
•Contribute fully to child practice reviews.
Ensure that the Education Department and Gwynedd Schools comply with adopted guidelines.
Quality Check
•Ensure that all Schools submit specific information on the child safeguarding field annually for the attention of the Governing Body and the Education Department.
•Prepare an annual report for the attention of the Safeguarding and Well-being Quality Leader on the content of these reports.
•Visit Schools annually to check the quality of their safeguarding arrangements.
•Prepare an annual report summarising the findings of the quality check visits.
•Refer concerns about lack of action to the attention of the Safeguarding and Wellbeing Quality Leader.
•Children in care Personal Education Schemes.
Ensure appropriate advice, support and guidance for schools and Department of Education staff.
•Provide advice and support to schools, and to designated senior staff on dealing with individual cases.
•Provide advice, guidance and support in terms of:
•case work, court appearances, legal matters;
•new legislation;
•manage reports on missing pupils;
•allegations against staff/Governors;
•specific circumstances of abuse, e.g. genital mutilation in girls, self-harm, forced marriage, false or induced illness, domestic violence, abuse of a child by another child, sexual exploitation, and young migrants.
•Advise, monitor and report on any concern regarding secure recruitment arrangements including a Disclosure and Barring Service in line with Welsh Government guidance.
Ensure that the Department of Education and Gwynedd Schools collaborate effectively with key agencies.
Act on behalf of schools where necessary to resolve any difficulties with partner agencies to obtain the appropriate support from them.
Encourage and foster understanding and good working relationships with children's social workers and staff in other agencies involved in safeguarding children.
Develop effective partnership working arrangements.
Ensure that the service is part of a process of continuous improvement.
Ensure monitoring of progress against the priorities as required.
Support the (LEA) to ensure Quality of Education Provision for Children from Vulnerable Groups⁠⁠
•Identify, supervise and monitor the progress of pupils from vulnerable groups.
•Support and delegate on behalf of the (LEA) as a lead responsible officer for ensuring that arrangements are in place to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of children in authority care, including those based outside the county. ⁠
•Support schools to plan strategically to improve the overall outcomes of pupils from vulnerable groups.
•Influence headteachers and other professionals in education and social work and collaborate with them to represent the interests of pupils from vulnerable groups.
•Contribute to the work of the multi-disciplinary team.
•Intervene directly in specific cases.
Report the following outcomes regularly:⁠
•Educational progress of looked after children
•⁠Attendance
•Behaviour and exclusions
•The welfare and social needs of children from vulnerable groups ensuring they are met
•Effectiveness of interventions
•Good practice locally and nationally
•Support and resources needed to support children's progress
•Monitor the long-term outcomes of vulnerable children and driving their improvement.
•Ensure that Individual Development Plans or Individual Education Plans are developed and reviewed suitably following person-centred methods.
Support and delegate on behalf of the (LEA) on ensuring that the Department responds accurately and in a timely manner to allegations against school staff and Gwynedd's education provisions. ⁠
•Follow an agreed procedure to respond to allegations.
•Represent the Department and offer guidance at Part 5 meetings.
•Advise and support Chairs of Governors who deal with allegations against Headteachers.
•Implement what is expected as a result of enquiries from the admissions team.
•Implement what is expected of Part 5 meetings.
Supervision
•Provide professional supervision to designated child safeguarding persons in a specified number of schools where there are complex and live child protection cases in the school. The sessions will follow a specific routine and will be an opportunity for designated persons in schools to receive specialist help and support in maintaining their well-being and emotional health.⁠
•These will be expected to be hybrid sessions in terms of the practical challenges of travel.
•Provide professional supervision for chairs of governing bodies and designated persons for child safeguarding on governing bodies in a specified number of schools where there are complex and live child protection cases involving school leaders. The sessions will follow a specific routine and provide specialist help and support in maintaining their wellbeing and emotional health.
General
•Attend training and commit to professional development.
•Contribute to quality evaluation activities.
•Responsibility for self-development.
•Ensure compliance with Health and Safety rules in the workplace in accordance with the responsibilities noted in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Council’s Health and Safety Policy.
•Operate within the Council’s policies in relation to equal opportunities and equality.
•Responsible for managing information in accordance with the Council’s information management guidelines. Ensure that personal information is treated in accordance with Data Protection legislation.
•Commitment to reducing the Council’s carbon emissions in accordance with the Carbon Management Plan, and to encourage others to act positively towards reducing the Council’s Carbon Footprint.
•Undertake any other reasonable duty which corresponds to the salary level and responsibility level of the job.
•Responsibility to report any concern or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused.
Special circumstances
•Work outside normal working hours as required.