Introduction
International School Pune promotes the welfare of children through the provision of a safe and supportive environment in which all students can flourish. This policy describes how the School works to achieve and maintain these outcomes, how it monitors incidents and situations which could diminish a child’s welfare and how it responds to improve the welfare of students.
Responsibilities
All staff have a responsibility for the safeguarding and promoting student welfare and well-being at the School with oversight maintained by the SGIS.
This policy should be read in conjunction with the A06 Safeguarding Policy.
All staff are responsible for carrying out of risk assessments in relation to the specific matters of student health, safety and welfare. The Designated Safeguarding Lead and Alternate Designated Safeguarding Lead can be called upon for advice in this process.
The Bursary has an overview of risk assessments carried out in relation to all land, buildings and facilities on campus and all activities pertaining to the non-teaching staff.
At an operational level, the appropriate Deputy Heads and the Head of Boarding, in coordination with the, Form Tutors and class teachers will;
- Ensure that all staff are aware of, and adhere to, the School’s policies and procedures on student health, safety and welfare;
- Ensure that staff have clearly established roles and responsibilities regarding safeguarding;
- Ensure that staff are appropriately trained to deal with student welfare issues;
- Ensure that, where concerns about a student’s welfare are identified, they are recorded using MyConcern.
- Ensure that on a case by case basis risks are appropriately managed through, if required, the completion of a Student Welfare Plan (Appendix 2);
- Ensure that staff, students, parents and external agencies are consulted, where appropriate, to find practical solutions to welfare issues;
- Ensure that standards of student welfare at the School are regularly monitored both at and individual level and whole School to identify trends and issues of concern and to improve systems to manage these.
Logs are kept of the following:
Pastoral Concerns
Bullying
Online safety incidents (students)
Allegations and incidents involving safeguarding of students: DSL
Parent Concerns and Informal Complaints: Principal
(Teachers dealing with first stage concerns keep record, using professional judgement to decide whether matter needs to be informed to or escalated to relevant Deputy Head)
Formal Complaints: Principal
Student Sanctions: Relevant Deputy Head
Fixed term and Permanent Exclusions: Principal
Health & Safety checks, fire drills and evacuations, accidents and near misses: Bursar.
Student Welfare
All staff at International School Pune recognise their responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of students in their care. This responsibility encompasses the following principles:
- To support students’ physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing (as well as their social and economic wellbeing);
- To protect students from harm and neglect;
- To recognise that corporal punishment can never be justified;
- To provide students with appropriate education, training and recreation;
- To encourage students to contribute to society;
- To ensure that students are provided with a safe and healthy environment (and to work within its means to develop the physical environment of the School in order to improve its provision for disabled students) (see Accessibility Plan and Equal Opportunities Policy);
- To manage welfare concerns effectively.
The School addresses its commitment to these principles through:
Prevention
Ensuring that all reasonable measures are taken to minimise the risks of harm to students and their welfare by:
- Ensuring through training that all staff are aware of and committed to these policies and the values set out;
- Establishing a positive, supportive and secure environment in which students can learn and develop;
Including in the curriculum, activities and opportunities for Wellbeing which equip students with skills to enable them to protect their own welfare and that of others; - Providing pastoral support that is accessible and available to all students.
Protection
Ensuring all appropriate actions are taken to address concerns about the welfare of a student, whether of a safeguarding nature or otherwise. This includes:
- Sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know and involving students and their parents appropriately;
- Monitoring students known or thought to be at risk of harm and formulating and/or contributing to welfare plans for those students.
Student Welfare Reports
The School recognises that student welfare and well-being can be adversely affected by many matters whether in or away from School, including abuse, bullying, behavioural and health issues.
Where a concern about a student’s welfare is identified, the risks to that student’s welfare will be assessed, appropriate action will be taken to reduce the risks identified and this will be recorded and then regularly monitored and reviewed.
The format of risk assessment as to student welfare may vary and may be included as part of the School’s overall response to a welfare issue or using the attached Student Welfare Plan (Appendix 1). Regardless of the form used, the School’s approach will be systematic with a view to promoting student welfare.
The information obtained through this process and the action agreed will then be shared, as appropriate, with other staff, parents and third parties in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of a particular student or of students generally.
Copies of a student’s Welfare Plan will be lodged with the student’s Form Teacher, Deputy Head Pastoral, Designated Safeguarding Lead and where relevant, Head of Boarding. Assessments relating to individual students will be help in their student record file or safeguarding file, as appropriate.
Safeguarding/Child Protection
Full details of the School’s safeguarding procedures are set out in the Safeguarding Policy.
Anti-Bullying
The School has written Anti-Bullying and E-Safety policies which cover the School’s approach to the management of bullying and cyber bullying.
Behavior
The school has a written Behavior Policy which sets out how it promotes good behavior amongst students and the sanctions to be adopted in the event of student misbehavior.
Equality
The School also has an Equality Policy which contains further information about the School’s performance of its duties under the Equality Act 2010 (and reasonable adjustments made for students with educational needs/disabilities), support systems for students and liaison between parents and other agencies.
Health And Safety
The School has a Health and Safety Policy pertaining to the health, safety and welfare of all staff and students.
