Safeguarding at Impact North West Schools

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

At Impact North West Schools, the safety, welfare and wellbeing of every pupil is our highest priority. We are committed to creating a culture in which pupils feel safe, listened to, respected and confident that adults will act when they are worried about themselves or somebody else.

We recognise that our pupils may experience a range of vulnerabilities and that changes in behaviour, attendance, emotional wellbeing, relationships or engagement can be important indicators that a child needs help.

Safeguarding at INWS is therefore not simply a policy or the responsibility of the Designated Safeguarding Lead. It is embedded within our everyday practice, decision-making and school culture.

Our staff are trained to notice, listen, record, report and act. Concerns are taken seriously, responded to promptly and, where necessary, shared with appropriate safeguarding partners.

Through strong relationships with pupils and families, robust safeguarding systems, professional curiosity, early intervention and effective multi-agency working, we aim to identify concerns at the earliest opportunity and ensure every child receives the right help at the right time.

Designated Safeguarding Lead
Suzanne Wright
suzanne@impactnorthwestschools.org.uk

Deputy Safeguarding Leads

Bridge Court:
Kelly Roberts

Tower House:
Amy Vickers

Meet Gill, our Welfare and Family Liaison Co-ordinator

Gill is here to support our students and their families, ensuring every child feels safe, happy, and ready to learn. Her role bridges the gap between home and school, offering a friendly point of contact whenever extra guidance or support is needed.

How Gill can help:

Family Support & Advice: Providing practical guidance, a listening ear, and direct help with family challenges or school transitions.
Student Wellbeing & Mentoring: Working one-on-one with students to build confidence, manage emotions, and navigate personal safety or online wellbeing.
Attendance Guidance: Helping overcome barriers to getting into school and supporting students experiencing school-related anxiety.
Connecting with External Services: Linking families to wider community resources, local early help support, and specialist services

Whether you have a quick question, need advice, or want to discuss extra support for your child, Gill is here to help our school community thrive.

How we do Safeguarding at Impact North West Schools?

A strong safeguarding commitment at the top: Safeguarding and promoting pupils' welfare is the school's highest priority and that all staff have responsibility for safeguarding.
What safeguarding looks like at INWS: trained staff, safer recruitment and SCR checks, regular safeguarding CPD, CPOMS recording, daily information sharing, risk assessment, contextual safeguarding, attendance monitoring, professional referrals and multi-agency working.
Our SEMH-informed approach: This is important for INWS. Staff recognise that changes in behaviour, attendance, presentation, relationships or emotional regulation can be indicators of safeguarding concerns. Our relational approach should never be presented as replacing safeguarding procedures — it helps staff identify concerns early.
Pupil voice and trusted adults: Pupils know who they can talk to, how they can report worries, how concerns are followed up and how the curriculum teaches them about healthy relationships, consent, online safety, exploitation and keeping themselves safe.
Contextual safeguarding: INWS considers risks beyond the school gates, including criminal and sexual exploitation, county lines, substance misuse, harmful sexual behaviour, peer-on-peer abuse, online harm, radicalisation and community-based risks.
Attendance as safeguarding: The connection explicit. At INWS, absence and disengagement should be considered through a safeguarding lens, particularly where there are repeated broken weeks, unexplained absence or changes in attendance patterns.
Online safety: Including filtering and monitoring, staff responsibilities, pupil education and information for parents about keeping children safe online.
Working with families and agencies: Strong partnership with parents/carers, children's social care, police, health, local authorities and other professionals, including early help and escalation where appropriate.

External safeguarding information. Follow current statutory guidance and reputable support organisations, particularly Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children.

At Impact North West Schools, safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do, and we are fully committed to adhering to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2025. Our safer recruitment processes are designed to ensure that every individual employed within our school community is suitable to work with children and young people. This includes rigorous pre-employment checks, enhanced DBS clearances, verification of identity and qualifications, and detailed scrutiny of employment history. All interview panels include trained members of staff in safer recruitment, and probing Warner-style questions are embedded to assess values, resilience, and motivation for working with children. These measures reflect our commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment where pupils can thrive.

In addition to robust internal procedures, Impact North West Schools engages in external quality assurance practices to evidence our safeguarding culture and strengthen accountability. We work closely with external partners and safeguarding specialists who provide independent scrutiny of our recruitment and safeguarding systems, ensuring they remain compliant, transparent, and effective. Regular audits, external reviews, and the implementation of best practice recommendations ensure that safeguarding standards are consistently upheld at the highest level. This dual approach—combining statutory compliance with external quality assurance—demonstrates our unwavering desire to promote the safety, welfare, and wellbeing of every child entrusted to our care.

Impact North West Schools uses the following to support contextual safeguarding :

Are you concerned?

If you are concerned about a child that attends INWS during school holidays please contact: safeguarding@impactnorthwestschools.org.uk. We monitor this email address during holiday periods and will do our best to help support you and the young person during this concern.

For immediate danger contact Police 999

Services For Children and Young People to Access Immediate, Confidential Help

Wirral

For non-emergency safeguarding or abuse concerns, contact the Wirral Integrated Front door 0151 606 2008 (weekdays, 9am-5pm) or 0151 677 6557 (out of hours) Free confidential services: Childline: Offers a free, confidential 24 hour helpline 0800 1111 anytime or visit Childline website to chat online if under 19. Wirral Emotional Health and Wellbeing Team: Run by Action for Children, this service offers 1:1 support and digital self help for emotional health. Young people 13 and older can refer themselves directly through the Branch Wirral online hub. Kooth: Provides free, safe, and anonymous online mental health and wellbeing support for young people . Visit the contact@kooth.com. platform to chat with a team member. Papyrus: Provides a 24 hour helpline for urgent suicide prevention on 0300 102 2470 or text HOPE to 88247. Youth Matters Wirral: Young people can call the dedicated freephone helpline at 0808196 4147 (Monday to Frida 9am-5pm) or email youthmatters@wirral.gov.uk for advice. Bullybusters: For issues regarding bullying, children can call their free, confidential helpline at 0800 169 6928 ( Monday to Friday 9am – 7pm) or contact them via the Bullybusters website. B-eat: Support for eating disorders helpline 0345 634 7650 (4pm – 10pm) throughout the year or email fyp@b-eat.co.uk ZILLO: Is a website for young people in Wirral offering expert health and wellbeing advice . 0151 666 4123. Zillowirral@wirral.gov.uk . CYP: Out of hours Advice Line: Offer support and advice relating to mental health on 01244 39 7644 (Monday to Friday 5pm – 10pm weekends 12pm-8pm) Catch22: Offer support and advice around missing from home. They can be contacted on 0808 168 9698. Sexual Health Wirral: Offer support and advice on sexual health, contraception and treatment on 0151 514 6464. Teenwirral: Offer information on what is happening in Wirral for young people from aged 13 and onwards. The Mix: Offer information support and listening for young people, 24 hours on 0808 808 4994 Pilgrim Street Arts Centre: Offer 1:1 advice and support for young people relating to mental and emotional health from services like Response Counselling. Chat Health: Offer confidential advice and support from a school nurse, for young people. Contac 07480 635538 Wirral 24 hour mental health line for any age 03003033972. Hatch: Offer emotional support to Wirral Young People aged 11 -16. Twitter or Instagram: @hatchmerseyside. Website: hatchmerseyside.co.uk Wirral CAMHS: 24 hour support on 0800 145 6485 for immediate mental health support.

Cheshire West and Chester

Integrated Access and Referral Team (i-ART) on 0300 123 7047 Monday to Thursday 08.30am – 5pm, Fridays till 4.30pm. Out of Hours Emergency Duty Team 01244 977277. Starting Well Chat Health: A confidential text messaging service for young people aged 11-19. Text message to 07312 263260. Childline- 08001111 NSPCC – 0808 800 5000 The Hideout- for children and young people experiencing sexual abuse. CYPMHS (formerly CAMHS): 01244 397412 . For urgent help (24 hours) contact 0800 145 6485. Children and young people can also text BLUE to 85258 for 24 hour Shout text support. Children and young people living in Cheshire West aged 0 -18, can self refer directly to this service access via the secure online form on My Mind CYPMHS Request Portal. General Support and Counselling: Children can contact Childline 24 hours on 0800 1111. Or contact Children’s Society via 01244 322045 or email cheshirecr@childrenssociety.org.uk Sexual Health Services: Local Clinics offer free, confidential testing contraception and advice for all ages. Young teenagers can access the C-Card condom distribution scheme directly through local youth centres. Cheshire West Youth Services: Offers support to children and young people from aged 11 providing informal activities, targeted issue based projects and personal support. The Children’s Society Advocacy: Offers independent advocates for young people involved with Children’s Services. SENDIASS: Provides confidential impartial advice and information for children and young people with difficulties with learning or disability who can self refer on 0300 123 7001 or email iasservice@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk Independent Travel Training: A free service teaching eligible children with SEN the confidence and skills to travel safely on their own. Live Well Cheshire West Directory : Drop in centre

Liverpool

CASS: Children’s Advice and Support Service ( previously called Careline) : Monday to Friday 08:00 am till 10:00pm 0151 459 2606 or Out of hours emergency coverage or visit Child Social Care Service. Young Persons Advisory Service (YPAS): Provides therapeutic and mental health support, LGBTQ and services and Walk In Support Hub ( WISH) for same day advice. Call 0151 707 1025 or visit YPAS Hubs. Eating Disorder Young Peoples Service ( EDYS): Unlike most CAMHS branches, young people can self refer directly by phone on 0151 293 3662 to speak to the team at Alder Hey Hospital. Liverpool CAMHS: Referral forms can be submitted online via the Liverpool CAMHs Referral Form. River Young People Support Service ( Change Grow Live) : A free and confidential service for young people under 25 offering support for alcohol, drug and physical/mental health issues. Self referral via 0151 706 9747 or visit the Change Grow Live page. Self-refer : Benim Medical Centre offer specialist services to support children and young people in Liverpool up to aged 18 who are experiencing mental health via Live Well directory thelivewelldirectory.com. RASA: Sexual violence Service 0151 558 1801 LDAS: Liverpool Domestic Abuse Service supporting women and girls who suffer from domestic abuse, 0151 263 7474 website https://liverpooldomesticabuseservice.org.uk

Working Together to Safeguard Children
A Student's Guide

Click Here