If you are worried about a child’s safety or well-being, it is important that you get help for the child. If they are in immediate danger, contact the police on 999.
If they are not in immediate danger but you are still worried, you can speak to a member of the Pupil Support Team at school. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Miss Stephenson (Pupil Support Manager), and our Backup Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Smith (SENDCO).
You can also contact Children’s Social Care directly on 0300 123 6720, or 0300 123 6722 outside of office hours. If possible, it is best to give your details so that you can be contacted for more information if necessary, but if this isn’t possible then you can also report concerns anonymously. An alternative way or reporting a concern about a child is to anonymously contact the NSPCC, by phoning 0808 800 5000 or clicking the button below.
Meet our Pupil Support Team!
Miss K Stephenson– Pupil Support Manager (Designated Safeguarding Lead)
Mrs A Smith– SENDCO (Backup Safeguarding Lead)
Mrs P Burgmans– Year 1 and 2 Learning Mentor
Mrs E Finch– Year 3 and 4 Learning Mentor
Mrs L Hopps– Year 5 and 6 Learning Mentor
Miss R Driffield- Pupil Support Worker
Andrew Jarman- Safeguarding Link Governor
Mental Health
At Ryelands, we are committed to supporting the mental health of children and their families. If you, your child or someone else you know is struggling with their mental health, please speak to a member of the Pupil Support Team as soon as you can, and we will do what we can to support.
If you are a child who is struggling, you can also call Child Line on 0800 1111, or text YM to 85258 to access Young Mind’s free, confidential text service.
If you are an adult who is struggling, you can also call the Samaritans on 116 123, or text SHOUT to 85258 to access free, confidential text service.
Please go to the Wellbeing Resources, Support and Advice page or the Useful Links for Support in Lancaster on our website for more information.
Early Help
Many families experience problems that can make it difficult to make ends meet. If you are having financial difficulties, please speak to a member of the pupil support team. We can help with food bank referrals, and signpost to services who can offer advice on things like debt and budgeting. Don’t let things get to crisis point- speak to us as soon as possible.
If you are experiencing any other issues that are making things at home feel difficult or stressful, please come and speak to us. We are here to help.
Please go to the Early Help page on our website for more information.
Concerns About a Child
As a school, if we have concerns about the safety or welfare of a child, the Designated Safeguarding Lead/Backup Safeguarding Lead will always speak to parents first- the only exception being if speaking to parents would put the child at further risk of harm. When we speak to parents we usually explain our concerns, find out the parents’ point of view and propose a plan for how to safeguard the child and support the family as a whole. This may include involving other agencies such as the Children and Family Wellbeing Centre, Children’s Social Care or the Police. Our aim is always to work with families not against them so will we always try to gain consent to speak to other agencies, however if we believe that the child may be at risk of significant harm then consent is not needed.
Our full Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy can be found here.
