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03/12/23

A 6-2 victory for our U16 boys football team in the 2nd round of the Surrey Cup. After being down straight after the first whistle, the boys managed to pull it back and gain control of the game. Goals from Daejharn ⚽️ Jay-Jay ⚽️ and a hatrick from Jamal ⚽️⚽️⚽️MOTM - Jamal 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/oW7L7ZLqgK

30/11/23

Year 11 are making the most of expert advice on effective revision this morning 📚 pic.twitter.com/EN92hGXsWF

29/11/23

Passing the torch of leadership: Year 11 prefects share insights as they mentor new hopefuls through the art of impactful election speeches! pic.twitter.com/3unSsb7XSk

26/11/23

🏆 YR 10/11 MERTON BOROUGH BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS 🏆 A smashing performance from our boys who were undefeated in the tournament. They will now proceed to represent Merton at the 🏀⛹🏽 pic.twitter.com/sX08tOL3UD

24/11/23

Year 10 Business and IT students at Skills London, the UK’s largest jobs and careers event for 14 – 24-year-olds! pic.twitter.com/snwt48j4QU

23/11/23

This week Yr 9 are baking chocolate brownies in Food Tech! pic.twitter.com/2AAY8Ov9iG

23/11/23

Prefects in action: Crafting the blueprint for an assembly that introduces the future leaders – a glimpse into the exciting journey of new prefect elections. pic.twitter.com/dwZekkDMXB

14/11/23

Our Year 10 boys football team played Forest Hill in the 2nd round of the London Cup today. A clinical performance with 4-1 victory puts them through to the next round🤞🏼🍀Goals from Daejharn ⚽️ Jamal ⚽️ and Zion ⚽️⚽️MOTM - Luis 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ZMcSMe1Bqn

14/11/23

Yr 10 GCSE Food Tech students are cooking rice dishes this week pic.twitter.com/Lu092UkMhr

10/11/23

School prefects honor the solemnity of Armistice Day, uniting in remembrance as they lay a wreath at the Merton Armistice Service to pay tribute to those who sacrificed for peace. pic.twitter.com/0VbSVBWrLD

07/11/23

Our Year 7 Netball team have arrived at their first Borough Netball competition. A warm up and quick team talk before they get started 🍀🏐🤞🏼 pic.twitter.com/fPU1ByeBLb

06/11/23

Year 9 are studying vegetarianism and making veggie curry in Food Tech this week! pic.twitter.com/91IQbBWaGW

14/10/23

🏆 U16 Merton Borough Table Tennis Champions 🏆A smashing performance today at the borough competition. The boys will now go through to the Final Best of 8 next month. A massive thanks to Coach Jag who has progressed these boys so much! pic.twitter.com/VvRFixsk5j

13/10/23

Prefects designing the food of the future focusing on sustainability. Options include: butterfly wing crisps, ant breakfast bars and cell cultured meat pic.twitter.com/H5Iu4DOH3u

11/10/23

Yesterday the Year 9 Netball team competed at the Borough tournament. Out of 10 teams they came 3rd with only losing 1 game against a very strong opposition 🥉 Thank you for hosting 🙌🏼POTM -Genesis 👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/IkWa7dwWFs

10/10/23

Yesterday some of our KS3 girls had an incredible day learning outside the Academy experiencing the wonders of Science at pic.twitter.com/FnzMr8hDJS

04/10/23

Two more stops on our trip! Firstly, Ypres Town to see the Menin Gate and then Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. Great day, packed full of history had by all. pic.twitter.com/6k0F794Jtk

04/10/23

Second stop - students visited Sanctuary Wood where they saw weapons and used stereoviews to look at original images from the war. They then spent time in the trenches! pic.twitter.com/5dUrWlH4BS

04/10/23

The Passchendaele Museum has been the first stop in Belgium for our year 9 historians. Students walked through the dugouts and engaged with many different artefacts from the World War. pic.twitter.com/tsDS5W6vxn

03/10/23

Year 11 Geographers are collecting data this week in Battersea to support their investigation on regeneration and it’s impact on the community pic.twitter.com/tK7dAiSDl1

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Specific safeguarding issues to look out for

Specific and current safeguarding issues

 

The following specific safeguarding issues are outlined below:

Sexual violence and harassment

Radicalisation and extremism

Child-on-child abuse

Sharing nudes and semi nudes

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)

Children missing education (CME).

Please also see our website for full details of all specific safeguarding issues from Keeping Children Safe in Education (2022)

 

Sexual Violence and Harassment

The Academy does not tolerate any form of sexual harassment or violence. As per government guidance in 'Keeping Children Safe In Education 2022', the Academy works on the assumption that sexual harassment and violence ‘could happen here' and insists that no member of our community ever treats sexual violence or harassment as 'banter' or 'a part of growing up'.

To ensure our culture of safeguarding is consistent and embedded throughout, the Academy puts a series of proactive measures to reduce the risk of such incidents. Along with regular reinforcement, staff and student training and consistency, the key strategy is education, specifically of appropriate behaviour through our RSHE programme.

The Academy educates students to understand sexual harassment may appear in many forms, and all members of our community have a duty to report any possible sign of sexual harassment or violence. These may include, but are not limited to: 

  • Sexual comments, such as telling sexualised stories, making lewd comments, making sexualised remarks about clothing and or appearance and calling someone sexualised names
  • Sexualised “jokes” or taunting 
  • Physical behaviour, such as deliberately brushing against someone or interfering with someone’s clothes
  • Online sexual harassment. This may be standalone, or part of a wider pattern of sexual harassment and/or sexual violence
  • Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nudes, images and/or videos 

 

The NSPCC have launched a dedicated helpline for children and young people who have experienced abuse at school, and for worried adults and professionals who need support and guidance. The helpline is to provide appropriate support and advice to victims of abuse, and concerned adults, including onward action such as contacting the police if they wish to. 

This dedicated helpline will offer support to:

  • all children and young people making current and non-recent disclosures of abuse
  • any children or young people who want to talk about being involved or witnessing any incidents
  • any adults who have experienced non-recent abuse
  • parents and carers who have any concerns about their own or other children
  • professionals who work in schools and need support in this or related issues.

Anyone who gets in touch through this dedicated helpline will also be signposted to other relevant support services available, including Childline - which provides ongoing support and counselling to children and young people. 

The Report Abuse in Education helpline comes after a high number of anonymous testimonials were submitted to the Everyone’s Invited website, documenting abuse in all types of schools, colleges, and universities. 

Young people and adults can contact the NSPCC helpline, Report Abuse in Education on 0800 136 663 or email help@nspcc.org.uk

 

Radicalisation and Extremism

The Academy’s Prevent Duty Lead is Mrs Simpson, the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

The Academy believes and actively supports the view that all students should be protected from radicalisation and extremism.

Signposting:

 

How to report radicalisation and extremism?

Further information about reporting concerns can be found on the Government, Action Counters Terrorism website. If you’re worried about someone, call the ACT Early Support Line on 0800 011 3764, in confidence, to share your concerns with specially trained officers.

The local Prevent Polie Officer is Christopher Kendrick Chris.Kendrick@met.police.uk 0208 545 4226/ 4227 and the Local Prevent Lead is Ms. E. Willis.

 

Child-on-child Abuse

Children can abuse other children. This is generally referred to as child-on-child abuse   and can take many forms. This can include (but is not limited to):                                                                                   

  • Bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying).
  • Abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers.
  • Physical abuse, which can include: hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm.
  • Sexual violence and sexual harassment.
  • Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos (also known as ‘sexting’ or youth produced sexual imagery).
  • Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent, such as forcing someone to strip, touch themselves sexually, or to engage in sexual activity with a third party.
  • Upskirting, which typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks to obtain sexual gratification, or cause the victim humiliation, distress, or alarm.
  • Initiation/hazing type violence and rituals.

 

We believe that all children have a right to attend school and learn in a safe environment. Children should be free from harm by adults and other children in school.

 

We are clear that there will be a zero-tolerance approach to any of the forms of abuse, including child-on-child abuse.

Academy zero tolerance posters:

Zero Tolerance

 

Sharing nudes and semi nudes

The practice of children sharing nudes and semi nudes (formerly known as ‘sexting’ or youth produced sexual imagery) and videos via text message, email, social media, or mobile messaging apps has become commonplace. Online technology has given children the opportunity to produce and distribute sexual imagery in the form of photos and videos. Such imagery involving anyone under the age of 18 is unlawful.

 

Children’s nudes and semi nudes refer to both images and videos where:

  • A person under the age of 18 creates and shares sexual imagery of themselves with a peer under the age of 18.
  • A person under the age of 18 shares sexual imagery created by another person under the age of 18 with a peer under the age of 18 or an adult.
  • A person under the age of 18 is in possession of sexual imagery created by another person under the age of 18.
  • Voyeurism Act 2019 – Upskirting is now a criminal act in the UK.  Visit this link for more information.

 

Childline ‘Report, Remove’

Childline has released support for children of all ages to help remove nude images shared online. To get the images removed, visit the website. The child will need to:

  • Select their age
  • Create a Childline account to receive updates on the report
  • Report the image or video to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)

The only information you will give to the IWF are the images, videos, or URLs you report. There is space to add information such as where the image or video is on a webpage. Childline will never see what pictures and videos or URLs you share with the IWF. The only information the IWF shares with Childline apart from your case number is if they will take down your images or videos, and why.

 

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

We know that different forms of harm often overlap, and that perpetrators may subject children and young people to multiple forms of abuse, such as criminal exploitation (including county lines) and sexual exploitation. In some cases, the exploitation or abuse will be in exchange for something the victim needs or wants (for example, money, gifts or affection), and/or will be to the financial benefit or other advantage, such as increased status, of the perpetrator or facilitator.

Children can be exploited by adult males or females, as individuals or in groups. They may also be exploited by other children, who themselves may be experiencing exploitation – where this is the case, it is important that the child perpetrator is also recognised as a victim.

Whilst the age of the child may be a contributing factor for an imbalance of power, there are a range of other factors that could make a child more vulnerable to exploitation, including, sexual identity, cognitive ability, learning difficulties, communication ability, physical strength, status, and access to economic or other resources.

 

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a type of sexual abuse. When a child or young person is exploited, they are given gifts, drugs, money, status, affection etc in exchange for performing sexual activities. Children and young people are often tricked into believing they are in a loving and consensual relationship. This is called grooming. They may trust their abuser and not understand that they are being abused.

Visit the NSPCC website for more information about preventing CSE.

 

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)

Criminal exploitation is child abuse where children and young people are manipulated and coerced into committing crimes.

Visit the NSPCC website for more information about preventing CCE.

 

County Lines

County Lines is the police term for urban gangs exploiting young people into moving drugs from a hub, normally a large city, into other markets, e.g., suburban areas, market and coastal towns, using dedicated mobile phone lines or “deal lines”. Children as young as 12 years old have been exploited into carrying drugs for gangs. This can involve children being trafficked away from their home area, staying in accommodation, and selling and manufacturing drugs.

For further information please visit the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the NSPCC for further information and guidance.

 

Money Mules

More young people across the UK are being approached by criminals who want to use their bank accounts or pin numbers for criminal purposes. This is called being a ‘money mule’. A ‘mule account’ is used to hide money that comes from illegal activities. The young person may be asked to transfer money, allow access to their account, or open a new one. We need support to help educate young people around this issue. 

Signposting:

  • Remember – where there is an urgent and immediate need to protect a child or young person call the police on 999.
  • In all cases of suspected child sexual exploitation contact Children Social Care services via the MASH (multi-agency safeguarding hub)

Children Missing in Education (CME)

Missing school can be an indicator of abuse and neglect, and in older children may raise concerns around child sexual exploitation. To safeguard pupils who are missing education, the Academy will ensure compliance with local authority policy and procedures for Children Missing Education. The Attendance Officer and Safeguarding Team will monitor unauthorised absence and follow CME procedures particularly where children go missing on repeated occasions.

Specific safeguarding issues

Expert and professional organisations are best placed to provide up-to-date guidance and practical support on specific safeguarding issues. Please visit www.nspcc.org.uk.  Government guidance on the issues listed below are also available via www.gov.uk

 

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