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Safeguarding and support for pupils

 
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NAHT members are at the forefront of safeguarding children. School leaders are committed to keeping children safe, so they can learn well. NAHT believes that all pupils should receive the support they need to maintain their well-being and achieve their potential, both within school and from wider services including health and social care.

NAHT is campaigning to:

Enable schools to play their part in supporting pupils' well-being

  • Lobby for pupils and schools to get the support they need from wider services including health, social care, police and youth services
  • Influence the implementation of the proposals from the mental health green paper, including the senior lead for mental health and mental health support teams
  • Support schools to access relevant, high-quality training and resources to enable pupils to exercise their right to support for their mental well-being.

 

Support schools to safeguard and protect pupils

  • Engage with the DfE over proposed changes to the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
  • Influence changes to Keeping Children Safe In Education, Working Together and Sexual Violence and harassment guidance
  • Campaign to improve online safety for children and young people
  • Press the government to ensure home educated children are adequately safeguarded
  • Promote guidance and resources to support schools to protect children at risk of harm including involvement with violence and other crime.

 

Enable schools to support vulnerable groups of pupils

  • Campaign to ensure pupils with SEND can receive the support they need from schools and wider services
  • Press for improved alternative provision and collaborative approaches across communities to support pupils excluded from school
  • Provide information to schools to help them to support disadvantaged children
  • Enable schools to make informed decisions regarding parental requests to home educate
  • Ensure reforms to behaviour guidance and networks is evidence-based and appropriate for all schools and a diverse pupil population. 
 

5 Steps to Mental Health and Wellbeing: developing a whole-school approach

The Anna Freud Centre’s new framework, ‘5 Steps to Mental Health and Wellbeing’, is to help schools and colleges develop a school or college-wide approach to mental health and well-being.

Written by teachers and school leaders with guidance from mental health experts, 5 Steps is a simple, free, interactive framework to help schools and colleges create their approach to mental health and well-being – allowing them to work at their pace and shape it according to their setting and priorities.

Children and young people’s mental health is everyone’s responsibility. 5 Steps engages the whole school community, including school staff, parents and carers, and pupils. By working together, we can make sure that children and young people get the help they need when they need it.

Supporting good mental health is vital in helping children and young people to thrive. Schools and colleges that take this approach to improve pupil well-being, attendance and attainment give their pupils the best possible chance to fulfil their potential.

The five steps include: leading change, working together, understanding need, promoting well-being and supporting staff. Each of the five steps has practical actions that education professionals can take and is supported by evidence-based practice, free or low-cost resources, and case studies from schools and colleges. Schools and colleges can also create their bespoke 5 Steps to Mental Health and Wellbeing action planning tool.

For more information and to access the platform, visit www.annafreud.org/5steps.

First published 30 September 2020
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