Safeguarding
This week we have had our third safeguarding audit. This is an in depth scrutiny of our safeguarding policies, training, procedures and practice that we commision every one to two years. Thank you to all the pupils who spoke to the team. We will share their feedback once we receive it.
We will be completing a trusted adult exercise with all pupils to check that all pupils feel they have at least one adult at Meadow whom they would feel safe and comfortable communicating with should they have any worries or concerns. Should any pupil not be able to identify an adult, the school team will support the pupil to build a secure relationship.
Sometimes, children will only tell family members about worries and concerns. Our advice is:
- listen calmly, even if what you are being told is upsetting.
- don't ask leading questions eg Did person x hit you?
- ask open questions eg What happened? I was hit. Who hit you? Person x. Where were you when this happened? Who else was there? Did you tell any grown ups at school? What happened before you were hit?
- keep an open mind. Your child is telling you their side of the incident from their perspective. There may well be information they have not given you and you are missing.
- always thank your child for being open with you and tell them you will report what they have told you to the school, so that the school can investigate and gather further information.
- don't speak directly to other children or families, pass the information to the school for them to investigate.
Assembly
This week we talked about prophets, particularly Muhammad p.b.u.h. The pupils showed a lot of prior knowledge about a range of prophets from different religions and listened intently and respectfully to the story of Muhammad's p.b.u.h. early life and revelations from God.
We are always keen to have speakers from different faiths, so if your Imam, Pandit, Vicar, Priest, Gyani or other faith leader would be willing to come into one of our assemblies, please give them my details or pass their details to me.
Car Parking and Road Safety
As those of you who drop off or pick up your child from school will know, car parking is difficult in the local area.
Please remember:
- Only families with direct permission from the Head or Deputy Head can drop off or pick up their child on site between the hours of 8.30-9.00am and 2.30-3.30pm.
- Families do not have permission to park in or enter the mosque or Pomeroy Hall car parks.
- The safest crossing points are the bollards or zebra crossing and all adults should use these whether they are with a child or not, as other children are watching your example.
- Turning your car near the school makes the road more dangerous for everyone. Please drive up the road in either direction and use the mini roundabouts to turn around.
- Parking on yellow lines near either crossing point makes the road more dangerous for all users, including our pupils. Please park safely in a marked parking space to ensure everyone's safety, especially our pupils, your children.
Thank you to all of you who do this.
Uniform and colder, wetter weather
We were lucky to have the last flush of summer this week! Generally, though, the days will now be getting colder and wetter. Please ensure your child has suitable outdoor clothing so they can enjoy breaktimes comfortably.
With 284 pupils on site, uniform and personal items need to be clearly labelled so we can reunite them with their owner. If items are unlabeled, they will be kept until the end of the term and then disposed of. If you want to check our lost property, please contact Rita in the Welfare Office.
Very best wishes for the weekend.
