Director of Safeguarding

Job title: Director of Safeguarding
Job Type: Permanent, Full Time, Monday to Friday (8am-5pm). On site during term time and hybrid during school holidays.
Salary: £75,000
Department: Pastoral
Reporting to: Deputy Head (Pastoral)
Location: Highgate Senior School and Junior School
Start: 22nd April 2025
Closing Date: 11 November 2024 at 12:00 pm

Highgate created the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead, separate from the Deputy Head (Pastoral) at the start of 2022. This followed a period of unprecedented challenge for schools and young people following the ‘Everyone’s Invited’ movement, during which Highgate engaged with its many stakeholder groups, including statutory agencies. The Governors commissioned an Independent Review, led by The Rt Hon Dame Anne Rafferty DBE PC, a former Lady Justice of Appeal. One significant response to these challenges was the School’s commitment to increasing its provision in the area of safeguarding and child protection, leading to the creation of a new role, Director of Safeguarding (Senior Designated Safeguarding Lead). The successful candidate will answer for these responsibilities to the Deputy Head (Pastoral) and, through them, to the Head and to Governors. It is hoped that the successful candidate will be able to take their role in April 2025.

This is an excellent opportunity to join the Senior Team within an award-winning charity. If you are interested in being part of one of this country’s top independent schools, where kindness is at the heart of what we do, then this is an ideal opportunity for you.

We would be interested to receive applications from those either with a background in primary or secondary education and/or with recent, relevant experience within social, health or child protection services. The successful candidate will have experience of working in or closely alongside schools in a previous role, and will be committed to working in safeguarding in education. It is anticipated that the successful candidate will have had safeguarding responsibility in a previous role.

It is likely that we will be in touch soon after the deadline to invite the long list of candidates to a Zoom interview towards the end of week beginning 11 November. The shortlisted candidates will be invited to visit the school for a further interview, written task, presentation, and desktop exercise in the week beginning 18 November.

Job Description

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

To act as the Senior Designated Safeguarding Lead for the Highgate foundation, fulfilling the following responsibilities:

Policies and Compliance:

To ensure that the School is compliant with all aspects of relevant Safeguarding legislation, including Working Together to Safeguard Children, Keeping Children Safe in Education and guidance from local Safeguarding Partners including the London Child Protection Protocols;
To work with the Deputy Head (Pastoral) to oversee Safeguarding and Welfare policy updates;
To support the Deputy Head (Pastoral) in ensuring that the School is ISI ‘inspection ready’ in relation to our policies and procedures for safeguarding and pastoral care, and their implementation;
To work closely with the HR Manager (Learning and Development) to ensure the Safer Recruitment records are accurate and all staff who are involved within recruitment have completed the necessary training;
To contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of the School’s policies and procedures on child-on-child abuse;
To ensure that the School maintains meticulous safeguarding records, with an awareness of specific safeguarding software (eg CPOMS);
To be the School’s Senior Attendance Champion, overseeing attendance records, pupils missing from education, and the transfer of pupil information for leavers and joiners;
To fulfil the obligations regarding the PREVENT Duty and be the point of contact for any queries; to help train staff to enable them to protect pupils from radicalisation;
To organise the annual safeguarding audit and ensure that all suggestions are taken forwards in the safeguarding development plan.

Operations and Training:

To lead the team of DSLs across the School (Support, Pre-Prep, Junior and Senior School staff), chairing regular DSL meetings and coordinating DSL training;
To oversee and direct effective Safeguarding induction for all staff;
To act as online safety lead, working with the Head of E-learning and Digital Health, Director of IT Services and other staff, in developing strategies for keeping pupils safe online (including annual training for all stakeholders);
To attend any relevant training, which will include Level 3 Safeguarding & Child Protection;
To assist the Deputy Head (Pastoral) in assessing the impact of PSHEE on the effectiveness of and the culture of safeguarding, reviewing all aspects of PSHEE relating to safeguarding regularly;
To have oversight of all pupils with safeguarding concerns and offer guidance and support to the DSL team in managing these cases.

Communication

To continue to foster effective working relations with all the Local Authorities/safeguarding partner from where the School draws its pupils, in particular Haringey;
To maintain relationships with local police;
To have direct access to the Chair of the Governors and the Safeguarding Governor to update them on safeguarding issues;
To contribute to termly reports for the Governors’ Safeguarding Committee, the Governing Body (including the Governor with specific oversight of Safeguarding and Welfare) on safeguarding matters and serious pastoral issues;
To work with the Deputy Head (Pastoral) to prepare for and minute the Governors’ Safeguarding Committee Meetings;
To work with individual pupils and groups to ensure that pupils have sufficient opportunities to voice their opinions on issues regarding safeguarding;
To ensure safeguarding information for all stakeholders is up to date (including Hero, ParentPortal and Venn);
To evaluate and foster communication with parents regarding safeguarding issues, particularly to raise awareness about School and Local Authority procedures and support.

These duties and responsibilities are intended as a guide. They are not exhaustive: the Assistant Head: Safeguarding will be expected to undertake any reasonable task or responsibility as required by the Deputy Head (Pastoral).

Person Specification

Criteria
How will these be tested or verified?
Qualifications and Experience
- Considerable pastoral and/or safeguarding experience within a School environment and/or recognised professional qualifications and experience relating to safeguarding or social work
- In-depth knowledge and understanding of Working Together to Safeguard Children and Keeping Children Safe in Education legislation
Skills and Abilities
- Successful management and leadership experience
- Experience of managing, or the ability to manage, parental enquiries, concerns or anxieties with authority and reassurance
- Experience of liaising with external Safeguarding partners, such as health professionals, social workers and Police
- Ability to lead, to manage (both ‘up’ and ‘down’), to delegate well and to work collaboratively and build teams
- Transferable experience of, or an insightful empathy with, the particular demands on pupils and staff of a busy and ambitious school
- Very effective, clear communication skills, both written and spoken
- Ability to work swiftly and accurately at times or under pressure while retaining an overall ‘bigger picture’
- Knowledge and understanding of and/or an interest in the benefits information technology can bring to efficient working and good learning
- Evidence of a commitment to ongoing professional development
Attitude and Behaviours
- A commitment to co-education in a selective and academically ambitious School
- A personality which inspires respect, affection and trust
- A critical sympathy with the aims and ethos of the School, which combine an inherent Christian tradition with a determination to be a tolerant, inclusive and diverse modern community
- A style of working and a professional intelligence which engender ambition, high standards and critical self-reflection in others
- Reserves of energy, stamina and patience which will allow the post-holder to deal with a large operational portfolio reliably and efficiently
- The highest levels of integrity, emotional intelligence and personal resilience to deal with a range of challenging circumstances faced by pupils, families and staff
- Excellent judgement, particularly when facing challenging or pressurised situations
- An ability to plan strategically and to implement plans effectively
- The ability to make difficult decisions and to mobilise support for these
- Determination to ensure the safety and well-being of each individual child by expecting, and insisting upon, the highest standards of safeguarding and pastoral care
- Ability to model kindness to self and others

Benefits

Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.

Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered with a generous 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.

Personal development | Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.

Holidays | Generous holiday allowance of 33 days (including bank holidays) for full-time staff. Holidays will be taken during school holiday periods.

Leisure facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).

Lunch | A complimentary lunch.

Help with sustainable travel | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.

Family-friendly policies | Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks’ full pay, then 10 weeks’ half pay) and paid dependant leave.

Working at Highgate

A culture of community, kindness and belonging

Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.

Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.

In a recent ISI inspection (Dec 2021), it was noted that “Pupils show exceptional respect for, and appreciate diversity within the school and wider community, and their own and other cultures, demonstrating sensitivity and tolerance to those from different backgrounds and traditions.”

Staff wellbeing

Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.

The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.

We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.

More details about working at Highgate can be found here:

Work with us Aims + Ethos

Charitable work and sustainability

As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.

Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.

As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.

Application procedure

Closing Date: 11th November 2024
Online Interviews: w/c 11th November 2024
In-Person Interviews: w/c 18th November 2024

Contact: Please contact the Recruitment Team

Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.

Apply here

Inclusion

We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.

Safeguarding

As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If in the course of carrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.

Please read before you apply

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policies

Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e. filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice

In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.

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