Help & Support for Families

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mrs Watling. From January Mrs Jukes will be taking on the role of DSL in addition to her role as our Special Education Needs and Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCO). They can be contacted by telephone: 01803 317124 or email: cp@TQacademy.co.uk

The safety, health and wellbeing of our students is paramount. We are committed to safeguarding and working together to ensure that all our students thrive in a safe, welcoming and supportive environment where they are respected and valued. The Safeguarding team are here to listen to and help, not only our students, but their families as well. We work closely with agencies accessing support and resources. The other members of the safeguarding team are Mr Margetts, Mr Chadwick, Mrs Jukes and Mrs Briant.

The pastoral, behaviour, wellbeing and attendance teams all work closely together to our students.

Our Wellbeing Team

Referrals to the Wellbeing team are prioritised based on the individual needs of each student. This results in some students being put on a waiting list until a space becomes available.

Year 7 is one of the biggest transitions your child will experience. This is an exciting time in their lives but can come with natural worries and uncertainty for you both. Part of this transition is developing your child's new found independence. A collaborative approach between families and school to encourage resilience and problem solving skills will set your child up for the very best start here at TA.

The staff are here to support and encourage your child through any difficulties they may have. If you feel your child may benefit from extra support at school, we ask you to encourage them to speak to their tutor or pastoral lead in the first instance. This will empower your child to develop their own strategies for gaining support in the future. Should your child access counselling or a wellbeing provision in school you will be contacted should any concerns arise as per our safeguarding policy.

Safeguarding

Online

We live in a rapidly changing world. Our young people face challenges and dangers from the Internet and social media that, as adults, we find hard to understand and often not even aware of. We work to inform, educate and protect your children. We filter and monitor the students’ use of the school’s network. The pastoral team will follow up any inappropriate use and inform parents and carers if we are concerned.

Online conversations

We encourage students and parents to report online bullying and receiving inappropriate images and comments. We also advise you to report incidents to the social media provider and, if necessary, to the Police via 101 online. The use of the Internet and social media by your child needs regular monitoring by you. Please check they have privacy settings and are only using age appropriate apps and material.

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a Police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people exposed to domestic abuse. Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools when a child or young person has been involved or exposed to a domestic abuse incident the previous evening. We are then able to support the student.

Weekends, Evenings and School Holidays

Please contact the Academy via email: cp@TQacdemy.co.uk 

If you have any urgent Safeguarding need during this time, you can contact the following services:

Alternative Services

Torbay Safeguarding Hub on 01803 208 100

Devon Children’s Services on 0345 155 1071

Torbay Children’s Services on 01803 208 100 (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm)

Torbay Children’s Services ‘out of hours’ on 0300 456 4876

Crisis Team (CAMHS) on 01803 655 650

Torbay Family Hub - https://torbayfamilyhub.org.uk/

SHOUT - A free text service

KOOTH - An app based online support service

NSPCC

You can contact the NSPCC Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000, emailing help@NSPCC.org.uk or completing report an abuse online form. The NSPCC is help for children and young people.

Childline on 0800 1111

https://www.ceop.police.uk/

http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

Recommended Websites for Mental Health Support:

https://teenagehelpline.org.uk/

https://www.youngdevon.org/

https://www.mind.org.uk/for-young-people/