The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

Safeguarding

Gareth D Morewood

SEND Provision - an interview with Gareth Morewood

Gareth Morewood discusses the health and wellbeing of SEND pupils and his thoughts on the upcoming SEND Provision conference. What are you looking forward to on the day of the SEND Provision conference? Gareth: Firstly, it is an absolute delight to be asked to chair a live event again, there are...
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Nicola Harvey

The PERMA approach to staff wellbeing

Education professionals are reporting high levels of work-related stress. Nicola Harvey explains how the PERMA approach can nurture a sense of wellbeing, fulfilment and purpose. After a well-deserved summer break, education professionals in England, have returned to the classroom. While everyone...
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Luke Ramsden

What do DSLs need to be prepared for?

What challenges does the upcoming academic year hold for safeguarding leads? Luke Ramsden shares his reflections on the impact of KCSIE, Everyone’s Invited and Covid-19. With teachers around the country reaching their well-deserved summer breaks (ignoring for the moment the inevitable fallout of...
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Kelly Hannaghan

Supervision for mental health leads: why and how?

Kelly Hannaghan makes the case for pastoral staff supervision for mental health and wellbeing leads, as a means to process the increasing pressures they are carrying. It’s perplexing that wellbeing practitioners such as psychologists and social workers have regular supervision that is mandatory,...
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Luke Ramsden

Thoughts for safeguarding leads on returning from lockdown

Safeguarding lead Luke Ramsden reflects on experiences of the return to full schooling and implications for the summer term and new academic year. School staff around the country were delighted when we realised that we could all return in person for the last three or four weeks of term. Now that we...
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Luke Ramsden

A day in the life of a safeguarding lead in lockdown

Luke Ramsden reflects on the 'new normal' of life as a safeguarding lead during lockdown and beyond. At a time when the media has generally described schools as ‘closed’, teachers have in fact been busier than ever, trying to adapt well-practised lesson plans and schemes of work to a world of...
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Luke Ramsden

How the role of the DSL is set to change in 2021

Luke Ramsden explores the implications of proposed changes to Keeping children safe in education for the ever-expanding role of designated safeguarding lead. There’s been a lot of focus recently on the government consultation around assessment and exams for summer 2021. However, there’s another...
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Mike Williams

Protecting children from sexual exploitation: eight key messages for school staff

Mike Williams outlines findings from the NSPCC child sexual exploitation programme, Protect & Respect. Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse where an exchange of resource takes place for sexual activity with a child. In 2014 the NSPCC launched its child sexual exploitation...
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John Viner

Keeping children even safer

With an updated Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance now in force, John Viner summarises what has changed and how schools need to respond. I usually try to kick off a new academic year with a quick review of what’s gone on and going on in the political world of education but, this year, it...
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John Viner

Ofsted is coming: demonstrate a safeguarding culture

The strength of a school's safeguarding procedures is usually the first thing Ofsted will inspect. Here's what you need to prepare. As the year winds to a close, let’s review what schools need to do in order to demonstrate what Ofsted is now calling ‘culture of safeguarding’. Since the target...
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