At Elmwood we feel that we have a big responsibility to safeguard our pupils and this was recognised by the Local Authority’s Child Safeguarding Co-ordinator when she asked that we consult our pupils on their perceptions around anti-social behaviour, gangs and carrying offensive weapons. The response was extremely positive with 92% of the school population deciding they would like to support this wider piece of work. The outcomes were particularly interesting as our school community comes from across the borough (and beyond) so was a good litmus test to share with fellow professionals across the borough.
The results were presented by Mr L Cross (Deputy Headteacher) at the key partner information sharing event on 19th April 2018. The extract from the “Evaluation and Further Planning Report” highlighted the following:
“The evaluations and verbal feedback also emphasised the valuable insight that Lee Cross from Elmwood School gave in listening to young people, and for the opportunity to understand what pupils in his school saw as the issues faced by the young people of Walsall, and the supporting reports/ data that were produced.”
This has started a catalyst for the 14 Secondary Schools and 4 Alternative Providers to complete a similar scoping activity which will inform and shape future policy and practice around our wider responsibilities of safeguarding our pupils across the borough and ways in which we can share this information with key professionals as a means of intelligence.