Nightingale is a small school and we know our children well. We work hard to build trusting relationships between children and the key adults that care for them. Through this we ensure that all children feel happy and safe with us. We also believe that good relationships with parents and carers are also crucial and we invite you to come and talk to us if you are in need of support or you wish to raise any concerns about your child’s wellbeing or personal development.
The school has a detailed Safeguarding policy that can be downloaded from the ‘Policy’ section of our website. We work with many outside agencies including Children’s Social Care, Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Young Hackney to ensure that we meet every child’s individual needs. We also have a wealth of expertise available in school including our Attendance Officer, School Nurse, Wellbeing Co-ordinator and SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator).
Anti-Bullying
At Nightingale we have a strong, supportive community built on always treating each other with kindness and respect. We do not tolerate discrimination or prejudice of any form.
Our anti-bullying policy and practice at Nightingale are centered on providing a swift, effective response to all reports of bullying. We talk regularly with children about the different forms that bullying might take and use the acronym ‘STOP’ (Several Times On Purpose) to describe what bullying might look or feel like.
If you are worried that your child is being bullied, please speak to any member of staff. They will provide you with a ‘Cause for Concern – Bullying’ form and can help you to complete it. The form can also be downloaded via the link below.
Completed forms should be handed to your child’s teacher or the Main Office. It will be passed on immediately to a member of the Senior Leadership Team. You will then be invited to a meeting where the concerns can be discussed and an action plan agreed to investigate and address the bullying incident and support the children involved. Weekly meetings will follow until you are confident that all issues have been addressed.
E-Safety
In school we have extensive computer technology to ensure that your child is kept safe online. We also have regular e-safety lessons for children detailing in an age-appropriate way how they can keep safe online. At home, e-safety is a parental responsibility and we are happy to provide general advice on how this can be achieved.
As a minimum, we believe that internet enabled devices such as phones, tablets or computers should never be used unsupervised. Remember, children are curious. As soon as your child can type, they can also search the internet on any topic. They may also be at risk of forming inappropriate relationships with strangers online that could put them in unsafe situations.
Children’s access to social media should have regard to the age of use detailed by each individual platform and children should never enter a false date of birth in order to gain access. As a brief guideline to some of the most popular platforms the age of use restrictions are as follows:
- Whatsapp - 16
- Facebook - 13
- Instagram - 13
- Facebook Messenger - 13
- Youtube - 13
- Snapchat - 13
Cyber Bullying