Gladstone Primary School
Author: Caroline Newman, Headteacher

The Challenge
Gladstone is a large inner-city school in Barry with around 430 pupils. We have some challenging children here and a high level of children on free school meal plans. Previously we used a paper-based system to record well-being concerns and staff recorded everything in log books. It was a very clumsy system, which did not allow for high level reporting and spotting trends.
Caroline Newman, Headteacher in Gladstone Primary School discusses how MyConcern has transformed safeguarding in her school.
Solutions
I wanted a system which would be highly secure and instantly accessible. I was incredibly impressed with the ease of reporting a concern, the level of security within MyConcern and how the system supported a holistic approach to safeguarding.
Any staff member, including pastoral or support staff, can access the system to update any small bit of information (that might prove to be important later on) and it just gives you peace of mind and security that you are not missing anything about a child that you are caring for.

Implementing MyConcern
Any staff member, including pastoral or support staff, can access the system to update any small bit of information (that might prove to be important later on) and it just gives you peace of mind and security that you are not missing anything about a child that you are caring for. One of the best things is the fact you are paper-free and that information is safe and secure.
The Outcomes
MyConcern ensures that every aspect of a child is logged, supporting us to really understand what that child lives with and the impact on them in school. It helps staff working with our most vulnerable children to really understand, have empathy and to support them. We recognise that we cannot ‘fix’ experiences, but we can validate emotions and help a child to work through, come to terms with, or resolve trauma that they may still be experiencing.
- Creates a team around each child
- Peace of mind that nothing is being missed
- Builds a comprehensive overview of each pupil
- Enables staff to understand, empathize with and support vulnerable pupils
- Safeguarding Leads can easily see a pupil’s history, aiding decision making
- Information can be securely shared with trusted agencies (e.g. Social Services)
We Are Safeguardians
Let's Work Together
Solutions
Our suite of safeguarding solutions to support schools is ever growing, so we can help with your safeguarding processes in a number of ways. Explore our products below:
For Concerns about Children and Young Adults
Easy-to-use, centralised, secure record-keeping and case management for all types of safeguarding concerns
Find out moreFor Safer Recruitment
A safer recruitment and personnel vetting tool that acts as your Single Central Record. Designed to guide you through the recruitment process and to ensure that no check is missed
Find out moreFor Multi-establishment Reporting
A powerful reporting tool designed exclusively for multi-establishment safeguarding. Paired with MyConcern and Confide to provide high-level, anonymised reporting across groups of establishments
Find out moreFor Allegations Against Staff
One of the most sensitive issues facing any leader is how to handle serious allegations about their staff. Confide is the answer
Find out moreYou might also like...

KCSIE 2021 - Keeping Children Safe in Education Guidance
This blog summarises some of the key updates and additions to the new version of the statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education which came into effect from 1st September 2021. The guidance sets out the legal duties an establishment must follow to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and colleges.

Keeping children safe during community activities, after-school clubs and tuition
Download our free handbook on this non-statutory guidance from the Department for Education aiming to help providers of out-of-school settings understand best practice for creating a safe environment for the children and young people in their care.

Digging Deeper: Practical Applications of Safeguarding Best Practice
A free webinar for child protection, safeguarding & pastoral leads in international schools. We take a detailed look at some example scenarios and discuss practical approaches to recording and managing concerns with our guest speaker from ACS Doha.