Mountjoy School
Author: Jackie Shanks, Headteacher
The Challenge
Mountjoy is a small complex needs school in rural West Dorset serving pupils aged between 2½ and 19 years from both Devon and Dorset. The special educational needs and disability (SEND) range from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) and complex medical conditions. Most of our pupils will have multiple SEND.
The needs of our children and young people are increasingly complex and year on year our Safeguarding and Child Protection cases increase. Our former systems were cumbersome and archaic, did not offer the best care possible and were both labour intensive and slow. There was a substantial potential for misreporting, losing or just missing a vital piece of the puzzle that is Child Protection.
The particular challenges that Mountjoy was facing included the increasing amount of time we were spending on Safeguarding and our inability to provide timely and relevant information when called for.
The Solution - MyConcern
MyConcern was first introduced to us by a fellow Headteacher, who had been involved with its development from the beginning.
We contacted The Safeguarding Company and an experienced MyConcern trainer attended our school within a week. The system was clearly explained and our hand was held throughout the process - we are not the most IT savvy school around and therefore needed and gained support here!
Implementing MyConcern
As soon as our Safeguarding team had seen the software and recognised the integrity with which it has been designed, we immediately knew that this was a piece of software that would work for us.
It would alleviate our growing paper mountain, automatically compile chronologies and reports and allow us to not only manage Safeguarding but also begin to easily identify trends at individual and school level.
Initially, there was some extra work to do; transferring any system from paper to a digital solution clearly needs some thought but it was actually quite straightforward. The training we received from the MyConcern team was excellent albeit the system is really intuitive to use. In the early stages, we did have to manage our own anxieties about not writing everything down on paper – but now we would never go back!
Outcomes
- Reduced risk, saved time and money
- Increased Governor awareness through detailed and bespoke reports
- Tracked low-level concerns more robustly
- Maintained up to the minute chronologies for all of our pupils
- Highlighted Safeguarding to staff and ensured that all reports are now properly formatted
- Been able to share up to the minute Child Protection concerns with trusted users at Child Protection conferences
- Ensured that Social Care have the ability when granted, to see the files of their
- Cases and ensure that information is securely shared
- Developed links with other schools where siblings of our pupils attend, ensuring that our knowledge of families is shared and complete
- Been in a position to see trends and therefore ensure pertinent training is available for staff and families
- Gained an Outstanding judgement from Ofsted in this area and an outstanding judgement from our Local Authority audit
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 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 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 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 Training and Self-assessments
Our package of safeguarding training and self-assessments to help you build and maintain safeguarding expertise in your organisation
Find out moreWe Are Safeguardians
Let's Work Together
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