Safeguarding
Oaktree Education Services are committed to ensuring that every child feels safe and well-cared for. We work hard to provide a secure school environment for learners, staff, parents/ carers and visitors.
OES takes pupil welfare and safety very seriously, and takes action to reduce all kinds of harm including: abuse, bullying, discrimination and avoidable injuries. We also promote a culture where children and adults feel confident to share their concerns about their own or others’ safety and wellbeing.
OES safeguarding lead is Nathan Lynch, who can be contacted on: nlynch@oaktreeeducation.co.uk
If you are concerned about the immediate safety or well-being of a pupil, please call 999.
At OES we use CPOMS (Child Protection Online Monitoring System) to log concerns, record chronological events and to action outcomes from disclosures. The system is managed by the company DSLs. CPOMS integrates with Arbor (our behaviour logging system) to ensure that all pertinent information related to children is recorded.
OES Designated Safeguarding Leads and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads
Nathan Lynch nlynch@oaktreeeducation.co.uk
Kaine Race-Oak kraceoak@oaktreeeducation.co.uk
Natalie Keen nkeen@oaktreeeducation.co.uk
Chris Kelly ckelly@oaktreeeducation.co.uk
Nathan Sahota nsahota@oaktreeeducation.co.uk
Pasha Jones pjones@oaktreeeducation.co.uk
Yasmin O'Driscoll yodriscoll@oaktreeeducation.co.uk
Categories of Abuse
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse is the intentional use of physical force, such as hitting, shaking, or burning, that results in bodily injury, pain, or impairment. At OES, we monitor for unexplained injuries or behavioural changes that may indicate a student or resident is being harmed.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a person, involving behaviours like belittling, bullying, or isolation that severely damage their self-esteem and development. It is often the most difficult to detect but is just as damaging to a person’s mental health and ability to succeed in our settings.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse occurs when a person is forced, coerced, or groomed into participating in sexual activities without their informed consent or legal capacity to consent. This is a severe safeguarding violation that requires immediate intervention and support for the victim through all OES provisions.
Neglect
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a person’s basic physical or psychological needs, such as failing to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, or medical care. In our supported accommodation and school environments, ensuring these fundamental needs are met is our primary responsibility to prevent long-term developmental harm.
Online safeguarding
Online abuse is any persistent or targeted behaviour via digital platforms, such as harassment, bullying, or sharing private data, intended to cause emotional, social, or physical harm. For a multiservice provider like OES, it represents a critical safeguarding risk that can impact a student's education and a resident's sense of safety at home.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a form of child abuse and a severe human rights violation involving the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. As a mandatory safeguarding priority for Oaktree Education Services, staff are legally required to report any known or suspected cases to the police to ensure the safety of students and residents.
Child Missing in Education – Why might children be missing from education?
There are various reasons for this which include, but are not limited to:
• Child not starting at school when they reach compulsory school age and therefore never enter the system.
• Failing to transition between schools. For example, at phase transfer or if a family moves from one local authority to another.
• A delay in applying for a new school place upon arriving in the city.
• Refusing an alternative offer of a school place, when the preferred school is full.
• Leaving a school, with no forwarding education provision or destination.
At OES we have a duty to ensure that every child we know should be 'in the system' and that we have forwarded information for children who leave the immediate local area.
Southampton City Council CME:
https://www.southampton.gov.uk/schools-learning/support- education/children-missing-education/
Protocol for the transfer of pupil safeguarding records
When children transfer from us, we have a protocol in place to ensure the consistent and safe transfer of Child Protection information.
The school uses CPOMS as the safeguarding information management system to record, review and action cases. Where children transfer to schools using CPOMS, relevant details will be shared.
For physical record transfer – we operate a strict receipt system between the sender/receiver to ensure these are maintained for our records. We do not send records via post – unless this is special delivery. The local authority operate an internal post system – though we prefer to physically transfer the records using the school minibus at the beginning of the academic year.
Safeguarding children with special educational needs and disabilities
Disabled children at greatest risk of abuse are those with behaviour or conduct disorders. Other high-risk groups include:
• children with learning difficulties/disabilities
• children with speech and language difficulties
• children with health-related conditions
• deaf children
Adults who work with children and young people with SEND need to be aware of the additional needs children may have. That could mean they are more vulnerable to abuse and/or less able to speak out if something isn’t right.
Some children may be vulnerable because they:
• have additional communication needs
• they do not understand that what is happening to them is abuse
• need intimate care or are isolated from others
• are dependent on adults for care.
We recognise that children with additional needs or disabilities may display signs of abuse in different ways to their peers. These could include:
• Diagrams and drawings – they may seem inconsequential initially – but could be building a bigger picture of a child’s experiences and a disclosure.
• Escalating behaviours that seem disproportionate
• Not accepting that an injury is the result of the child’s additional needs
• Fabricated or induced illness
• Considering behaviour such as self-harm as possibly being indicative of abuse