Director of Safeguarding
Full-time, all-year round, non-teaching
Starting June or September 2025
Executive Summary
The Director of Safeguarding reports to the Headmistress and is responsible for all safeguarding matters and for developing a proactive safeguarding culture for Headington Rye pupils and staff. The Director of Safeguarding will maintain and develop excellent working relationships with external agencies (eg ESAT, LADO, Children’s Social Care, Police, CAMHS).
The Director of Safeguarding will work closely with both Deputy Heads Pastoral, at the Senior and Prep Schools, Director of HR, Housekeeping and Lettings Manager, Director of Operations, Director of IT and the Headmistress to ensure a co-ordinated and holistic approach to pupil safeguarding, casework, compliance and record keeping. They will also work directly with the School’s Governors with special responsibility to the Governors Safeguarding Leads.
As the Designated Safeguard Lead this member of staff has lead responsibility for dealing with safeguarding and child protection issues, including online safety, managing referrals, raising awareness, providing training and advice to staff, liaising with the Local Authority and working with other agencies where required.
They will have primary responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of all pupils in the School, leading the continued development and promotion of a culture of safeguarding awareness within the School, including supporting a culture of listening to pupils and understanding how pupil behaviour, mental health and wellbeing can be related to adversity and trauma that a pupil may have faced.
The Director of Safeguarding is a member of the Executive Leadership Team, which operates across both Schools, with significant whole-School responsibilities. The Director of Safeguarding is also a member of the Pastoral Curriculum Team for the management and oversight of pupils with specific pastoral needs at any time during their school careers.
Role Description
The Director of Safeguarding is a non-teaching, all year round full-time role starting in June or September 2025.
Key responsibilities
Core responsibilities
- take responsibility for safeguarding and child protection in the School (including online safety through the filtering and monitoring system and processes in place)
- ensure that procedures, routines and rules in relation to safeguarding are properly understood and observed by both pupils and staff
- be the first point of contact for parents, pupils, teaching and support staff and external agencies in all matters of safeguarding and child protection
- daily oversight of CPOMS (the School’s online system for registering and recording issues of pastoral concern) to ensure that safeguarding matters are dealt with swiftly whilst other matters will revert to the two Deputy Heads Pastoral and their teams
- advise and assist the Headmistress, the Deputy Heads Pastoral and the wider SLT and SMG on all safeguarding matters
- collate qualitative and quantitative data and produce reports to facilitate monitoring and evaluation and development/improvement
- act as a source of support, advice and expertise to staff on matters of safety and safeguarding and on decisions about referrals outside the School, liaising as necessary with relevant agencies
- maintain an ongoing training programme for all school employees, Governors, volunteers and other individuals working at the School, including induction training for all such individuals, and to provide annual updates to the Governors on all such training
- refer all cases of suspected abuse and child protection concerns to appropriate external agencies including Children’s Social Care, the Police, ESAT, and LADO (for cases which concern a staff member)
- liaise with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (for cases where a person is dismissed or otherwise leaves the School with concerns about risk/harm to a child), and/or the Police (for cases where a crime may have been committed)
- liaise with other professionals and relevant external agencies to ensure that the School contributes to inter-agency working in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children (September 2023)
- ensure that locally agreed inter-agency procedures put in place by the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (Multi-Agency Partnership) are followed.
- advise and act on all suspicions, concerns and/or evidence of the need for children to receive additional support, or of children who have suffered or are likely to suffer abuse and/or neglect
- take part in child protection conferences and reviews
- liaise with the local Channel Panel if a child is deemed to be at risk of radicalisation.
- ensure that all filtering and monitoring systems are overseen, that alerts are processed in a time sensitive manner, and that all systems and procedures are reviewed annually in line with KCSIE updates
- formulate and review the sections of the School Development Plan relating to safeguarding and child protection
- complete the OSCP Section 157 and 175 annual audit for the SChool
- liaise closely with HR regarding safeguarding requirements when appointing staff across the School
- be aware of contextual risks which may impact the pupils' wellbeing
Supporting pupils
- take lead responsibility, alongside the Headmistress and relevant members of the senior team, for promoting educational outcomes by knowing the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children in need are experiencing, or have experienced, and identifying the impact that these issues might be having on pupil attendance, engagement and achievement
- identify, understand and respond to specific needs and specific harms that can put pupils at risk and the process, procedures and responsibilities of other agencies so that referrals can be made in a relevant and timely manner
Monitoring and record keeping
- take responsibility for the keeping, confidentiality and storage of records in relation to child protection – all should be logged on CPOMS and in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements
- ensure that decision making is clear in the records and any lessons to be learnt are documented, including a systematic approach to recording digital evidence relevant to safeguarding cases
- monitor records of pupils in the School who are subject to a child protection plan to ensure that it is maintained and updated as soon as any notifications are received
- maintain a log of pupils who have been allocated and currently have an allocated social worker
- inform social services in writing when a child who is subject to a child protection plan moves to another school
- ensure the secure transfer of the child protection files to pupils’ new schools, according to the timeframes in KCSIE and ensure requested records of pupils joining the School are received
- keep and maintain records of staff training on child protection and safer recruitment
- procedures (held by the HR Department)
- understand relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- monitor and review safeguarding records to identify patterns, trends or areas for improvement
Developing culture
To ensure staff are aware of the safeguarding culture at Headington Rye Oxford, most notably a culture of:
- raising concerns and speaking up (however small the concern may be)
- listening to children and to adults
- placing safeguarding as our top priority
- seeing safeguarding as the responsibility of everyone in the community
- visit each of the five boarding houses at least once each term, to meet with boarders, to enhance visibility and to build relationships of trust
- meet regularly with the Deputy Heads Pastoral and Heads of Section and Heads of Year
Developing school policies
- ensure that the Safeguarding Policy and all related policies are reviewed annually (as a minimum) and that the procedures and their implementation are updated and reviewed regularly, working with the Headmistress and with the governing body to those ends
- ensure that the Safeguarding Policy, the Low Level Concerns Policy and all related policies are known, understood and used appropriately (including by those using the School’s buildings and facilities commercially)
- ensure that the most recent Safeguarding Policy is available on the website
Raising awareness and staff and pupil training
- ensure their training is up to date in terms of statutory requirements and to keep abreast of current research and understanding applicable to chid protection and safeguarding
- provide annual (as a minimum) safeguarding updates to staff
- ensure all staff are up to date with three-yearly generalist training as delivered by Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (OSCP) or internally by those trained to deliver it
- promote and raise awareness of safeguarding issues within the school community through the development of INSET, initiatives, campaigns and resources, including website articles and assemblies
- provide additional and specialist training to house staff and those in pastoral roles
- ensure that the training of the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads is up to date with OSCP requirements
- ensure that the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are further developed through up to date training across safeguarding trends
- ensure that all Prefects receive safeguarding training appropriate for their role as senior pupils in the School
- work with the Deputy Heads Pastoral on proactive PSHE education for pupils in how to keep themselves safe
Governor liaison and training
- organise a termly DSL meeting with the Safeguarding Governors of the Senior and Prep Schools, and at other times as necessary
- develop a close working relationship with the Safeguarding Governors, updating them on any serious cases
- provide an annual Safeguarding Report to the governing body and termly updates to the relevant committees
- ensure that the governing body understands, agrees with and signs off the annual s175 audit to OSCP
- provide training for Governors that helps them to fulfil their strategic safeguarding role
Staff induction and INSET
- be involved in the induction of teaching staff
- meet with all new staff to ensure that the induction process fulfils the areas stated in the Safeguarding Policy
- meet with all adult family and household members of new staff living in school accommodation to ensure that the induction process fulfils the areas stated in the Safeguarding Policy
- deliver updates at INSET.
- provide support and supervision to any member of staff involved in a safeguarding incident.
Training
The Director of Safeguarding should undergo training to provide the knowledge and skills required to carry out the role. This training should be updated at least every two years.
The Director of Safeguarding should undertake Prevent Awareness Training as part of their remit as DSL. In addition to the training set out above, the knowledge and skills of the DSL should be refreshed (this might be via e-bulletins, meeting other DSLs, or simply taking time to read and digest safeguarding developments) at regular intervals, as required, and at least annually, to allow the DSL to understand and keep up with any developments to the role in order to:
- understand the assessment process for providing early help and statutory intervention, including local criteria for action and local authority children’s social care referral arrangements
- have a working knowledge of how local authorities conduct a child protection case conference and a child protection review conference and be able to attend and contribute to these effectively when required to do so
- ensure each member of staff has access to, and understands, the School’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and Procedures, especially new and part-time staff.
- be alert to the specific needs of vulnerable pupils.
Partnerships
- work with the safeguarding leads at other local Schools
- work with the School Letting Manager to ensure that the holiday lettings are fully compliant with the prevailing safeguarding legislation and so that individual and collective safeguarding obligations are clear
- work with the Director of Operations to ensure that all major events and conferences (internal and external) held at the School are aligned with our safeguarding policy and that safeguarding obligations are clear
Admissions
- assist with interviewing in the admission process for prospective pupils where specific pastoral or safeguarding concerns have been identified
Inspection
- work with the Exec Team and other staff to prepare the Schools for inspection with respect to the relevant areas of responsibility
- keep abreast of development in inspection criteria and implement plans to achieve excellence against the standards required
Other duties as a member of the Executive Leadership Team
- represent the School at external meetings of Designated Safeguarding Leads and at conferences as necessary, requested and required
- attend school functions and events as often as possible and to support pupils and staff in their activities and endeavours
Person Specification
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
- relevant experience in a senior safeguarding role, ideally within the education or a public sector environment (eg police, NHS, LADO, ESAT)
- up-to-date knowledge of relevant safeguarding regulatory guidance related to schools
- evidence of continued professional development
- experience of training others to DDSL level or in extended safeguarding matters
- experience of creating and implementing policies at an organisational level
Desirable
- good degree from a recognised university
- further qualifications in an area related to this post
- experience of working with senior management in a school context
- experience of leading strategic initiatives across a whole school or relevant organisation
Personal Attributes and Skills
- ability to communicate confidently with colleagues at all levels across the School and with the School’s governors
- high level of professionalism, diplomacy, discretion and the ability to maintain confidentiality
- logical and methodical approach with a high level of accuracy
- strong organisation and time management skills
- ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences, in writing and verbally, and at both a strategic and policy level
- ability to manage and motivate staff
- excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills
- excellent attention to detail and ability to spot anomalies within data
- ability to anticipate needs, pre-empt problems and offer solutions
- ability to work on their own initiative and pro-actively
- ability to prioritise effectively, multi-task and work to deadlines
- strong IT skills
- commitment to safeguarding children and young people
- calm, approachable and professional manner
- self-motivated and able to work under pressure
- ability to inspire confidence in a wide range of stakeholders
- ability to work autonomously and as part of a busy team
- resilient with a ‘can do’ attitude
- willingness to express an independent viewpoint within a team environment
- willingness to commit to the School’s aims and values, and to be involved in its boarding community
- commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and understanding how related considerations apply to the role
- sympathy with the values and ethos of the School
Terms of Appointment
Type of Contract
Permanent, full time, all-year round starting in June or September 2025. The postholder will ordinarily work Monday – Friday. During term time there may be occasions when they would need to action cases in the evening or weekend and this time will be reclaimed by working shorter hours when the pupils are on holiday. It would be possible to do some hybrid working when the pupils are not in school. A rota of other members of the DSL Team will cover any periods of leave.
Benefits
Pension
Contributory membership of the School’s Support Staff Pension Scheme with a School contribution of up to 9.95 per cent upon successful completion of six months’ service.
Fee remission
In accordance with the School’s policy, which may be subject to change, up to 50 per cent fee remission for pupils attending Headington Rye Oxford and up to 20 per cent fee remission for boys attending Magdalen College School (under a reciprocal agreement) and subject to the terms of their policy. Fee remission is calculated on the number of weeks and hours worked and is pro rata for part-time staff who work at least 50 per cent of a normal working week.
Salary
Salary will range from £60,000 to £65,000 dependent on skills and experience.
30 days annual leave plus eight bank holidays.
Additional Benefits
Free school lunches are provided. All staff have access to a broad programme of wellbeing activities. The programme currently includes access to the School’s gym and swimming pool, weekly Step and Tone and Zumba classes and regular staff social activities such as Book Club and Staff Choir. Staff also benefit from free access to the Employee Assistance Programme, a free, confidential helpline that offers advice on a range of issues. Free restricted parking is available for all staff on site.
Appointment Process and How To Apply
Applicants should submit an application form and a covering letter detailing their skills and experience to recruitment@headingtonschool.com
- Applications will only be accepted from candidates completing the application form in full. CVs will not be accepted in substitution for completed application forms. However, they may be sent in addition to the application form.
- We will seek references on shortlisted candidates and will approach previous employers for information to verify particular experience or qualifications, before the interview. References will ask about your suitability to work with children.
- If you are invited to interview you will receive notification outlining the interview process and guidance regarding the documentation you are required to provide.
Application deadline: Tuesday 18th March 2025
Interviews: week commencing Monday 24th March 2025
Applications are reviewed and shortlisted on a rolling basis and we reserve the right to interview, appoint and close adverts early depending on the volume of applications we receive. We therefore encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application form.
All appointments are subject to satisfactory completion of all employment checks, ie references, Disclosure and Barring Service, medical questionnaire, Right to Work in the UK. Headington Rye Oxford is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Applicants must undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and DBS and barred lists checks. The School expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
