Safeguarding & Child Protection

The Oldershaw School is committed to fostering a culture which safeguards and promotes the welfare, both physical and emotional, of every child inside and outside the school premises.

The Oldershaw School is resolute in its commitment to the core principle of Keeping Children Safe in Education (2023) that:

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all practitioners should make sure their approach is child-centred. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.

The Oldershaw School Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and Procedures is available here. It sets out a clear and consistent framework for delivering our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, in line with safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children means:

• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

We have the highest expectations of all our staff in their commitment to safeguarding and work in partnership with parents / carers, relevant professionals and external agencies, including the Local Authority, to ensure the best outcomes for all our young people. The Oldershaw School is proactive in working with community partners such as Action for Children, Merseyside Counselling and Therapy Centre and Barnardo’s to ensure that we are able to support the emotional wellbeing of our pupils.

Should you wish to discuss any matters pertaining to safeguarding or child protection, please contact the School Office on 0151 638 2800. As part of the School’s commitment to safeguarding and child protection, there is extensive safeguarding experience and training within the School’s pastoral team, with Progress Leaders and Assistant Progress Leaders trained to DSL Level 3.

You may also wish to contact Wirral’s Integrated Front Door (IFD):

Monday – Friday (9am – 5pm): 0151 606 2008

Out-of-hours: 0151 677 6557

Safeguarding Information for Pupils

Oldershaw promotes a culture of openness for pupils to raise concerns about their own wellbeing, as well as that of their fellow pupils. Many pupils feel comfortable in approaching a member of staff in school, but we recognise that for many reasons, some pupils may not wish to talk face-to-face with an adult in school.

Therefore, we have adopted the SHARP system (Student Help Advice Reporting Page System) which allows young people to report any incidents which occur within the school and local community anonymously.

The SHARP system promotes inclusion, safeguarding and e-safety in addition to providing resources for a range of subjects.

Recent Safeguarding Issues

November 2025: Polybuzz and children's safety - Polybuzz has been flagged as potentially unsafe for children due to its content and lack of parental controls. The app is designed with safety in mind, offering graded modes for different age groups, but it has been criticized for allowing underage users to bypass these safety features. The app's content is heavily skewed towards relationship bots, romantic scenarios, and sexualized encounters, which can be inappropriate for children. Additionally, Polybuzz lacks effective age verification and parental controls, raising concerns about the safety of its content for younger users. Parents are advised to exercise caution and consider alternative, safer AI chat platforms for their children.

November 2025: Drug Alert - Ketamine. See HERE for further details.

October 2025: Merseyside Police have contacted all schools to issue a warning over WIZZ. This app seems to be an unmoderated chat room that allows children to create profiles with images before matching with other children in the area. For more information please see HERE.