We are so pleased to have been awarded Gold, the highest possible grading, in our recent Anchored Schools safeguarding audit, which recognised safeguarding to be at the centre of everything we do. This is a fantastic outcome particularly given that, outside of Olive Academies, only two other schools in the country have received Gold so far this year, demonstrating just how difficult it is to achieve.
Corrie Fielding, Education Consultant at Anchored Schools, said:
The safeguarding framework remains strong at Olive AP Academy - Thurrock ensuring that pupil and staff safety and wellbeing is considered at all times. The culture of safeguarding is well established and can be demonstrated in so many ways; it is threaded through multiple aspects of the school. The outcome of this extensive review allows us to award the school a gold Anchored Schools Award in recognition of their good practice and continued drive to improve their safeguarding practice. Congratulations!
The report offers high praise for our Executive Headteacher, Collette Hunnisett, recognising her to be ‘vastly experienced in all aspects of safeguarding. Her level of expertise and the knowledge she has of regional and local services is unprecedented.’
We are pleased to see our ‘systematic, cyclical process for reviewing safeguarding’ recognised along with our ‘continued drive for improving practice’.
We are proud too that the work we put into developing strong and successful partnerships with a range of agencies and services has been identified as a strength within the report, which states: ‘Leaders have worked relentlessly to seek funding, encourage collaborative projects and liaise with agencies who may offer explicit support for individual or groups of pupils. We never cease to be amazed as to how many partnerships the school is involved with and the focus of particular projects, with positive outcomes for pupils being the key driver behind this collaborative way of working. This is evidence of excellent practice.’
The auditing process is incredibly intensive. Using their own software, recognised by Ofsted to be exemplary, Anchored Schools reviewed our processes, systems, policies and procedures to evidence all aspects of safeguarding, with a score of at least 90% required to receive the quality assurance award. This threshold is incredibly high, ensuring that only settings with the very best safeguarding practices receive the quality mark.
Michelle Simmonite, Olive Academies Trust Safeguarding Lead, said:
Anchored Schools provide a high-quality personalised service, taking the time to build solid relationships with staff across all of our academies. Their tailored approach ensures they understand the context in order to make achievable recommendations. We are delighted to have been awarded the Anchored Schools Gold award.
Anchored Schools is a nationally-recognised organisation that works with hundreds of schools and academies across the country at both primary and secondary level and across the spectrum of mainstream, alternative provision and SEND settings. They bring a wealth of expertise and are highly regarded for their thorough approach. It is great to see our hard work acknowledged by such an esteemed external specialist. Well done to all staff at Olive AP Academy – Thurrock on this outstanding achievement and for ensuring we have effective safeguarding practices in place to keep our academy community safe.
17 May 2023
