Adult Safeguarding in London

For children with complex, challenging needs, the level of care and education must go above and beyond. With our high staff-to-child ratio and in-house clinical teams, we're proud to have won a reputation for excellence. Our aspirational homes, schools and ethos help us achieve the best possible outcomes.

As a Designated Safeguarding Lead, you will take responsibility for safeguarding within the school. This means that on a daily basis you will be liaising with statutory and non-statutory agencies, parents/carers and staff on matters of wellbeing, child protection and safeguarding, and will be a great source of support, advice and expertise in the team.

Lavender Lodge school resides within an 18th Century building in the heart of Mitcham. Our pupils come from many different boroughs to attend our school and are lucky to experience 'a life changing love of learning.' We are proud of our pupils and our dedicated team, and pupils leave us with a sense of achievement. We were recently recognised as Good by Ofsted.

• Must have worked with pupils who are autistic and have previous experience of this.
• Needs to be able to communicate in a variety of ways as 70% of our pupils are non-verbal e.g. can use Makaton, picture display symbols – we use PEC's and PODD, have experience working with non-verbal pupils.
• Have worked with pupils who display challenging behaviour but would have the will and desire to support pupils to manage their behaviour and also for you to work to understand the function of the behaviour.
• Be flexible to work with pupils from 4 through to 11 years old.
• Have an awareness of autism strategies such as TEACCH, attention autism and use of PODD and be able to use these in practice.

For your hard work and commitment, we reward you with the best salary and benefits package in the education sector. With us, you'll get to bring learning to life and make a genuine difference to the lives of our young people – plus you'll get:

• Training: A full induction and on the job training.
• Holiday: You'll work hard at WG, so you'll be rewarded with full school holidays.
• Flexible benefits: meaning you can increase/decrease benefits such as life insurance.
• Wellbeing: a host of wellbeing tools and advice including employee assistance.
• Medical cover so you can claim back the cost of things like an opticians or dentist appointment and a host of high-street discounts.
• Beautiful working environments with the very best facilities.
• A recommend a friend scheme that offers a £1,000 bonus every time.
• Contributory pension scheme – matched up to 5%.

Our young people and their families come from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and with different needs – and our workforce reflects that diversity, so that our teams can engage, encourage and inspire our young people to be themselves. As well as having at least 3 years' experience in a Designated Safeguarding Lead role, we will also look for:

• Comprehensive portfolio of CPD related to Safeguarding and Child Protection.
• Full UK driving licence.

At Witherslack Group, inclusion is part of who we are. As a specialist provider of education and care for children and young people with special educational needs, we understand the importance of embracing individuality and championing difference - especially when it comes to neurodiversity. We celebrate diverse perspectives, lived experiences, and the unique strengths that each person brings to our community.

By building a diverse and inclusive team, we're better able to support the children, young people and families we serve and ensure every member of our team can thrive, grow, and be their authentic self. The Witherslack Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check (we will cover the cost) and an online search.