About Leigh Academy, Longfield
Leigh Academy Longfield is a mainstream secondary school based in Longfield, Kent, with a highly successful Specialist Resource Provision (SRP). The school supports a diverse student body, with 18% of pupils having a diagnosed SEND need, making inclusive practice and tailored support central to its ethos.
PSHE sits at the heart of the school’s safeguarding approach, led by Jodie, who holds the dual role of Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and PSHE and RSE Lead. Rather than treating safeguarding as a reactive process, the school embeds it across all learning — from dedicated PSHE lessons and whole-school assemblies to targeted one-to-one intervention sessions.
Focus: Integrated safeguarding through PSHE
The school’s most significant breakthrough has been shifting from a “behavioural” approach to an “educational” one. Rather than assuming a student is intentionally breaking rules, the team treats behavioral incidents as a sign that a student hasn’t yet understood the impact of their actions.
- Challenging assumptions
- As Jodie explained, “We’ve stopped assuming that they know and understand that certain behaviors or ideas are wrong, and we work with them to develop that so they can actually understand how their actions affect others.”
- Targeted Intervention
- By utilising Life Lessons intervention resources for focused, one-to-one work, the school has seen a dramatic decrease in repeat incidents of behaviour and safeguarding.
- Reducing recidivism
- Jodie described the intervention materials as the “biggest game changer” for their SEND safeguarding. Because the resources help students move past “black and white” thinking to a place of genuine empathy, the school has successfully reduced repeat behaviors. “By using those resources one-on-one, we have had such a good result in taking away any kind of recidivist behaviors.”
