Our school ensures children learn in a safe, caring and enriching environment. Children are taught how to keep themselves safe, to develop positive and healthy relationships and how to avoid situations where they might be at risk including by being exploited.

Our school also has a statutory responsibility to share any concerns it might have with other agencies and in particular police, health and children’s services about a child in need of protection. Schools are not able to investigate child protection concerns but have a legal duty to refer them. In most instances, the school will be able to inform the parents/carer of the need to make a referral. However, sometimes the school is advised by children’s services or police that the parent/carer cannot be informed whilst they investigate the matter. We understand the anxiety parents/carers understandably feel when they are not told about any concerns from the outset. The school follows legislation that aims to act in the interests of the child.

The school will always seek to work in partnership with parents and other agencies to ensure the best possible outcomes for the child and family.

Safeguarding

To demonstrate our commitment to safeguarding children we pledge to:

• ensure that children are visible, their voices heard and their needs, views and wishes addressed
• recognise that some children may be more vulnerable to harm due to their age, specific needs, home circumstances, online activity, associations or other contextual factors
• work in partnership with other agencies, always acting in the best interests of children
• act without delay to protect children from harm and abuse
• provide early help before children’s needs escalate further
• apply the local ‘levels of need guidance’ to assess and re-evaluate children’s needs
• share information promptly to support a collective and holistic assessment of children’s needs
• strengthen relationships with families, supporting them to build resilience by adopting a solution focused approach
• attend all multi-agency meetings to ensure collective responsibility for achieving positive outcomes for children in a timely way
• ensure agencies challenge each other so that actions are taken promptly, avoiding professional drift
• follow local multi-agency procedures to escalate concerns until there is an appropriate resolution
• participate in regular and effective supervision with my peers so that there is strong oversight of decisions made and actions taken
• meet all mandatory training requirements, regularly updating my professional knowledge whilst applying any learning to my practice and cascading to others

Please click the following link here to find information on the different types of child abuse and advice on what to do if you suspect a child is being abused.

The Prevent Duty 

Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Prevent also extends to supporting the rehabilitation and disengagement of those already involved in terrorism. The duty helps to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are supported as they would be under safeguarding processes. For more information about Prevent Duty, please click the following link Prevent Duty Guidance.

We have also produced a reader-friend version for parents, The Prevent Duty for parents

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a partnership between the police and educational settings aimed at safeguarding children who have experienced domestic abuse. It enables schools to provide immediate support to affected children following a police-attended incident.

Through this initiative, the police notify a school’s trained Designated Safeguarding Lead (known as the Key Adult) via a simple phone call or message before the start of the next school day. This ensures that children related to either adult involved in the incident receive the necessary care and support as soon as possible. For more information click the following link Operation Encompass

If you have any concerns about any of the areas covered on this page and would like to speak with a member of our safeguarding team, please speak to the school office. 

Designated Safeguarding Lead – Miss A Connearn (Executive Headteacher)

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead – Mrs A Flood (Head of School)