Outline
We have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as described in section 175 of the Education Act 2002 and that we have due regard to the guidance ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education DfES 2007’ as the safety and protection of children is of paramount importance to everyone in this school.
In ‘Safeguarding children: working together under the Children Act 2004’, the National Assembly for Wales defines safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as:
We believe that all children have the right to be safe in our society. Therefore, we recognize that we have a duty to ensure arrangements are in place for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children by creating a positive school atmosphere and through our teaching and learning, pastoral support and care for both pupils and school personnel, training for school personnel and with working with parents/guardians.
We want all our children to achieve their full potential by:
We recognize that the safety and protection of pupils is the responsibility of all school personnel and volunteers as they are in a unique position to notice injuries, marks or bruises when children are undertaking certain activities which might indicate a child has been abused. We believe that we must report and investigate all injuries for the safety and protection of the children in our care.
We acknowledge that children can be harmed physically, emotionally, sexually or by neglect. It is our duty to report any concerns that we have of child abuse as the health, safety and protection of all children is paramount. We are aware that if abuse is suspected by another child then child protection procedures will be applied to both children.
We will inform the Local Authority Designated Officer of any allegations of abuse by any member of the school personnel whether they took place on the school premises or elsewhere and of the action taken in respect of these allegations.
We will also inform Local Authority Designated Officer of any person connected to the school who is considered to be unsuitable to work with children.
We are committed in establishing and maintaining an ethos where children and parents feel secure in being able to talk confidently to school personnel about any concerns or fears they may have knowing that they will be taken seriously.
We will ensure that the curriculum deals with safeguarding through activities and opportunities in PSHE/Citizenship that will equip the children with the necessary skills and awareness to stay safe from abuse.
We are committed in establishing and maintaining procedures for safer recruitment and sound working relationships with parents and support agencies
We believe ‘….safeguarding covers more than the contribution made to child protection in relation to individual children. It also encompasses issues such as pupil health and safety and bullying…medical needs of children….providing first aid, school security, drugs and substance misuse, etc.’ (Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education DfES 2007)
(See related Safeguarding Policies)
We wish to work closely with the School Council and to hear their views and opinions on safeguarding as we acknowledge and support Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that children should be encouraged to form and to express their views.
We as a school community have a commitment to promote equality. Therefore, an equality impact assessment has been undertaken and we believe this policy is in line with the Equality Act 2010.
Aims
Responsibility for the Policy and ProcedureRole of the Governing Body
The Governing Body:
Role of the Headteacher
The Headteacher will:
Role of the Designated Child Protection Teacher – Paul NoonandDeputy Child Protection Teacher – Vicki Mercer
The Designated Child Protection Teacher will:
Role of the Nominated Governor – Charlene Bonar
The Nominated Governor will:
Role of the Local Authority Designated Officer – Claire Homard
The Local Authority Designated Officer will:
Role of School Personnel & Volunteers
School personnel and volunteers must:
Role of Pupils
Pupils must be made aware of:
Role of the School Council
Every year the School Council will ask the views of all pupils by issuing a questionnaire and asking:
Role of Parents/Guardians
Parents are:
Annually we will ask parents/guardians if:
Partnerships with Parents/Guardians
The Designated Child Protection Teacher:
Reporting Concerns
If a pupil makes a disclosure then the member of the school personnel must:
If a member of the school personnel suspects that a child may be a victim of abuse then they must:
The designated person will then:
If a parent makes a disclosure to school then the Designated Child Protection Teacher:
Recording InformationSchool personnel and volunteer helpers are asked to record any concern or incident in the following way:
Reporting to the Designated Child Protection Teacher
Support
Confidentiality and Security of Information
Case Conferences and Core Group MeetingsThe Designated Child Protection Teacher will attend:
Pupils Transferring to another SchoolThe following procedures will take place if a pupil, on the child protection register, transfers to another school:
TrainingTraining will take place for school personnel, volunteer helpers and governors:
All school personnel must undertake appropriate training every three years in:
We ensure all school personnel have equal chances of training, career development and promotion.
Periodic training will be organized for all school personnel so that they are kept up to date with new information and guide lines concerning equal opportunities.
We have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as described in section 175 of the Education Act 2002 and that we have due regard to the guidance ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education DfES 2007’ as the safety and protection of children is of paramount importance to everyone in this school.
In ‘Safeguarding children: working together under the Children Act 2004’, the National Assembly for Wales defines safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as:
- protecting children from abuse and neglect;
- preventing impairment of their health or development; and
- ensuring that they receive safe and effective care…. so as to enable them to have the optimum life chances
We believe that all children have the right to be safe in our society. Therefore, we recognize that we have a duty to ensure arrangements are in place for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children by creating a positive school atmosphere and through our teaching and learning, pastoral support and care for both pupils and school personnel, training for school personnel and with working with parents/guardians.
We want all our children to achieve their full potential by:
- being as physically and mentally healthy as possible;
- experiencing good quality education opportunities;
- living in a safe environment;
- learning and working in a safe environment;
- experiencing emotional well being;
- feeling loved and valued;
- receiving support from a network of reliable and affectionate relationships;
- learning to look after themselves;
- coping with everyday living;
- having a sense of identity and a positive image of themselves;
- developing their confidence and their interpersonal skills
We recognize that the safety and protection of pupils is the responsibility of all school personnel and volunteers as they are in a unique position to notice injuries, marks or bruises when children are undertaking certain activities which might indicate a child has been abused. We believe that we must report and investigate all injuries for the safety and protection of the children in our care.
We acknowledge that children can be harmed physically, emotionally, sexually or by neglect. It is our duty to report any concerns that we have of child abuse as the health, safety and protection of all children is paramount. We are aware that if abuse is suspected by another child then child protection procedures will be applied to both children.
We will inform the Local Authority Designated Officer of any allegations of abuse by any member of the school personnel whether they took place on the school premises or elsewhere and of the action taken in respect of these allegations.
We will also inform Local Authority Designated Officer of any person connected to the school who is considered to be unsuitable to work with children.
We are committed in establishing and maintaining an ethos where children and parents feel secure in being able to talk confidently to school personnel about any concerns or fears they may have knowing that they will be taken seriously.
We will ensure that the curriculum deals with safeguarding through activities and opportunities in PSHE/Citizenship that will equip the children with the necessary skills and awareness to stay safe from abuse.
We are committed in establishing and maintaining procedures for safer recruitment and sound working relationships with parents and support agencies
We believe ‘….safeguarding covers more than the contribution made to child protection in relation to individual children. It also encompasses issues such as pupil health and safety and bullying…medical needs of children….providing first aid, school security, drugs and substance misuse, etc.’ (Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education DfES 2007)
(See related Safeguarding Policies)
We wish to work closely with the School Council and to hear their views and opinions on safeguarding as we acknowledge and support Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that children should be encouraged to form and to express their views.
We as a school community have a commitment to promote equality. Therefore, an equality impact assessment has been undertaken and we believe this policy is in line with the Equality Act 2010.
Aims
- To have in place procedures to ensure that we meet our responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children from abuse.
- To ensure that all school personnel are aware of what action to take when dealing with a child protection issue.
- To work with other schools to share good practice in order to improve this policy.
Responsibility for the Policy and ProcedureRole of the Governing Body
The Governing Body:
- has in place a child protection policy and other related procedures;
- has appointed a senior member of staff to act as the Designated Child Protection Teacher;
- has nominated a governor to liaise with the child protection officer;
- has delegated powers and responsibilities to the Headteacher to ensure everyone connected with the school is aware of and complies with this policy;
- has in place safe recruitment procedures, including appropriate use of reference checks on new staff and volunteers;
- has in place procedures to deal with allegations of abuse against members of staff and volunteers;
- nominated the Chair of Governors in liaison with the Local Authority to deal with any allegations of abuse made against the Headteacher;
- has undertaken appropriate training about the ways of safeguarding children which will be updated every three years;
- will ensure that the Headteacher, school personnel and volunteers undertake safeguarding training every three years;
- will annually review all safeguarding policies and procedures;
- will receive termly reports from the Headteacher on safeguarding pupils in the school;
- will receive an annual report from the Headteacher on safeguarding pupils in the school;
- has responsibility for the effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of this policy
- has the responsibility for ensuring that the school complies with all equalities legislation;
- has nominated a designated Equalities governor to ensure that appropriate action will be taken to deal with all prejudice related incidents or incidents which are a breach of this policy;
- has responsibility for ensuring funding is in place to support this policy;
- has responsibility for ensuring this policy and all policies are maintained and updated regularly;
- has responsibility for ensuring all policies are made available to parents;
- has the responsibility of involving the School Council in the development, approval, implementation and review of this policy;
- has nominated a link governor to visit the school regularly, to liaise with the Headteacher and the coordinator and to report back to the Governing Body;
- has responsibility for the effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of this policy
Role of the Headteacher
The Headteacher will:
- ensure the implementation of this policy, all procedures and other related policies;
- ensure everyone connected with the school is aware of this policy;
- work closely with the designated teacher and nominated governor for child protection;
- nominate a deputy designated teacher;
- provide adequate resources for the designated teacher to undertake his/her role;
- ensure CRB checks are undertaken for everyone working with children in the school;
- ensure that all school personnel and volunteers are able to highlight improvements to the safeguarding policies and procedures;
- ensure that all new staff undertake training in child protection procedures;
- regularly report to the governing body and keep them updated;
- undertake training in safeguarding and child protection;
- provide leadership and vision in respect of equality;
- provide guidance, support and training to all staff;
- notify the local services team should a pupil in the Child Protection register is excluded
- notify the local services team if there is an unexplained absence of a pupil on the child protection register of more than two days duration from school (or one day following a weekend)
- monitor the effectiveness of this policy;
- report annually to the governing body on the effectiveness of the policy
Role of the Designated Child Protection Teacher – Paul NoonandDeputy Child Protection Teacher – Vicki Mercer
The Designated Child Protection Teacher will:
- ensure the implementation of this policy;
- ensure everyone connected with the school is aware of this policy;
- work closely with the Headteacher and the nominated governor;
- be trained in child protection policy procedures;
- renew training every two years;
- keep a confidential Child Protection Register of all those pupils known to be at risk and only if it is confirmed by social services that the child is at risk;
- be trained in working with all agencies;
- familiarize school personnel with the policy and procedures;
- investigate and deal with all cases of suspected or actual problems associated with child protection;
- make child protection referrals;
- record all child protection referrals;
- co-ordinate action within the school;
- liaise and seek advice from the Local Authority Designated Officer when the need arises;
- liaise with social care and other agencies;
- transfer the child protection file of any pupil leaving to join another school;
- provide support for any child at risk;
- act as a source of advice within the school;
- keep up to date will all new guidance on safeguarding children;
- keep all school personnel up to date with any changes to procedures;
- organize appropriate training for school personnel and governors;
- ensure all incidents are recorded, reported and kept confidential;
- keep all paperwork up to date;
- report back to the appropriate school personnel when necessary
- ensure that Child Protection and Safeguarding are standing items during Staff Meetings
- annually review the policy
Role of the Nominated Governor – Charlene Bonar
The Nominated Governor will:
- work closely with the Headteacher and the Designated Child Protection Teacher;
- ensure policies and systems fulfill all safeguarding and child protection responsibilities and are consistent with Local Authority guidelines and LSCB procedures;
- ensure that everyone connected with the school is aware of this policy;
- take responsibility for the oversight of procedures relating to handling allegations against school personnel and volunteers
- take responsibility for taking action according to Local Authority procedures where there are allegations against the Headteacher;
- ensure recruitment of school personnel and volunteers is in line with the Safe Recruitment policy;
- undertake safeguarding training every three years (annually if possible)
- ensure that the Governing Body is informed in every Headteacher’s Report whether or not there have been any allegations against staff.
Role of the Local Authority Designated Officer – Claire Homard
The Local Authority Designated Officer will:
- ensure safeguarding procedures are correctly applied and implemented throughout the Local Authority;
- provide advice, information and guidance to personnel in the Local Authority;
- be responsible for updating the Local Authority policy for safeguarding and child protection;
- work closely with Social Services, the Police, Health professional and all other agencies;
- be the key link to Social Services or the Police during and following formal investigations;
- monitor the progress of cases to ensure that they following the appropriate procedures;
- keep up to date with all changes in legislation;
- will be the Local Authority representative on the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB)
Role of School Personnel & Volunteers
School personnel and volunteers must:
- recognize that child protection is their main responsibility;
- treat children’s welfare with utmost importance;
- be aware of the background of the children in their care;
- be made aware of this policy and all other safeguarding policies and procedures during induction, the school personnel handbook and training;
- be aware of the names of the designated teachers’;
- be trained in identifying signs of harm and abuse;
- be aware of the effects of abuse and neglect on children;
- undertake training on responding to a child;
- be alert at all times to the signs of abuse namely physical, emotional, sexual or neglect;
- know how to report any suspected case of harm or abuse;
- respond immediately to any child;
- report any concerns to the designated person or the deputy designated person;
- know what to do if a child makes a disclosure;
- receive support and counseling if they feel distressed from being involved with a case or incident;
- be kept up to date with changes in procedures;
- be prepared to attend a Strategy Meeting;
- be prepared to attend a Child Protection Case Conference;
- ensure that they conduct themselves correctly at all times and do not put themselves at risk;
- implement the school’s equalities policy and schemes;
- report and deal with all incidents of discrimination;
- attend appropriate training sessions on equality;
- report any concerns they have on any aspect of the school community
Role of Pupils
Pupils must be made aware of:
- basic safeguarding procedures in school such as visitors signing in and wearing visitor badges;
- how to keep themselves safe
Role of the School Council
Every year the School Council will ask the views of all pupils by issuing a questionnaire and asking:
- Do they feel safe in school?
- Are they aware of basic safeguarding procedures in school?
- Are pupils aware of how to keep themselves safe?
- Do they know who to go to if they are concerned about their own safety or that of others?
- Are they are aware of e-safety?
- Do they know how to keep themselves safe outside school?
- Do they know how to keep themselves safe when using the internet?
Role of Parents/Guardians
Parents are:
- asked to work hard with the school to establish excellent home-school relationships;
- aware that we have a responsibility for the welfare of all our pupils;
- aware that we have a duty to involve Social Services if we have any concerns about a child;
- aware they will be informed of our actions
Annually we will ask parents/guardians if:
- they have any concerns about the safety of their child when in school;
- they feel enough time is given for children to learn how to keep safe;
- they know who talk to if they have any concerns;
- they feel their views are listened to and acted upon
Partnerships with Parents/Guardians
The Designated Child Protection Teacher:
- will ensure that parents are aware of this policy;
- will respect parents’ and children’s need for privacy;
- will respect families from different backgrounds and cultures as long as it does not put the child at risk;
- when making a referral will share all information with parents/guardians unless it places the child at risk
Reporting Concerns
If a pupil makes a disclosure then the member of the school personnel must:
- listen to the pupil;
- remain calm;
- offer reassurance;
- not ask the pupil to remove or adjust clothing if bruises are observed;
- not ask leading questions;
- let the pupil speak freely;
- accept what has been told them without challenge;
- not offer opinion or criticize or lay blame;
- reassure the pupil at the end of the disclosure telling them that they have done the right thing;
- not promise confidentiality but inform them that other people need to be told;
- record accurately and factually what the child has said in note form;
- record observed injuries or bruises on a map of the body;
- submit a completed critical incident sheet to the designated person who will seek advice from the Local Authority Designated Officer;
If a member of the school personnel suspects that a child may be a victim of abuse then they must:
- record accurately and factually what they have seen in note form;
- submit a completed critical incident sheet to the designated person;
The designated person will then:
- further investigate and keep records of this investigation;
- decide whether to take this referral further or to monitor the situation;
- inform the person making the initial referral of his/her decision;
- prepare in readiness for a case conference/core group meeting the following information on the child:
- attendance and punctuality data
- academic achievement
- child’s behavior and attitude
- relationships and social skills
- appearance and presentation
- any known incidents in or outside school
- school contact with parents/guardians
If a parent makes a disclosure to school then the Designated Child Protection Teacher:
- should meet with the parent taking down all details;
- will assure the parent that the school will take the matter seriously;
- that he/she will have to take advice from the Local Authority Designated Officer about the disclosure;
- will get back to the parent when a decision has been taken and how to proceed
Recording InformationSchool personnel and volunteer helpers are asked to record any concern or incident in the following way:
- Date
- Time
- Place
- Nature of the concern
- All facts
- Observed injuries and bruises
- Note the actual words of the child
- Sign the notes and hand to the DCPT
Reporting to the Designated Child Protection Teacher
- All concerns must be reported and discussed immediately.
- The Designated Child Protection Teacher will decide the appropriate action in consultation with the Headteacher.
Support
- We will ensure that support mechanisms are in place for any child that is at risk in order to build their self-esteem and confidence;
- School personnel and volunteer helpers who feel distressed from being involved with a case or incident will receive support and counseling.
Confidentiality and Security of Information
- It is imperative that confidentiality is observed at all times as the protection of the child is paramount.
- School personnel have a professional responsibility to share information with other professionals who are investigating a case.
- A child, when confiding information to a member of staff, must be made aware that for the child’s own sake this information cannot be kept secret.
- The child must be reassured that the information will only be shared with the designated teacher who will decide what will happen next.
- All child protection records are regarded as confidential and will be kept in a secure place.
Case Conferences and Core Group MeetingsThe Designated Child Protection Teacher will attend:
- all Child Protection Case Conferences with the appropriate member of staff;
- all Core Group meetings once a child has been placed on the Child Protection Register
Pupils Transferring to another SchoolThe following procedures will take place if a pupil, on the child protection register, transfers to another school:
- the case social worker will contacted by the Designated Child Protection Teacher;
- child protection records will be passed on to the Designated Child Protection Teacher at the receiving school only if that school is in the same Local Authority;
- if the child is moving to another Local Authority, then information will only be passed on with outline details of case conferences but not minutes of conferences
TrainingTraining will take place for school personnel, volunteer helpers and governors:
- on induction to the school
- during NQT induction
- throughout the academic year
All school personnel must undertake appropriate training every three years in:
- child protection issues
- restraint training
- recognizing signs of abuse
- handling disclosures
We ensure all school personnel have equal chances of training, career development and promotion.
Periodic training will be organized for all school personnel so that they are kept up to date with new information and guide lines concerning equal opportunities.