Safeguarding
Our duty to safeguard the children in our care is of the utmost importance to everyone in our school community. There are statutory and moral obligations to keep the children in our care and each other safe.
Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. If you have immediate concerns for a child, you must contact the police on 999 or 101 and report welfare concerns to Children's Social Care (CSC) on 0300 123 6720.
Other safeguarding concerns can be shared by speaking to one of the DSL’s (Designated Senior Leaders) at school during school term time and hours.
Glyn Ellis, Headteacher
Karen Johnson, Deputy headteacher
Natalie McMahon, School Business Manager
Alison Fowler, SENDCo
Vicky Watts, Pupil Support Lead
Alex Quinn, Assistant SENDCo / Lead teacher in EYFS
Our school has an member of the governing body who is the Safeguarding Link Governor. His name is Chris Paxton (Chair of Governors) and he can be contacted by emailing or phoning the school.
What is Safeguarding all about?
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. School staff are particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children, to prevent concerns from escalating. In our school, staff form part of the wider safeguarding system for children. This system is described in statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’. We work with social care, the police, health services and other services to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. The school has 6 designated senior leaders (DSL’s) for safeguarding named above.Refer to our School Policies for the following documents:
- Code of Conduct for Staff
- Behaviour Policy
- Attendance Policy that includes information on Children Missing in Education (CME)
- Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
- Handling Allegations
Operation Encompass
Operation Encompass is a police and education early information sharing partnership enabling schools to offer immediate support for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse. Information is shared by the police with a school’s trained Key Adult (DSL) prior to the start of the next school day after officers have attended a domestic abuse incident thus enabling appropriate support to be given, dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child. Operation Encompass information is shared with the school's headteacher and other Designated Safeguarding Leaders.
Section 49a of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 places a legal requirement on police forces to share Operation Encompass Notifications with schools and other educational establishments.
Children experiencing domestic abuse are negatively impacted by this exposure; domestic abuse has been identified as an Adverse Childhood Experience and can lead to emotional, physical and psychological harm. Operation Encompass aims to mitigate this harm by enabling immediate support, making a child’s day better and giving them a better tomorrow.
Operation Encompass believes that children are victims of domestic abuse in their own right and should be acknowledged as such.
More information about Operation Encompass can be found here: Operation Encompass.
Asylum Seekers and Refugee Guidance and Support sessions.pdfPlace 2 Be - Parenting Smart flyer 2022.pdfPlace 2 Be - Parenting Smart flyer 2022 update.pdfEncompass PosterPlace 2 Be - PIPT Flyer The DSLs will take the lead where early help is appropriate and consent has been gained. This includes liaising with other agencies and setting up an inter-agency assessment as appropriate. The local early help process will be followed as required to help provide the right, effective support at the right time.