Safeguarding

At our school we take the safety and wellbeing of the children in our school very seriously and we expect all staff, volunteers, governors and parents to do the same.

We have a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy which is available on our Policies and Documents page. Other policies which affect the wellbeing of children are: Attendance; Behaviour; Anti-Bullying; Computer and Internet Use (E-safety).

We follow the Safer Recruitment Policy and the Department of Education guidance: ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’.

We also are part of Operation Encompass – a police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership that supports children exposed to domestic abuse.

We follow data protection and confidentiality policies.

We have a Health and Safety Policy for the practical protection of children and staff and regular walk rounds to inspect the site are conducted by the Site Manager, Governors and Leadership teams.

All staff receive extensive Child Protection (CP) training and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance appropriate to their position in school.

Safeguarding People to Contact

Mrs Mandy Grubham, Executive Principal Designated Safeguarding Lead

Miss Tara Polito, Deputy Principal Designated Safeguarding Lead

Also: Mrs Kat Williams, Chair of the Local Governing Body: Lead Governor Safeguarding. Governors can be contacted via the school office.

Keeping Children Safe

For the best interests of all our children we use the following safeguarding measures:

Cause for Concern

To ensure the safety of all children, the school and its staff have an obligation to pass on any concerns related to child protection issues to the appropriate agencies.

Disclosure of Criminal Background of those with access to children

All new employees to posts which involve access to children are informed that, if they are offered the post, a check on their criminal background will be made.

The procedure applies to all maintained schools, and to all posts as teachers, ancillary staff, caretaking staff. The procedure also applies to external providers who are not employed directly in school, but who have access to children.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is also obtained for all voluntary helpers and members of the governing body.

Safe Collection of Children

For our children’s safety, no child is allowed out of school during the school day unless they are collected by a parent, authorised guardian or by a representative who has been authorised and specific instructions have been received by the school. If, at the end of the school day, no-one has arrived to collect a child, the child will remain with the class teacher or with the school secretary until an authorised person does arrive. For more information see our Late Collection Policy on our Policies and Documents page.

Under NO circumstances will we allow a child to be taken home by another parent without your express permission. Children may only walk home unaccompanied when they are in Year 6 and only when a written request has been received from their parent/guardian.

Online Safety

See our dedicated Online Safety page for help, advice and links relating to keeping children safe online.