Safeguarding

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School Commitment

Our policy applies to all staff, governors and volunteers working in the school and takes into account statutory guidance provided by the Department for Education and local guidance issued by the Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board (N.S.C.B)

We will ensure that all parents/carers are made aware of our responsibilities with regard to child protection procedures and how we will safeguard and promote the welfare of their children through the publication of this school/college/academy safeguarding and child protection policy.

These duties and responsibilities, as set out within the Education Act 2002 sec 175 and 157, DfE Statutory Guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education 2019 and HM Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 are incorporated into this policy.

All members of staff should be aware of systems within their school which support safeguarding. These should be explained as part of staff induction and reviewed yearly with all staff. This must include:

• Child Protection Policy
• Code of Conduct Policy
• Understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the DSL.
• Staff must sign to confirm that they have read and understood the policies.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding children is defined as:

• The actions we take to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm are everyone’s responsibility.Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play.

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.
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.

NB. Children includes everyone under the age of 18 years of age.

Safeguarding is not just about protecting children from deliberate harm. It also relates to broader aspects of care and education including:

• Pupils’ health and safety and well-being, including their mental health
• Meeting the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• The use of reasonable force
• Meeting the needs of children with medical conditions
• Providing first aid.
• Educational visits.
• Intimate care and emotional wellbeing
• Online safety and associated issues
• Appropriate arrangements to ensure school security, taking into account the local context.

Safeguarding can involve a range of potential issues such as:

• Neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse
• Bullying, including online bullying (by text message, on social networking sites, etc) and prejudice based bullying.
• Racist, disability and homophobic or transphobic abuse.
• Gender based violence/violence against women and girls
• Extremist behaviour and/or radicalisation.
• Child sexual exploitation and trafficking
• The impact of new technologies, including ‘sexting’ and accessing pornography
• Teenage relationship abuse
• Substance misuse.
• Issues which may be specific to a local area or population, for example gang activity and youth violence.
• Particular issues affecting children including domestic violence, female genital mutilation and honour based violence and forced marriage.

Our ethos is that the effective safeguarding of children can only be achieved by putting children at the centre of a system where we listen and hear what they say. Every individual within Birklands Primary School will play their part, including working with professionals from other agencies, to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children and keep them safe. We will take opportunities to teach children about important safeguarding issues in a way that is age appropriate.

Our school therefore, led by senior members of staff/governors aims to provide a safe environment and vigilant culture where children and young people can learn and be safeguarded. If there are safeguarding concerns we will respond with appropriate action in a timely manner for those children who may need help or be suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm.

Where staff members have concerns about a child (as opposed to a child being in immediate danger) they will decided what action to taken in conjunction with the designated safeguarding lead. Although any staff can make a referral to children’s social care. Where a child is identified as being in immediate danger then there should be no delay in a member staff reporting the concerns directly to children’s social care or the policy as required.

The designated safeguarding lead or headteacher who is familiar with national and local guidance will share concerns, where appropriate, with the relevant agencies. In our School our Designated Lead for Child Protection is Mrs C Smith, our Head of School.

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