Keeping children safe in Education, DfE, 2023, defines safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children 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. ‘Children’ includes every one under the age of 18’.
Safeguarding within Lanchester Endowed Parochial (Controlled) Primary School
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. Schools and their staff form part of the wider safeguarding system for children working with social care, the police and health services both to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Safeguarding children permeates all aspects of our work as a school, with a preventative role to inform and boost the resilience of all students by enhancing protective factors in their lives. Accordingly this policy links with many other related policies in school:
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School Behaviour policy
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Whole-school Anti-bullying policy, including cyber-bullying
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Health and Safety policies
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Medication in school/First Aid policies
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Intimate care policy
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School visits including risk-assessments
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ICT/online safety
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SEN/LAC
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Equal Opportunities
Children are encouraged to express and discuss their ideas, thoughts and feelings through a variety of activities and have access to a range of cultural opportunities which promote respect and empathy for others. As part of our new Prevent duty under s.26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 we are aware of the importance of building children’s’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling them to challenge extremist views. Schools can build children's resilience to radicalisation by providing a safe environment for debating controversial issues and helping children and young people understand how they can influence and participate in decision making.
Safeguarding at Lanchester E.P. (Cont.) Primary School
We are all responsible for ensuring that each child remains safe, however the Designated Safeguarding Leads are as follows:
Training
5 members of staff have delegated officer training
- Mrs Jane Davis (Head Teacher)
- Mr Andrew Knighton (Deputy Head Teacher)
- Mr Gordon Innes (Assistant Head Teacher)
- Miss Sara Butler (Head of Foundation Stage)
- Mr Simon McLoughlin (Senior Leadership Team & SENDCo)
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All other staff and governors have been trained in at least Level 1 safeguarding and child protection and this is renewed on a 2 year cycle.
All staff have completed Prevent training.
Procedure
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If a concern is raised regarding a child the designated safeguarding lead is informed immediately and a log made on CPOMs. The decision of the next step is then made and recorded.
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If a concern is raised regarding a member of staff this must be given to the Headteacher
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If a concern is raised regarding the Headteacher this must be given to the Chair of Governors
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All of these concerns are taken very seriously and correct procedures are followed as stated in our Keeping Children Safe in School Policy which can be found on our Policies page
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Visitors to Lanchester E.P. (Cont.) Primary School
All visitors must report to the School Office, and all adults must sign in and out on the InVentry console. An ID badge will be printed with the visitors name and photograph on and this will be given to the visitor along with a visitor lanyard, which needs to be worn prominently. Staff know to challenge anyone on the School site who doesn't have a visible badge/lanyard.
Recruitment at Lanchester E.P. (Cont.) Primary School
The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Any offer of employment is subject to receipt of a satisfactory DBS Enhanced Disclosure and a minimum of two satisfactory references.
We follow strict procedures to ensure that everyone who works with our children is vetted, keeping our children as safe as possible. Ongoing checks and ‘whistle blowing’ are in line with the current policy.
Mrs Jane Davis (Head Teacher), Miss Natalie Rippon (Operations Manager), Mr Michael Knowles (Co-Chair of Governors), Mr Ben Garside (Co-Chair of Governors) and Mr Andrew Knighton (Deputy Head Teacher) have completed the Safer Recruitment Training.
All DBS checks are renewed on a continuous cycle.
Some posts within school are subject to the Childcare Disqualifications Regulations 2009 and therefore applicants to these posts are required to complete the “disqualification by association” declaration form.
Please refer to our Safer Recruitment Statement for further information.
Information Sharing
We have an obligation to obtain necessary information from parents in advance of a child being admitted to school, including:
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emergency contact numbers;
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the child’s special dietary requirements, preferences or food allergies the child may have;
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the child’s special health requirements;
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information about who has legal contact with the child; and who has parental responsibility for the child.
PARENTS & CARERS MUST TELL US OF ANY CHANGES TO THESE DETAILS
We take confidentiality very seriously. Any information which we hold is treated as confidential and shared on a ‘need to know’ basis.
Children who go missing from home
Lanchester E.P. (Controlled) Primary School have agreed to work with police to help in the search for missing children.
Links with External Agencies
Because our first concern must be the well-being of your child, there may be occasions when we have to consult with other agencies before we contact you. The procedures we have to follow have been laid down in accordance with the local authority child protection procedures.
We are fortunate to be supported by a range of external agencies which can be called upon to support the work we do in school. These include School Nurse, Health Practitioners, Educational Psychology, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, Behaviour Support, Social Services and Specialists in supporting Special Educational Needs.
Reporting Concerns or Complaints
Further to the above procedures, we have in place a concerns and complaints policy. This enables children, staff and carers to report anything they feel is of concern.
Concerns should be raised in the following order:
- To the Class Teacher. Then, if no resolution;
- To the Head Teacher. Then, if no resolution;
- To the Chairman of Governors. Then, if no resolution;
- To the Local Authority.
Contact details are available from the school office.
Review of Policy and Practice
In order to ensure that best practice is maintained our polices are reviewed regularly to incorporate the latest statutory guidance.
If you would like more information on safeguarding, please contact the school.
Our Keeping Children Safe in School Policy can be found below.