Bickerton Holy Trinity
Church of England Primary School
Reporting Concerns (Whistle Blowing) Policy
Person responsible for this policy: / Paul SweetnamApproved: / 2nd October 2017
Signed: / Claire Carman, Chair of Governors
To be reviewed: / Autumn Term 2018
Our School Prayer
This is our school,
Let peace be here,
Let it be full of
Happiness.
Let love be here.
Love of one another,
Love of everyone,
Love of life itself,
And love of God.
Amen
Our Mission Statement
Respect for oneself and others is central to our mission of giving every child in our school the highest standard of education and care within a Christian community.
Our School Rules
Respect and take care of each other.
Treat others how you would like to be treated.
Share and use the school’s equipment carefully.
Listen to each other and to adults at school.
Help others to learn.
The purpose of this document is to provide a means to improve children’s and adults’ safety in our school. It sets out the procedures in place for any member of staff to report any concerns they may have about the behaviour of another member of staff towards children or adults. Along with other policies and procedures, it adds to our school’s drive to ensure that safeguarding is accorded the highest priority.
In case of concern about the way that any member of staff treats any child or adult in school, the following procedures are in place:
§ If appropriate, any member of staff can talk to another member of staff about the way they have treated a child or adult;
§ If someone is not comfortable doing this, they can talk to the Deputy Head Teacher or Head Teacher to report a concern;
§ If the concern is about the Head Teacher, the Chair of Governors should be contacted;
§ If the concern is about several members of staff or is considered to be institutional, advice should be sought from ChECS (Cheshire East Consultation Service: 0300 123 5012 / 0300 123 5022 out of hours).
There is, deliberately, no definition specified about what constitutes a concern. If a member of staff is not comfortable with the way any adult in school is treating a child or another member of staff, they should raise the concern using this procedure. In this way, our children and staff are kept safe from abuse, bullying or other forms of ill treatment.
When there is a perceived genuine concern, reporting that concern will not result in any adverse consequences for the reporting member of staff. The ethos of openness in our school is very important in the creation and maintenance of a safe environment for children and adults. Only if it became apparent that a report was not genuine and that it was malicious would further investigation with the possibility of disciplinary action take place.
Normally, the Head Teacher would be the person responsible for resolving any concerns. However, in some cases it might be the Governing Body. The Governing Body has a staff discipline committee to which disciplinary matters may be taken, and an appeals committee. If the concern is regarding safeguarding, it may be appropriate to refer this to the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) on 01270 685 904 / 01606 288931 for advice or further action.