Luckwell Primary School

LUCKWELL PRIMARY SCHOOL

Safeguarding Policy

Reviewed and approved: January 2017 / Date for next review: December 2017
Sub-Committee responsible for policy: Behaviour & Safety, Wellbeing and Attendance

Safeguarding Statement

At Luckwell Primary School we respect and value all children and are committed to protecting our pupils from harm and providing them with a caring, friendly and safe environment. We recognise our responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all our pupils by protecting them from physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect and bullying. This is the responsibility of every adult employed by, or invited to deliver services at Luckwell Primary School.

For the purposes of this policy and procedures within the school“safeguarding” refers to actions and procedures put into place to ensure all children are safe whilst in our care. “Child protection” describes the policy and procedures specifically for those children at risk of significant harm or have been seriously harmed. This may be summarised 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.

This policy is in line with:

Working Together to safeguard Children 2015

What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused, advice for practitioners.

Keeping children Safe in Education, statutory guidance for schools and colleges.(DfE, 2016)

Revised Prevent Duty Guidance for England and Wales (HM Government 2016)

Contents:

1 Statement of purpose

2. Overview of school’s responsibilities

2a. The role ofthe Governing Body

2b. The role of the Head Teacher

2c. The role of the trained designated safeguarding lead (usually the Headteacher)

2c. The role of all staff: teaching and non-teaching

3. Policies, protocols and procedures

4a Single Central Record

4b. Safer recruitment procedures

4c. Curriculum delivery

4d. Visitors to school, volunteers/ contractors working in school

4e. Child missing/absconding from school

4f. Risk assessments

4g. Arrangements for educational visits

5. Child protection concerns and procedures

6. Confidentiality and working with parents/carers

7. Written Records

8. Referrals

9. Professional development

10. Prevention in the curriculum

11. Review of progress

12. Publishing the safeguarding policy

Appendices:

List of supporting policies
Categories of concern
Child Protection/Cause for Concern form
Child missing/absconding from school procedures

1. Statement of Purpose

At Luckwell Primary School, we are determined to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to protect children, young people and adults from harm. The following policy establishes the school’s position, role and responsibilities and clarifies what is expected from everybody employed and involved in the delivery of services (core curriculum and extended services). This policy promotes the five principles set out in Every Child Matters (2003): Being Healthy, Staying Safe, Enjoyment and Achievement, Making a Positive Contribution and Achieving Economic Wellbeing

2. Overview:

Wewill ensure that:

The welfare and safety of the child remains paramount.
We take appropriate action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
This policy applies to all children whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity.
All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
All staff including volunteers (paid/unpaid) working on school premises recognise and understand their responsibility to report concerns to the designated safeguarding lead (Headteacher).
All appropriate vetting checks will be carried out for all adults involved in the delivery of school services. Information will be stored on school’s Single Central Register (SCR).
All concerns regarding an individual’s practice will be reported to the designated safeguarding lead (this is supported by the Whistleblowing Policy) (Headteacher).
We work with social care, the police, health services and other services to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

Consequently all staff have a responsibility to safeguard children at our school by:

Identifying concerns early and providing help for children, to prevent concerns from escalating to a point where intervention would be needed via a statutory assessment under the Children Act 1989. In such cases a single assessment should be undertaken by a lead professional who could be the Designated Safeguarding Lead, SENDCO, GP, family support worker, health visitor or school nurse
Sharing appropriate information irrespective of whether this is reported by other children, members of the public, parents or relatives of children attending our school. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will determine what action if any will follow
Reading the standalone publication Keeping children safe in education Part One of Keeping Children Safe in Education (Sept 2016)

2a. The role of the Governing Body:

This policy sets out our commitment, as a governing body, to safeguarding and child protection. The Governing Body will ensure that:

We appoint a named link governor for safeguarding and child protection. They undertake statutory training and report back to the full governing body (FGB) at least annually.
Safeguarding is considered as part of all recruitment procedures and, as part of that, adopt recruitment procedures that help deter, reject or identify people who might abuse children (Part three: Safer Recruitment. Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016). At least one member of an appointing panel will have attended safer recruitment training.No appointment will be confirmed without the required safeguarding checks and suitable references received.
Wetake all reasonable steps to ensure that all statutory health and safety responsibilities are met
We ensure that adequate resources are committed to ensure safeguarding and child protection within the school this includes statutory guidance on training for all staff and relevant personnel.

The Chair of Governors will liaise with Bristol City CouncilLocal Authority Designated Officer (LADO)and/or partner agencies on issues of child protection and in the event of allegations of abuse made against the Headteacher.
Our safeguarding arrangements take into account the procedures and practices of Bristol City Council Safeguarding Board.
Weappoint a member of staff of the school’s leadership team to the role of designated safeguarding lead (DSL) to ensure the safeguarding and child protection needs of pupils are met.
The school keeps an up to date single central record and willensure that the child protection policy is available to parents on request

This safeguarding policy and practice complements other policies e.g. anti-bullying including cyber bullying, health and safety, to ensure safeguarding and child protection.

We consider how children may be taught about safeguarding including covering relevant issues through PSHE

The Governing Body recognises that neither it, nor individual governors, have a role in dealing with individual cases or a right to know details of cases (except when exercising their disciplinary functions in respect of allegations against staff.)

Allegations against the Headteacher

Where an allegation is made against the Headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body will inform theLADO using Bristol Safeguarding Board’s procedures. Any action taken whilst an investigation is undertaken must comply with the complaints against staff procedure.

2b. TheRole of the Head Teacher:

They fullyimplement the school’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy with the support of the Governing Body;
There is a collective responsibility for safeguarding and that all staff, supply staff and volunteers are aware of the policy and related policies, protocols and procedures;
There are at least 2 advanced trained staff members with named responsibility for child protection. Their training will be fully compliant with national and local recommendations.
First aid is administered by suitably qualified members of staff;
In conjunction with the Governing Body ensure all appointment panels have a person who hascompleted Safer Recruitment training;
Safeguarding is promoted when developing the curriculum and all other aspects of school life;
On-going daily monitoring of the school site is maintained to ensure the safety of all who access;
Treat all incidents of unfair treatment and any incidents of bullying or discrimination, including racist incidents, with due seriousness. Any action taken will be guided by the strategic policy ratified by school’s Governing Body.
Sufficient resources and time are allocated to enable the designated persons and other staff to discharge their responsibilities including taking part in strategy discussions and other multi-agency meetings, to contribute to the assessment and support of children and young people, and be appropriately trained
All staff and volunteers feel able to raise their concerns about poor and unsafe practice in regard of pupils, and such concerns are addressed in a timely manner in accordance with agreed policies.
Ensure any concerns or allegations against staff are handled in line with the Bristol City Safeguarding Board recommendations and procedures and at the earliest opportunity inform the Chair of Governors.

2c. The trained designated safeguarding lead (Headteacher) for child protection will:

Have their roles explicitly defined in their job descriptions.
Be given sufficient time, funding, supervision and support to fulfil their child welfare and safeguarding responsibilities effectively.
Undergo updated child protection training as required.
Report in accordance with the BSCB procedures when referring a pupil where there are concerns about possible abuse or harm
refer any concerns about a member of staff being involved to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
Refer all cases of suspected abuse to therelevant agency
Ensure all staff, including supply teachers, visiting professionals working with pupils in the school and volunteers are informed of the names and contact details of the designated leads and the school’s procedures for safeguarding children
Act as a source of support, advice and expertise to staff on all matters of safety and safeguarding
Ensure involvement of other designated leads e.g. where there are concerns about a pupil who is ‘looked after’

Ensure that:

Written records of concerns are kept, even if there is no immediate need for referral to outside agencies
All child protection records are marked as such and kept securely locked, and if these are stored electronically, that they are differently password protected from the pupils’ other files, and accessible only by the Headteacher/designated leads
Pupil records are kept separately, and marked as appropriate to indicate other confidential records are being held elsewhere
All absence letters are dated and clearly signed by a teacher/tutor, and that if there are concerns about attendance and a pupil’s wellbeing and safety, the Education Welfare Officer is contactedfor appropriate action to be undertaken.
Phone calls about absences are similarly logged, dated and reviewed.
Where a pupil has a Child Protection Planor Designated a Child in Need, and is absent without explanation for two days, their key worker in Safeguarding is contacted.
Records are monitored for patterns and appropriate action is taken
Where there are existing concerns about a pupil, and they transfer to another school in this authority, the information held is forwarded under confidential and secure cover and separate from the pupil’s main file to the designated lead for child protection in the receiving schooland a receipt is attained from this establishment.
Where a pupil has a child protection plan and transfers to another school;

the designated lead in Safeguarding is informed immediately
their child protection file is sent to any new school or college as soon as possible but transferred separately from the main pupil file and a receipt attained
their child protection file is sent to the Social/Children’s Services within the new authority if the pupil is transferring to a school in another authority as soon as possible

2d. The role of all staff: teaching and non-teaching

All staff will be made aware of and have access to school’s Safeguarding Policy, protocols and proceduresthrough induction and regular updates;
All staff will attend regular safeguarding trainingand child protection training and be aware that to safeguard children, they have a duty to share information with the designated safeguarding lead, and through the designated lead, with other agencies;
All staff should be alert to signs and symptoms of harm and abuse; know how to act when they have concerns or if a pupil discloses to them; know how to record concerns and in exceptional circumstances be able to make their own referral to children’s social care through First Response
All staff will strive to safeguard pupils in all aspects of the learning environment on-site and on educational visits;
All staff will be aware of school’s Single Equality policy, challenge any incidents of prejudice including racism or homophobia and record any serious incidents, drawing them to the attention of the Head Teacher;
Teachers will support teaching assistants, support staff and volunteers working in their classrooms or on educational visitsto fulfil all aspects of the safeguarding protocols;
All staff have a responsibility to monitor and, where necessary, guide the practice of volunteers, visitors or contractors working in school. Any concerns will be reported to the Head Teacher and/ or Senior Leadership Team.
Maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ and always act in the interests of the child
All staff will report to designated safeguarding lead and the police where they discover that Female Genitalia Mutilation appears to have been carried out on a girl under 18. As required by Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003
All staff should use their professional judgement in identifying children who might be at risk of radicalisation and act proportionately which may include making a referral to the Channel programme through the DSL.

3. Policies, protocols and procedures

Luckwell School has a range of supporting policies, protocols and procedures to accompany this document which have been developed in accordance with national government (DFE & DH) and local authority guidelines. Policies can either be accessed on the school website or by requesting a paper copy. All documents have been ratified by the school’s Governing Body and are regularly reviewed. These documents include our arrangements for the following areas:

List of supporting policies (Appendix 1)
Single Central Record (SCR);
Safe recruitment and selection processes including Disclosure & Barring Service-DBS; vetting checks (formerly CRB), List 99 and Overseas checks;
Delivery of safeguarding as part of the curriculum;
Volunteers, visitors and contractors working in school;
Child missing/absconding from school /educational visits protocols;
Risk Assessments;
Arrangements for educational visits.

4a. Single Central record

All schools are required by the Department for Education to maintain a Single Central Record (SCR) of recruitment vetting checks. It is used to log all safer recruitment checks, including details of List 99 and/ or DBS checks.

Checks for the following people must be recorded on the SCR:

All staff who are employed to work in the school;
All staff who are employed on a supply or casual basis, whether employed directly by the school or through an agency;
All volunteers who have regular contact with children (this will include governors who work as volunteers);
People brought into the school to provide additional teaching or instruction for pupils but who are not staff members, for example specialist sports coaches or music teachers.

4b. Safer recruitment procedures

Luckwell Primary School fully adheres to the statutory requirements of the Department for Education when recruiting staff. Full information is published on the DFE website. A minimum of one member of any recruitment panel will have completed Safer Recruitment training. All appropriate vetting and barring checks are completed prior to the commencement of employment and details are recorded on school’s SCRincluding suitable references.

4c. Curriculum delivery

A wide range of safeguarding topics is delivered through school’s core and enhanced curriculum. This includes Personal Social Health Citizenship Education (PSHCE), Science, Design and Technology and pastoral support/intervention. Details of curriculum content are regularly shared with parents/guardians who are actively encouraged to support their child’s learning. Where appropriate multi-agency partners support this delivery, e.g. School Health Team.

4d. Visitors to school and volunteers/ contractors working in school

All visitors are required to provide ID, DBS details where required and sign in. They are issued with a visitor badge which they must prominently display at all times.

4e. Child missing/ absconding from school

At Luckwell Primary School we apply strict measures to ensure the safety of pupils. This includes measures to secure the school perimeter and access into school buildings. There is regular registration and full monitoring of pupils throughout the school day. Whilst strict safeguarding measures are in place, the school feels it is prudent to have emergency protocols in place. These would be implemented should the whereabouts of a pupil be unknown. All staff are fully aware of school’s Child Missing in School and Child Absconding from School protocols and they are available at Appendix 4.

4f. Risk assessments

Risk assessments are in place and regularly reviewed for the following:

All internal classrooms, shared areas and staff areas;
All playground areas;
All fixed play equipment (indoor & outdoor);
All moveable play equipment (indoor & outdoor);
Each educational visit off-site.

A COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) risk assessment is placed in school’s COSHH file for any chemicals used in school.