St Marys RC Primary School

Child Protection Policy 2015

PURPOSE OF A CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

An effective whole school Safeguarding policy is one which provides clear direction to staff and others about expected codes of behaviour in dealing with Safeguarding issues. An effective policy also makes explicit the school’s commitment to the development of good practice and sound procedures. This ensures that Safeguarding concerns and Child Protection referrals may be handled sensitively, professionally and in ways which prioritise the needs of the child.

Introduction

St. Mary’s believes that the protection of children should be an integral part of the ethos of the school, and that this should be a ‘listening’ school which seeks to create an atmosphere in which children feel secure, that their viewpoints are valued, and that they are encouraged to talk and are listened to. Our commitment to the protection of children flows from our common belief in the dignity and sanctity of every human life.

Our mission statement of’ As the family of St. Mary’s, learning and growing in God’s love, joyfully, we pray, play and respect all, changing our world forever. ‘is central to all our endeavours in protecting children.

Based on our values and mission each child, regardless of age, gender, race, culture or disability, has a right to expect the highest level of care and protection, love and encouragement that we can give in order that s/he might grow towards maturity and fulfill their potential in a supportive and nurturing community where they are safe from harm.

In our school, we respect our children. The atmosphere within our school is one that encourages all children to do their best. We provide opportunities that enable our children to take and make decisions for themselves.

We recognise that abuse and neglect can result in underachievement. We strive to ensure that all our children make good educational progress.

Our teaching of personal, social and health education and citizenship, as part of the National Curriculum, helps to develop appropriate attitudes in our children, and makes them aware of the impact of their decisions on others. We also teach them how to recognise different risks in different situations, and how to behave in response to them.

This policy is based on DfES Circular 10/95 – Protecting Children from Abuse: The Role of the Education Service. Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 introduced a new duty requiring governing bodies and LAs to have appropriate child-protection procedures in place. This policy takes account of the requests set out in the Children Act 2004 ('Every Child Matters').

In this statement, and policy, ‘staff’ includes both teachers and any other person employed to work in the school that has contact with our children.

Protecting children from radicalisation: the prevent duty(DfE June 2015)

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 places a duty on specified authorities, including local authorities and childcare, education and other children’s services providers, in the exercise of their functions, to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism (“the Prevent duty”). Young people can be exposed to extremist influences or prejudiced views, in particular those via the internet and other social media. Schools can help to protect children from extremist and violent views in the same ways that they help to safeguard children from child sexual exploitation, drugs, gang violence or alcohol.

The Prevent strategy aims to protect vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism. While it remains rare for children and young people to become involved in terrorist activity, young people from an early age can be exposed to terrorist & extremist influences or prejudiced views. We recognise that as with other forms of safeguarding strategies, early intervention is always preferable. Our school is committed to working with other local partners, families and communities, and we will play a key role in ensuring young people and their communities are safe from the threat of terrorism.

We also recognise that our School has a duty of care to our pupils and staff which includes safeguarding them from the risk of being drawn into terrorism. Being drawn into terrorism includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists exploit. Prevent can work within both violent and non-violent extremism arenas and can include topics such as hate crime, racism, bullying, on line safety and extreme political views.

Our School is committed to:

•Establishing a single point of contact in terms of safeguarding

•Assess risk of students being drawn into terrorism

•Develop an action plan to reduce the risk

•Train staff to recognise radicalisation and extremism

•Refer vulnerable people to Channel

•Prohibit extremist speakers and events

•Manage access to extremist material - ICT filters

•Be confident about British Values

We recognise that some young people, who are vulnerable to extreme views, may find it difficult to develop a sense of self-worth and to view the world in a positive way. We also recognise that their behaviour may be challenging at times and that some may cause offence or harm to others.

We will therefore always take a considered and sensitive approach in order that we can support all of our pupils by:

  • providing a safe environment for children and young people to learn and develop in our school setting, and
  • identifying children and young people who are particularly vulnerable to extreme views / radicalisation and taking appropriate action in accordance with the schools Safeguarding procedures with the aim of making sure they are kept safe both at home and in our school setting.
  • making appropriate referrals to the Local Authority for early intervention and support where necessary
  • ensuring that staff member(s) or governor(s) responsible for safeguarding are kept fully aware of their responsibilities by attending relevant training and briefings
  • letting staff, parents and pupils know how to voice their concerns
  • responding to any allegations appropriately in accordance with appropriate school policies and procedures

Further departmental advice available at:

Female Genital Mutilation

Mandatory Reporting Duty

Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015) will place a statutory duty upon teachers10, along with social workers and healthcare professionals, to report to the police where they discover (either through disclosure by the victim or visual evidence) that FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under 18. Those failing to report such cases will face disciplinary sanctions. It will be rare for teachers to see visual evidence, and they should not be examining pupils, but the same definition of what is meant by “to discover that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out” is used for all professionals to whom this mandatory reporting duty applies.

10 Section 5B(11) of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015) provides a definition for the term ‘teacher’.

The Mandatory reporting duty will commence in October 2015. Once introduced, teachers must report cases where they discover that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out to the police. Unless the teacher has a good reason not to, they should still consider and discuss any such case with the school’s designated safeguarding lead and involve children’s social care as appropriate. Further guidance available below:

Our school fully recognises the contribution it can make to protect children and support pupils in school’.

There are three main elements to our Safeguarding Policy’.

(a)Prevention:(e.g. positive school atmosphere, teaching and pastoral support to pupils).

(b)Protection :(By following agreed procedures, ensuring staff are trained and supported to respond appropriately and sensitively to Child Protection concerns/disclosures).

(c)Support: To pupils and school staff and to children who may have been abused).

Aims and objectives

Our aims are:

  • to provide a safe environment for children to learn in;
  • to establish what actions the school can take to ensure that children remain safe, at home as well as at school;
  • to raise the awareness of all staff to these issues, and to define their roles and responsibilities in reporting possible cases of abuse;
  • to identify children who are suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm;
  • to ensure effective communication between all staff on child protection issues;
  • to set down the correct procedures for those who encounter any issue of child protection.
  • To ensure radical and extremist view are not allowed and are referred to channel if concern.

As a community of St Marys recognise that high self-esteem, confidence, peer support and clear lines of communication with trusted adults helps all children, and especially those at risk of or who are suffering significant harm.’

St Mary’s will therefore:

  • Establish and maintain an ethos where children feel secure and are encouraged to talk, and are listened to.
  • Ensure that children know that there are adults in the school who they can approach if they are worried or are in difficulty.
  • Include in the curriculum activities and opportunities for PSHE which equip children with the skills they need to stay safe and / or communicate their fears or concerns about abuse.
  • Include in the curriculum material which will help children develop realistic attitudes to the responsibilities of adult life, particularly with regard to childcare and parenting skills.
  • Ensure that every effort will be made to establish effective working relationships with parents and colleagues from other agencies.

Staff responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the headteacher to ensure all of the following:

  • that the governing body adopts appropriate policies and procedures to safeguard children in the school;
  • that these policies are implemented by all staff;
  • that sufficient resources and time are allocated for staff to carry out their responsibilities effectively;
  • that all staff and adult helpers in the school are able to voice their concern if they feel that a child is vulnerable, or that there are any particular practices that are unsafe.

All staff have a responsibility to report to the headteacher or Child Protection Coordinator any concern they have about the safety of any child in their care.

The role of the Headteacher

The Headteacher of the school will seek to fully support the role and responsibilities of the designated teacher for child protection through ensuring that:

  • interagency procedures are known and followed
  • time is available for both the designated teacher and staff to be trained
  • time and the necessary resources are available for the designated teacher to carry out their role and responsibilities

The Role and Responsibilities of the Designated Teacher

The designated teacher for St. Mary’s is the Deputy head teacherMrs. S Geddis and she will always be the first point of reference for any issue to do with child protection in the school. In the absence of Mrs. Geddis, Mrs. K Haworth or Mr. Lavin should be referred to.

The coordinator is guided by two principles:

  • In accordance with the Children Act, the welfare of the child is always paramount.
  • Confidentiality should be respected as far as possible

We do not expect our designated teacher to be an ‘expert’ in recognising and dealing with suspected child abuse. We also firmly support the view that it is for the police and social services to carry out any necessary investigations, not the school, after the matter has been referred to them.

At St. Mary’s the designated teacher will seek to:

  • be fully conversant with the procedures of the Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC)
  • co-ordinate action in cases of child abuse both within school and with outside agencies
  • Fill-in referral forms
  • act as a consultant for school staff and outside agencies about particular children
  • ensure that appropriate staff within the school know sufficient about the child at risk to cope with them within school and protect them
  • ensure that all staff coming into contact with a child who is or may be suffering abuse know what signs to look for and what to do
  • keep information regarding children on the Child Protection Register, informing staff appropriately
  • pass on information when children change schools
  • arrange ongoing whole school awareness raising and staff development (including support staff), with regard to child protection
  • to ensure that the school takes action to support any child who may be at risk

The Role and Responsibilities of every member of staff will be to:

  • know who the designated teacher is
  • know and follow the in-school procedure
  • attend any in-school meetings when appropriate
  • monitor any vulnerable child who is in their care, and implement any

child protection plan for any child who is on the ‘at risk’ register

  • ensure that they do not treat any child they know to have been

abused any differently from any other pupils

  • have a general awareness of the possible indicators of abuse or radicalisation and extremism
  • keep confidential any sensitive information which has been shared with them.

The Role and Responsibilities of the nominated governing body member

The Governing body of St Mary’s is accountable for ensuring that the education setting has effective policies and procedures in place in accordance with this guidance, and for monitoring the school’s compliance with them. Neither the governing body, nor individual governors, has 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 a member of staff). Some governing bodies have found it helpful for an individual member of the governing body to champion child protection issues within the school, liaise with the head teacher about them, and provide information and reports to the governing body.

However, it is not usually appropriate for that person to take the lead in dealing with allegations of abuse made against the head teacher. That is the role of the chair of governors or, in the absence of a chair, the vice or deputy chair. Whether the governing body acts collectively or an individual member takes the lead, it is helpful if all members of the governing body undertake training about child protection to ensure they have the knowledge and information needed to perform their functions and understand their responsibilities.

Who is available within the Local Authority to offer advice and support?

  • Education Safeguarding Officer - 01706 925384
  • Education Welfare Service - Tel: 01706 925115
  • Multi Agency Screening Service - Tel: 0845 226 5570
  • Out of Hours, Emergency Duty Social Work Team - Tel: 0300 3038875
  • Local Authority Designated Officer (Allegations of Professional Abuse) -
  • Tel: 01706 925365
  • External Agency
  • Police Public Protection and Investigation Unit - Tel: 0161 856 9442

Training and support

Our school will ensure that the Head Teacher, the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the nominated governor for Child Protection attend training relevant to their role’ at regular intervals. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will also attend Multi-Agency Child Protection training within this timescale.’

All staff will receive basic training on Child Protection (all staff shouldreceive induction and regular updates) and J Crabtree from Rochdale Authority will deliver every 3 years

All staff will be kept informed on current Child Protection issues through staff meetings and staff briefings. We will also hold SEN meetings weekly with agencies SEN coordinator lead officer and Head teacher

Employment and recruitment

We require all adults employed in school to have their application vetted

through police records in order to ensure that there is no evidence of offences

involving children or abuse.

This involves scrutinizing applicants, verifying their identity and obtaining

references, as well as the mandatory check of List 99 and CRB checks. We

follow the DfES guidance set out in Child Protection: Preventing Unsuitable

People from Working with Children and Young Persons in the Education Service, DfES 2002/0278.

Physical Restraint

There may be times when adults, in the course of their school duties, have to intervene physically in order to restrain children and prevent them from coming to harm. Such intervention will always be the minimum necessary to resolve the situation. We follow the guidance given in the DfES circular 10/98 on The Use of Force to Control or Restrain Pupils. The headteacher will require the adult(s) involved in any such incident to report the matter to him or her immediately, and to record it in the Interventions Book.

Allegations against staff

If an allegation is made against a member of the school staff (or a volunteer helper) it will always be investigated by the Head Teacher, or, in the case of the allegation being against the Head Teacher, by the Chair of the governing body. If it is felt, after these initial investigations, that a further enquiry is needed, then the member of staff will be suspended. Suspension is a neutral act, and in no way implies that the person is guilty of any wrongdoing. However, it is acknowledged that this would be distressing for the person concerned, and the school will do all it can to balance the interests of any individual with that of the need to keep children safe. The school will seek advice from the LA on these matters, and comply with national and locally agreed guidance.

Reasons for Following Procedures

  • It protects the child to the best of our ability
  • It avoids delay
  • It provides consistency
  • It protects all staff
  • It ensures that, if further action is taken by another agency, then the school has followed the protection procedures

Signs and Symptoms