School Safeguarding Policy
(including Child Protection and the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults)
Contents
A General Policy Statement
B The Designated Staff with Responsibility for Safeguarding
C Dealing with Disclosure of Abuse and Procedure for Reporting Concerns
D Reporting and Dealing with Allegations of Abuse against Members of Staff
E Recruitment and Selection Procedures
DfE updated the statutory guidance on safeguarding.
Working together to safeguard children A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children March 2015
Ofsted Safeguarding children and young people and young vulnerable adults policy Feb 2015
The Prevent duty Departmental advice for schools and childcare providers June 2015
The Prevent duty is the duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 on specified authorities, in the exercise of their functions, to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.
Annex :
§ ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’
§ Working Together – a guide to interagency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
§ What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused
§ Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education
§ NSPCC Website address - INFORM
§ Signs of abuse checklist
§ Notes from training given out to all staff on signs of abuse and disclosure
§ Details of LADO for Cumbria, Sunderland, Middlesborough and Northumberland
§ Details of Local Authority LSCB (Local Safeguarding Children Board)
§ Munro Review Final Report
§ Munro Review Final Report (10 minute briefing)
§ information about Child Sexual Exploitation and Female Genital Mutilation
§ information about the additional vulnerabilities for Look After Children
This policy should be read in conjunction with:
§ Staff handbook
§ Behaviour Policy – including positive handling and restraint
§ Outdoor education/ PE policy
§ Whistleblowing policy
§ Risk assessments file ( specifically lone working policy)
See the additional file recording system include the following:
§ Concern Form, including Body Chart
§ Referral Forms
§ School Report Template
§ Chronology Forms
§ Observation Statements
§ Post cards and posters reminding staff what to do if they have concerns
§ Training Register
§ Child Protection Register
§ Single Central Record
§ List of important contacts and telephone numbers
A General Policy Statement
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this policy 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.
Ultimately, effective safeguarding of children can only be achieved by putting children at the centre of the system, and by every individual and agency playing their full part, working together to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children.
No single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances and, if children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information & taking prompt action.
Kirby Moor School has a statutory and moral duty to ensure that the school functions with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils receiving education at our school. It recognises its role, along with other local services, in facilitating the well-being of pupils.
While the outcomes are no longer part of the documentation set out in the Ofsted Common Inspection Framework Kirby Moor School still embraces and will promotes the five expected outcomes for pupils and young people as:
§ Enjoying a healthy lifestyle
§ Staying safe
§ Enjoying and achieving
§ Making a positive contribution
§ Achieving economic well-being.
Throughout these policies and procedures, reference is made to “pupils and young or vulnerable people”. This term ‘pupils’ is used to mean “those under the age of 18”.
The school recognise that some adults are also vulnerable to abuse, accordingly, the procedures may be applied (with appropriate adaptations) to allegations of abuse and the protection of young or vulnerable adults.
The school recognises that safeguarding incidents could happen anywhere and staff should be alert to possible concerns being raised in this school. The school are committed to ensuring that the school:
§ -Provides a safe environment for all of its pupils to learn in
§ Identifies pupils and young or vulnerable people who are suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm, and
§ Takes appropriate action to help ensure that such pupils and young or vulnerable people are kept safe, both at home and at the School.
In pursuit of these aims, the school will approve and annually review policies and procedures with the aim of:
§ Raising awareness of issues relating to the welfare of pupils and young or vulnerable people and the promotion of a safe environment for the pupils and young or vulnerable people learning within the school
§ Aiding the identification of pupils and young or vulnerable people at risk of significant harm, and providing procedures for reporting concerns
§ Establishing procedures for reporting and dealing with allegations of abuse against members of staff
§ The safe recruitment of staff
In developing the policies and procedures, the school will consult with, and take account of, guidance issued by the Department for Education and Skills and other relevant bodies and groups. The School will refer concerns that a child or young or vulnerable person might be at risk of significant harm to Social Services or an appropriate agency.
A group of management staff from North Lakes Children’s Services will undertake appropriate training in Child Protection issues, and those affecting young or vulnerable people. These include Paul Jenkinson (Director) and Catherine Garton (Head teacher). The training for Designated Senior Person (DSP) was undertaken by Catherine Garton.
The head teacher and all staff working with pupils and young or vulnerable people will receive training adequate to familiarise them with protection issues and responsibilities and the School procedures and policies, with refresher training at least every 2 years. There will be a senior member of the School management team with lead responsibility for protection issues (the designated senior member of staff with lead responsibility for the protection of pupils andyoung or vulnerable people is Catherine Garton. All staff may raise concerns directly with Children’s Social Care services if they feel they cannot follow the school procedure to inform C Garton for any reason. Safeguarding concerns about adults in the school should be made to C Garton (Designated Safeguarding Lead).
The school will receive from the designated senior member of staff with lead responsibility for the protection of pupils and young or vulnerable people an annual report that reviews how the duties have been discharged. The school recognises the following as definitions of abuse:
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse causes harm to a person. It may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning or suffocating. It may be done deliberately or recklessly, or be the result of a deliberate failure to prevent injury occurring.
Neglect
Neglect is the persistent or severe failure to meet a person’s basic physical and/or psychological needs. It will result in serious impairment of the person’s health or development.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse involves a person being forced or coerced into participating in or watching sexual activity. It is not necessary for the person to be aware that the activity is sexual and the apparent consent of the person is irrelevant.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse occurs where there is persistent emotional ill treatment or rejection. It causes severe and adverse effects on the person’s behaviour and emotional development, resulting in low self-worth. Some level of emotional abuse is present in all forms of abuse.
The school also recognises that being at risk of radicalisation is a matter which staff must be aware and must ensure they are looking out for. See Annex for summary of Prevent Duty
B Designated Staff with Responsibility for Safeguarding
Senior Staff Member with Lead Responsibility: The designated senior member of staff with responsibility for safeguarding issues - Catherine Garton. Leading designated person will be Catherine Garton.
This person is a senior member of the School management team. She has a key duty to take lead responsibility for raising awareness within the staff of issues relating to the welfare of pupils and young or vulnerable people, and the promotion of a safe environment for the pupils and young or vulnerable people learning within the School.
She has received training in child and young or vulnerable learner protection issues and will receive refresher training at least every 2 years. He/she should keep up to date with developments in all relevant protection issues.
The designated senior member of staff is responsible for:
§ Overseeing the referral of cases of suspected abuse or allegations to the relevant investigating agencies
§ Providing advice and support to other staff on issues relating to child and young or vulnerable people’s protection
§ Maintaining a proper record of any protection referral, complaint or concern (even where that concern does not lead to a referral)
§ Ensuring that parents of pupils and young or vulnerable people within the School are aware of the School’s protection policy
§ Liaising with the LEA’s and other appropriate agencies
§ Liaising with secondary schools which send pupils to the School to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made for the pupils
§ Liaising with employers and training organisations that receive pupils or young or vulnerable people from the School on long term placements to ensure that appropriate safeguards are put in place
§ Ensuring that staff receive basic training in protection issues and are aware of the School protection procedures.
The designated senior member of staff will provide an annual report to the school of: the School setting out how the School has discharged its duties. He/she is responsible for reporting deficiencies in procedure or policy identified to the school at the earliest opportunity.
Designated staff members:
§ Report to the senior member of staff with lead responsibility
§ Will know how to make an appropriate referral
§ Will be available to provide advice and support to other staff on issues relating to safeguarding
§ Have particular responsibility to be available to listen to pupils and young or vulnerable people studying at the School
§ Will deal with individual cases, including attending case conferences and review meetings as appropriate.
§ Have received training in child protection issues and inter-agency working, as required, and will receive refresher training at least every 2 years
Designated Directors are Craig Smith and Paul Jenkinson. Designated Directors are responsible for liaising with the Headteacher and Senior Staff Member with Lead Responsibility over matters regarding protection, including:
§ Ensuring that the School has procedures and policies which are consistent with the LSCB procedures
§ Ensuring that the school considers the School policy on protection each year
§ Ensuring that each year the school are informed of how the School and its staff have complied with the policy, including but not limited to a report on the training that staff have undertaken.
Designated School Directors are responsible for overseeing the liaison between agencies in connection with allegations against the Head teacher or the Senior Staff Member with Lead Responsibility. This will not involve undertaking any form of investigation, but will ensure good communication between the parties and provide information to assist enquiries.
To assist in these duties, Designated School shall receive appropriate training.
The Designated School Director will meet termly with the Senior Staff Member with Lead Responsibility, and the secretary will attend to record the meetings.
In line with the procedures set out within the Instrument and Articles of Government for staff suspension and disciplinary matters, the Head teacher, staff and school are not eligible to be nominated as Designated School. In light of their potential role during procedures involving allegations of abuse, the Chair or Vice Chair are not eligible to be nominated as Designated School.
Early help
1. Providing early help is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years. Early help can also prevent further problems arising, for example, if it is provided as part of a support plan where a child has returned home to their family from care.
2. Effective early help relies upon local agencies working together to:
§ identify children and families who would benefit from early help;
§ undertake an assessment of the need for early help; and
§ provide targeted early help services to address the assessed needs of a child and their family which focuses on activity to significantly improve the outcomes for the child. Local authorities, under section 10 of the Children Act 2004, have a responsibility to promote inter-agency cooperation to improve the welfare of children.
C Dealing with Disclosure of Abuse and Procedure for Reporting Concerns
If a child or young person tells a member of staff about possible abuse:
§ Listen carefully and stay calm.
§ Do not interview the child or person concerned, but question normally and without pressure, in order to be sure that you understand what they are telling you.
§ Do not put words into the child or person’s mouth.
§ Reassure them that by telling you, they have done the right thing.
§ Inform them that you must pass the information on, but that only those that need to know about it will be told. Inform them of to whom you will report the matter.
§ Note the main points carefully.
Using the Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Concern form make a detailed note of the date, time, place, what the child or person said, did and your questions etc.
Staff should not investigate concerns or allegations themselves, but should report the mimmediately to the Designated Person or, in his/her absence, to a designated member of staff.