Safeguarding and Prevent
Under the Education Act 2002 (section 175/157), schools must “make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children”.
We will endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued.
The school will therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the Safeguarding Children Partnership Board’s procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The school should make parents/carers aware that records of safeguarding concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies.
Local procedures state that “Consent should always be sought from an adult with parental responsibility for the child/young person before passing information about them to Children’s Social Care, unless seeking consent would place the child at risk of significant harm or may lead to the loss of evidence for example destroying evidence of a crime or influencing a child about a disclosure made.” This includes allowing them to share information without consent, if it is not possible to gain consent, if it cannot be reasonably expected that a professional gains consent, or if to gain consent would place a child at risk.
Where there is a need to share special category personal data, the Data Protection Act 2018 contains ‘safeguarding of children and individuals at risk’ as a processing condition that allows professionals to share information.
In accordance with legislation and local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service. In all circumstances, the safety of the child will be the paramount concern.
Schools will contact Children’s Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.
Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, any person who has care of a child “may….do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” a child in school whilst Social Care and the Police investigate any concerns further.
‘Safeguarding is everyone’s business!’
Here at Elm C of E Primary we are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for children, staff and visitors by promoting a climate where children and adults feel confident about sharing any concerns which they may have about their own safety or the well being of others.
Should you have any concerns about any child please contact the school Designated Person for Safeguarding & Child Protection.
Our Designated Safeguarding Leads are:
Designated Person & Prevent Lead
Jade Betts – Headteacher (Heads Office or head@elm.cambs.sch.uk)
Deputy Designated Person
Jackie Mills – Deputy Headteacher (Year 6 classroom)
Hayley Whitehead - Pre-School Lead (Pre-school building)
If you are in any doubt where to find the Designated Leads, please go straight to the School Office and you will be directed to someone that can help you.
Safeguarding & Prevent Link Governor
Joanna Dick JDick@elm.cambs.sch.uk
All other staff are trained to identify and report any concerns they have to the Designated Safeguarding Leads. This training is updated annually.
Keeping Children Safe in School
Keeping Records
In line with good practice records are kept of:
- Discussions/observations with a child,
- Discussions/observations with a parent,
- Discussions/observations made by school staff,
- Decisions and actions taken (signed and with time and date noted).
- All confidential records are kept securely.
Making Referrals
Anyone who has concerns about a child’s welfare can make a referral to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership Board
https://www.safeguardingcambspeterborough.org.uk/children-board/
Referrals can come from the child themselves, professionals such as teachers, the police, GPs and health visitors as well as family members and members of the public.
Curriculum
Through all areas of the curriculum we encourage children to think about how to stay safe: At home, crossing the road, out on their own, or on the internet. Regular PHSE lessons, theme weeks or Computing topics containing E safety can provide especially good opportunities for children to discuss these issues.
The Role of the Governing Body
The Governing Body has a duty to ensure that the school meets its statutory responsibilities and ensure the the children and young people attending school are safe.
Attendance
In addition to the statutory responsibility to record the attendance of children it is important that Governors follow up the processes for absence. An important risk factor in abuse and neglect is poor school attendance and tackling that is a key aspect of managing children’s safety.
Safer Recruitment
A key aspect of safeguarding is the vetting of applicants and prospective volunteers working with children to make sure they are suitable.
Our obligations and duties to protect your children
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The school should make parents/carers aware that records of welfare concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies. However, in situations where the child is suspected to be at risk of harm, the law says that schools may take advice from other agencies without informing parents/carers.
In accordance with local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service.
Schools will seek advice from MASH when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Designated Person) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.
Prevent
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, 2015 requires that all schools must have arrangements in place to mitigate the risk posed by radicalisation.
At Elm CofE we believe radicalisation should be seen as a safeguarding issue. Vulnerable children and young people may be targeted in the same way as other areas of risk such as on-line abuse and sexual exploitation. All school staff are aware of their responsibilities in this area and have received training in the recognition of signs of radicalisation and referral routes.
The trained Prevent Lead in the school is our Headteacher, Jade Betts.