Safeguarding

St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment.

All staff appointments are subject to the completion of an Enhanced DBS check.

All staff have regular safeguarding training and they, including volunteers, have all read the latest guidance in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’.  All staff and visitors are made fully aware of the procedures to follow if they are concerned about the wellbeing of a pupil and know who to report those concerns to.

Our Safeguarding Team

We have a  safeguarding team of 4 senior leaders who are all fully trained as Designated Safeguarding Leads with the Local Authority: 

Mrs S Cashen         Designated Safeguarding Lead                        Deputy Head Teacher

Revd J Gunn            Alternate Designated Safeguarding Lead       Head Teacher

Mrs D Richards       Alternate Designated Safeguarding Lead       Inclusion Manager

Mrs F Maudsley     Alternate Designated Safeguarding Lead        Assistant Head Teacher

Our link safeguarding governor is Mr David Matthews, who can be contacted via the school office. 

If you have any concerns relating to the safeguarding of the children or adults in school then please contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Mrs Cashen, via the school office.

Latest Safeguarding Updates

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024

Keeping Children Safe in Education

Key changes to KCSiE 2024
The following information outlines the changes and updates made to Part One and Annex B of the 2024 Keeping Children Safe in Education.
Amendment to the definition of ‘safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children’
The definition of safeguarding has been amended to reflect the changes made in Working Together to Safeguard Children. Paragraph 3 now states “Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
•
providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge
•
protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online
•
preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
•
ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
•
taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.”

Early Help

Paragraph 18 has been amended to add that staff should be alert to the potential need for Early Help for pupils who have “experienced multiple suspensions, [are] at risk of being permanently excluded from schools, colleges and in Alternative Provision or a Pupil Referral Unit.”
In Part Five where options to manage reports of child-on-child sexual violence and/or sexual harassment are discussed, paragraph 497 has been amended to include the importance of Early Help at any stage in a child’s life. It states, “Early Help is support for children of all ages that improves a family’s resilience and outcomes or reduces the chance of a problem getting worse.”
Children and the court system
In Annex B, links to two age-appropriate guides have been included to support children who are required to give evidence in court.
Preventing radicalisation
In Annex B, a disclaimer has been added to outline that this section is still under review following the new definition of extremism released on 14th March 2024. Additional information is also provided to state that possible indicators of radicalisation should be taken into consideration alongside other factors or contexts.

Several wording and minor definition changes occur in KCSIE 2024, including:
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Headings have been amended across KCSIE to reflect that pupils may experience “abuse, neglect and exploitation” rather than solely “abuse and neglect”. (Paragraph 19)
•
The definition of abuse has been expanded slightly to emphasise that witnessing ill treatment of others is harmful to children. The paragraph makes references to the relevance of this in all forms of domestic abuse, including where children “see, hear or experience its effects". (Paragraph 24)
•
In the section called ‘safeguarding issues’ (which outlines the awareness of safeguarding issues that staff should have), the wording about absence has been changed. The term “deliberately missing education” has been replaced with “unexplainable and/or persistent absences from education”. (Paragraph 31)

Behaviours in Schools guidance (DfE 2022)

KCSiE 2023 makes reference to DfE guidance for Behaviour in School which provides advice to schools on behaviour in schools and the related legal duties of headteachers, and members of staff.

Behaviour in Schools Guidance (DfE September 2022) 

Filtering and Monitoring

Schools need to have appropriate and effective filtering and monitoring systems in place. An increased emphasis around filtering and monitoring appears throughout the updated KCSiE 2024. The DSL (s) should understand the filtering and monitoring processes that the school has in place to support online safety. Governors should ensure  all staff receive training to understand their  roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring. Child Protection policies should include how the school approaches filtering and monitoring on school devices and school networks. 

Cyber Security standards for schools and colleges

The document includes a link to the DfE cyber security standards for schools and colleges guidance

Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges

Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings

The updated guidance makes reference and links to the use of school/ college premises for non-school/college activities, which helps providers understand how they can run safe settings to ensure the welfare of the children attending them. 

Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings

Children who are absent from Education

Children being absent from education for prolonged periods and/or on repeat occasions can act as a vital warning sign to a range of safeguarding issues including neglect, child sexual and child criminal exploitation - particularly county lines. It is important the school or college’s response to persistently absent pupils and children missing education supports identifying such abuse, and in the case of absent pupils, helps prevent the risk of them becoming a child missing education in the future.

Elective home education 

Clarification that if the parent/carer of a child with an education, health and care (EHC) plan has expressed their intention to educate their child at home, local authorities will need to review the plan and work closely with parents/carers.

Children with special educational needs, disabilities or health issues

There are new signposts to organisations that specialise in this area

Safer Recruitment

KCSiE 2024 now recommends the good practice to inform candidates that online searches will be carried out prior to appointment. This school follows this recommendation and candidates are routinely informed of this practice. 

Organisations or Individuals using school premises 

The updated guidance contains information on organisations and individuals using school premises. It states that schools and colleges may receive an allegation relating to an incident that happened when an individual or organisation was using their school premises for the purposes of running activities for children. It clarifies that as with any safeguarding allegation, schools and colleges should follow their safeguarding policies and procedures, including informing the LADO.

Annex A

This has been revised to reflect the changes made to Part one. It says that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding training that includes understanding their expectations, roles and responsibilities around filtering and monitoring as part of online safety

Annex B

This section has been revised to:

• reiterate the difference between children absent from education and children missing education;

• add attendance to the list of things which can be impacted by mental health;

• replace the word ‘vulnerable’ with ‘susceptible’ with regards to preventing radicalisation;

• clarify that someone referred to Channel will need to provide their consent before any support through the programme is provided;

• reflect the changes in laws relating to forced marriage that came into place in February 2023. It is now a crime to carry out any conduct whose purpose is to cause a child to marry before their 18th birthday, even if violence, threats or another form of coercion are not used. This applies to non-binding, unofficial ‘marriages’ as well as legal marriages; • make reference to multi-agency practice principles in relation to child exploitation.

• make reference to multi-agency practice principles in relation to child exploitation

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 (HM Government)

Although updated a couple of times now, Working Together still has '2018' on the front cover.

September 2022 saw a factual update to Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 to reflect recent changes to legislation, including references to:

• Integrated Care Boards replaced Clinical Commissioning Groups 
• Public Health England replaced by the UK Health Security Agency and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID)
• Domestic Abuse Act 2021
• UK GDPR is the retained EU law version of the GDPR. The UK GDPR sits alongside the Data Protection Act 2018

• Working Together to Safeguard Children

Early Help Offer

At St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School we understand that from time to time family life can have its complications.  These may be the times when you need some extra help and support.

To support and advise you at such times we have an Early Help Offer.

The Inclusion and Safeguarding Team can offer advice on a range of concerns or can signpost parents to other sources of information, help and support.

What sort of concerns might parents share with our team?

A wide range of issues such as behaviour management, financial worries and debts, domestic abuse, housing concerns, mobility difficulties, bereavement and loss, cyber bullying - in fact any concerns which you are worried might be having a negative impact on your child(ren). 

What might we offer in response to your concerns?

• The school's mental well- being hub - triage system of support
• Inclusion Manager  0.8 FTE (Social Work and Thrive Practitioner trained)
• Family support for a plethora of issues including, housing, finances, emigration and parenting.
• Senior Mental Health Lead
• 1 x trained Forest Schools Practitioner
• 2 x Drawing and Talking Practitioner
• 2 x ELSA Trained
• Lunchtime Club for vulnerable pupils or pupils who struggle with the playground
• Comprehensive induction program for children starting Reception class
• Signs of Safety toolkit
• In house safeguarding protocols (1 DSL, 3 ASLs, 1 named Governor)
• ‘Therapy Dog’ programme (in training)
• Bespoke learning interventions e.g. reading, maths, phonics
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Parent Information (academic and pastoral, eg Phonics workshops, County Lines workshops)
• Forest School
• Gym Trail 
• Government Fruit and Vegetable Scheme
• Government milk scheme
• Edenred Free school meal vouchers for school holidays
• 2nd Hand Uniform/Swap Shop
• Educational Welfare Officer support
• Curriculum provision and additional work from outside agencies support our children in learning how to keep themselves safe

Who might the school refer to?

• The Early Help Team
• Children and Young People's Services
• County Inclusive Support Service
• Counselling Services
• School Nurse
• Speech and Language Therapist 
• Educational Psychologist
• Young Carers
• SENDAT
• SENDIAS
• Local Authority Family Services team
• Educational Welfare Officer

Contact us when you have a concern which is affecting your child(ren).  We will always try and see you quickly or give you a call to find out what the problem is and arrange to meet and discuss it with you. 

Online Safety

Advice for pupils:

• Always be careful when you are using the internet. It can help you to keep in touch with your friends and help your education, but it can also cause harm; to you and to others.
• Remember help is always available at school if you are having any problems online.
• Don’t be afraid to talk to your teacher or another adult at school.

Advice for parents and carers:

There are several ways to help keep children and young people safe online:

• Educate yourself and children and young people know about the dangers online
• Tell them what they should do if anything goes wrong online or upsets them i.e. tell someone about it
• Explain that anything shared online or by mobile phone could end up being seen by anyone
• Ensure computers and laptops are used where you can see and not out of sight in a bedroom
• Use parental settings, filtering software, and privacy setting to block inappropriate sites and content

If you or anyone you know is worried about Child Exploitation, Online Protection, or anything related to Internet safety please click the CEOP link at the top of each page on our website which will take you to the CEOP reporting website.