Safeguarding
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 ‘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 team of 4 staff who have all accessed Designated Safeguarding Lead Training with the Local Authority. These are known as DSL's.
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.
Mrs S Cashen Designated Safeguarding Lead Deputy Head Teacher
Canon 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
Latest Safeguarding Updates
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 - This is 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
Key changes to KCSiE 2022
Sexual violence & sexual harassment
The DfE sexual violence and sexual harassment guidance has been incorporated into KCSiE 2022. It is helpful that the information is all in one place, and therefore easier for staff to access, although it does mean that there has been a substantial increase to the length of the KCSiE guidance. Terminology throughout KCSiE 2022 has changed from peer-on-peer abuse to child-on-child abuse. This is a welcome change as the term peer-on-peer abuse suggests the abuse is between children of a similar age which is not always the case.
There is a greater emphasis on risks for LGBT children and/or those that are perceived to be. Staff are reminded about that LGBT inclusion is part of the statutory relationships education/relationships and sex education curriculum. Senior leaders are reminded of the crucial part education settings play in preventative education within the context of a whole-school or college approach that creates a culture that does not tolerate any form of prejudice or discrimination, including sexism and misogyny/misandry. The expectation is that schools/colleges’ values and standards in this area will be underpinned by their behaviour policy, pastoral support system, as well as a planned programme of evidence based Relationships Education. The guidance spells out key areas to be included in the latter.
Disclosure
Staff are reminded that children are not always ready or able to talk about their experiences of abuse and/or may not always recognise that they are being abused.
Domestic Abuse
New information has been added to explain the impact of domestic abuse. Information has been added to highlight the potential long term detrimental impact on children’s health, wellbeing and ability to learn of experiencing domestic abuse at home or within their own intimate relationships.
Governance
The importance that governors and proprietors properly support the DSL role has been given prominence by adding it to the main body of the guidance and includes an expectation that they should read the full DSL job description in Annex C.
There is a new emphasis on governor/proprietor safeguarding training to ensure their understanding of their important strategic role, as well as their legislative responsibilities, and those set out by their local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
Equality
Relevant parts of Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty have been outlined and explicitly linked to safeguarding, particularly as regards to diversity inclusion, prejudicial and discriminatory bullying and sexual violence & harassment.
Safer recruitment
Regarding safer recruitment, the guidance clarifies that a curriculum vitae (CV) should only be accepted alongside a full application form. CVs on their own will not contain all the information required to support safer recruitment.
The guidance now states that education settings should consider conducting online searches (including publicly available social media searches) as part of their due diligence during the recruitment process.
Allegations and safeguarding concerns about staff
Learning from all allegations against staff investigations should be incorporated by schools and colleges, not just from those that are concluded and substantiated.
The guidance now makes clear that schools and colleges can choose to whom low level concerns about staff are reported to, so long as it is clear in their policies.
Safeguarding Policy
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.