Safeguarding - St Clements C of E Primary School

Information

Safeguarding at St Clement’s C of E Primary School

At St Clement’s C of E Primary School, we regard the safeguarding of children as our main priority. We believe that we all have the right to be happy, to be safe and to learn. We all have the responsibility to make this happen.

We will ensure that:

The welfare of the child remains paramount.
All children whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/ or sexual identity have the right to be protected from harm.
All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.

All staff and volunteers working at our school have a responsibility to report concerns to one of the Designated Persons for Child Protection:

-Mrs Parker- Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead (refresher training undertaken February 2024)

-Ms Steeles- Learning Mentor & Family Support (refresher training undertaken February 2024)

-Mrs Street- Attendance & Family Support (refresher training undertaken November 2022)

-Miss O’Connor- Special Educational Needs Assistant (refresher training undertaken in November 2022)

-Mr Thirsk- Assistant Head (refresher training undertaken in November 2022)

-Ms Erving- School Based Social Worker (initial training undertaken in January 2022)

Areas of Safeguarding

Our safeguarding policies cover all areas of school life and include:

Staff & Visitors– Ensuring they are vetted, informed & trained.

Children’s Behaviour– Promoting safe & happy behaviours & lifestyles.

Parents & Carers– Promoting links & supporting families.

Premises– Keeping them safe, pleasant & fit for purpose.

Curriculum– Providing positive, life affirming learning experiences.

Outside School- Ensuring safer activities and environments outside school.

Safer Recruitment

We follow strict procedures to ensure that everyone who works with our children are vetted, keeping our children as safe as possible. Ongoing checks and ‘whistle-blowing’ are in line with current policy.

Mrs Parker (Head) has updated her Safer Recruitment Training in February 2023.

Mrs Law (School Business Manager) has updated her Safer Recruitment Training in November 2021.

Mrs Ward (Chair of Governors) undertook Safer Recruitment Training in February 2023.

Mr Thirsk (Assistant Head) undertook Safer Recruitment Training in January 2024.

Ms Steeles (Teaching Assistant Lead) undertook Safer Recruitment Training in January 2024.

Staff Training

Staff are regularly trained in safeguarding issues and they are aware of the procedures to follow. Awareness training is carried out every 3 years and was refreshed for current staff- teachers, teaching assistants, office and caretaking staff in September 2023- with face to face training provided by an external trainer in January 2022. When new staff join us, they access this training online. All governors have also completed awareness safeguarding training and cyber security training throughout 2023-24 and they are invited to attend whole staff training listed below.

We have also undertaken specific training on Defibrillator training for certain staff (Sept 2022); Level 1 Food Handling (June 2021); Neglect (Nov 2016); Domestic Abuse (Nov 2016); E-Safety (Jan & July 2017); FGM (March 2017); Forced Marriage (Oct 2017); PREVENT (April- July 2020); Child Sexual Exploitation (April- July 2020); Complex Safeguarding Hub (November 2020); Criminal Exploitation (Jan 2021) ACES (June 2022) Child on Child Abuse (April 2024) Cyber Security (Sept 2023) Filtering and Monitoring (Jan 2024) and we receive annual refresher training around asthma and epi pen usage in April each year.

We also have 11 members of staff that are paediatric first aid trained and a further 8 first aiders across the teams in school.

Designated persons for child protection keep up to date by attending local network meetings across the year and have also completed training in Early Help assessments (Jan 19); PREVENT for staff who may need to refer (Jan 19), County Lines (Nov 23) Counter Terrorism (Oct 19); Child Exploitation (Jan 20). Low Level Concerns (Jan 23) Single Central Record (Feb 23); Sexting (March 23) Filtering and Monitoring (Oct & Nov 23) Emotional School Based Avoidance (Oct & Nov 23) County Lines (Nov 23)

Staff are encouraged to be vigilant in order to maintain the safety of our children. All staff are given a copy of our ‘Professional Profile for Staff ’ and volunteers are given a copy of our ‘Volunteer Policy’ and have safeguarding discussed as part of their induction.

In class safeguarding files, all staff have access to the documents: ‘GUIDANCE FOR SAFER WORKING PRACTICE FOR ADULTS WHO WORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE 2009’, ‘KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE IN EDUCATION SEPT 2023’ & ‘WORKING TOGETHER TO SAFEGUARD CHILDREN DEC 2023’.

Child Protection Policy

All staff have an up-to-date understanding of safeguarding children issues and are able to implement the safeguarding children policy and procedure appropriately. Policies are in line with current guidance and procedures.

Staff are able to respond appropriately to any:

-significant changes in children’s behaviour;

-deterioration in their general well-being;

-unexplained bruising, marks or signs of possible abuse;

-signs of neglect;

-comments children make which give cause for concern.

All staff are aware of the need to maintain privacy and confidentiality.

Information Sharing

We have an obligation to obtain necessary information from parents in advance of a child being admitted to school, including:

-emergency contact numbers:

-the child’s special dietary requirements, preferences or food allergies the child may have;

– the child’s special health requirements;

– information about who has legal contact with the child; and who has parental responsibility for the child

PARENTS & CARERS MUST TELL US OF ANY CHANGES TO THESE DETAILS.

We take confidentiality very seriously. Any information which we hold is treated as confidential and shared on a ‘need-to-know’ basis.

Links with External Agencies

We are fortunate to be supported by a range of external agencies which can be called upon to support the work we do in school. These include School Nurse, Health Practitioners, Educational Psychology, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, Behaviour Support, Children’s Services and Specialists in supporting Special Educational Needs.

Directory

Here are some useful numbers (correct as of February 2024):

If somebody is in immediate danger, dial 999 and ask for the police.

Manchester Children’s Services

Contact to report abuse or neglect of a child or an adult with care and support needs.

Even if you’re unsure, report it to, so that they can check. You can report your concerns anonymously if you want.

Call: 0161 234 5001
email: mcsreply@manchester.gov.uk

Tameside Children’s Services

Call the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub on 0161 342 4101

Monday to Wednesday 8:30am to 5pm
Thursday 8:30am to 4:30 pm
Friday 8:30 – 4pm

Out of office hours

If the issue can’t wait until the next working day, please contact the Children’s Emergency Duty Team on 0161 342 2222 and provide them with as much information as possible.

ChildLine: 0800 111111

Confidential service for children and young people up to the age of 19 providing them with access to a ChildLine counsellor about any problem causing them harm or concern.

Online 1-2-1 Chat: www.childline.org.uk/get-support/1-2-1-counsellor-chat/

NSPCC: 0808 800 5000

Works to protect children through a range of services such as helplines and specialist advice.

All day, every day helpline for advice, support and to report concerns: help@nspcc.org.uk

Providing Support and Advice to those who are vulnerable, at risk and facing difficult situations:

Action for Children: 01923 361 500

Barnardo’s: 0208 550 8822

Bullying UK: 0808 800 2222 (7am-midnight)

Domestic Abuse:

Women’s Aid: 0808 2000 247

Provides help to support and protect those affected by domestic violence.

Live Chat: https://chat.womensaid.org.uk