Protecting children from harm, our safeguarding procedures.

Did you know:

1 in 14 children suffer physical abuse
1 in 10 children live in a household where there is neglect
1 in 5 children live in a household with domestic abuse
1 in 20 children experience sexual abuse
In the last three years there has been a 60% increase in the number of 7-10 year olds being used in 'self-generated' sexual abuse images

The role of adults in school

One of the most important roles adults who work in school have, is to safeguard children. Whether this be from risks within school, home or the community.

Our staff are trained well to listen to children and pass on their worries to me, as designated safeguarding lead, or one of the deputy safeguarding leads. Sometimes the worry is a big one, and meets thresholds for us to refer this on to Children's Services to access 'Early Help' for the family, or to assess any safeguarding risks that might be present in the home. Take a look at the attached image which explains the key stages of the child protection process.

Risks online and in the home

We teach children about risks, both online and off line, through our RSHE and computing curriculums. We also talk to children in our termly safeguarding assemblies about what is and isn't acceptable behaviour towards children from adults, including parents and their siblings.

Children are encouraged to share any worries they have with adults in school. They can do this face to face, via the classroom worrybox or our online worrybox. If children are not comfortable doing this, then we also regularly talk to them about how to contact ChildLine.

RIsks in the community

We regularly receive 'school safe' alerts from schools in the local area. Each one of these is considered to assess what the immediate risk might be to children in our school and whether the risk has been substantiated by the police, more often than not they do not pose an immediate risk, therefore they are not highlighted to pupils and parents. If we do receive a risk that is substantiated by the police, alongside operating internal procedures needed, such as an 'invacuation', parents would be contacted by email. We regularly practice both our invacuation and evacuation procedures with children.

Find out more

You can find out more by clicking on the links below: