Safeguarding... Everybody... Everyday

‘The welfare of the child is paramount’ (The Children’s Act 1989)

Children have a right to be cared for and protected, keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. 

Here at Sefton Park Infant and Junior Schools we have a duty of care to ensure that everybody in school is kept safe from harm. Safeguarding children is an essential part of our holistic approach to ensure that children are protected from abuse and neglect and that every child reaches their full potential. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment to safeguarding. All staff are trained in safeguarding and are constantly vigilant. We ensure all our staff and other adults working within the school are clear about procedures concerning the safety of children. To ensure prompt communication between staff, we use CPOMS; an online system that allows us to record and monitor safeguarding, well-being and pastoral issues. 

The Safeguarding Team

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Emily Shuker, the Deputy Head teacher and a senior member of staff who undertakes lead responsibility for safeguarding within the school

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSLs)

Rebecca Earnshaw (SENDco), Alex Powell (Assistant Head teacher) and Dan Simson (Head teacher) are Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL)

Other members of the Safeguarding Team are: Jane Harris (Pastoral Lead) and Cathy Cook (Admin Team and Family Support). The Safeguarding Team meets regularly to discuss procedures and concerns.

Recording Concerns

CPOMS is the secure electronic software application that we use to record, action and monitor child protection, safeguarding, pastoral and behaviour concerns. CPOMS allows us to record information in a central system and have relevant people alerted immediately. Members of staff need to be mindful that their recordings could potentially be part of a Freedom of Information request from a parent or agency such as the courts or police; it is therefore of paramount importance that every recording contains only factual information and nothing which is open to interpretation or untrue. Recordings must be of a professional standard, including accurate spelling and language which avoids judgement and discriminatory language. 

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The DSL and Deputy DSLs have permissions which allow them to see and act on all reported incidents and undertake analysis of the information stored.  Their logins are protected by two-factor authentication to ensure confidentiality.

Safeguarding in the Curriculum

Our school is dedicated to looking after all our children the best we possibly can. Safeguarding covers children’s physical, emotional and mental wellbeing and is embedded in our school curriculum. Our school curriculum aims to instil school and British values and support pupils to become global citizens who show respect and tolerance for others. We support children to develop protective factors through our PSHRE curriculum and linked assemblies.

In addition, the school takes part in the NSPCC’s Speak Out Stay Safe.

A planned e-safety programme takes place and is regularly revisited. Antibullying is addressed as part of our PSHRE (Personal, Social, Health and Relationships Education) curriculum and the school takes part in Anti-bullying week.

Working with other agencies

We work with the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership to ensure we have an up-to-date knowledge of local and national safeguarding issues. Their website has useful information for parents and children.

We work alongside agencies such as Educational Welfare, Families in Focus (Early Help) and Social Care to ensure all pupils are kept safe and have the best possible start in life. This means that sometimes we are obliged to pass on concerns or information to these agencies. The school will always do this in consultation with parents unless doing so could put a child at risk of harm.

Concerns about adults working with children

If you have any concerns about the behaviour of someone working or volunteering with children please contact:

• LADO – Local Authority Designated Officer in Bristol : 0117 903 7795 or
• NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line: 0800 028 0285

Concerns about children

If you have any concerns about the wellbeing of children, even if they don't attend Sefton Park you can find useful contact details below.

Prevent Duty

As of 1 July 2015, all schools are required to comply with the Prevent Duty, as introduced by the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015. The guidance is clear that the duty to prevent extremism and radicalisation is a safeguarding concern and should be broadly considered as such. 

For more information about the Government’s Safeguarding Prevent Agenda, please look at the website Educate against Hate. 

Please also refer to our Prevent Risk Assessment for more information.

FGM

If you need advice or information about female genital mutilation (FGM) or are worried about a child at risk you can contact the NSPCC FGM helpline 24 hours a day/7 days a week. It is free to call from a landline: 0800 028 3550

NSPCC FGM email: fgmhelp@nspcc.org.uk

NSPCC Text helpline : 85888 (this service is free and anonymous)

Further resources can be viewed below.