At The March C of E Primary School, we regard the safeguarding of children as our main priority. We believe that everyone has the right to be happy, to be safe and to learn.
We will ensure that:
Areas of Safeguarding
Our safeguarding policies cover all areas of school life and include:
Members of Staff Responsible
We are all responsible for ensuring that each child remains safe, however the designated lead for Safeguarding is Mrs Nicky Metcalfe (Head Teacher)
Safer Recruitment
We follow strict procedures devised by County Hall to ensure that everyone who works with our children is vetted, keeping our children as safe as possible. Ongoing checks and ‘whistle-blowing’ are in line with current policy.
Staff Training
Child Protection with Safeguarding 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:
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:
Written parental permission is requested, at the time of the child’s admission to the provision, to the seeking of any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment in the future.
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
Because our first concern must be the well-being of the child, there may be occasions when we have to consult other agencies before we contact you. The procedures we have to follow have been laid down in accordance with the local authority child protection procedures.
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, Social Services and Specialists in supporting SEND.
Reporting Concerns or Complaints
Further to the above procedures, we have in place a concerns and complaints policy. This enables children, staff and carers to report anything they feel is of concern.
Concerns should be raised in the following order.
Contact details are available from the school office or by visiting the contact us section of our website.
Review of Policy and Practice
In order to ensure that best practice is maintained, our policies are reviewed regularly to incorporate the latest statutory guidance emerge.
Who else can I contact?
If you think a child or young person is at IMMEDIATE risk, you should treat this as an emergency and call 999 to report your concerns to the Police.
If you think a child is being abused or neglected please contact the MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub). You can contact the MASH during office hours on the details below:
Tel: 01403 229 900
Email: MASH@westsussex.gcsx.gov.uk
The out of office hours (5pm – 8am weekdays) and 24-hour emergency number on weekends and bank holidays is 0330 222 6664 or email: MASH@westsussex.gcsx.gov.uk ensuring that you put in the subject box: ALERT FOR EDT
When you contact the MASH please give as much information as possible about the child you are concerned about. This will help the MASH decide the best way to respond to your concern. The information you give will be kept confidential. You can remain anonymous but it is helpful if you can give your name and details.
NSPCC whistle-blowing helpline – 0800 028 0285
Operation Encompass
West Sussex School are working with West Sussex Police Constabulary on a joint initiative called Operation Encompass.
All schools in West Sussex we will be using this system as from 16th April 2018 . We have been asked by WSCC to provide you with the following information.
The aim of this initiative is for the police to report to the school, prior to 9am on the next school day, when a child or young person has been exposed to or involved in any domestic incident. This disclosure will include risk information affecting the child or young person, not all information obtained by the police at the incident. This information is already being shared with school but there are often delays. The new process improves this by supplying ‘live’ information to the school allowing appropriate support to be put in place to assist in mitigating these issues. This will support the long term wellbeing of children affected by domestic abuse.
The information shared will be received by a dedicated member of the school staff, known as a Key Adult, who is appropriately trained to manage this information. Mrs Metcalfe and Mr Jackson will take on this role. This allows us to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared in confidence. This enables the school to implement support and safeguarding for children and young people affected by these incidents.
We are keen to offer the best support possible to all children and young people and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved. If you would like to know more about Operation Encompass please visit www.operationencompass.org
DCAT TRUST
Statement of Intent
The Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust (DCAT) has a clear vision which is helping every child achieve their God-given potential. Fundamental to this is that children within our care are safe and happy. Our Trust is committed to ensuring that we promote the highest standards of welfare, both physical and emotional for children at all of the DCAT academies. We will aim to do this by:
Creating a culture of safe recruitment by adopting a procedure of robust interviewing, screening and checks to deter or identify people who may pose a risk to children
Having in place clear and understood systems and processes which safeguard children
Providing high quality and up-to-date training for staff, governors and Trustees
Ensuring children feel empowered to recognise concerns and speak out if they are worried
Ensuring that we work alongside our professional partners to achieve the best outcomes for all of our children
Working in an open and honest way with our parents/carers
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Each Academy has a robust safeguarding and child protection policy which is fully aligned with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2019 and local guidance for East Sussex, West Sussex and Hampshire County Councils. All policies are available on the Academy’s individual website. The Trust has systems in place to check that each policy is up-to-date, fit for purpose and displayed clearly on their website.
To ensure that the academy policy is followed:
Every member of staff across the Trust is required to read and sign that they have understood and will follow Keeping Children Safe in Education Part 1
Every governor and Trustee is required to read and sign that they have understood Keeping Children Safe in Education Part 1 and Part 2
Every academy undertakes annual high-quality safeguarding and child protection training
Annual high-quality safeguarding and child protection training is provided for all governors and Trust centre-based staff
Governors in the academies check the single central register six times a year
Trustees check the centre team single central register six times a year
Safeguarding is covered at Senior, Local Governing Body and Trust Board meetings
The lead DSL in each academy writes an annual Safeguarding report which is reviewed by the local governing body and monitored by the Trust
The lead DSL for the Trust (Chief Executive) writes an annual Safeguarding report which is reviewed by Trustees
Safeguarding is reviewed during peer reviews conducted by academy headteachers and Trust leaders
The Key’s Compliance Tracker is used by each academy to record and evidence full safeguarding compliance. This is a nationally recognised system. The Trust’s Compliance Manager is able, at any given time, to monitor the % compliance rating of each academy. They are tasked with supporting each academy maintain 100% compliance with the required regular updating of evidence. The Compliance Manager reports to the Chief Operating Officer who in turn reports to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Each academy completes the local authority audit and completes their action plan sending a copy to the trust CEO.
Further information regarding the Trust’s safeguarding practices can be found in section 5.5 of the Trust handbook.