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