Safeguarding children Policy / 24

Reviewed and approved by Governing Body on: 24th November 2016

Date of Next Review:FGB November2017

Key staff

  • Designated Safeguarding Lead: Alistair Williams
  • Deputy Safeguarding Lead : Sam Gosling
  • For student issues: Alistair Williams or Sam Gosling
  • To raise a concern about a member of staff: see the Headteacher

Context of this policy

This policy must be read and understood in the context of the following policies

  • School aims
  • Equality policy
  • Safer recruitment policy
  • Code of conduct for staff
  • Whistleblowing policy
  • Anti-Bullying Policy
  • Health & Safety Policy
  • ICT policy (including online / eSafety)
  • Special Education Needs Policy (SEN)
  • Peer on Peer
  • Policy on physical contact with children and young people

This policy will be reviewed periodically to make it compliant with statutory guidance. The most recent guidance is outlined in the following document:

  • Keeping children safe in education, DfE, 2016

Aims of this policy

  • To ensure that all staff are aware of their statutory responsibilities under section 11 of the 2004 Children’s Act and contribute to the safeguarding and promotion of children’s welfare, and are trained for this role.
  • To create and maintain a safe environment for children in school
  • To promote the welfare of students by working with partners to
  • protect children from maltreatment;
  • prevent impairment of children’s health or development;
  • ensure that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
  • undertake that role so as to enable those children to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully.
  • To set up a structure for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns
  • To set up a process for managing allegations against staff

Implementation

Recruitment of staff

  • Our key procedures are set out in the safer recruitment policy

Training

  • All staff receive safeguarding training on joining the school and at three yearly intervals thereafter.
  • Safeguarding training is recorded on the school’s single central record
  • Safeguarding training includes:
  • The OSCB generalist on-line training module
  • Prevent on-line training
  • Annual issuing of Safeguarding Support Manual
  • Periodic briefings on current safeguarding issues
  • Training is delivered by the DSL
  • The designated safeguarding lead undertakes the following training:
  • Specialist training (updated every two years)
  • Trainer training (updated every two years)
  • The safeguarding governor undertakes the following training:
  • Governors’ training updated every five years

Site safety

  • We have the following procedures:
  • All staff have an identify badge
  • All visitors sign in at reception and are issued with a temporary pass
  • All regular visitors including contractors are required to follow the procedures outlined in the safer recruitment policy (including DBS checks)
  • All staff challenge adults on site without the appropriately coloured lanyard (blue for staff, green for contractors and red for visitors)
  • Security:
  • The school has CCTV cameras and the main access gate can be locked.
  • We have a “lockdown” procedure - an alarm sounds, staff either secure the room that they are in or move to the nearest room with their students. A password system for identity purposes is used for the leadership team to communicate. All staff and students should remain in lockdown until a member of the leadership team tells them that the lockdown is over.

Identifying safeguarding issues

  • All school employees have a responsibility to protect children from abuse (physical, emotional, sexual or through neglect) and to be aware of the need to identify young people vulnerable to radicalisation. As a school we work with an ‘it could happen here mentality’.
  • Training will enable staff to identify key indicators
  • School staff are particularly well placed to observe outward signs of abuse or unexplained changes in behaviour or performance which may indicate abuse.
  • Physical: bruises, lacerations or burns may be apparent, particularly when children change for PE or games.
  • Neglect: inadequate clothing, poor growth, hunger or deficient nutrition
  • Emotional neglect: excessive dependence or attention seeking may give cause for concern. Sexual abuse may lead to a substantial behavioural change such as precocity or withdrawal.
  • Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) involves ecploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people, (or a third person or persons) receive something as a result of them performing and or others performing on them, sexual activities. In all cases those exploiting the child / young person have power over them by virtue of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and/or economic or other resources.
  • Female genital mutilation: have difficulty walking, sitting or standing; spend longer than normal in the bathroom or toilet; have unusual behaviour after an absence from school or college; be particularly reluctant to undergo normal medical examinations; ask for help, but may not be explicit about the problem due to embarrassment or fear
  • Future FGM: girls who talk about being taken 'home' to visit family; a special occasion to 'become a woman'; an older female relative visiting the UK.
  • Forced Marriages (FM) is a marriage conducted without the valid consent of one or both parties and is different to an arranged marriage where both parties give consent.
  • Honour Based Violence is a violent crime or incident which may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family or community and is often linked to family members or acquaintances who mistakenly believe someone has brought shame on their family or community by doing something that is not in keeping with the traditional beliefs of their culture.
  • Sexting: involves someone sending or receiving a sexually explicit text, image or video. This includes sending ‘nude pics’, ‘rude pics’ or ‘nude selfies’. Sending or receiving the data is often wrong / illegal as is the sharing of images received without the consent of the person in the picture.
  • Peer on peer abuse: This is most likely to include, but not limited to: bullying (including cyber bullying), gender based violence/sexual assaults and sexting. (Supporting OCC policy adopted)

Further details can be found on the S drive at S:\YEAR GROUPS\Safeguarding and the ‘What to do if you are worried a child is being abused?’ booklet can also be accessed here.

School staff have access to the OSCB Screening Tools which must be used when there are any concerns or suspicions with regard to; Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), Neglect, Prevent (saved in S:\Year Groups\Safeguarding), it is worth noting that these may be updated periodically so direct download from the OSCB may be even better practice.

PREVENT; Dealing with radicalisation / extremism

Students at risk of radicalisation can be identified using the following checklist:

Withdrawal from usual activities

Feelings of anger, grievance or injustice

Truanting/going missing from school or care

Expressing ‘them and us’ thinking

Use of inappropriate language;

Advocating violent actions and means;

Possession of violent extremist literature;

The expression of extremist views;

Association with known extremists;

Seeking to recruit others to an extremist ideology.

Any safeguarding concern should be raised in the normal way, initially internally and then with The MASH.

School staff are directed to complete the College of Policing training on the Prevent strategy.

Sharing concerns

  • Any concerns must be recorded and reported on paper using the safeguarding record of concern form available in the staff work area.
  • Staff should report:
  • Direct disclosures from children, whether or not they appear credible
  • Disclosures or reports from the friends of a child
  • Apparently trivial concerns which may be part of jigsaw of information that allows the bigger picture to become clear. Sometimes, things which seem to be insignificant or trivial at the time, turn out to be vital pieces of information later.
  • Hearsay and ‘nagging doubts’, which give you cause for concern about a child
  • Suspicions of FGM (female genital mutilation) – there is a statutory responsibility placed on teachers to pass on such concerns to the Police.
  • Staff should record concerns on the safeguarding record of concern form in the staff work area and pass this immediately to the designated child protection lead.
  • Follow the guidance on the form
  • Never promise a child to keep their disclosure secret
  • Always make clear that you will record and pass on a disclosure
  • Avoid asking leading questions
  • Record in the child’s words, noting exactly what they say
  • Remember that your notes may be consulted many months or years later: record factually without judgment (what did they say, how did they look when saying it, how did they sound when disclosing)
  • Remember – social care professionals will follow up your concerns if necessary
  • The safeguarding lead will decide whether further referral to the multi-agency safeguarding hub is needed

( )

  • The safeguarding lead will share our intention to refer to social care with parents/carers unless to do so could put the child at greater risk of harm, or impede a criminal investigation.
  • Safeguarding records are kept in confidential files in the office of the head’s PA. A note is placed in student files to indicate that a safeguarding record exists.

Allegations of abuse made against other students (peer on peer abuse)

  • In some cases safeguarding issues will arise through the actions of other students. This is most likely to include, but not limited to: bullying (including cyber bullying), gender based violence/sexual assaults, boys being subject to initiation/hazing type violence, sexting or sexual relationships between older and younger students in the school.
  • In these cases the procedures are identical to other safeguarding issues except that the alleged perpetrator may also be in need of safeguarding intervention.
  • In all cases at least a no-names consultation with the MASH should be undertaken.
  • The supporting OCC policy with regard to peer on peer abuse has also been adopted.

Allegations against staff

  • All staff should take care not to place themselves in a vulnerable position with a child. It is always advisable for interviews or work with individual children or parents to be conducted in view of other adults.
  • We understand that a child or young person may make an allegation against a member of staff. If such an allegation is made, the member ofstaff receiving the allegation will immediately inform the centre manager or the most senior member of staff available.
  • The manager on all such occasions will discuss the content of the allegation with the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) before taking any action. In our county contact should be made with Alison Beasley, Interim Designated Officer (01865 815956) or Donna Crozier, Assistant Designated Officer (01865 816382).
  • LADO team contact no; 01865 810603
  • LADO email;
  • If the allegation made to a member of staff concerns the manager themselves, the person receiving the allegation will immediately inform the chair of the governing body who will consult with LADO, without notifying the manger first.
  • The school will follow the procedures for managing allegations against staff, a copy of which can be accessed through the OSCB website.
  • Suspension of the member of staff against whom an allegation has been made needs careful consideration, and we will consult with above named professionals in making this decision along with HR.

Filming in school

The parent handbook outlines our policy on filming in school. It says: ‘We may on occasion film and photograph the school at work for training and marketing purposes. Some of this filming may occur during lessons. If you have any objections to your child being filmed or photographed, please let Mr Williams, know in writing’. The safeguarding training also highlights the importance of the security of any films made in school and that they should not be removed from the site and should be kept in a secure place on the school premises.

Physical restraint/positive handling

The law allows school staff to use such force as is reasonable to prevent a pupil from doing, or continuing to do, any of the following:

  • Committing an offence;
  • Causing personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person (including the pupil himself), or;
  • Prejudicing the maintenance of good orderand discipline at the school or among any pupils receiving education at the school, whether during a teaching session or otherwise.

We have a separate policy on the use of force, following LA guidance, “The use of force to control or restrain pupils” 2010.

There are areas of the curriculum where touching of pupils is appropriate i.e. PE lessons to support or coach technique, technology or Science where support is needed in dealing with machinery or completing experiments. However, in most cases the general advice is not to touch students.

Whistle blowing

There is a separate policy on whistle blowing in the school handbook. This is particularly important where the welfare of children may be at risk.

Monitoring and evaluation

  • The governor’s staffing committee will review the policy annually along with the annual safeguarding report (due for submission to OCC safeguarding team by the end of Term 2 each academic year).
  • The OSCB safeguarding audit tool is used to review safeguarding procedures and the impact of the policy.

Policy reviewed and approved by Full Governing Body 24th November 2016

Signed:

Fitzharrys School Staff Handbook Page 1 of 7 Author :A WilliamsLast updated : October 2016