Safeguarding at St Mary’s Infants School is given the highest priority. All adults in our school have a responsibility for Safeguarding.
Should you have a safeguarding concern regarding an incident that occurred during school hours, please contact one of our Designated Senior Persons by contacting the school office on 01462 892 347. Please do not disclose any information when making the call to the office, and make it clear that you require to speak to a DSP.
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- Miss V Edey (Lead)
- Mrs G Penny (Deputy DSP)
- Ms K McGrath (Deputy DSP)
If you have a safeguarding concern regarding an incident that occurred out of school hours, please contact either:
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- Children’s Services on 0300 123 4043 or
- NSPCC on 0808 800 5000
All staff (teachers, teaching assistants, admin staff and the caretaker) undertake the statutory Basic Awareness of Safeguarding Training training every three years, they receive an annual update on Safeguarding matters and issues around Safeguarding are regularly discussed in staff meetings.
The named Governor for Safeguarding is Ben Hodson.
All staff, governors and volunteers undertake a DBS check and are required to provide two references. DBS details are kept in the Single Central Record in school.
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The school should make parents/carers aware that records of welfare concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies. However, in situations where the child is suspected to be at risk of harm, the law says that schools may take advice from other agencies without informing parents/carers.
In accordance with local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service.
Schools will seek advice from Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.
All recruitment panels include at least one person who has completed ‘Safer Recruitment in Education’ training. Key Safeguarding policies form a central part of the Staff Induction process, and staff are required to review their understanding of these policies annually. These policies are available in the School Office and on the school’s website.
All visitors in school are required to wear a visitor’s badge and to read and acknowledge the ‘Safeguarding Notice for Visitors’ before entering the school.
We believe that it is important to make children and young people aware of behaviour towards them that is not acceptable and our PSHE and SMSC curriculum supports children in recognising when their personal safety is being compromised. Children are encouraged to express and discuss their ideas, thoughts and feelings through a variety of activities and have access to a range of cultural opportunities which promote respect and empathy for others.
The school also signposts access to support for pupils, by displaying Childline posters and contact telephone number.
Prevent Duty
As part of the Prevent duty under s.26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 we are aware of the importance of building pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling them to challenge extremist views. We build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by providing a safe environment for debating controversial issues and helping children and young people understand how they can influence and participate in decision making. All staff have received ‘Prevent’ training and annual updates to ensure they respond appropriately to suspected radicalisation.