Safeguarding Statement

SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT
At this school, the health, safety and well-being of every child is of paramount concern. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. Our aim is for children to enjoy their time as pupils in this school. We want to work in partnership with you to help your child achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution. To promote a safe environment for pupils, our selection and recruitment policy includes all checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including DBS checks, as recommended by Buckinghamshire County Council in accordance with current legislation. In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002, we have a Designated Person for Child Protection (Head Teacher) who is a member of the senior management team, and has received appropriate training for this role. It is their responsibility to ensure that all staff in contact with children receive child protection awareness training on a regular basis. There are occasions that our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies. Whilst we would always aim to work in partnership with parents there may be exceptions to this when concerns are raised for the protection of a child. On very rare occasions Social Care, whilst undertaking an investigation under S47 of the Children Act 1989, may want to speak to a child without parents’ knowledge. This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies and would only be done in situations where a child might be at immediate risk. To gain consent at this point may increase the level of risk to the child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost. The procedures, which we follow, have been laid down by the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all. If you want to know more about our procedures, please speak to the Headteacher, Mrs Barnes or your child’s class teacher: the Policy can be found on the school website under Policies in Key Information.

‘Together, we can tackle child abuse’ -  national campaign

                                            

Buckinghamshire Council is supporting a national campaign launched by the Department for Education to encourage members of the public to report child abuse.

The campaign’s main message is that if you’re worried about a child or think their safety might be at risk, then it is important to tell someone. You don’t have to be absolutely certain about whether a child is being abused; if you have a feeling that something’s not right, talk to your local children’s social care team who can look into it.

Everyone has a role to play in helping to protect children. All children have a right to be safe and should be protected from all forms of abuse and neglect.

It is not just up to social services, doctors and the police to spot the signs of abuse and neglect. It is important that we all look out for children and young people within our community who may be experiencing abuse or neglect. Members of the public, and particularly other parents, are in a unique position to spot concerns among children with whom they have contact - which may not be apparent to professionals.

Some of the signs of abuse or neglect include changes in:

  • Appearance – such as frequent unexplained injuries, consistently poor hygiene, matted hair, unexplained gifts, or a parent regularly collecting children from school when drunk
  • Behaviour - such as demanding or aggressive behavior, frequent lateness or absence from school, avoiding their own family, misusing drugs or alcohol, or being constantly tired
  • Communication – such as sexual or aggressive language, self-harming, becoming secretive and reluctant to share information or being overly obedient

A third of people who suspect child abuse, do nothing. Some people don’t act on their suspicions because they’re worried about being wrong. It is better to help children as early as possible so that action can be taken to help the child and support the family concerned.

If you suspect child abuse or neglect, visit www.gov.uk/reportchildabuse to get the number for your local authority. For Buckinghamshire, call the First Response Team on 0845 460 0001 or email: secure-cypfirstresponse@buckscc.gcsx.gov.uk