St Peter’s RC High School

Safeguarding Children Policy

Child Protection is the responsibility of all school staff. The school will therefore:

• establish and maintain an environment where children feel secure, are encouraged to talk and are listened to
• ensure children know that there are adults in the school whom they can approach if they are worried
• include opportunities in the PSHE curriculum for children to develop the skills they need to recognise and stay safe from abuse

St Peter’s fully recognises its responsibilities for child protection. Our policy applies to all staff, governors and volunteers working in the school. There are five main elements to our policy:

• ensuring we practice safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff and volunteers to work with children
• raising awareness of child protection issues and equipping children with the skills needed to keep them safe
• developing and then implementing procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases, of abuse
• supporting pupils who have been abused in accordance with his/her agreed child protection plan
• establishing a safe environment in which children can learn and develop.

Roles & Responsibilities

All adults working with or on behalf of children have a responsibility to protect them. There are, however, key people within schools and the local authority who have specific responsibilities under child protection procedures. The names of those carrying out these responsibilities for the current year are:-

Mrs M White - Assistant Head and SENCO

Mrs D Moylan - Director of Student Support

Mr J Stenson - Nominated Governor

It is the role of the governing body and the school leadership team to ensure that the designated child protection officer is properly supported to carry out this task and that they are given time to fulfil the duties that their role demands.

The school leadership team will ensure that the designated child protection officers attend the required training and that they refresh their training every two years.

All other staff and the nominated governor must be offered an appropriate level of training and must undergo refresher training every three years.

It is the role of the designated child protection officer to ensure that the child protection procedures are followed within the school, and to make appropriate, timely referrals to children’s social care in accordance with GSCB (Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board) agreed procedures. Additionally, it is the role of the designated child protection coordinator to ensure that all staff employed, including temporary staff and volunteers within the school are aware of the school’s internal procedures, to advice staff and to offer support to those requiring this.

The role of the nominated Governor for child protection is to ensure that the school has an effective policy, that the GSCB (Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board) procedures are in place and that the policy and structures supporting safeguarding children are reviewed annually. Governors must not be given details relating to individual child protection cases or situations to ensure confidentiality is not breached.

Parents can obtain a copy of the school child protection policy on request.

The governing body and school leadership team are responsible for ensuring that the school follows safe recruitment processes, including:

• ensuring the head teacher, other staff responsible for recruitment and one member of the governing body completes safer recruitment training
• ensuring the upkeep of a single central record of all staff and regular volunteers in accordance with government guidance.

The designated child protection officer and the head teacher provide an annual report for the governing body detailing any changes to the policy and procedures; training undertaken by all staff and governors and other relevant issues.

Ethos

St. Peter’s recognises the importance of creating an ethos within school that will help children feel safe and confident they will be listened to.

We recognise that children who are abused or witness violence are likely to have low self-esteem and may find it difficult to develop a sense of self worth. They may feel helplessness, humiliation and some sense of blame. Our school may be the only stable, secure and predictable element in their lives.

St. Peter’s will endeavour to support all pupils through:

• ensuring the content of the curriculum includes social and emotional aspects of learning
• ensuring that child protection is included in the curriculum to help children recognise when they don’t feel safe and to identify who they should tell
• promoting a positive, supportive and secure environment where pupils can develop a sense of being valued
• the school behaviour policy which is aimed at supporting vulnerable pupils in the school. The school will ensure that the pupil knows that some behaviour is unacceptable but they are valued and not to be blamed for any abuse which has occurred.

Safe working practice

St. Peter’s has developed a clear code of practice that staff understand and agree to. The code of practice offers guidance to staff on the way they should behave when working with children. (See Code of Conduct)

Child protection procedures

St. Peter’s adheres to child protection procedures that have been agreed locally that the local Children’s Safeguarding Board. (See Child Protection Policy)

Confidentiality

All staff are aware that they must not promise to keep, ‘secrets’ with children and that if children disclose abuse this must be passed on to the designated child protection coordinator as soon as possible and the child should be told who their disclosure will be shared with.

Staff will be informed of relevant information in respect of individual cases regarding child protection on a ‘need to know basis’ only.

Record Keeping

Child protection records are kept centrally and securely by the designated child protection officer. Staff are aware that they must make a record of child protection issues and events as soon as possible and that these records must be signed and dated. Child protection records must not be kept in the child’s main school file.

Working with other agencies

Schools are not investigating agencies and it is essential that child protection issues are addressed through agreed procedures. However, schools continue to play a role after referral and need to develop strong links with partner agencies, particularly social care.

St Peter’s recognises the importance of multi-agency working and will ensure that staff are able to attend all relevant meetings including case conferences, core groups and strategy meetings.

Allegations against members of staff

St. Peter’s recognises that it is possible for staff and volunteers to behave in a manner that causes harm to children and takes any allegation made against members of staff or volunteers seriously. The local arrangements for managing allegations are understood and followed. All staff know who to talk to if they are concerned about the behaviour of an adult. (See local arrangements for allegations management).

The use of school premises by other organisations

Where services or activities are provided separately by another body, using the school premises, the governing body will seek assurance that the body concerned has appropriate policies and procedures in place in regard to safeguarding children and child protection.

Cross reference to other school policies

St. Peter’s recognises that a number of other policies and procedures developed and operated by school form part of the wider agenda of safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare and this policy should be read in conjunction with the policies listed below :

• whole-school anti-bullying policy
• health & safety policy
• risk assessment (school trips etc)
• safer recruitment policies and practice
• induction and code of conduct for staff
• policies that recognise specific vulnerable groups.

Policy Review

The governing body is responsible for ensuring the annual review of this policy and that the list of key contacts on the cover sheet is kept up to date.