Safeguarding

There may be times when staff and those working with young children will want to report to us concerns about practices and procedures for the safeguarding of children and young people.

Sources of Support

LADO – Tina Cooper 07432 422205

POLICE- 101/999

MASH- 0300 555 2866 /0300 555 2962

NSPCC - Call 0800 028 0285

Email help@nspcc.org.uk

Young Carers

Identifying and supporting young carers at St Giles’ CE Primary School

At St Giles’ CE Primary School we are aware that some of our pupils are young carers. A young carer is someone under 18 who is caring unpaid for a family member or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or addiction problems. They often take on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. Research suggests there are at least 700,000 young carers in the UK but many do not realise they are a young carer.

We know that young carers may need a little extra support to enjoy and do well at school. At St Giles’ CE Primary we are committed to ensuring that all pupils who are young carers are identified, and supported effectively.

As St Giles’ CE Primary Young Carers’ Lead I have responsibility for ensuring all young carers are able to enjoy school and make good progress. If you think your child might be a young carer, or could be affected by any of the issues we’ve highlighted, please let me know by contacting me either by phone or Email.. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, or have any further questions, please see me on the gate for a confidential chat.

Any information that is given to us will be treated sensitively and no information will be shared without your knowledge.

I can be contacted on the school number: 01902 368308 or by Email:

lleonowicz@st-giles.walsall.sch.uk

PREVENT RESOURCES 

Over the last few months, The Prevent Team within DfE have been working to produce a new and up-to-date resource aimed at parents and carers to inform them of Prevent and how they can help in counter-extremism efforts with young people. It is understood that engaging with parents and carers has been an area of challenge and so the aim with this resource is to support and help facilitate your engagement with parents and carers.

The resource covers a number of areas of Prevent and Counter-Extremism, such as:

• What Prevent is
• The Channel process
• How to start difficult conversations with young people and
• Possible indicators of radicalisation in young people, among other topics

The resource is called 'Parents and carers: protecting your child from extremism and radicalisation' and is hosted on Educate Against Hate.

https://educateagainsthate.com/category/parents/

Safeguarding and Child Protection Duties and Responsibilities

Information for Parents/Carers

St Giles School recognises its legal duty to work with other agencies in protecting children from ‘significant harm’ and responding to possible child abuse. The framework for such procedures is defined by Walsall Safeguarding Children Board and multi-agency threshold guidance.

Our Designated Lead for Safeguarding:

Mr Les Dow

 Deputy Safeguarding Lead:

Mrs Leonowicz (Safeguarding & Family Support Manager)

Mr M Dakin (Headteacher) 

Mrs Mavi (Deputy Head Teacher & Senco)

Designated Safeguarding Governor:

Mrs Natasha Hylton 

We hope that parents and children feel free to talk about any concerns or worries which may affect educational progress and that they will see school as a safe place if there are any difficulties at home. Children will be taken seriously if they seek help from a member of staff.

All staff at St Giles must work within the legal and statutory guidelines for Child Protection as defined in the following legislation and guidance:

• The Children Act 1989
• The Children Act 2004
• Education Act 2002
• Local Safeguarding Children Board Child Protection Procedures
• The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005
• Dealing with Allegations of Abuse Against Teachers and Other Staff (DFE 2011)
• Keeping Children Safe in Education Revised Guidance: 1st September 2023

All staff  hold a current copy of Keeping Children Safe in Education, DFE and receive regular updates in school. 

Procedures relating to pupils who may be ‘Children in Need’ and ‘Children in Need of Protection’

Parents will normally be informed when a referral is made to Children’s Services (Social Services). However, staff cannot guarantee to inform parents first, or to keep children’s concerns confidential prior to a referral being made if there are immediate safeguarding concerns.

If staff have any concerns about any child which they believe may indicate:

• Physical abuse or injury
• Emotional abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Persistent or severe neglect

then they are legally and contractually required to pass this information on to an appropriately qualified and designated person. Failure to do so would result in disciplinary procedures being exercised.

All staff are trained in and have working knowledge of the relevant internal procedures relating to safeguarding. Staff training is updated every 2 years, and they also receive additional safeguarding training on a regular basis as required.

Confidential written records of any incidents are kept by the designated team in line with GDPR and  Walsall Safeguarding Children Board requirements and regulations.

Pupils know that they can talk to any member of staff regarding any issues/concerns and that they can also see Mrs Leonowicz to discuss a concern.

Parents can feel confident that careful, legal procedures are in place to ensure that all staff appointed are suitable to work with children. This includes the procedures for voluntary helpers. All personnel are subject to a DBS check.

We are working in partnership with West Midlands Police and Walsall Children’s Services to identify and provide appropriate support to pupils who have experienced domestic abuse in their household; this scheme is called Operation Encompass. 

On receipt of any information, the Designated Safeguarding Lead Mr Dow  will decide on the appropriate support the child requires. All information sharing and resulting actions will be undertaken in accordance with the Operation Encompass Joint Agency Protocol for Domestic Abuse’. We will record this information and store this information in accordance with the record keeping procedures around Safeguarding the wellbeing of children and young people.

27.9.22

Dear Parent/Carer

RE: NSPCC’s Speak out. Stay safe. online programme

I am pleased to tell you that this term we will be participating in the NSPCC’s Speak out. Stay safe. online programme. This consists of an online assembly and supporting classroom based activities. Speak out. Stay safe. is a safeguarding programme available to all primary schools in the UK and Channel Islands. It aims to help children understand abuse in all its forms and to recognise the signs of abuse in a child friendly way. Children are taught to speak out if they are worried, either to a trusted adult or Childline.

In the online assembly, the Speak out. Stay safe. messages are delivered in a fun and interactive way with the help of their mascot Buddy as well as special guest appearances from Ant and Dec.

We have studied the content of the materials and are extremely confident that they are appropriate for primary-school-aged children. By the end of the programme, we’re convinced children will feel empowered – knowing how they can speak out and stay safe.

If you would like to know more about the Speak out. Stay safe. programme you can find information on the NSPCC website www.nspcc.org.uk/speakout or I would be happy to discuss any questions that you may have.

Additional resources

Adapted assembly for home use

The NSPCC has also developed an adapted version of their assembly for parents/carers to use at home with their children.  This can be found here: www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/safety.  With the help of celebrities, the film focuses on how a child can get support if they have any worries or concerns.

To complement the assembly, there are some resources that can be used to enable further discussion whilst doing activities with your children.  These are hosted on the NSPCC website www.nspcc.org.uk/activities.  

Online safety hub

You may also like to visit the NSPCC Online Safety Hub where you will find advice and information on a range of different online safety topics including gaming, social media, sharing nudes, parental controls and more.

You will also find online safety information for families of children with additional needs and disabilities. We have worked with Ambitious about Autism and parents and carers who have children with additional needs and disabilities to create activities to help talk about online safety which you can find at www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-safety-families-children-with-send.

Childline Under 12’s Website

Childline also have a website with age appropriate advice for primary school children on topics such as bullying.  It also has games and other interactive tools. Your child can visit it at www.childline.org.uk/kids.

If you’d like to know more about the NSPCC’s work, or take a look at the wide range of information and advice which is available for parents and carers, please visit their website www.nspcc.org.uk/parents.

Talking PANTS with your children

Talk PANTS is a simple conversation to help keep your child safe from sexual abuse. From P through to S, each letter of PANTS provides a simple but valuable rule that can help keep your child safe. You can find out more and download the free resources at www.nspcc.org.uk/pants.

Penguin and Ladybird have partnered with the NSPCC to create a brand new Pantosaurus book aimed at children ages 4 - 8. You can find copies of the new book on sale, either in Matalan’s selected stores and online, selected SPAR stores or at https://shop.nspcc.org.uk/. All profits from the sale of this book will support the NSPCC.

Support the NSPCC

You may be interested in the NSPCC’s new selection of BUDDY goodies available from the NSPCC shop at https://shop.nspcc.org.uk/collections/buddy which make perfect gifts for children - and all profits go to help keep children safe.