Carnforth School is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all of our children. We expect every member of staff and all visitors to share our commitment as the health and safety of our children is paramount.
What is Safeguarding?
At Carnforth School we consider the safeguarding of children to be our most important priority. Children need to feel safe, cared for and valued in order to learn and thrive. In school we follow the guidance set out in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ which states that Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:
- protecting children from maltreatment
- preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
- ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
To ensure the above guidelines are followed we take action to enable all children to have the best outcomes through our safeguarding measures regardless of their age, culture, physical needs, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and sexual identity. In order to do this we have clear procedures in place to ensure that disclosures or allegations are taken seriously, recorded correctly and investigated.
Who is Responsible for Safeguarding?
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. Staff are made aware that any safeguarding issues need to be reported through the correct routes to the designated leads. When staff are recruited we follow the procedures set out in our ‘School Recruitment and Selection Policy’. Also on-going safeguarding measures are in place for staff currently employed i.e. through training and DBS re-checks.
The following staff have received Child Protection Training for Safeguarding Leads in School:
Mrs Nicola Sheeran-Ball (Head of School): Designated Safeguarding Lead /Designated teacher for Looked after Children. Can be contacted by emailing NSheeran-Ball@carnforthschool.org
Mrs Keren Finnegan: EYFS Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mr Paul Prigg: (Deputy Headteacher) Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Miss Megan Smith: (Teaching Assistant) Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
In addition to this, all staff receive Safeguarding Training to ensure they can recognise signs and symptoms of abuse and report using our agreed policies and procedures.
The Safeguarding Governor is Paul Edwards.
What are the Areas of Safeguarding?
Child protection – ensuring that staff respond appropriately to any significant change in a child’s behaviour, report to the Designated Lead any unexplained bruising, marks or signs of possible abuse and report any deterioration in a child’s well-being. Staff must be trained to recognise signs of neglect and respond appropriately to comments children make that cause concern.
Training – ensuring that staff have access to quality training in aspects of safeguarding so they can recognise signs and symptoms of abuse and record/respond using the correct procedures.
Buildings and grounds – ensuring we offer a safe learning environment where children can thrive.
Outside learning – completing risk assessments prior to trips and visits for the school along with ensuring safe transport.
Visitors – checking DBS forms and qualifications and logging them on our Single Central Register.
Behaviour – promoting positive behaviours towards each other to create a warm, caring environment.
Parents/carers/families – offering a welcoming school and developing home/school links.
Curriculum – ensuring that our curriculum offers a wide range of opportunities for children to learn about safety and have chances to talk and ask questions.
How does our Curriculum Support Safeguarding of Pupils?
To support pupils with confidence and knowledge of safeguarding issues we ensure our personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme allows lots of opportunities to develop their understanding.
For example:
We cover whole school, national and global themes across the whole year such as Anti-Bullying week, Safer Internet Day, Safety Week, Celebrating Diversity and Different Families.
We learn about our ‘Core Values’ in lessons and assemblies to help children develop their sense of worth and confidence.
How does our Curriculum Support Safeguarding of Pupils?
To support pupils with confidence and knowledge of safeguarding issues we ensure our personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme allows lots of opportunities to develop their understanding.
For example:
We cover whole school, national and global themes across the whole year such as Anti-Bullying week, Safer Internet Day, Safety Week, Celebrating Diversity and Different Families.
We learn about our ‘Core Values’ in lessons and assemblies to help children develop their sense of worth and confidence.
Links with External Agencies
In order to provide the best possible safeguarding for all pupils in our school we work with outside agencies to ensure we get expert advice and support. We follow procedures set out by the Local Education Authority and ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ in accordance with child protection procedures.
Below are some of the links we have with external agencies:
- School Nurse Service
- Education Welfare Officer
- Educational Psychology Team
- CAMHS (Child and Adult Mental Health Service)
- CAMHS Cast
- Behaviour Support Service
- Social Services
- Health practitioners
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Team
- Family support worker
Sharing of Information
We are required to have information from parents/carers prior to a child joining our school.
This includes:
- Information about who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility
- Any special health requirements for the child
- Information relating to food i.e. dietary requirements and food allergies
- Two emergency contact numbers (updated as required throughout the child’s time at school)
- ‘Child Collected By’ form which specifies agreed adults who can collect a child from school
In our school we follow the Data Protection principles. Information regarding children is stored safely and securely and it is only shared with professionals permitted to have it.
Which Policies Support our Safeguarding?
- Safeguarding Policy (dealing with issues of child safety and reporting)
- Anti-Bullying (guidance from the Department for Education on bullying)
- Prevent Policy (school procedures on dealing with Counter Terrorism issues)
- Annual Safeguarding Audit (completed by the Safeguarding Scrutiny Team)
- Special Educational Needs Policy (guidance on identification and support for pupils with additional needs)
- Keeping Children Safe in Education Department for Education Guidance
- Working together to safeguard children
- Anti-Bullying Policy (to provide guidance and response to bullying in school)
- Attendance Policy (to support pupils and families with attendance guidance and support)
- Whistle Blowing Policy (procedures to be used in case of serious staff concerns)
- Code of Conduct for staff, Governors (to ensure our Governing Body follow procedures and protocol)
- Complaints Policy (procedures for parents to support complaints)
- Drugs Policy (guidance on how we deliver our drugs curriculum)
- Sex and Relationships Policy (outlining our age appropriate delivery of SRE across the curriculum)
- E-Safety Policy (outlining our procedures for safely connecting through technology/internet)
- Medicines in Schools Policy (guidelines on administration of medicines in school)
- School Recruitment and Selection Policy (guidance and protocols for safer recruitment)
The above list is not exhaustive as many policies, procedures and protocols are in place to safeguard pupils. Policies are reviewed at determined intervals to ensure that the most up to date information is included in our guidelines in school.
Reporting Concerns and Complaints
At Carnforth School we endeavour to provide the very best service for our pupils and families. To help us provide this we require feedback. This can be achieved through mechanisms we offer e.g. questionnaires we send to parents, through emails and telephone conversations.
However, we feel that most importantly face to face discussions are effective at resolving concerns/complaints. In line with our policy, discussion of a concern would be with the class teacher in the first instance followed by the Head of School if that does not provide a resolution. After that the matter can be referred to the Chair of Governors where hopefully the matter can be resolved.
Our Complaints Policy sets out the procedures and this can be requested via the school office or downloaded from our website. Our aim is to always listen and try to resolve issues before they reach this stage.
If you would like more information on safeguarding, please contact the school for all our policies or view our policies section on our website.
Our Social Media Statement
Parents are increasingly using social networking sites such as Facebook to talk to their friends. Sometimes parents have used these sites to make inappropriate comments about schools or even individual teachers.
Making defamatory comments on the internet has exactly the same serious legal consequences as if they are made directly to someone else. Legal action could be taken against the person who has made the online comment. Similarly threats of violence can lead to criminal proceedings under the Malicious Communications Act 1988.
If you have any concerns about anything which happens in school please speak to your child’s class teacher or the Head of School who will do their best to resolve things.
If you are still unhappy, we have a complaints procedure which will ensure that your concerns are investigated thoroughly and appropriate action taken.
Please go to our policies page to read our Safeguarding Policy: