Safeguarding

If a child discloses information at school that indicates they may be at risk in any way, we have a legal duty to follow up the concerns internally and possibly refer to Children’s Services for investigation. We would make every effort to contact parents before making the referral. The children’s best interests are at the heart of our decision making. Our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policies can be viewed in the  policies section.

Our federation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its pupils.  We believe that:

• All children have the right to be protected from harm;
• Children need to be safe and to feel safe in school;
• Children need support which matches their individual needs, including those who may have experienced abuse;
• All children have the right to speak freely and voice their values and beliefs;
• All children must be encouraged to respect each other’s values and support each other;
• All children have the right to be supported to meet their emotional and social needs as well as their educational needs – a happy healthy sociable child will achieve better educationally;
• Schools can and do contribute to the prevention of abuse, victimisation, bullying, exploitation, radicalisation, extreme behaviours, discriminatory views and risk taking behaviours; and
• All staff and visitors have an important role to play in safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse.

Safeguarding is defined as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment;
• Preventing impairment of children’s health or development;
• Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best life chances.

Our federation  will fulfil their local and national responsibilities as laid out in  the current ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ document.