Edith Cavell Primary School places safeguarding at the heart of all that we do. Our rigorous safeguarding policy, practices and ethos prioratise ensuring that every child is safe and protected from harm.
We work with parents, staff, governors and all stakeholders to ensure that all children and young people in the school are protected from harm, both while at school and when away from the school premises.
This means we will always work to:
- Protect children and young people at our school from maltreatment;
- Prevent impairment of our children’s and young people’s mental and physical health or development;
- Ensure that children and young people at our school grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
- Undertake that role so as to enable children and young people at our school to have the best outcomes.
Child-protection-Policy-Jan-23
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Miss Cooke is the Designated Safeguarding Lead at the school and is supported by Mrs Stanton, Mrs Dennis and Mrs Cavill as the Deputy Safeguarding Leads.
Mr Justin Leahy is the Governor responsible for monitoring the Safeguarding policy, day to day routines and practices on behalf of the Governing Body.
Our school is part of Operation Encompass
This is a police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse. Operation Encompass means that the police will share information about Domestic Abuse incidents with our school PRIOR to the start of the next school day when they have been called to a domestic incident.
Our parents are fully aware that we are an Operation Encompass school. The Operation Encompass information is stored in line with all other confidential safeguarding and child protection information.
The Designated Safeguarding Lead has also led training for all school staff and Governors about Operation Encompass, the prevalence of Domestic Abuse and the impact of this abuse on children. We have also discussed how we can support our children following the Operation Encompass notification. We are aware that we must do nothing that puts the child/ren or the non-abusing adult at risk.
The Safeguarding Governor will report on Operation Encompass in the termly report to Governors. All information is anonymised for these reports. The DSL has used the Operation Encompass Toolkit to ensure that all appropriate actions have been taken by the school.
Child-protection-Policy-Jan 23
Operation Encompass Letter to Parents
CPOMs
The school uses a system called CPOMs (Child Protection Online Management System) to record any events, concerns, conversations or communications from parents, the Police or The Local Authority Children’s Services. By all school staff using CPOM’s, information is shared, stored and can be swiftly reviewed by the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) (Miss Cooke) and the Deputy DSL (Mrs Dennis). If necessary, action can be taken, and the resulting actions also recorded on the CPOM’s system.
Referrals
As outlined in our Safeguarding Policy, if the school has any concerns about the safety, treatment or welfare of a child, they will initially approach parents to discuss those concerns (If it is safe to do so). This will usually answer any questions that the school have, but on rare occasions it may be necessary to make a referral to Bedford Borough Council Integrated Front Door(IFD) to seek further support from Children’s Services for a child or family.
Parents can also make referrals to the IFD if they are at all concerned about the welfare of a child.
Parents may be asked if they would like to work with the school to complete an Early Help Assessment (EHA) to access additional services and support from Bedford Borough Children’s Services. This support can be very wide ranging from access to an Educational Psychologist, specialist advisory teachers to working with Young Carers, SPACE or an Early Help Worker.
In some cases, a child or family may need a higher level of support and a Child in Need (CIN) Plan may be devised with a family. A CIN Plan is drawn up following a Single Assessment which identifies the child as having complex needs and where a coordinated response is needed in order that the child’s needs can be met. A child in need plan will contain the support which is being provided to a child and/or family by Children’s Services to help them to achieve or maintain ‘a reasonable standard of health or development‘.
Online Safety
The safety of children Online is a vital part of the school’s safeguarding responsibility. Online Safety is an ever evolving and moving picture that affects all children, from the youngest to the oldest.
Children are taught specific Online Safety lessons each half term. They are taught the importance of keeping themselves, their personal data and that of their friends safe when interacting online.
We use a wealth of resources to support and keep updated our teaching around Internet Safety including resources from
CEOP – https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/
UK Safer Internet Centre – https://saferinternet.org.uk/
Think you know – https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
Common Sense Media – https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
Childnet – https://www.childnet.com/
Please also see the E-Safety Tips and Advice section under the Parents Tab.
NSPCC – Pants Rule
Every year, each class will cover the NSPCC Pants Rule. This is designed to teach pupils how to stay safe from sexual abuse without giving explicit information or telling scary stories or even using the term “sexual abuse”. In the lesson, children will learn about the ‘PANTS’ acrostic, which stands for
- Privates are Private
- Always remember your body belongs to you
- No means no
- Talk about secrets that upset you
- Speak up, someone can help
The lesson will be delivered in a way that’s fully age appropriate.
More information about the Underwear Rule, including a short film and a parent guide can be found at www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule
If you have any worries or concerns about your child or any child that you know, please do not hesitate to make contact with the school for support in addressing your concerns.
SAFEGUARDING IS EVERYONE’S CONCERN