Safeguarding

 

Guilden Morden Church of England Primary Academy fully recognises the responsibility it has under the Education Act 2002(section 175/157), to "make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children".

We will endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued.

We follow the updated guidance in "Keeping Children Safe in Education"  (see below)

 The school staff will therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.

It may be helpful for parents/carers to know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to concern about a child's welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse or radicalisation. Records of welfare concerns may be kept about a child. The school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with parents/carers including referrals to other agencies. However, in situations where the child is suspected to be at risk of harm, the law says that school may take advice from other agencies without informing parents/carers. (Safeguarding Policy para 2.8)

In accordance with local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively.  Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service.

School staff will seek advice from Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/ carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguard Lead or Designated Person) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.

Under section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, schools or any person who has care of a child “may…do what is reasonable in all circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” or keep a child in school whilst Social Care and the Police investigate any concerns further.

  Designated Roles within the school.

• Designated Safeguarding Lead:  Mrs Sonia Singh
• Designated Safeguarding Deputies: Mrs Helen Smith, Mrs Kristy Carter,  Mrs Louise Young
• Designed Prevent Lead: Mrs Sonia Singh
• Designated Lead for Looked After Children: Mrs Sonia Singh
• The nominated governor for Safeguarding and Child Protection: Mrs Sarah Fryer

 Please do read our safeguarding information for visitors.

 We have added a an appendix to our Safeguarding Policy that outlines our  Safeguarding and Child Protection COVID-19 school arrangements -

  Please see the downloads below

 

Safeguarding:

Each term we have fire evacuation practices or drills so that we are able to get out of the school quickly and safely in the event of a fire or similar emergency.  We also have termly have ‘lockdown’ practices as well, which is a necessary procedure for the children’s safety and welfare to ensure children are brought inside quickly and calmly in the event of any emergency or disturbance outside of the school.  

 

E-safety

We teach e-safety or online safety as part of our computing curriculum and refer to it regularly when the children are using devices that access the internet. 

We have training sessions for parents on our Useful Links page Click here   with advice for parents.Click here