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Chesswood Junior School

Chesswood Junior School

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

Introduction

Safeguarding children and child protection applies to all children up to the age of 18.

Safeguarding is the action taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

Safeguarding means:

  • protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
  • preventing harm to children’s health or development
  • ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
  • taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering from, or likely to suffer, significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.

Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play. 

The purpose of this policy is to inform staff, parents, volunteers and governors about our school's responsibilities for safeguarding children and to enable everyone to have a clear understanding of how these responsibilities should be carried out.

We recognise that all adults, including temporary staff, volunteers and governors, have a full and active part to play in protecting children from harm and that the child’s welfare is our paramount concern.

All staff members at our school are expected to provide a caring, positive, safe and stimulating environment that promotes the social, physical and moral development of the individual child.  All staff members will adhere to the staff principles and staff code of conduct at all times.

 Wherever the word “staff” is used, it covers ALL staff on site, including ancillary and supply staff, and volunteers working with children

Child Protection Statement

Our school takes its responsibility to safeguard children extremely seriously and this school will train and empower all staff to recognise and respond effectively to protect a child who may be at risk of significant harm.

It could happen here

We will ensure that all staff members in our school maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ and feel able to raise concerns either about a child at risk or a member of staff whose behaviour may present a risk to a child.

When concerned about the welfare of a child, staff members should always act in the interests of the child – reporting their concerns, using agreed communication pathways set out in this policy and within the quick guide above.

Any member of staff with any concern about the welfare of a child has a duty to pass that concern on. As indicated cplo@ and cpp@ are the designated safeguarding email addresses. However, when advice or clarification is required prior to using the email system, in this school the following contact order is expected:

The concern, once it has arisen, MUST be shared as soon as possible and always the same working day as it arises. Staff members should not leave the school premises without speaking in person to the Safeguarding manager, DSL or his deputy if they have a safeguarding concern. If there is any significant risk or harm sustained by a child the DSL MUST be informed immediately and in person, wherever possible before a child leaves the school premises at the end of the day. Although reporting the concern may initially be verbal, it must be followed up in writing by email to:

cplo@chesswood.w-sussex.sch.uk

Highly Sensitive?

cpp@chesswood.w-sussex.sch.uk

National and Local Guidance

This guidance is developed primarily at a nation level, adjusted for the West Sussex context and then the school would use both higher levels of guidance to form school policy, systems and practice.

Guide

Link

Statutory Instruments

The are two core statutory instruments that all safeguarding guidance at national, local and school level is guided by:

  • Children Act 1989
  • Children Act 2004

Click on the images opposite to refer to either statutory instrument respectively.

 

Working Together to Safeguard Children

This guidance is the highest level of guidance and applies to all sectors that must have regard for safeguarding and protecting child welfare and safety. 

This guidance is separated into sections:

  • Assessing Need and providing help
  • Organisational Responsibilities
  • Multi Agency safeguarding Arrangements
  • Improving Practice
  • Child Death Reviews

Click the image opposite to refer to the most recent guidance.

Keeping Children Safe In Education

The KCSiE guidance expands on the working together to safeguard children guidance and provides sector specific statutory and good practice guidance across the following areas:

  • Safeguarding information for all staff (Part 1) must be read by all staff and others at the discretion of the head teacher
  • Management of Safeguarding
  • Safer Recruitment
  • Allegations of Abuse against adults
  • Child Sexual Violence and Harassment

 

 

West Sussex Safeguarding Children partnership

The WSSCP provides information, advice, guidance and support on safeguarding challenges facing children and young people. That support from the WSSCP is provided for:

  • Children and young people
  • Parents and carers
  • Professionals

Click the image opposite to enter the website.

 

West Sussex Local Authority Guidance

This West Sussex Local Authority website area is dedicated to keeping children safe. It provides guidance on:

  • Raising a concern about a child
  • Bullying
  • Employment of children
  • Signs of Safety Programme
  • Road Safety
  • West Sussex safeguarding Partnership

 

 

School based Guidance

The school documents below have been developed in response to national and local guidance.

Guide

Link

Safeguarding and Child protection Policy

This is our full safeguarding and child protection policy. The documents below 'what to do if you are concerned' and 'staff code of conduct (staff behaviour policy)' crystallise the key aspects of the full policy and are more accessible for developing a general understanding.

 

 

 

Safeguarding and Child Protection Handbook

What to do if you are concerned

Click on the image opposite to review the actions, systems and processes to follow if you have a concern about a child's safety or welfare

  • A set of posters that provide the core guidance for safeguarding and child protection. The set includes:
  • A whole school community guide for what to do if you are worried about the welfare or safety of a child. 
  • A staff decision process for what to do if you are worried, including all internal and external contact details.
  • Categories of Abuse
  • Dealing with a disclosure
  • Recording a disclosure
  • Where to get help for yourself when the impact of experiences is challenging
  • What children want from an effective safeguarding system
  • Information Sharing Good Practice
  • Online Safety Risks
  • KCSIE - Conscious and conscientious safeguarding
  • KCSIE - Specific Safeguarding Areas
  • Safeguarding (Proactive) and Child Protection (Reactive) Overview
  • West Sussex Continuum of Need
  • Skin Maps to identify place and severity of injury

Staff Code of Conduct (Staff Behaviour Policy)

The staff code of conduct is integral to the child protection policy. It must be read and adhered to by all - staff, governors, volunteers and work experience and initial teacher training students.

It includes:

The key principles that staff, governors, volunteers and work experience students must agree and adhere to in their role with Chesswood Junior School.

7 Principles of Public Life - principles expected in spirit and deed from staff, governors, volunteers and work experience students

Staff safeguarding behaviour quick guide. This focuses on the following areas of essential practice:

  • Staff reassurance
  • Conduct outside work
  • Setting an example
  • Safeguarding Children
  • Outside School
  • Language
  • Online and mobile
  • Physical Contact
  • Reasonable Force
  • Power to Search
  • Isolation and 1to1
  • Relationships
  • Confidentiality
  • Comments, views and opinions
  • Infatuations and crushes
  • Transport
  • Letters and gifts
  • Socialising
  • Alcohol and drugs
  • Use of images
  • Photography
  • Dress and appearance
  • IT acceptable use
  • Curriculum
  • Reporting Concerns
  • Whistleblowing