Renishaw Primary School

Safeguarding

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is:

Mr Simon Fuller

Our Deputy Safeguarding Leads are:

Miss Jodie Baker, Mrs Rebecca Jones (SENDco), Mr Gregg Harrison

Our Safeguarding Governor are:

Mrs Rebecca Williams (SEND) & Mrs Rebecca Knowles (Looked After Children

The Lead Governor for Behaviour and Anti-Bullying is : Mr Brian Ridgway (Chair of Governors)

Why your child is safe at Marsh Lane Primary School?

At Renishaw Primary School

‘Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families and carers has a role to play in safeguarding children. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all professionals should make sure their approach is child-centred. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.'

Staff members working with children are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a child, staff members should always act in the best interests of the child

(Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023)

Your child’s safety is of paramount importance to our school and we have clear and consistent procedures in place to ensure that your child is safe. We meet all of the statutory requirements, follow the statutory guidance on keeping children safe in education and regularly monitor safeguarding provision.

We have a lead member of staff responsible for Child Protection and Safeguarding (Headteacher) who meets regularly with the lead governor for safeguarding to monitor the impact of what we have in place; also ensuring we adhere to all legislation.  Our action plan to further develop safeguarding provision at Renishaw Primary School can be found 

What is safeguarding and child protection?

Safeguarding is a term which is broader than ‘child protection’ and relates to the action taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. It includes action against bullying, including cyberbullying and online safety, treating all children equally regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or beliefs, preventing impairment of health and development, ensuring that all children are effectively cared for, and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Child protection relates to system-wide procedures for keeping children safe. This includes staff training and awareness, liaison with other agencies (e.g. Early Help Team, Social Care, the police), safer recruitment (including rigorous vetting and background checks on appointed staff), and protecting children from issues such as domestic violence, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, children missing from education, child sexual exploitation, racism, extremism and so on.

Specifically, child protection focuses mainly on four categories of abuse: physical, sexual, emotional and neglect. Neglect, physical and sexual abuse will also include emotional abuse, but this can be a category on its own. For definitions, see our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.

What to do if you are concerned about a child

If you have any concerns about a child, including in relation to any of the areas above (especially the four categories of abuse), you can call Derbyshire Social Care (Starting Point) on 01629-533190. Alternatively, you may speak to your child’s teacher or one of the adults named above. All information will be treated confidentially, and we will not reveal your name to any other parent.

Staff are trained to pass information on to the DSLs mentioned above, and there are clear forms and procedures within school for doing this. The DSLs will then discuss the issue and decide on what course of action to take, which may include a referral to e.g. social care. Unless we think that this will result in immediate danger to the child in question, we would also at this point liaise with and inform the parents of the child, although any referral to us will remain anonymous.

Staff Training

After appropriate background checks (e.g. enhanced DBS), all staff receive induction training in safeguarding. Staff must read a variety of documents, and leaders ensure that they have understood the information and a document is signed to confirm this.

All adults who work in school have their details kept on the ‘Single Central Record’, which is managed by our school Office Manager and checked by the Headteacher and Link Governor for Safeguarding.

Staff receive training around being vigilant to forms of harm and abuse, and understand which procedures to follow if they suspect that this may have happened. All records are kept securely by the DSL, and the school uses an online system for this called CPOMS (Child Protection Online Management System).

The DSL completes an annual safeguarding audit (s175), and from this writes and shares a s175 action plan with governors. There are many school policies for safeguarding, some of which are included in the policies section of this website.

Below is an overview of the areas of school life which ensure the safety of our children:

  • Safe recruitment of staff – including training of interview panel, CRB disclosures and all DBS checks.
  • Clear and regularly reviewed policies for child protection, behaviour, safeguarding and many other related policies.
  • Site safety – our school has security doors on the main entrance. All visitors report to the main office in order to gain access to the building. Outside doors are locked during lesson time as a form of added security.  We have a secure fenced school boundary which is regularly inspected and improved where necessary. The main school gates are locked throughout the day.
  • We hold regular discussions with the children regarding what is in place at our school to keep them safe and to improve awareness of their personal safety, including what to do and who to speak to if they have any worries or concerns.
  • E safety – we have a class policy procedure that all children use, in order to improve their safety whilst on the internet at school and at home. We place information on our website and within our newsletters
  • We have very high standards and expectations of behaviour and our behaviour across the school is very good. We have a clear rewards and sanctions policy which enables children to be clear about their responsibilities with regard to behaviour. We work in partnership with our parents/carers if there are any concerns.
  • We don’t tolerate bullying and we act swiftly using our clear anti bullying policy and procedures if there are any concerns or issues
  • Educational visits are always risk assessed. We ensure the ratio of adults to children meets or exceeds requirements so that your children can enjoy their school trips!
  • All our staff have basic first aid training and we have 3 members of staff who are fully trained Paediatric First Aiders. Children are sent to the hall/staff room if they are hurt or feeling poorly. As well as medical attention a kind word and TLC are also applied!
  • We are a fully inclusive school. Our Inclusion Leader and SENCO work closely with our children and their families to support any additional needs effectively.
  • Health and Safety must be rigorous at all times. Our governors have a termly meeting with the Headteacher to monitor and discuss all aspects of H&S.
  • We teach the children many aspects of their personal safety through our curriculum. Discussions on safety measures and how they can keep themselves safe take place regularly.
  • We provide an annual safeguarding report to governors. This ensures all aspects of safety provision are up to date.
  • We have a strong belief in partnership working with our families. Our open door policy means that effective communication can take place.
  • We work with Derbyshire County Council and Starting Point  to provide any additional support to our families and children if and when it is needed.
  • We have an open door policy, please speak to us if you have any worries, concerns or queries about any aspect of your child’s school life or home life.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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