Safeguarding and E-Safety

Child Protection: Safeguarding children – Information for Parents

Our school feels it is of the utmost importance to have good systems for protecting children and safeguarding their welfare, throughout all the activities which the school undertakes. This means staff and volunteers must be alert to possible concerns about every pupil, and to report these properly. The school has a safeguarding and child protection policy which can be found on the school website.

It is important for parents to be aware that:

Staff and volunteers in the school have a duty to report concerns about a child, whether this means the child may be in need of additional support or help of some kind or whether it is thought that a child may have been abused or be at risk of abuse.

There are four categories of abuse: physical, sexual, emotional, neglect. We also have a duty to be aware of peer to peer abuse, sexting, children missing from education, child sexual exploitation, so-called ‘honour based’ violence, private fostering arrangements and those vulnerable to extremism and radicalisation.

In some cases, the school is obliged to refer to the children’s social care team, the PREVENT team or local safeguarding team, for children to be assessed for their needs or if an investigation into possible child abuse is required. In many cases, there will already have been discussions between school staff and the parents of the child, and the situation and concerns will not be a surprise to the parents. However, parents may not be told that the school has referred their child to children’s social care if it is thought that this might put the child at risk.

Children’s social care strives to carry out enquiries in a sensitive fashion. It must gather information, and generally can be open with parents about the steps being taken.

If you think your child may have been abused, you should contact the children’s social care office. If you think the abuse may have happened in school, contact Mrs Lucy Anderson, the Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead or one of our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads; Mr Will Baylis (Deputy Headteacher) and Miss Daniella Fitzpatick (Class teacher). If you think your child has been hurt, arrange to visit your doctor or take them to the nearest outpatients immediately. Comfort and reassure your child.

If school staff need to express concerns about a child or refer a child to children’s social care, it is understood that this can cause distress or anger for the child’s parents.

For parents’ enquiries please contact: Mrs Lucy Anderson, Headteacher

As of 1st July 2015, all schools and registered childcare providers are subject to a duty to, in the exercise of their functions, have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This is called the Prevent duty.

At Church Langton, our Prevent duty is discharged through our commitment to safeguarding and through our teaching of the broader curriculum, in particular in RE, SMSC and eSafety sessions. In addition to our safeguarding responsibilities, we help pupils build resilience against extremism and radicalisation by fostering a strong Christian ethos and values-based education. We also provide a safe space for pupils to debate controversial issues and develop the critical thinking skills / knowledge they need to be able to challenge extremist arguments.

We protect the children in our care against extremism and radicalisation in the same way as we treat protecting them from other harms (e.g. drugs, substance abuse, neglect, abuse, sexual exploitation), whether these come from within their family or are the product of outside influences.

The Prevent duty is not about spying on pupils or carrying out unnecessary intrusion into family life. It is about ensuring that staff know how to identify behaviour of concern and how to refer pupils who may be at risk of radicalisation for appropriate support.

As part of our Safeguarding and Child Protection training, staff at Church Langton are given key messages to aid them in identifying pupils at risk.

Further information and advice can be found on the Educate Against Hate website.

Further details relating to Safeguarding can be found within the attachment at the bottom of this page.

Who can I talk to?

Children

You can talk to your class teacher or teaching assistant if you feel worried or unsafe. If you feel that you can’t talk to them, then you can speak to Mrs Anderson, Mr Baylis, or any other teacher you feel safe with. Everyone at school wants you to feel happy and safe.

There is a free* telephone advice service called Childline where you can talk to someone in confidence about your worries. The number is 0800 1111.
*the service is free on landlines and mobile networks

Parents

If you have any concerns about your child’s welfare, please make an appointment with the class teacher in the first instance. Remember, they will take any issue or concern you have seriously, and are committed to helping your child feel safe at school. Most issues are resolved satisfactorily at this stage.

If you or the teacher feels that the issue cannot be resolved at this level, a meeting can be arranged with the headteacher to take this issue further.

Useful Links

E-safety

The safety of our pupils both in and out of the classroom is of the utmost importance to us and this extends to the virtual world online. In today’s ever evolving world of technology, it is essential that we, as a school, offer support and guidance to pupils, educating them about the risks and dangers that are present on the internet.

Greater access to technology at school and home brings us fantastic opportunities and choice, but this also exposes us to risks. We have created this page to provide parents with some useful links to access advice, so that you can also play a pivotal role in keeping your child safe online.

If you have any concerns, please get in touch. This page will be updated regularly and if you have any suggestions for any other useful links to share with parents, please let us know.

CLPS Safeguarding and child protection policy Sept 2024 1
PDF File