Safeguarding Introduction

This Safeguarding Statement has been developed in accordance with the principles established by the Children Acts 1989 and 2004 and related guidance. This includes the DfE statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education; the DfE revised Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage and Working Together to Safeguard Children. We also follow the guidance and procedures developed by the Cumbria Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP).

Because of our close day-to-day contact with children, education staff have a crucial role to play in helping to promote safety, reduce risks and to identify welfare concerns and indicators of possible abuse and neglect at an early stage.

The Governing Body and staff of Cumwhinton School (hereinafter referred to as ‘the school’) take seriously our responsibility under Section 175 Education Act 2002 (Section 157 for independent schools) to safeguard and promote the welfare of our pupils, to minimise risk and to work together with other agencies to ensure adequate arrangements are in place within our school to identify, assess, and support those children who are suffering harm and to keep them safe and secure whilst in our care.

Our statement and supporting policies and procedures relate to all members of the school community including pupils, staff, governors, visitors/contractors, volunteers and trainees working within the school.  It is fully incorporated into the whole school ethos and is underpinned throughout the teaching of the curriculum, within PHSE and within the safety of the physical environment provided for the pupils.

Definition of Safeguarding

The statutory guidance ‘Working together to Safeguard Children’ defines the term Safeguarding as “protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development; ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes”.

Safeguarding is not just about protecting children from deliberate harm.  It relates to aspects of school life including pupils’ health, safety and wellbeing, including their mental health; managing behaviour and the use of reasonable force; meeting the needs of pupils with medical conditions; meeting the needs of children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities; providing first aid; educational visits; intimate care and emotional wellbeing; online safety and associated issues; and appropriate arrangements to ensure school security, taking into account the local context.

It includes issues for schools such as neglect; physical abuse; sexual and emotional abuse; face to face, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying; racial, disability, and homophobic or transphobic abuse; risks linked to using technology and social media, including cyber/online bullying, the risks of being groomed online for exploitation or radicalisation, and risks of accessing and generating inappropriate content e.g. sexting; peer on peer/child on child abuse (such as sexual violence and sexual harassment between children); gender-based violence/violence against women and girls; radicalisation and/or extremist behaviour; children missing education; child sexual exploitation and trafficking; child criminal exploitation including county lines; teenage relationship abuse; substance misuse; issues that may be specific to a local area or population, for example gang activity and youth violence; and particular issues affecting children including domestic violence, homelessness, so-called honour-based abuse (female genital mutilation, forced marriage, breast ironing etc.); fabricated or induced illness and poor parenting, particularly in relation to young children.

This Safeguarding Statement should therefore be read and understood alongside other school policies and procedures which fall under the safeguarding ‘umbrella’ as listed at the end of this document.  Related policies and procedures can be found on the school ‘T’ drive. Some are also available to access via the school website or on request.

All relevant policies and supporting procedures will be reviewed in accordance with the latest DfE Guidance by the Governing Body (or the persons nominated by them to approve such documents) that has responsibility for oversight of school safeguarding and child protection systems.  The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) will ensure regular reporting on safeguarding activity and systems in school to the Governing Body via a termly Safeguarding update via the Headteacher Report to Governors.  The Governing Body will not receive details of individual pupil situations or identifying features of families as part of their oversight responsibility.  The Chair of Governors will liaise with the Designated Officer(s) from the Local Authority and partner agencies in the event of a concern/allegation made against the Head teacher or in a situation where there is a conflict of interest in reporting the matter to the Head teacher.  There is also a nominated Governor – Mrs Becci Miller, who will take leadership responsibility for the setting’s safeguarding arrangements.

Our school is a community and all those directly connected (staff, governors, volunteers, parents, families and pupils) have an essential role to play in making it safe and secure.  We welcome suggestions and comments from all these stakeholders contributing to this process.

Ethos

The school recognises the importance of providing an ethos and environment that will help children to feel safe, secure and respected; encourage them to talk openly; and enable them to feel confident that they will be listened to.

• Maintaining children’s overall wellbeing as our paramount concern;
• Ensuring the content of the curriculum includes social and emotional aspects of learning;
• Developing and implementing procedures for tackling bullying (including face to face, prejudice-based, discriminatory and cyberbullying); racist abuse and harassment and ensuring these are included for discussion in the curriculum;
• Ensuring that all aspects of child protection are included in the curriculum to help children stay safe; to understand what constitutes a healthy relationship both online and offline and to recognise when they don’t feel safe;
• The provision of suitable support and guidance so that pupils have a range of appropriate adults to approach if they are in difficulty;
• Promoting a culture and environment of openness, trust and transparency so that both children and staff feel comfortable to discuss matters of concern both within, and where appropriate, outside the school, which may have implications for the safeguarding and welfare of children; where pupils can develop a sense of being valued and heard and where opposing issues and ideologies can be discussed in a controlled manner;
• Working with parents to build an understanding of the school’s responsibility to ensure the welfare of all children including the need for referral to other agencies in some situations;
• Ensuring all staff (and, where appropriate, other adults) can recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse through ongoing training and support and are aware of the school’s procedures for reporting concerns, lines of communication and whistleblowing procedures;
• Promoting their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and, within this, the concept and inclusion of fundamental British values;
• Ensuring that staff and other adults are aware of the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead;
• Provision of training for staff/governors which will be updated regularly and inclusion of child protection and other safeguarding issues in the induction of new staff and other adults/governors;
• Ensuring we practice safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff, governors and other adults, including volunteers to work with children;
• Monitoring children who have been identified as having welfare or protection concerns, particularly those who are identified as ‘carers’ and those looked after and previously looked after by the Local Authority;
• Keeping robust confidential records which are stored securely and shared appropriately with other professionals;
• Ensuring we have adequate and appropriate procedures in place for responding to children missing education, whether as a one-off occasion or persistent absenteeism;
• Having arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs, disabilities (SEND) or other health conditions having regard to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice and have identified a member of staff to act as Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO);
• Developing effective and supportive liaison with other agencies;
• Implementation of documented safeguarding and health and safety policies and procedures, including the organisation and arrangements for maintaining the health, safety and welfare of all those involved with the school, including pupils, which include:
  • Assessing risks to children and developing and implementing effective controls to prevent accidents, incidents and infectious diseases;
  • Ensuring there is sufficient first aid provision in the form of equipment and appropriately trained staff both in school, extended school sessions and on educational visits;
  • Ensuring that procedures in line with OEAP National Guidance http://oeapng.info/ are followed and implemented in relation to learning outside the classroom/educational visits, including the need for adequate planning, supervision and risk assessment;
  • Ensuring a clear policy and procedures on supporting pupils with medical conditions is implemented to meet the needs of pupils with short or long-term medical needs and medication is only administered in accordance with school Policy and procedures and the DfE statutory guidance Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions;
  • Ensuring staff and other adults are familiar with the protocols for intimate care and maintaining dignity in line with school procedures;
  • Ensuring staff, pupils and parents are familiar with the Child on child/Peer on peer abuse procedures and the Whole School Behaviour Policy and procedures which include the use of discipline, sanctions and rewards and which also focus on preventing and reacting to cases of bullying and cyberbullying both during and outside the school day;
  • Ensuring staff are aware of the definition of reasonable force, when this can be used and that if it is felt that it is required in school, sufficient staff have been trained in de-escalation and positive handling techniques; ensuring accidents are recorded, reported and investigated where necessary to prevent similar incidents from occurring;
  • Inspection and maintenance of the grounds, including trees and physical site security measures to safeguard pupils, staff and any other users of premises;
  • Inspection and maintenance of equipment, machinery and services in line with current legislation and manufacturer’s instructions by competent persons with records held in the School Buildings Register;
  • Ensuring staff, and where relevant, other adults receive adequate induction and regular training and instruction in subjects which maintain the health, safety and welfare of themselves and others (including children) such as safeguarding and child protection; first aid, manual handling, moving and handling pupils, positive handling, food hygiene, use of machinery, safe use of hazardous substances, physical education, educational visits, fire safety, risk assessments etc.;
  • Staff and children receive regular instruction in fire safety and participate in regular fire drills/practices;
  • Ensuring hazardous substances including asbestos containing materials, radon and water hygiene (legionella) risks are managed in line with relevant legislation;
  • Ensuring meals, snacks and drinks provided to children are healthy, balanced and nutritious and ensuring fresh drinking water is always available;
  • Obtaining information before a child starts school about any special dietary requirements, food allergies and special health requirements, and ensuring all relevant personnel are aware of these;
  • Ensuring there are suitable facilities for the hygienic preparation of food and ensuring that those responsible for preparing and handling food are competent to do so;
  • Securely maintaining pupil data, including digital images in line with the Data Protection Act 2018/UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and school procedures;
  • Ensuring appropriate online safety protocols are in place, including Acceptable Use Agreements for pupils, staff and governors;
  • Ensuring appropriate monitoring and filtering protocols are in place to provide the highest levels of online safety to both pupils and staff;
  • Including online, internet and communication safety in the curriculum in line with school policy and procedures to enable children to access technology safely;
  • Ensuring that the use of mobile technologies (including phones and cameras and smartwatches) by pupils, staff and others is managed effectively in line with school policy and procedures are in place to prevent and manage instances of cyberbullying and sexting both during and beyond the school day;
  • Ensuring children are adequately supervised during the school day (including break times and before and after school), extended school sessions and on off site visits;
  • Ensuring there is adequate pedestrian-vehicle separation on school grounds;
  • Ensuring only local transport, where seat belts are fitted, is hired and ensuring children wear seatbelts;
  • Ensuring appropriate child restraints are used in private vehicles transporting pupils on behalf of the school;
  • Ensuring vehicles in which children are being transported, and the driver of those vehicles, are adequately insured;
  • Ensuring we only release children into the care of individuals who have been notified to us by the parent, and will ensure that children do not leave the premises unsupervised;
  • In line with our security risk assessment, ensuring we take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises and appropriately challenge those we do not recognise;
  • Ensuring the dangers of the sun form part of the PSHE/science curriculum; parents are informed of school sun safety procedures and staff are proactive in sun safety measures.
  • Inspection and maintenance of the grounds, including trees and physical site security measures to safeguard pupils, staff and any other users of premises;
  • Inspection and maintenance of equipment, machinery and services in line with current legislation and manufacturer’s instructions by competent persons with records held in the School Buildings Register;
  • Ensuring staff, and where relevant, other adults receive adequate induction and regular training and instruction in subjects which maintain the health, safety and welfare of themselves and others (including children) such as safeguarding and child protection; first aid, manual handling, moving and handling pupils, positive handling, food hygiene, use of machinery, safe use of hazardous substances, physical education, educational visits, fire safety, risk assessments etc.;
  • Staff and children receive regular instruction in fire safety and participate in regular fire drills/practices;
  • Ensuring hazardous substances including asbestos containing materials, radon and water hygiene (legionella) risks are managed in line with relevant legislation;
  • Ensuring meals, snacks and drinks provided to children are healthy, balanced and nutritious and ensuring fresh drinking water is always available;
  • Obtaining information before a child starts school about any special dietary requirements, food allergies and special health requirements, and ensuring all relevant personnel are aware of these;
  • Ensuring there are suitable facilities for the hygienic preparation of food and ensuring that those responsible for preparing and handling food are competent to do so;
  • Securely maintaining pupil data, including digital images in line with the Data Protection Act 2018/UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and school procedures;
  • Ensuring appropriate online safety protocols are in place, including Acceptable Use Agreements for pupils, staff and governors;
  • Ensuring appropriate monitoring and filtering protocols are in place to provide the highest levels of online safety to both pupils and staff;
  • Including online, internet and communication safety in the curriculum in line with school policy and procedures to enable children to access technology safely;
  • Ensuring that the use of mobile technologies (including phones and cameras and smartwatches) by pupils, staff and others is managed effectively in line with school policy and procedures are in place to prevent and manage instances of cyberbullying and sexting both during and beyond the school day;
  • Ensuring children are adequately supervised during the school day (including break times and before and after school), extended school sessions and on off site visits;
  • Ensuring there is adequate pedestrian-vehicle separation on school grounds;
  • Ensuring only local transport, where seat belts are fitted, is hired and ensuring children wear the seatbelts;
  • Ensuring appropriate child restraints are used in private vehicles transporting pupils on behalf of the school;
  • Ensuring vehicles in which children are being transported, and the driver of those vehicles, are adequately insured;
  • Ensuring we only release children into the care of individuals who have been notified to us by the parent, and will ensure that children do not leave the premises unsupervised;
  • In line with our security risk assessment, ensuring we take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises and appropriately challenge those we do not recognise;
  • Ensuring the dangers of the sun form part of the PSHE/science curriculum; parents are informed of school sun safety procedures and staff are proactive in sun safety measures.

In Relation to EYFS Pupils

• Ensuring there is at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate on the premises and available when EYFS pupils are present and must accompany children on outings (we will choose training providers with a nationally approved and accredited first aid qualification or one that is a member of a trade body with an approval and monitoring scheme and training will cover the course content as for St John Ambulance or Red Cross paediatric first aid training and be renewed every three years);
• Keeping a written record of accidents or injuries and first aid treatment and informing parents of any accident or injury sustained by the child on the same day, or as soon as reasonably practicable, of any first aid treatment given;
• Notifying local child protection agencies of any serious accident or injury to, or the death of, any child whilst in our care, and must act on any advice provided by those agencies;

Partnerships With Others

• Schools do not operate in isolation.  The welfare of children is the corporate responsibility of the entire Local Authority, working in partnership with other public agencies, the voluntary sector and service users and carers.  All Local Authority services have an impact on the lives of children and families, and Local Authorities have a particular responsibility towards children and families most at risk of social exclusion.
• The school recognises that it is essential to establish positive and effective working relationships with other agencies.  Professionals can only work together to safeguard children if there is an exchange of relevant information between them.  The school follows LA inter-agency safeguarding procedures (as endorsed by the Cumbria Safeguarding Children Partnership), will work within the Cumbria SCP Multi-agency Thresholds Guidance and has links with the Local Authority, the Clinical Commissioning group for the area, the local Police, Children’s Centres and the Education Social Care Service.
• We recognise the importance of information sharing between professionals and local agencies and take account of guidance issued in Working together to safeguard children; Information sharing: Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers and the Cumbria SCP Information Sharing Protocol.
• Where it is believed that a child is suffering from, or is at risk of, significant harm, we will follow the referral procedures as outlined on the Cumbria SCP website and within the School Child Protection Policy and procedures.  In other cases where the child or family would benefit from early intervention, we will put in place appropriate ‘early help’ strategies, working with other agencies as appropriate and where necessary.
• Each term, we review each child against the CSCP Threshold of Need document to ensure that staff working with children consider any changes in circumstances or context of families or individuals.

Training & Support

Our school will ensure that the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and deputy DSL attend suitable child protection training which is updated every 2 years; all staff including the Head teacher, the designated teacher (looked-after and previously looked-after children), the designated Governor/the Governing Body receive safeguarding and child protection training at induction (relevant to their roles) which is updated regularly. 

In addition, all staff members will receive regular safeguarding and child protection updates via;

• • CSCP e-bulletins
  • Andrew Hall briefings circulated via email
  • KSCIE focus/ scenario at the start of a staff meeting
  • Programme of safeguarding and welfare CPD which runs alongside the school development CPD
  • Access to the school newsletter which has a weekly safeguarding focus for families as required.

• Face- to-face training takes place at least annually, to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.  The school ensures that all other adults who work in the school and/or with children will undertake appropriate child protection awareness training to equip them to meet their responsibilities for child protection effectively.
• All staff have undertaken Prevent Awareness Training to enable them to provide advice and support to other members of staff on protecting children from the risk of radicalisation and extremism.  
• There is a designated Health and Safety Coordinator in school who has received appropriate training in relation to their role e.g. IOSH Managing Safely in Schools training or similar.
• There is a Designated Mental Health Lead in the school who liaises with the Headteacher (also the DSL) who is the Senior Mental Health Lead. They coordinate the support when children are identified with mental health concerns.
• Although this is now no longer a legal requirement, in accordance with good practice guidelines, there is also a designated Educational Visits Coordinator who has received training and refresher training in planning and managing off-site visits. 
• There is a staff training plan in place to ensure all relevant staff receive appropriate training as per legislative requirements and good practice to protect both themselves and children. 
• Designated staff training will include, for example, health and safety induction; first aid; supporting pupils with medical needs including general awareness training; training in the administration of medication and any training regarding complex medical needs of children (from a medical professional as necessary); asbestos management; fire safety; positive handling; moving and handling; minibus driving; risk assessment; food hygiene; safe use of machinery and other training commensurate with the roles and responsibilities of staff.  Add to or remove from the list as appropriate.

Professional Confidentiality

Our school has a clear confidentiality statement that forms part of the School Child Protection Policy and procedures which is reviewed annually by the full Governing body, is discussed with all staff and shared with all working (paid and unpaid) adults within the school.

Safe Recruitment and Selection

The school pays full regard to the DfE statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education.  The Governing Body/Proprietor will deter and prevent people who pose a risk of harm from working with children by adhering to statutory responsibilities to carry out appropriate checks on staff or others who work (paid or unpaid) unsupervised with children, taking proportionate decisions on whether to ask for any checks beyond what is statutorily required and ensuring those without full checks are appropriately supervised. 

The school has a written Recruitment, Selection and Pre-Employment Vetting Policy and procedures in place.  In line with the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 the Governing Body ensures that at least one person on any appointment panel has attended safer recruitment training.

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a police and education early information safeguarding partnership enabling schools to offer immediate support to children experiencing domestic abuse.

Operation Encompass is a police and education early information safeguarding partnership enabling schools to offer immediate support to children experiencing domestic abuse.

Operation Encompass ensures that there is a simple telephone call or notification to a school’s trained Designated Safeguarding Lead /Officer (known as key Adult) prior to the start of the next school day after an incident of police attended domestic abuse where there are children related to either of the adult parties involved. 

Information is shared with a school’s Key Adult (Designated Safeguarding Lead or Officer) prior to the start of the next school day after officers have attended a domestic abuse incident. This sharing of information enables appropriate support to be given, dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child.

Children are negatively impacted by experiencing domestic abuse and without early intervention and support, this negative impact can last throughout a child’s life course.  Domestic abuse can impact upon social, psychological, physical, emotional and behavioural outcomes with an often negative impact upon a child’s academic success. Experiencing domestic abuse has been identified as an Adverse Childhood Experience.

Operation Encompass aims, by directly connecting the police and schools, to secure better outcomes for children , to enable schools to better understand the impact living with domestic abuse has upon children, to help schools to better understand  a child’s lived experience and to therefore be able to support and nurture each child, making a child’s day better and giving them a better tomorrow.

©2023 Cumwhinton School

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