Safeguarding and Child Protection
The following information is a brief summary of the school’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.
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An effective whole-school child protection policy is one which provides clear direction to staff and others about their duties and responsibilities in dealing with child protection issues. An effective policy also makes explicit the school's commitment to the development of good practice and sound procedures. This ensures that child protection concerns and referrals may be handled sensitively, professionally and in ways which support the needs of the child.
It is the role of the Designated Senior Person(s) to ensure that local child protection procedures are followed within the school, and to make relevant referrals to the named agencies according to the guidance given. Additionally, it is their role to ensure all staff employed within the school are aware of the school’s internal procedures, to advise staff and to offer support to those requiring this.
The Designated Senior Persons
Everyone in Education Services shares an objective to help keep children and young people safe. Because of their day-to-day contact with individual children during school terms, teachers and other school staff are particularly well placed to observe outward signs of abuse, changes in behaviour or failure to develop.
We all share the same goals to keep children and young people safe - we do this by
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creating and keeping safe places to learn
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identifying where there are welfare concerns and taking the right action
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helping children and young people to be aware and understand how to stay safe
We reach these goals by
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stopping unsuitable people working with children and young people
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having safer practice in place
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challenging poor or unsafe practice
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identifying when there’s an issue or concern about a child’s welfare and taking actions
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working together with other services
School will follow the procedures set out in the national Wales Safeguarding Procedures for children and adults at risk of abuse and neglect.
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This includes the Duty to Report Process - if any person has knowledge, concerns or suspicions that a child is suffering, has suffered or is likely to be at risk of harm, it is their responsibility to ensure that the concerns are reported. Staff must report their concern to the Designated Person (DSP) in the first instance and swiftly to ensure adequate time for decision making and reporting. (Unless there is an immediate risk of harm or the concern relates to that person, in which case it can be reported to another DSP or directly to social services/police). The decision to report is not a matter of personal choice.
The Duty to Report Process is outlined below
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A guide for staff when aware of a concern
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I am aware of a child that may be at risk of harm. What evidence do I have: disclosure; observation; information?
Do I need to take immediate action to ensure safety? Should I obtain emergency medical aid? Do the police need to be informed a possible crime has been committed?
Is there a Designated Safeguarding Person (DSP) in school I can discuss this with? Do I need to contact social services for advice? What is the result of these discussions?
(DSPs: Lisa Kovacs, Jon Goodwin, Elspeth Newing: responsible ordinarily for contacting Social Services)
Do I need to make a report to social services? Do I need to try to gain consent? What information do I have to share: core data; cause for concern; individual's living environment?
Should this report be immediate by telephone, followed up in 24 hrs by a written report or is the level of concern such I can make a written report? What advice have I received about this from my agency and social services?
What do I need to do next? Document incident/concerns; inform key people; ensure received response from social services within 7 working days or chase up.