Safeguarding Policy
Safeguarding Pupils at St. Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School.
Our commitment to Keeping Your Child Safe
Pupils concerns are listened to at this school and taken seriously. As well as educating the children in our care, the staff and governors of St. Cuthbert’s School take the safeguarding and wellbeing of all of its pupils seriously, and ensure systems are in place to support this. The children are encouraged to speak to staff, mentors or class representatives if they have anything that is upsetting them either at school, at home or elsewhere. The children are listened to in a sensitive and encouraging manner, and any emerging issues are dealt with appropriately.
The school has a robust Safer Recruitment Policy which is followed. Appropriate staff and governors have undergone Safer Recruitment Training. References are scrutinised so that relevant questions can be asked at all interviews and appointments are not made until any outstanding issues have been satisfied. People applying for jobs are made aware at the outset, that a fully enhanced police check will be undertaken before work can commence. The relevant governors at St. Cuthbert’s School and all volunteers have been DBS checked, and a record of this information is kept in school. We also ensure external bodies who have access to the school site have undertaken relevant checks with their staff.
We have a fully compliant Child Protection Policy which is reviewed annually. All staff receive Child Protection training regularly, and we have two ‘Designated Safeguarding Officers’ in school who oversee any child protection issues. Governors also receive an overview on the child protection procedures. We have a designated Safeguarding Governor who meets regularly with the Senior Leadership team, to ensure policies and processes are followed.
All staff and volunteers undergo a robust induction programme, which explains what code of conduct is acceptable when working with children and young people; child protection information and who to contact if they have any concerns; safety procedures of the school site. Induction is accompanied by direct supervision of all staff to ensure that codes are fully understood and followed as part of the contract whether paid or voluntary. The school can only be accessed by the main entrance once the pupils are in school at 9am. Secure gates ensure no unauthorised person can enter the school.
Visitors to school have to sign in/out and wear a visitor badge at all times. They must provide their DBS documents. They are asked to be vigilant and informed who the designated teachers are so they can share information relating to health and safety and security. They will be escorted to where they need to be/who they need to meet within school. Any strangers on site will be challenged accordingly.
Health and Safety audits are carried out on a regular basis to ensure the safety of the building. Action plans are put in place to address any emerging issues.
All staff are expected to be vigilant and report any concerns regarding adults in or around the school.
Our school actively engages with the Durham County Council Local Safeguarding Board: www.durham-lscb.org.uk
PREVENT STRATEGY
What is Prevent?
Prevent is part of CONTEST, the Government’s strategy to address terrorism. The main aim of Prevent is to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Prevent focuses on all forms of terrorist threats. E.g. international terrorism, far right extremists (among others).
The Government’s Prevent strategy can be found at the following address: www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Three key themes
The police, Local Authorities, and our partner organisations are working together to help strengthen and empower our communities to reject those who want to cause harm. We work together and focus on three key themes:
- Safeguarding vulnerable individuals through the provision of advice and support and intervention projects.
- Working closely with institutions such as Universities, Schools, Prisons, Health, Charities and faith establishments.
- Challenging terrorist ideology by working closely with other local and national agencies, partners and our communities
Prevent Team
The Prevent Engagement Team of officers and police staff aim to encourage discussion ensuring that terrorism is prevented from taking root in our communities. They support the wider engagement activities already taking place in schools, places of worship and community groups.
Through this work they aim to strengthen communities in order to challenge the ideologies and messages of hate which lead to terrorism.
How you can help?
It is important that we all work together, so that we can protect our communities. There are many ways you can help:
- You can get in touch with your local neighbourhood or Prevent team for advice and support, if you are worried about someone you know who you believe may be vulnerable to radicalisation
- You can speak to your local officers or Prevent contact about helping run community events to bring people from different communities together
- You can provide facilities that could help us and our partners hold community engagement events.
Review of Policy and Practice
In order to ensure that best practice is maintained, our policies are reviewed regularly to incorporate the latest statutory guidance.
You can download our ‘SAFEGUARDING’ AND ‘CHILD PROTECTION’ policies here.