Safeguarding

We take safeguarding children very seriously. All children have the right to be safe.

All of our staff receive regular, face to face training as well as follow up online training as appropriate. We use a computerised system called CPOMS to record any issues and this allows all adults to report concerns as quickly as possible. We have an open door policy and children and parents can access support and guidance from lots of places at all times.

We work in partnership with external agencies including safeguarding, social care, the police, school nursing service and lots more to ensure that pupils are well looked after.

It is the responsibility of every adult in our school to ensure that we maintain the highest level of awareness about possible unsafe practices and deal with any issues immediately and appropriately.

What is Child Protection and Safeguarding?

When we talk about safeguarding, we mean things which promote children's welfare and reduce the risk of them suffering harm. Our policies on our buildings, routines, curriculum planning, behaviour and attendance, to name but a few, are all designed to:

Protect children from maltreatment
Prevent impairment of children's health or development
Ensure children grow up with safe and effective care
Allow us to take action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

Child protection is part of this definition and refers to activities undertaken to prevent children suffering, or being likely to suffer, significant harm.

Protecting children is everyone's responsibility.

Our Five Guiding Principles for Safeguarding are:

1. Nothing is more important than keeping children safe.

2. Everyone has a part to play.

3. Everyone must be vigilant.

4. Everyone has an absolute duty to report concerns and ensure they are acted upon.

5. Concerns must be reported immediately.

Emergencies

If a child is in immediate danger, left alone or missing, you should contact the police directly and/or an ambulance using 999.

Non-emergencies

If you wish to discuss the welfare of a child at our school, please contact one of our safeguarding leads.

If there is no immediate danger but you are concerned about a child’s welfare during school hours, contact one of our Designated Safeguarding Leaders (DSL) listed below:

Mrs VIcki Otway

Designated Safeguarding
Lead (DSL)

Headteacher

Mrs Sian Ellison

Deputy Designated
Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)

EYFS Lead, History Lead
and Reception Class Teacher

Mrs Pip Bates

Deputy Designated
Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)

Deputy headteacher SENCO

Who else you can contact if you have a concern

If it is not an emergency, you can phone Northamptonshire’s Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0300 126 7000 or if you need to contact them urgently during the evening, at night or at the weekend, phone the out-of-hours team on 01604 626 938.

For more information about what happens when you raise a concern with the MASH see the Northamptonshire Children’s Trust website.

Online Safety

Northamptonshire Children’s Trust recommends the Childnet International website as a source of support and advice.

Parent info – provides up-to-date, expert information for parents on a range of concerns.

Thinkuknow an award-winning on and offline safety programme with resources for parents.

Internet Matters – advice and support for parents to keep their children safe online.

Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Online Safety

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a national scheme that operates jointly. between schools and all police forces.

Children who live in homes where there is domestic abuse, or who experience domestic abuse in their own teenage relationships, can be negatively impacted by this experience.

Children who experience domestic abuse are recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right.

We have ensured that our DSL, also known as the Key Adult, has been trained about Operation Encompass procedures. This allows us to used information that has been confidentially shared with us by the police, to understand how a child may be impacted by domestic abuse and to then offer support to the child/ren in our care. This information means that we can understand a child's behaviour and support that child in whatever way they may need or want.

Operation Encompass means that our school will be told, prior to the start of the next school day, when police have attended an incident of domestic abuse where there is a child or young person who attends our school who is related to any of those involved in the incident.

We are keen to offer the very best support possible to all our pupils and we believe that being part of Operation Encompass helps us to do this.

Private Fostering

Have you agreed to have someone else's child stay with you? Are you a parent who has asked someone to take in your child? Do you think this arrangement may go on for 28 days or more, even with occasional breaks?

If the answer to these questions is 'yes' you may have made a private fostering arrangement.

This applies to all young people aged under 16 and all disabled young people aged under 18. It applies to all children living in the UK no matter what country they come from - even if they plan to return home one day. It is NOT private fostering if a child goes to stay with a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, a brother or sister or a step-parent. It is NOT private fostering if the child is just going to be away for a one-off period of a few days or even a week or tow.

If you have made a private fostering arrangement, you must do the following:

if you are the parent or carer then you must tell Children's Services six weeks before the child moves in
if the child is already living with the carer or about to arrive then let them know immediately

If you are in any doubt whether or not what you are doing is private fostering, call for advice.

If you work with young people and families and become aware of a private fostering arrangement you should advise the parent or carer to inform Children's Services and you should pass on their details.

Monksmoor Park CE Primary School