Safeguarding

SAFEGUARDING AT AUSTWICK CE PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY

Every person who works with our children understand their responsibility in keeping children safe and should be confident in how they will do that.
 

Our school community has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are our pupils. This means that we have Safeguarding and Child Protection policies and procedures in place, which we refer to in our prospectus. All staff, including our volunteers and supply staff, must ensure that they are aware of our procedures.
 

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will always ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with their parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that this is not in the child’s best interests or a child is at significant risk or in immediate danger.

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding means:

• protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
• preventing harm to children’s health or development
• ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
• taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.

Who to speak to?

If you have any concerns regarding the welfare of a pupil, please report it to a designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Designated Safeguarding Leads

 Joanna Brookes - Designated Safeguarding Lead

 Lisa Allan - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

If you have concerns about a child’s welfare, please contact one of the designated safeguarding members of staff above on:           

015242 51366   admin@austwick.n-yorks.sch.uk

Safeguarding Record Keeping & Monitoring

For monitoring safeguarding, wellbeing and all pastoral issues we use the online system, CPOMS. This supports our robust reporting and ensures that any information we report is shared immediately and securely between relevant parties.

Worried about a child?  MAKE A REFERRAL

If it is out of school hours and you are unable to speak to a Designated Safeguarding Lead about concerns you have about a child then you could use the following contacts:
 

Where there are significant immediate concerns about the safety of a child, you should contact the police on 999

Everyone has a responsibility to refer a child when it is believed or suspected that a child:

• Has suffered significant harm and /or;
• Is likely to suffer significant harm and/or;
• Has developmental and welfare needs which are likely only to be met through provision of family support services (with agreement of the child’s parent).

If you believe the situation is urgent but does not require the police, please call 0300 131 2 131 to make a telephone contact with the MAST team at North Yorkshire.

Should your call be outside of business hours (Monday – Friday / 9am-5pm) please still call 0300 131 2 131 to speak to the Emergency Duty Team.

The Curriculum 

One of our key priorities is teaching children to keep themselves safe. This is done through the curriculum all year round.

Our teaching includes:

• Online Safety (e-safety)
• Bikeability
• Food Safety
• Water Safety
• Road Safety
• Sex and relationships education
• Stranger danger
• Crucial Crew
• NSPCC Workshops

Online Safety

E-Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Austwick School. In school, the children learn about E-Safety as part of our PSHE and Computing curriculum. We also celebrate 'Safer Internet Day' each year with whole school and class activities.

In the climate of fast developing technology that we live in, it can be very challenging to keep up to date with your child’s online activity and feel confident that you are supporting and protecting them properly. The links below provide useful information to help with this and other safeguarding concerns.

Useful Links for Parents and Carers

Parenting and caring for a child can be very rewarding, but it can also bring its challenges and difficult situations throughout all stages of bringing up a child.
 

NYSCP has provided useful links to information, advice, local and national resources, and services who can provide support to deal with the challenges parenting and caring can throw up to help keep your child safe.

https://www.barnardos.org.uk/

https://www.childline.org.uk/

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/

https://www.knowsleyclcs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Parental-Controls-booklet-2023.pdf

Operation Encompass is the reporting of police attended domestic abuse incidents to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, where there are children in the home.

Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school staff, who is also a safeguarding leader, known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have experienced a domestic abuse incident. The Key adult for Austwick Primary School is Jo Brooks