Safeguarding at Kirkdale St Lawrence CE
Safeguarding Statement for Parents
Our school ensures children learn in a safe, caring and enriching environment. Children are taught how to keep themselves safe, to develop positive and healthy relationships, how to avoid situations where they might be at risk including by being exploited.
School also has a statutory responsibility to share any concerns it might have about a child in need of protection with other agencies and in particular police, health and children’s services. School is not able to investigate child protection concerns but have a legal duty to refer them. In most instances, the school will be able to inform parents/carers of its need to make a referral. However, sometimes school is advised by children’s services or police that the parent/carer cannot be informed whilst they investigate the matter. We understand the anxiety parents/carers understandably feel when they are not told about any concerns from the outset. The school follows legislation that aims to act in the interests of the child.
The school will always seek to work in partnership with parents and other agencies to ensure the best possible outcomes for the child and family.
Our Safeguarding Team
The Designated Safeguarding Lead in school is our Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Julie Pollitt. Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are Mrs. J. Campbell and Mrs E. Cottom, Assistant Headteacher and Inclusion Lead.
Members of our school pastoral team are Miss R. McNeill (PHSE Lead) and Miss S. Ashton, Attendance and Welfare Officer.
Mrs. Pollitt has specific responsibilities for safeguarding and child protection. She works closely with staff and other agencies to ensure the best possible care and support for vulnerable pupils and their families.
Anti-Bullying
Everyone at Kirkdale, St Lawrence CE Primary School has the right to feel welcome, secure and happy. Bullying of any sort prevents this from happening and goes against the ethos of our school.
When bullying does occur, victims must feel confident enough to seek the help of an adult to help resolve this. We actively challenge attitudes about bullying behaviour and work hard to create a
values-based ethos in our school, referring to our 3 school rules of 'Ready', 'Responsible' and 'Safe' and our school values of trust, compassion, hope, thankfulness and courage. As a result, incidents of bullying are extremely rare.
Children in schools can often have 'fall-outs' either in their classrooms or on the playground. This is not bullying. Bullying is the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group, by another person or group, when the relationship involves an imbalance of power.
Curriculum
Our curriculum places high value upon developing our pupils socially and emotionally as well as academically. We ensure that it includes opportunities for Personal, Social and Health Education to equip pupils with the skills to keep themselves safe. As a school we follow the Jigsaw PHSE scheme from EYFS to Year 6.
The Pants Rule
All of our children are taught to keep themselves safe by using the pants rule from the NSPCC; please read the poster below for more information and scan the QR code to be directed to Pantosaurus' song.
Online Safety
We recognise the importance of technology in our pupils' lives and the potential that it offers in regard to teaching and learning. However, we also acknowledge the potential dangers to children, and we are fully committed to working with pupils and parents to minimise this danger. Please see our E-Safety section on the website for further information.
The Prevent Strategy
We want all our children to live in a safe and loving environment so that they can grow up to become happy, confident adults. You will already know that your children can be vulnerable to risks both inside and outside the home, and will have taken steps to protect them, so they can grow, learn and develop to their fullest potential.
From July 2015, all schools are subject to a duty under the section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. This means that we have the same duty to protect children from extremist and violent views as we do to protect them from drugs and physical abuse.
Operation Encompass
We are recognised as an Operation Encompass school, we receive messages from Merseyside Police when they have attended incidents in a family home where children have been present. Please read the poster below for further details. Families may be contacted following an Operation Encompass notification.
