What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding is Everyone's Business

Newlands Community Primary School ensures children learn in a safe, caring and enriching environment. Children are taught how to keep themselves safe, on and off line, to develop positive and healthy relationships and how to avoid situations where they might be at risk including by being exploited.

The school 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. Schools are not able to investigate concerns but have a legal duty to refer them. In most instances, the school will be able to inform the parents/carer of its need to make a referral. However, sometimes the school is advised by Children’s Social Care 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 best interests of the child.

Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

 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.

(NSPCC)

Our Safeguarding Team

 All staff, including temporary staff and volunteers are subject to stringent background checks including clearance with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure their suitability for working with children.

Our safeguarding team is made up of the following staff:

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is: Mrs Jenny Cooling

Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are: Mrs Caroline Henly, Miss Michelle Stretton, Miss Kathryn Hunt and Miss Rebecca Madeley

You can contact our Designated Safeguarding Team using our 'DSL' email address: dsl@newlands.leics.sch.uk or telephone the school office: 01455 844369

This is a system that the Police use to inform schools that they have been called to a residence for:

• domestic abuse or violence
• drugs raids
• missing children.
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The Police will inform school that an incident has taken place and which children were associated with the address.

At school, we will inform the teacher/s that a child in their class of the operation encompass call and the teacher will then discretely check how the child is feeling.  Support, including sessions with the school's Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) can be provided and the child will be reminded about who they can talk to in school, if they want to.

The operation encompass call will be logged on the school's CPOMs safeguarding system and the child will continue to be monitored. Referrals to The Family Wellbeing Service or other agencies, will also be made, as and when necessary.