At Sutton CP School, we regard the safeguarding of all pupils as our main priority.
Safeguarding is at the center of our practice, policies and ethos. We believe that all pupils have the right to be happy, to be safe and to learn and work in partnership with all members of the school community to protect our children from harm. It is the responsibility of everyone who comes into contact with children to keep them safe.
We will ensure that all pupils, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender identity, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual orientation have the right to be safe and protected from harm;
All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately;
All staff and volunteers at Sutton CP School have a responsibility to report any concerns to the designated leads for safeguarding.
Members of Staff Responsible for Safeguarding:
Mrs Anna Riley, Headteacher - Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
Mr Mike Clayton, Deputy Headteacher - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)
Miss Christa Baldwin, SENCO - Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL)
Mr Stuart Barrick, Governor responsible for safeguarding.
Areas of Safeguarding
Our safeguarding policies cover all areas of school life and include:
Staff and Visitors – we ask all staff and visitors to sign in and identification lanyards are issued for visitors to wear whilst they are in school. It is our responsibility to ensure that everyone is vetted, informed and trained. Staff are trained in child protection issues and they are aware of the procedures to follow. Staff are encouraged to be vigilant in order to maintain the safety of our pupils. All staff and volunteers are given a copy of the relevant documentation outlining safeguarding procedures at our school. They are also referred to the document below 'Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023'. For further details of our visitors guidance please click here.
Safer Recruitment – we follow strict procedures to ensure pupils are safe. On-going checks and ‘whistle-blowing’ are in line with current policy;
Children’s Behaviour – we promote safe and happy behaviours and lifestyles. This is embedded in our curriculum and our three school rules of 'Ready Respectful Safe'
Premises – we keep children safe in our environment and ensure it is fit for purpose;
Curriculum – we provide positive learning experiences and we teach children how to keep themselves safe. Our curriculum is enhanced by visits from other people who keep us safe e.g. emergency services, NSPCC
E-Safety – The online world is a necessity for many children for learning and it delivers huge benefits as well as a fantastic way to stay connected to family and friends. However, many parents may feel concerned about the content their children are accessing.At Sutton CP School our children are taught about the importance of online safety as part of our computing and PSHCE curriculum. We work with a number of professional organisations (NSPCC, safer internet.org) to ensure that adults and children are up to date with the latest advice and expertise. We also operate a robust filtering and monitoring system for all our on-site computing use. We use filtering systems to protect children accessing from potentially harmful content on our school hardware. We also have robust monitoring system that can alert our safeguarding team if a child types anything that might be unsafe.
Further details of out E-safety approach can be seen in our E-safety policy.
Outside School – we work in collaboration with others to ensure that children work in safe environments and participate in safe activities when out of school.
We participate in the Growing Up In North Yorkshire Survey and use this to help us support our children and families more effectively.
Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
All staff have an up-to-date understanding of safeguarding children issues and are able to implement the safeguarding policy and procedures in line with guidance issued in Keeping Children Safe In Education.
Staff are able to respond appropriately to any:
- significant changes in a pupil’s behaviour; deterioration in general well-being;
- unexplained marks, bruising or signs of possible abuse;
- signs of neglect;
- comments pupils make which may give cause for concern;
All staff are aware of the need to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
Further details can been seen in our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.
Information Sharing
We have an obligation to collect necessary information from parents and carers in advance of a pupil being admitted to school including:
- emergency contact numbers;
- the child’s special dietary requirements;
- the child’s special health requirements;
- information about who has the legal contact with the child and parental responsibility for the child.
Written parental permission is requested, at the time of the child’s admission to the provision, to the seeking of any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment in the future.
PARENTS AND CARERS MUST NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY OF ANY CHANGES TO THESE DETAILS.
How we use your data is described in the attached policy.
Links with External Agencies
Our first concern must be the well-being of the pupil. There may be some occasions where we liaise with other agencies before we contact parents. The procedures we follow have been laid down in accordance with the Local Authority Child Protection Procedures.
Other agencies we work with include the prevention service, community police, social services, CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), educational psychologists etc. and specialists who support pupils with specific needs.
Please request our complaints policy if you have any comments or complaints about our safeguarding procedures.
Review of Policy and Practice
Our policies and practice are reviewed at least annually to incorporate the latest statutory guidance and Department of Education information.
Outside School Hours
Should you have any concerns outside of school hours, then you should report them to the North Yorkshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Screening Team, please call 0300 131 2131. Additional information about making a referral can be found on their website by clicking here.
We follow the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (NYSCP) procedures and use CPOMS to record concerns and disclosures.
Parents and carers can also visit the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership website for more advice and information: NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk).
Or call NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
For pupils, the NSPCC Childline number is 0800 1111.
We aim to maintain a positive relationship with all parents. The school will, in most circumstances, endeavour to discuss all concerns with parents about their child/ren. However, there may be exceptional circumstances when the school will discuss concerns with Social Care and/or the Police without parental knowledge (in accordance with Child Protection procedures)
Prevent Duty
As part of Sutton In Craven Community Primary School’s ongoing safeguarding and child protection duties, we are fully behind the government’s Prevent Strategy. From 1 July 2015 all schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent Duty for Schools.
At Sutton In Craven Community Primary School, we build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling our pupils to challenge extremist views. The statutory guidance refers to the importance of Prevent Awareness Training to equip staff to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas, and we constantly participate in training, so our knowledge is up to date.
Our school is part of Operation Encompass.
Operation Encompass is a national police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse, and which is in place in every police force in England and Wales.
Children were recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right in the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act.
Operation Encompass means that the police will share information with our school about all police attended Domestic Abuse incidents which involve any of our children PRIOR to the start of the next school day.
The Designated Safeguarding Lead has completed the Operation Encompass Key Adult training and they will cascade the principles of Operation Encompass to all other school staff and governors.
North Yorkshire Duty Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
The North Yorkshire Duty LADO can be contacted on 01609 533080 should you wish to speak to somebody in relation to managing an allegation against a member of staff or a volunteer who works in North Yorkshire with children. please contact the relevant area LADO. For more information go to NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk)
Useful Websites
NSPCC Pants
Talk PANTS helps children understand that their body belongs to them, and they should tell someone they trust if anything makes them feel upset or worried. A really useful website to help you start the conversation with your child.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/
North Yorkshire Safeguarding
The North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (NYSCP) provides advice and guidance to parents and carers on a variety of subjects, including bereavement, online safety and what to do if you are worried about a child.
https://www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/parents-carers/
Childnet International
Childnet parents and carers page – information, advice and resources for parents and carers on a wide range of topics affecting children and young people online. They also have excellent resources about how to have a conversation about the online world with your child, how to set up parental controls, create a family agreement and what to do if you are worried about a child.
https://www.childnet.com/
Thinkuknow
This site has information for parents and carers and games for children of different ages to help them to learn about online safety. CEOP Education (thinkuknow.co.uk)
