School Safety

The staff take the safety of the children very seriously indeed, especially as we have a large site. Parents can be reassured that the safety of our children is our top priority through what we do, and not just what we say.

Attendance

We have robust procedures for checking that all children who should be in school are present. Parents who do not notify us that their child will be absent can expect a call from us, so please help us ensure we know where your child is by contacting us as soon as possible if your child is unwell.

Site Security

Keeping the balance between being a welcoming, friendly school and maintaining a secure environment for children can be a challenge, but once parents have handed their child into our care, we want them to feel at ease, knowing that their child is safe. Our site manager ensures the gates are locked once the children are in school, and we have an electronic security system on all external doors. Our children know that they should never open an external door to anyone, even their own parents, as only authorised staff are permitted to do so.

Fire Safety

We have an up-to-date fire safety report and have addressed all the required improvements. Evacuation procedures are practised regularly at random times during the school day, and even our youngest children are proficient at exiting the building calmly.

Safer Recruitment

Key staff and governors have been thoroughly trained to ensure that nationally accredited guidance is followed when any new appointments are being made. All adults involved in school life are checked in line with our statutory responsibilities.

DBS Checks

There are three levels of DBS check: Standard, Enhanced, and Enhanced with Barred List.

  • Standard DBS Check: Standard certificates reveal details of any convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings the applicant has received.

  • Enhanced Disclosure: This includes the same information as the Standard check, plus any additional information held by local police that is reasonably considered relevant to the workforce being applied for (adult, child or ‘other’ workforce). An ‘other’ workforce refers to those who do not work with children or adults specifically, but potentially both (e.g. taxi drivers). In this case, the police will only release information that is relevant to the post being applied for.

  • Enhanced Disclosure with Barred List Check: This includes all the information normally included in an Enhanced Disclosure, but also identifies whether the person is barred from working in regulated activity with the group they are applying to work for—for example, whether they are barred from working with children.

Risk Assessments

The school has an updated register of assessments against a variety of risks, both on- and off-site. Prior to children going off-site, staff must complete a risk assessment.

This school believes that it is always unacceptable for a child to experience abuse of any kind. We recognise our responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children.

  • We will provide staff and volunteers with guidance to follow when they suspect a child may be experiencing abuse or is at risk of harm.
  • We will work cooperatively with other agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

  • We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents/carers first—unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.

Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mike Goodall

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Donna Waterall

Designated Lead for Mental Health: Kirsti Goodall

Child Sexual Exploitation Lead: Mike Goodall

Prevent Lead: Mike Goodall

Designated Teacher for CLA and Previously CLA: Mike Goodall

Governor with Responsibility for Child Protection: Gemma Brown

Off Site Visits

We believe children should have as many off-site opportunities as possible. However, we have trained Educational Visits Coordinators so that staff and parents can feel confident that all visits are carefully researched and prepared for.

Operation Encompass

Domestic abuse has been identified as an Adverse Childhood Experience that can lead to emotional, physical and psychological harm. Our school is linked with Operation Encompass, which directly connects the police with schools to enable us to support children who are subject to, or witness, police-attended incidents of domestic abuse. Information is shared by the police with the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) prior to the start of the next school day after officers have attended a domestic abuse incident.