Cheveley C of E Primary School
Dream Believe Work Achieve
Safeguarding
Under the Education Act 2002 (section 175/157), schools must “make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children”.
We will endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued.
The school will therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the Safeguarding Children Board procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection. The school ensures that all staff attend Safeguarding Training and receive regular updates. School Leaders ensure that there are processes in place to equip staff and volunteers with the knowledge and understanding to act on any concerns and remain vigilant to any contextual safeguarding changes emerging signs and indicators, particularly in relation to online safety.
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information that gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The school should make parents/carers aware that records of safeguarding concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies.
Local procedures state that “Consent should always be sought from an adult with parental responsibility for the child / young person before passing information about them to Children’s Social care, unless seeking consent would place the child at risk of significant harm or may lead to the loss of evidence, for example, destroying evidence of a crime or influencing a child about a disclosure made”. This includes allowing them to share information without consent, if it is not possible to gain consent, if it cannot be reasonably expected that a professional gains consent, or if to gain consent would place a child at risk.
Where there is a need to share special category personal data, the Data Protection Act 2018 contains ‘safeguarding of children and individuals at risk’ as a processing condition that allows professionals to share information.
In accordance with legislation and local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service. In all circumstances, the safety of the child will be the paramount concern.
Schools will contact Children’s Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Safeguarding Lead) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.
Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, any person who has care of a child “may….do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” a child in school whilst Social Care and the Police investigate any concerns further.
The Safeguarding Leads in school have a responsibility on a daily basis to:
• Make sure all staff are aware of how to raise safeguarding concerns
• Ensure all staff understand the symptoms of child abuse and neglect
• Refer any concerns to social care
• Monitor children who are the subject of child protection plans
• Maintain accurate and secure child protection records
The role of the Designated Safeguarding Governor is to help ensure that safeguarding is effective within a school, not to carry out the work of the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Key aspects of the role are to:
• Understand the safeguarding requirements
• Support the work of the Designated Safeguarding Lead
• Report back to the Governing Body about how effective safeguarding is
• Check that the school is compliant with statutory guidance
• Check out whether there is a consistency in safeguarding across the whole school
• Make sure that there are effective systems in place to keep vulnerable children safe.
The Prevent Duty
Section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 places a duty on schools prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.
This is known as the Prevent strategy, which aims to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people from becoming radicalised, supporting terrorism, or becoming terrorists.
As a school therefore, we have to ensure we understand any risks of radicalisation and take steps to minimise any such risks.
We have a wide range of policies relating to keeping children safe and promoting their welfare. In addition, we teach a broad and balanced curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life. This includes promoting community cohesion and British values. Our curriculum ensures children learn right from wrong, mix and share with other children and value other’s views, know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and challenge negative attitudes and stereotypes.
For further details about how we are fulfilling our duties under the Prevent strategy, please see our Action Plan.
At Cheveley C of E Primary School, its staff, volunteers, and providers are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and we expect all those who come into contact with our school to share this commitment.
If you are concerned about a child, please contact:
Designated Safeguarding Lead & Domestic Violence Lead & Prevent Lead: Mrs Stacey Kendall
Deputy Safeguarding Lead : Mrs Patricia Highton
Safeguarding Governor: Rev Dr Naomi Wormell
E-Safety Lead: Mrs Stacey Kendall
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy 2023
Get In Touch
Please contact the school office for any enquiries.
Contact: Mrs H Whybrow
School Business Manager
Cheveley C of E Primary School
Park Road, Cheveley
Newmarket,
Suffolk CB8 9DF
Telephone: 01638 730273
Email: office@cheveley.cambs.sch.uk