Safeguarding
At St Mary of Charity we operate a culture of safety where Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils is our first priority. We undertake annual training to ensure all staff understand and implement school policies and procedures linked to keeping our children safe. All staff proactively promote children's welfare and are committed to listening to children and developing our partnership with parents. This includes following safer recruitment and vetting, having statutory policies linked to Safeguarding (which includes Child Protection and an understanding of the Prevent Duty). Wider policies link to the acceptable use of technology (e-safety), Equality and Diversity and a staff handbook that sets out clear expectations for all staff, including how to whistle-blow. As a school community we all have a responsibility to safeguard out children and below are a range of policies and procedures to support this.
Registration
Children should be in class by 8.45am each school day for registration. If your child is absent from school you MUST report this to the school office via telephone, email or using the MCAS APP by 9am on each day of absence staring the reason for absence and the approximate day of return. If you fail to inform the school of your child's absence we will contact all known persons linked to your child's profile and also carry out a home visit the same day. This may result in us requesting a Police Welfare check.
Entrances and exits
Visitors are required to report to the office before entering the school where they are signed in and given an identification badge. They MUST wear this with a visitor lanyard at all times whilst on school site. Visitors must also sign out upon leaving.
All visitors will be asked if they hold a valid DBS certificate and will be expected to produce photographic ID when visiting the school. We have the right to refuse entry to anyone who is unable to provide evidence of who they are.
Children leaving school during and at the end of the school day
If your child needs to leave during the school day (to attend a Doctors appointment for example) they must be signed out of the school by the person collecting them. This is then recorded on our register. We have the right to request evidence of appointments.
If the adult collecting a child changes, the office must be informed, where possible, at least an hour before pick up, in order that the class teacher can be made aware. If the correct adult does not arrive and we have not been informed the child will not be released. This applies at the end of the school day.
Contact
If you have an urgent concern regarding safeguarding please contact the following members of staff:
Designated Safeguarding Lead - Mrs Rowley-Jones
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead - Mrs Albin
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead - Mrs Ling
Lead Governor for Safeguarding - Reverend Simon Rowlands
Tel 01795 532497
Non urgent matters can be reported via the school office
Tel 01795 532497
Email: office@smcs.aquilatrust.co.uk
The school uses the management system 'BROMCOM' to record safeguarding information.
Please refer to our Child Protection and Safeguarding policies for further information
PREVENT Duty
What is it?
The Prevent strategy aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.
While it remains rare for children and young people to become involved in terrorist activity, young people from an early age can be exposed to terrorist & extremist influences or prejudiced views. As with other forms of safeguarding strategies, early intervention is always preferable. Schools, working with other local partners, families and communities, play a key role in ensuring young people and their communities are safe from the threat of terrorism.
The Prevent strategy identifies that young people are more likely to be vulnerable to violent extremist or terrorist narratives. Schools and colleges have a duty of care to their pupils and staff which includes safeguarding them from the risk of being drawn into terrorism. Being drawn into terrorism includes not just violent extremism but also non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists exploit.
The Governments Prevent Strategy defines extremism as: “Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces”.
For further information about the Prevent strategy please visit:
www.gov.uk/government/policies/protecting-the-uk-against-terrorism/supporting-pages/prevent
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97976/prevent-strategy-review.pdf
British Values
All schools must meet the requirements set out in section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of their pupils. Through ensuring pupils’ SMSC development, schools can also demonstrate they are actively promoting fundamental British values. Actively promoting the values means challenging opinions or behaviours in school that are contrary to fundamental British values. Attempts to promote systems that undermine fundamental British values would be completely at odds with schools’ duty to provide SMSC. The Teachers’ Standards expect teachers to uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school. This includes not undermining fundamental British values.
To find out how we promote British Values at St Mary of Charity Primary School please see our Jigsaw scheme of work.
Ofsted
When assessing the effectiveness of schools, Ofsted inspectors already consider a school’s approach to keeping pupils safe from the risk of radicalisation and extremism, and review the institute’s procedures when it is suspected that pupils are being drawn into extremism or terrorist-related activity.
Prevent can work within both violent and non-violent extremism arenas and can include topics such as hate crime, racism, bullying, online safety and extreme political views.
The Counter Terrorism & Security Act 2015 places Prevent duty on specified authorities to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.
St Mary of Charity Primary School is subject to the Prevent Duty and is expected to demonstrate activity in the following areas:
- Assessing the risk of children being drawn into terrorism
- Demonstrate that they are protecting children and young people from being drawn into terrorism by having robust safeguarding policies.
- Ensure that their safeguarding arrangements take into account the policies and procedures of the Local Safeguarding Children Board.
- Make sure that staff have training that gives them the knowledge and confidence to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism, and to challenge extremist ideas which can be used to legitimise terrorism
- Expected to ensure children are safe from terrorist and extremist material when accessing the internet in school.
Indicators
The early identification of safeguarding risks and subsequent intervention activity to protect and divert people away from the risks of radicalisation is a key element of the Prevent strategy. Following an assessment of Prevent activity within a school or college key indicators may be identified which will require further intervention activity within the location. Indicators may include things such as racist graffiti or comments being made on school premises, extremist content being shared on social media, terrorist or extremist propaganda being shared with students or vulnerable students being influenced by others with extreme views.
Support
Prevent Interventions may take many forms. Police activity can be utilised when delivering intervention activity but more often it is partner agency activity that can be the most effective form of intervention. Individuals who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into any form of extremism that could lead to terrorist related activity may be referred into Prevent for appropriate support.
Channel
Channel is a key element of the Prevent strategy. It is a multi-agency approach to protect people at risk from radicalisation. Channel uses existing collaboration between local authorities, statutory partners (such as the education and health sectors, social services, children’s and youth services and offender management services), the police and the local community to:
- Identify individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism
- Assess the nature and extent of that risk
- Develop the most appropriate support plan for the individuals concerned.
Channel is about safeguarding children and adults from being drawn into committing terrorist-related activity. It is about early intervention to protect and divert people away from the risk they face before illegality occurs.
Channel is one tactical option employed by Prevent and has recently been placed on a statutory footing.
To understand more about the Channel Programme further information can be found here.
Social Media Misuse
Social media is an increasingly influential part of life particularly for young people. It has been identified as an important tool in the sharing of extreme material and extremist groups are actively using social media to inform, share propaganda, radicalise and recruit for their cause. Social media safeguarding is an important element of protecting young people from extremist narratives and Prevent can play an active part in this process. To report any online terrorist related online material visit: www.gov.uk/report-terrorism
Helping my Child
Reporting
Should concerns require support from other agencies there are a number of ways that issues relating to terrorism and extremism can be reported. These include the following:
- Dept for Education Due Diligence & Counter Extremism Group: 020 7340 7264
- Anti Terrorist Hotline: 0800 789 321
- Crime stoppers: 0800 555 111
- Relevant Police force: 101
- www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-activity-to-mi5
- www.gov.uk/report-terrorism
All staff at St Mary of Charity Primary School have completed online safeguarding training as well as training on Prevent and Channel.