Safeguarding

The Safeguarding Team at South Marston CE Primary School

Here at South Marston CofE Primary, we take seriously our responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of the children and young people in our care.

Safeguarding is described by the NSPCC as the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. This is a top priority for everybody at South Marston CE Primary School. We are strongly committed to protecting and safeguarding children and expect all staff and volunteers to uphold this commitment.

Safeguarding means:

· protecting children from maltreatment;

· preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development;

· ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and

· taking action to enable all children 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.

At South Marston we believe that Safeguarding is everybody's responsibility. We have a dedicated Safeguarding Team who oversee the Safeguarding procedures across the school. All South Marston staff, volunteers, students on placement and the Academy Council all receive regular training and updates throughout the academic year.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Marie Hendry, who works in line with the requirements of the role as set out in Annex B of Keeping Children Safe In Education Sept 2021.

Our Deputy DSL is Mr Mason Conlan. He works alongside Mrs Marie Hendry and will be available in the absence of the DSL.

Our Chair of Academy Council (Governing Body) is Mrs Alison Robb-Webb.

Where possible, concerns about the safety and well-being of a pupil/ student will be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead, or Deputy DSL, in a timely manner.

If the concern suggests that a pupil/ student is at risk of significant harm or in immediate danger this will be reported to the DSL as a matter of urgency. We will contact parents/carers should safeguarding concerns arise about their child, unless to do so would increase the risk of harm to the child. In this instance, we take further advice and guidance from our children’s social care team.

Duty of Care

All staff at South Marston have a duty of care to report concerns when they arise. If a member of staff has a concern about a child, they will report it to the Designated Safeguarding or the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead. Parents and carers will be informed of such concerns unless to do so would increase the risk to the child.

A written record of any concern will be kept on file and shared with other Safeguarding professionals as necessary. Written records and any other documentation related to Safeguarding will be transferred to the children's new schools when they leave South Marston. South Marston CE Primary will not keep copies of any documents transferred to new schools. We work in line with the DfE statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe In Education’ and follow the information-sharing guidance included in this document and in ‘Information-sharing : advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers.’

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024

NSPCC Safeguarding Children and Child Protection

NSPCC Child Protection in the UK

Swindon Safeguarding Partnership

Prevent Duty Guidance 2023