At Elsworth Church of England (VA) Primary, we take our Safeguarding responsibilities very seriously. This means that we ensure that everyone working in our school has successfully completed the necessary clearances to enable them to work with children.
We have two staff members who are specifically trained and nominated as the Designated Child Protection Officer/Safeguarding Leads within school. Our named persons are Mrs Elizabeth Bennett, Headteacher, Mrs Mandie Thomas, Deputy Headteacher and Miss Katy Barker, all of whom have completed the Cambridgeshire accredited two day child protection training. Mrs Bennett & Mrs Thomas has also completed the Cambridgeshire accredited safer recruitment training. We also have a named safeguarding Governor who is Mrs Hannah Holland.
If you have any concerns, no matter how small they may seem, about the safety or welfare of any child, please contact the school’s Designated Safeguarding Team.
Safeguarding Children
Under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 (as amended), schools must make arrangements in place 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 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Children Partnership Board’s procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Parents/carers should know 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 Designated 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 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.
Please take the time to read our safeguarding policies and do not hesitate to contact the school should you have any questions.