Safeguarding at St Botolph’s
St Botolph’s C of E Primary School understands the vital importance of safeguarding and child protection. The school follows the DEMAT safeguarding and child protection policy, which includes an appendix related specifically to COVID-19.
Please click below to view our current Safeguarding Policy.
The staff and governors at St. Botolph’s are committed to protecting and safeguarding all our pupils to ensure, as far as possible that they are free from harm. Before confirmation of appointment, all staff (teaching and support), volunteers and governors who apply to work at St. Botolph’s will be subject to a rigorous recruitment process to ensure, as far as possible, their suitability to work with children. References will be taken and they will be required to give evidence of their qualifications and details of previous experience and work history. Checks will be made by the Disclosure and Barring Service. No one will be employed if it is considered that they are unsuitable to work with children.
St. Botolph’s will strive to create a safe environment for the children on roll. The curriculum will therefore be instrumental in preparing children for their future responsibilities as adults. Through the curriculum, children will be helped to understand what is and is not acceptable behaviour towards them. They will be taught about staying safe from harm and the importance of speaking to a member of staff if they have worries or concerns.
The safeguarding and welfare of all children means that there may be times when we consult with colleagues in other agencies if we are concerned about the safety or welfare of a child. This may mean that on occasion we refer our concerns to social services.
Who are the safeguarding team?
'Everyone's responsible'
We have a shared responsibility to report a concern about the safety and well-being of children attending this school. Please speak to any member of staff.
There are 4 Safeguarding Leads for Child Protection at St. Botolph’s Church of England Primary School:-
- Mrs Amelia Wootton, Learning Mentor (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead DDSL)
- Miss Nicky Noble, Deputy Headteacher (Deputy designated Safeguarding Lead DDSL)
- Mr Ashley Knightley, Assistant Headteacher (Deputy designated Safeguarding Lead DDSL)
- Mrs Michelle Smith, Office Administrator (Deputy designated Safeguarding Lead DDSL
- Mrs Rachel Rayner, Headteacher (Designated Safeguarding Lead DSL, Prevent Lead and Designated Teacher)
Please see our safeguarding policy for further useful contacts.
Under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 (as amended), *the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015, and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (as amended) to have 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, neglect and exploitation 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 and exploitation. 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.
Holding Power
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.
* The word ‘school’ is used throughout but this would include all educational settings e.g. Academies, Pupil Referral Units, Further Education establishments and Independent schools.
Useful Links and Resources:
Childline – www.childline.org.uk Tel: 0800111
NSPCC – www.nspcc.org.uk
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership Board
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Support for Children and Young People
