At Stockbridge Village Primary School we are vigilant in keeping children safe from harm and are committed to safeguarding our children. All adults, including staff, parents and governors, have a responsibility to safeguard children; any concerns, no matter how small, should be shared with the Designated Safeguarding lead.

If anyone has concerns about a member of staff, these should be reported to Mrs Andrea Curran, or in her absence, Mrs Jan Smyth. If the concern is about Mrs Curran, the concern should be reported to the Chair of Governors, Mrs Sue Dunphy or to Mr Bill Weightman the governor responsible for Safeguarding. Contact details can be found in the school office. Alternatively, contact LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) on 0151 443 3928 or the police on 101.

If a safeguarding issue is not addressed appropriately, any adult can speak directly to the Local Authority MASH Team on 0151 443 2600 or the Police on 101.

The definition of safeguarding, as used in the Children Act 2004 and in the Department for Education guidance document ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’;

• protecting children and learners from maltreatment

• preventing impairment of children’s and learners’ health or development

• ensuring that children and learners are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care

• undertaking that role so as to enable those children and learners to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully.

   

Ensuring the children of Stockbridge Village Primary School feel safe and secure is essential to ensure they are happy in their lives both now and in the future, and to enable them to fully access the education they are entitled to. Stockbridge Village Primary School is committed to this end.

Prevent Strategy

The aim of the Prevent strategy is to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. In the Act this has simply been expressed as the need to “prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. The 2011 Prevent strategy has three specific strategic objectives:

• respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it

• prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support

• work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address.

• Prevent strategy, published by the Government in 2011, is part of our overall counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST.

Curriculum Partners:

We have strong links at our school with Barnardos. This year they are helping us deliver our PHSE curriculum, delivering workshops in years 4 and 5, helping children understand their rights and empowering them to make the right choices in all aspects of their life. Barnardos also came to our school and delivered a whole school assembly on Keeping Safe. We are really proud of this work!

The ‘Real Love Rocks’ campaign…
The Real Love Rocks team is focussed on supporting and equipping young people, parents and professionals to have the confidence and information to chat and raise awareness about child sexual exploitation, healthy relationships and stay safe. At SVP our staff have been trained in how best to deliver these materials to pupils at the right stage of their development.

For more information about ‘Real Love Rocks’, please visit www.barnardosrealloverocks.org.uk.

MALS & KOOTH:

We have worked with MALS and Kooth to provide counselling for children and their families. If this is something you would like to know more about please see Wendy.

Online Safety:

Technology is a wonderful tool and these days it seems that children all have wide access to a range of devices. All of these devices are fun and engage children in a stimulating interactive environment. Used appropriately, they can bring enormous benefits to learning but used inappropriately they can be a risk to children. All adults have a responsibility to support children to make the right choices when online and this is an appropriate time to point out some simple measures that can be applied at home.

Some tips for you to help keep your children safe online

1. Consider locating your computer or mobile devices in a family area where children’s online activity can be monitored or supervised.
2. Talk to your child and ask them to show or even teach you how they use the internet and learn about websites or tools they like to use and why.
3. Make sure your child knows it’s important that they tell an adult they trust if anything happens online that makes them feel scared, worried or uncomfortable.
4. Remind children that they should use the same caution online as they would in the real world. Tell them they should never go to meet someone they have only spoken to online.
5. Install antivirus software, secure your internet connection and use Parental Control functions for computers, mobile phones and games consoles to block unsuitable content or contact.
6. Familiarise yourself with the age limits of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, ooVoo, Instagram etc. There’s an age limit in place for a reason, if you decide to allow your children on to these sites make sure you know how they can protect themselves while using these sites – for example knowing how to set appropriate privacy settings.

Teaching eSafety is an importing part of keeping our children safe and we do this in school using age appropriate resources to demonstrate the risks and how to avoid them. It is very important that children take these messages with them at the end of the school day and are supported when using technology at home. Each and every adult has a responsibility to protect children and this includes when they are on line. Below are a list of websites that you may find useful.

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a type of sexual abuse in which children are sexually exploited for money, power or status.

Children or young people may be tricked into believing they’re in a loving, consensual relationship. They might be invited to parties and given drugs and alcohol. They may also be groomed online.

Some children and young people are trafficked into or within the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation can also happen to young people in gangs.
The ‘Listen to my Story’ campaign…
The Listen to my Story campaign has been developed by Merseyside Police, local councils and third sector agencies throughout the Merseyside area to raise awareness of CSE in our communities and to educate young people, parents/carers, teachers, health professionals and service industry workers as to the signs and vulnerabilities of CSE.

For more information about ‘Listen to my Story’, please visit www.listentomystory.co.uk.

All of our staff have been trained in the signs of CSE. If you are concerned about your child or someone you know let us know – we will be able to help.

Radicalisation and Extremism:

Websites to visit for more information

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

www.thinkuknow.co.uk – Visit the ‘Parent/ Carer’ section and use the ‘Click CEOP’ button to seek advice and report online abuse.

www.saferinternet.org.uk – Advice, guidance and ‘Top Tips’ for both parents/ carer and children can be found on this site.

www.childnet.com – Visit the ‘Know It All’ Section for an interactive guide about online safety.

www.getsafeonline.org – Free up to date Security advice including using complex passwords, privacy settings, safe searching and social networking