An Overview of Safeguarding at St Leonard’s Church of England Primary School

We fully embrace the vision stated in the Church of England’s Vision for Education ‘Deeply Christian Serving the Common Good’ published in July 2016 of educating the whole person and are continuing to build on these principles as set out in Our Hope for a Flourishing Schools System: Deeply Christian, Serving the Common Good’ June 2023.

We incorporate this vision fully in all that we do. This is especially relevant when considering the safeguarding of our whole school community. We aim for our children and members of the wider school community to flourish in all they do and ‘live life in all its fullness’. (John 10:10) As such, we ensure that we recognise our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils and staff.

At St Leonard’s Church of England Primary School, safeguarding is at the heart of our educational ethos. We strive to create a nurturing environment where all our students feel safe, valued, and supported in their learning journey. Our commitment to safeguarding is deeply rooted in the values of our Christian faith and is reflected in every aspect of school life.

Faith

Our Christian faith plays a fundamental role in promoting the safety and well-being of our students. We believe that every child is a unique individual, created in the image of God. Through our Christian teachings, we foster an inclusive and respectful atmosphere where children learn to appreciate the diversity of beliefs and cultures.

Relationships

Building positive relationships is key to ensuring the safety of our students. Our dedicated staff members work tirelessly to develop strong connections with each child, enabling them to feel trusted and valued. By fostering open lines of communication, we encourage our students to share any concerns or worries they may have.

Uniqueness

We celebrate the uniqueness of every child at St Leonard’s. Our curriculum is designed to cater to individual needs and abilities, ensuring that every student receives the necessary support to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Intellect

We are committed to providing a stimulating and enriching educational experience that allows our students to develop their intellectual capabilities to the fullest. By empowering them with critical thinking and problem-solving skills, we equip them with the tools needed to make informed decisions and keep themselves safe in various situations.

Treat

Respect and dignity towards oneself and others are core values we instil in our students. Through a variety of programs and lessons, we promote the understanding of personal boundaries, consent, and respectful relationships, empowering our students to navigate their social interactions with confidence and respect for one another.

Salvation

As a Church of England school, we embrace the concept of salvation through faith in Christ. We believe that faith can provide a source of strength and resilience for our students, supporting their emotional well-being and providing a framework to navigate challenges they may face.

Safeguarding at St Leonard’s Church of England Primary School encompasses faith, relationships, uniqueness, intellect, treating oneself and others with dignity, and the concept of salvation. We are dedicated to providing a safe and inclusive environment where all our students can thrive academically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL) are:

Mr Matthew Gaukroger (DSL)

Mrs Jennifer Entwistle (DDSL)

Mrs Beverley Holmes (DDSL)

Mr Daniel O’Connor (DDSL)

Miss Hayley Dewhurst (DDSL)

St Leonard’s Church of England Primary School Child Protection and Safeguarding 2023 – 2024

Keeping Children Safe In Education 2023

‘It could happen here…’

Safeguarding children is crucial in protecting their immediate safety, but also contributes to their longer-term health and development.

All St Leonard’s staff are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a child, staff should always act in the best interests of the child

Children that experience adversity can be at increased risk of developing mental and physical health difficulties as well as experiencing complex social difficulties over the course of their lives.

Due to the time spent in school and relationships between adults and children, schools are best placed to identify concerns and respond when a child is experiencing difficulties/adversity/impairment/harm.

 

 

What does safeguarding culture look like at St Leonard’s?

• Consistent practice
• Quality staff training
• Mechanisms for hearing pupil voice and listening to it
• Parental engagement/consultation
• Effective and regular curriculum
• Visible
• Challenge behaviour – whole school community
• Effective responses – child centred
• Transparency and accountability
• Effective records to monitor impact
• Consultation with all stakeholders
• Strategic and active governor (or equivalent) input
• Knowing policies – working framework regularly reviewed and responding to need

 

What is CPOMS?

 

CPOMS is the market leading software application for monitoring child protection, safeguarding and a whole range of pastoral and welfare issues. Working alongside a school’s existing safeguarding processes, CPOMS is an intuitive system to help with the management and recording of child protection, behavioural issues, bullying, special educational needs, domestic issues and much much more. Using CPOMS, schools can ensure that students are safe and fully supported, whilst school staff can focus on teaching and providing support, instead of administration.

Every member of staff across St Leonard’s has an obligation to report any concerns which they may have. CPOMS allows them to record information in a central repository and have relevant people alerted immediately. Senior leaders are able to build a chronology around a student and can produce reports on vulnerable pupil groups for Case Conference Meetings, Governors and Ofsted at the touch of a button.

Digital Safety – National Online Safety

Online safety is top class for St Leonard’s Primary School

 

Online-Safety Policy 2023-2024

Social Media Policy 2023 to 2024

 

About National Online Safety

National Online Safety are a multi-award winning provider of CPD accredited courses and educational resources which help to support schools in their online safety provision. We equip school leaders, staff, parents and pupils with the knowledge they need to understand online dangers by adopting a ‘whole school approach’ towards online safety, with a belief that safeguarding children online does not stop at the school gates.

Our Certified Schools Membership responds to current DfE statutory policy around online safety, including the revised ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance, which came into effect in September 2021. The package includes award-winning online safety e-learning, resources and updates for the whole school community, including designated roles, teachers, non-teaching staff governors, pupils and parents/carers.

For Parents

Parents are able to also sign up to National Online Safety website. This will enable them to access webinars and resources to assist parents to improve their knowledge and understanding to in turn be able to support their children.

National Online Safety provides teachers, children and parents a range of different resources and knowledge that we need to understand online dangers and how best to react if an incident arises. By clicking the link , you can sign up for National Online Safety and access to a number of different training sessions, webinars and leaflets

Access User Policies 2023-2024

New technologies have become integral to the lives of children and young people in today’s society, both within schools / academies and in their lives outside school. The internet and other digital information and communications technologies are powerful tools, which open up new opportunities for everyone. These technologies can stimulate
discussion, promote creativity and stimulate awareness of context to promote effective learning. They also bring opportunities for staff to be more creative and productive in their work. All users should have an entitlement to safe access to the internet and digital technologies at all times.

St Leonard’s will try to ensure that staff and volunteers will have good access to digital technology to enhance their work, to enhance learning opportunities for students learning and will, in return, expect staff and volunteers to agree to be responsible users.

.AUP – STAFF GOVERNORS VOLUNTEERS 2023-2024

AUP-Pupil Symbol-2023-2024

AUP-KS1 Pupil-2023-2024

AUP-KS2 Pupil-2023-2024

AUP-Parents-2023-2024

AUP-Visitors Contractors and Outside Agencies-2023-2024

Netsweeper Onguard

Starting September 1st, 2023, the UK Department for Education (DfE) will be introducing changes to the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance. This statutory guidance applies to all children under the age of 18 and details both the legal (“must” do) requirements and best (“should” do) practices for safeguarding in schools. This document is periodically updated to ensure it remains current and comprehensive.

There are four significant changes related to required online filtering and monitoring software used by schools to monitor students’ website visits or attempted visits, as outlined in the updated KCSIE guidance: 

1. DSLs now have a responsibility for “understanding the filtering and monitoring systems and processes in place” as part of their remit (p. 28, para. 103)
2. Governing bodies should ensure that all staff undergo safeguarding and child protection training. It should give them “an understanding of the expectations, applicable roles and responsibilities in relation to filtering and monitoring” (p. 32, para. 124)
3. A school’s child protection policy should include how it approaches ‘appropriate filtering and monitoring on school devices and school networks.’ (p. 36, para. 138)
4. Schools and colleges should consider meeting the DfE’s new Filtering and Monitoring Standards (p. 37, para. 142) and Cyber Security Standards (p. 38, para. 144)

Netsweeper’s hybrid deployment capabilities ensure that St Leonard’s remain compliant with all regulations while delivering consistent and reliable filtering across various devices and platforms and ensuring a safe and secure online environment for students. In fact, Netsweeper’s products align well with all UK Safer Internet Centre recommendations and allow for seamless implementation and management of filtering policies, while providing schools with a robust solution that effectively safeguards students from harmful and inappropriate content. 

OnGuard provides a real-time monitoring and alerting safeguarding services. This valuable tool will aid schools and designated safeguarding leads to meet the online safeguarding criteria in the DfE’s Keeping Children Safe in Education report (KCSIE).

At Padiham St Leonard’s our Filtering and Monitoring for Mr Matthew Gaukroger, Mrs Beverley Holmes, Mr Adam Duerden (T2 Computer Services) and Lancashire Education Digital Services.

Lancashire Continuum of Need and Thresholds

The Lancashire Continuum of Need (CON) provides help and guidance to practitioners at all levels, working in the statutory, public, voluntary and independent sectors, who work with children, young people and their families. It allows practitioners to identify levels of need and risk through the use of indicators related to outcomes. The CON also supports practitioners in determining how their service can best support and work alongside children, young people and their families by providing guidance as to what assessment and planning procedures to follow at each level to meet or prevent the escalation of need and support deescalation from statutory services.

Level 1 – UNIVERSAL

Children and young people who make good overall progress in most areas of development and receive appropriate universal services, such as health care and education. They may also use leisure and play facilities, housing or voluntary sector services.

Level 2 – UNIVERSAL PLUS

Children and young people whose needs require some extra support. Support at this level could be through a single agency assessment or early help plan, coordinated by the service who knows the child/young person and family best. A multi-agency meeting to share information and agree a plan to support the child/young person and family is helpful.

What does Level 2 (Universal Support) look like at St Leonard’s?

Pastoral Team

Mr Daniel O’Connor

• Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)
• Mental Health First Aider
• Drawing and Talking
• National Autistic Society’s SPELL Framework
• Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
• Brook Traffic Light Tool

Miss Hayley Dewhurst

• Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)
• Drawing and Talking
• National Autistic Society’s SPELL Framework
• DOVE Self-Esteem Mentor
• Brook Traffic Light Tool

Miss Lauren Shirtcliffe

• Mental Health First Aider
• Drawing and Talking

Miss Bethany Gallaher

• Mental Health First Aider
• Drawing and Talking

Miss Vanessa Meeks:

• Mental Health First Aider
• Drawing and Talking
• DOVE Self-Esteem Mentor

 

Children and Family Wellbeing Service

The Children and Family Wellbeing Service (CFW) offers a wide range of support across the 0-19yrs+ age range (25 years for SEND) with a ‘whole family’ approach.

The service identifies as early as possible when a child, young person or family needs support, helping them to access services to meet their needs, working with them to ensure the support offered is right for them, is offered in the right place, and at the right time.

 

Family HUB Network

The Family Hubs Network, where support for families is available both in person and online across all 12 districts of Lancashire. A Family Hub is a place where children, young people and their families can access support. We work with partner organisations like the NHS or schools to provide you with the help you need, without having to repeat yourself to lots of different people.

Burnley Tay Street Family Hub (Tay Street Family Hub, 21 Tay Street, BB11 4BU – Tel: 01282 470891)

 

Burnley Tay Street Family Hub – What’s On Guide

Burnley Family Hubs Professionals Timetable

Mental Health Support Team

Evidence based interventions, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), creative problem solving for children and young people with mild to moderate mental health conditions including anxiety, depression/low mood, sleep problems, panic attacks, specific phobias and behavioural and emotional regulation

The team’s ambition is to provide an early, evidence based intervention when young people experience a mental health problem. Any concerns regarding a child or young person needs to be raised with the senior mental health practitioner who covers the young person’s school. When the request for support is accepted an initial assessment is arranged either via the Attend Anywhere digital platform, or, if available, in a safe and confidential area within the school. Parents are often contacted to assist with the assessment. To support primary school children our teams will look at the best way to meet a young child’s needs, for example: children’s group sessions or parent sessions.

 

FreeFlow Counselling

Freeflow Counselling Service is based in Burnley, Lancashire, and has been a registered charity since 1997. Freeflow is run by a team of counsellors committed to offering a professional and confidential service in a safe and supportive environment.

We are a team of approachable, professional and sensitive counsellors offering a wide range of counselling approaches to provide the right support for you. We share a personal commitment and an ethical responsibility to practice to the highest professional standards in the field. Having worked collectively for many years with a diverse range of client issues we strongly believe that Psychotherapy & Counselling can help individuals understand and work through painful and seemingly overwhelming issues. Whatever your concerns, Freeflow can help you discover new directions and a more positive way of enriching your life.

NEST Lancashire

Nest Lancashire has been set up to support young people aged 5 to 18 (and to 25 for anyone who has learning needs) who have been impacted by crimes. We are a charity, you can talk to us in confidence, and all of our services are free of charge. Our aim is to help you recover from whatever it is you have experienced and our trained, friendly staff will be able to help you move forward and feel safe again.

 

The Lancashire Healthy Young People and Families 0-19 Service

On behalf of Lancashire County Council and the NHS, Lancashire Healthy Young People & Families Service (provided by HCRG Care Group) provide a range of child and family services throughout Lancashire that are free at the point of delivery. We provide Health Visiting services, health advice (from antenatal through to the first 5 years of your child’s life) and School Nursing Services for 5 to 19-year-olds (to age 25 for SEND). This includes advising on healthy growth and care, breastfeeding, providing help with common health problems and working with other professionals to support young families and carers.

Community Learning Disability Service

Our learning disability service is suitable for all ages because we recognise that some people with learning disabilities require support for the whole of their lives. However, we also recognise that the needs of adults are different to the needs of children and young people. Therefore, there are two separate specialisms within the All Age Service. The team have extensive experience in the health needs of people who have a learning disability and the health inequalities they can face.

Level 3 – INTENSIVE

Children and young people whose needs are more complex, in range, depth or significance. A number of these indicators would need to be present to indicate need at Level 3. More than one service is involved in an early help plan, with a named lead professional co-ordinating multi-agency support.

Level 4 – SPECIALIST

Children and young people who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm or whose needs are complex and enduring and cross many domains. More than one service is normally involved, with a co-ordinated multi-agency approach and a Lead Professional usually under the statutory framework of Child in Need (Children Act 17)  or Child Protection (Children Act 47).

In a world where you can be anything – be a Mr Pigden!

 

Operation Encompass

The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in or witness to a domestic abuse incident. Domestic abuse impacts on children a numbers of ways. Children are at increased risk of physical injury during an incident, either by accident or because they attempt to intervene. Even when not directly injured, children are greatly distressed by witnessing the physical and emotional suffering of a parent.

Operation Encompass has been created to address this situation. It is the implementation of key partnership working between the police and schools. The aim of sharing information with local schools is to allow ‘Key Adults’ the opportunity of engaging with the child and to provide access to support that allows them to remain in a safe but secure familiar environment.

Following the report of an incident of domestic abuse, by 9:00am on the next school day the school’s Key Adult will be informed that the child or young person has been involved in a domestic incident. This knowledge, given to schools through Operation Encompass, allows the provision of immediate early intervention through silent or overt support dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child.

At Padiham St Leonard’s our Key Adult is Mr Matthew Gaukroger, Mrs Jennifer Entwistle and Mrs Beverley Holmes.

Op-Encompass-Awareness-Letter

Prevent strategy?

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence. Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice?

Many of the things we already do in our school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy.

These include:

• Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity and tolerance
• Challenging prejudices and racist comments
• Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
• Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy.

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils. We will carry out our Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of our community.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Prevent relate to British values?

Schools have been required to promote British values since 2014, and this will continue to be part of our response to the Prevent strategy. British values include:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty and mutual respect
• Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs
• Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?

The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. Our School will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others. We will give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.

KEY TERMS

Extremism – vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values such as democracy, the rule of law and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Ideology – a set of beliefs

Terrorism – a violent action against people or property, designed to create fear and advance a political, religious or ideological cause

Radicalisation – the process by which a person comes to support extremism and terrorism