Safeguarding

Being Happy Staying Safe

In our academy family, we want all children to be happy and safe. We respect all children and adults and help children to grow in confidence to speak out, be kept safe and to get help when they need it. We do our best to help all children make good progress in their learning. We teach the children how to keep themselves safe in different situations and how to protect themselves.

SAFEGUARDING

Safeguarding our children is our number one priority and empowering children to stay safe is an important part of our curriculum for the children. We empower children to understand how to keep themselves safe. We teach children to understand that their body belongs to them and how to tell an adult if they are worried or upset about something. 

Statutory Duties

Under the Education Act 2002 (section 175/157), schools must ‘make arrangements 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 Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.

Parents and 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. The school will make parents and carers aware that records of welfare concerns may be kept about their child. Parents and carers will be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies. However, in situations where the child is suspected to be at risk of harm, the law says that schools may take advice from other agencies without informing parents and carers.

In accordance with 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.

Schools will seek advice from 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 and carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the 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, schools or 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 or 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.

Here is some recommended reading for parents on positive-parenting. The children and staff have worked together to write a child-friendly Safeguarding Policy. We not only display this around the academy but we review it each year through our Family Groups.

• Ellacombe Safeguarding Policy
• Working Together to Safeguard Children Inter Agency Guidance
• What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused
• Child Friendly safeguarding Poster

What is Safeguarding? 

It is a word you will hear professionals use, but what does it mean? 

Operation ENCompass

Ellacombe Academy participates in the initiative known as Operation Encompass alongside Devon and Cornwall police.  The main focus is to support children who have been exposed to or involved in a domestic abuse incident.

Every school has at least one key adult who will be notified prior to the start of the next school day that police have attended an incident of Domestic Abuse.

The Key adults in our school are Gemma Williams, Tamsin Corline, Alison Helm and Ellie Andrews.

This timely information sharing  enables appropriate support to be provided for that child so that all interactions and provisions  from when the child first arrives at the school gates, are of a positive nature and to negate any difficulties experienced by children or their families.

Operation Encompass Parents Poster

Operation Encompass School-to-Parent-letter

NSPCC Speak out Stay Safe, Special Educational Needs

Speak out. Stay safe. materials for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Additional Support Needs (ASN) and Additional Learning Needs (ALN) schools, units or bases can help your pupils understand what abuse is and provide them with strategies to keep themselves safe.