Safeguarding Children

At St Gregory’s School the health, safety and wellbeing of every child is our top priority. We expect all staff, Governors, parent/carers, children and visitors to share this commitment to safeguarding our pupils.

Safeguarding the children at St Gregory’s School is an essential part of our work. Safe, confident, happy children make the most effective learners!

The designated members of staff for safeguarding are:

Designated Safeguarding Lead:

Mrs Jill Farndale, Executive Headteacher

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads:

Mrs Kelly McCall, Executive Deputy Headteacher Mrs Hayley Shears, SENDCO and Inclusion Lead and Mrs Cook-Paine Senior Teacher.

Designated Safeguarding Governor:

Mr Nick Chapman
Designated Teacher for Looked after children

Mrs Hayley Shears

If you have concern surrounding a child’s safety please speak to the above Designated Safeguarding Lead

or

Contact details for: Dorset Family Support and Advice Line  – 01305 228558 

The aim of our Child Protection work is to safeguard and promote our children’s welfare, safety, health and guidance by fostering an honest, open caring and supportive climate.

Their welfare is of paramount importance. St Gregory’s School fully recognises the responsibility it has under the Education Act 2002 and the contribution it can make to protect children and support them in school. All staff involved with children (teaching and non-teaching) have a responsibility to be mindful of issues related to children’s safety and welfare and a duty to report and refer any concerns.

We believe that:

• All children have the right to be protected from harm
• Children need to be safe and to feel safe in school
• Children need support which matches their individual needs, including those who may have experienced abuse
• All children have the right to speak freely and voice their values and beliefs
• All children must be encouraged to respect each other’s values and support each other
• All children have the right to be supported to meet their emotional, and social needs as well as their educational needs – a happy healthy sociable child will achieve better educationally
• Schools can and do contribute to the prevention of abuse, victimisation, bullying, exploitation, radicalisation, extreme behaviours, discriminatory views and risk taking behaviours
• All staff and visitors have an important role to play in safeguarding children and protecting them from abuse. 

Pupil safeguarding and the promotion of fundamental British Values are a core business of our work at St Gregory’s School.  

We have developed an open and safe learning environment in which pupils express their views, seek help and help others, they make use of our class WORRY Monsters/Jars to share concerns with staff as well as knowing they can talk to any of the adults in school. The promotion of equality of opportunity and diversity, for pupils and staff, helps prevent any form of direct or indirect discriminatory behaviour. Our children learn not to tolerate any prejudiced behaviour.  Our Behaviour Policy promotes making good choices and exhibiting good learning behaviours.

 Throughout the curriculum there are planned opportunities to promote all forms of equality and foster greater understanding of and respect for people off all faiths (and those with no faith), races, genders, ages, disability and sexual orientations, through their words, actions and in their influence.  Opportunities are created in a variety of subjects to address areas of safeguarding, for example, themes are highlighted through different text in English lessons.

Whole school assembly time and key stage assembly times are used to promote personal safeguarding matters and explore themes.  For example, we talk about anti-bullying including cyber bullying and British Values including how these values are promoted in our multi-faith society.

We take time at the beginning of every new school year to reaffirm our school core values and golden rules.  This is a good start to the year, with everyone clear on their roles and responsibilities, sets the tone for the rest of the year and leads to excellent safeguarding outcomes.

We plan to constantly challenge children to think deeply about safeguarding matters and their own personal physical and mental wellbeing. We value pupils’ questions and give them space for their own thoughts, ideas and concerns. We give them opportunities across the curriculum to explore values, personal rights, responsibilities and equal opportunities that develop moral concepts that impact positively on safeguarding, promote British values and prevent radicalisation and extremism.

There are many learning opportunities within a school year to explore safeguarding issues.

 Practical safeguarding opportunities are planned into the curriculum.

For example: 

• Our annual safeguarding assembly programme includes - ‘Speak out, Stay Safe’ NSPCC assemblies. Road, fire, sun, water and E-safety and where possible with support from external visitors including the RLNI, Dog’s Trust and other services. Anti-bullying week, Black History month and different religious festivals also feature in our rolling assembly programme.
• Out of school visits and opportunities such as bikeability.
• Water safety is developed further with poolside and water safety through swimming lessons using our own pool.
• Fire awareness is developed further with visits from the local fire service to specified year groups 
• Visitors from charities such as Barnados, NSPCC, the Dogs Trust as well as out Pets as Therapy dogs, to do focused projects
• Online safety quizzes and training are part of our computing curriculum.
• We produce a termly safeguarding update for parents about topical and current safeguarding and e-safety tips and guidance.

Our key safeguarding policies can be found below. For other policies follow the link in the Policies Tab.

Dorset Safeguarding

http://www.dorsetlscb.co.uk/site/

Keeping children safe in education

Kidsmart – http://www.kidsmart.org.uk

Online activities and resources

Thinkuknow – https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk

If you are 5, 6 or 7, there is help for you to go on the internet in a safe way and know who to talk to if you are worried.

You can also find out about Lee & Kim’s adventures or watch Hector and his friends learning to use computers safely!

If you are 8, 9 or 10 you can find out what is good, look at what’s not and find ways to get yourself out of bad situations.

If you are a parent you can find practical tips and simple guidance to keep your children safe

Childnet – https://www.childnet.com

Top tips, games and internet safety information to help young people get the very best out of the internet and stay safe online

Practical advice for parents to help support children and young people in their safe and responsible use of the internet.

New technologies have become integral to the lives of children and young people in today’s society, both within schools and in their lives outside school.

The internet and other digital and information technologies are powerful tools, which open up new opportunities for everyone. Electronic communication helps teachers and pupils learn from each other.

These technologies can stimulate discussion, promote creativity and increase awareness of context to promote effective learning. Children and young people should have an entitlement to safe internet access at all times.

This page has links to e-safety websites that have lots of information about staying safe on the internet for children, parents and all of St Gregory’s community.