| Introduction |
| The health,
safety and well being of all our children are of paramount importance
to all the adults who work in our school. Our children have the
right to protection, regardless of age, gender, race, culture
or disability. They have a right to be safe in our school. |
| In our
school we respect our children. The atmosphere within our school
is one that encourages all children to do their best. We provide
opportunities that enable our children to take and make decisions
for themselves. |
| Our teaching
of personal, social and health education and citizenship, as
part of the National Curriculum, helps to develop appropriate
attitudes in our children and make them aware of the impact of
their decisions on others. We also teach them how to recognise
different risks in different situations, and how to behave in
response to them. |
| Aims
and objectives |
This
policy ensures that all staff in our school is clear about the
actions necessary with regard to a child protection issue. It
aims are:
- To raise the awareness of all
staff and identify responsibility in reporting possible cases
of abuse.
|
- To ensure effective communication
between all staff when dealing with child protection issues
|
- To lay down the correct procedures
for those who encounter an issue of child protection
|
|
| Procedures |
| There
is a named person in our school who is the Child Protection Co-ordinator.
This is normally the Headteacher but s/he may delegate this responsibility
in some circumstances. |
| If any
teacher suspects that a child in his/her class may be a victim
of abuse, they immediately inform the named person about their
concerns. Abuse can be of a sexual, emotional or physical nature.
It can also be the result of neglect. |
| Any action
that the named person takes when dealing with an issue of child
protection must be in line with the procedures outlined in the
LEA Child Protection guidelines. |
| The schools named
co-ordinator works closely with the Social Services department
and the Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) when investigating
any allegations of abuse. All parties involved handle such investigations
in a sensitive manner, but the interest of the child is paramount
importance. |
| If a child alleges
abuse, the school usually makes a referral without communicating
with parents first. In some circumstances we inform parents first. |
| If a child protection
referral is made, a case conference is held within eight working
days of the decision. The case conference offers the opportunity
to share information and formulate a plan of action. Staff are
expected to attend and participate in all cases conferences and
meetings held under the LEA guidelines. |
| We regard all information
relating to individual child protection issues as confidential,
and we treat this accordingly. We only pass information on to
appropriate persons. We inform the child at all stages of who
is involved, and what information we have given them. |
| We require all adults
employed in school to have their application vetted through police
records in order to ensure that there is no evidence of offences
involving children or abuse. |
| There may be times
when adults in our school, in the course of their duty, use physical
intervention to restrain children. The Headteacher requires the
adult involved in any such incident to report this to him/her
immediately, and to record it in the interventions book. |
| All adults in the
school receive regular training to raise their awareness of abuse
and their knowledge of agreed local child protection procedures. |
| Monitoring and
review |
| The governing body
regularly reviews any incidents detailed in the interventions
book. A named governor participates in the schools training with
regard to the child protection procedures. The governing body
reviews this policy annually. |
