Safeguarding in School
All children have the right to be strong, resilient and listened to, in an environment where they are protected from abuse and harm. The Government guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (September 2023), provides a Framework within education and Working Together to Safeguard Children (December 2023) provides a national framework for all agencies working with children to work in partnership to safeguard children effectively. Schools are expected to have regard to this guidance and to implement a safeguarding children and child protection policy, this outlines our procedures for responding to and recording concerns about children. All school practitioners receive training in child protection matters and have a good awareness of the signs and signals of abuse in children. Having a designated person who is responsible for co‑ordinating child protection procedures ensures that all concerns are addressed promptly and appropriately.
Designated Safeguarding Lead: Sam Robson (Headteacher)
Safeguarding Link Governor: Nitin Shukla
Please find details below of:
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy 2024-2025
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
All adults that have unsupervised access to children in childcare provision must be suitable to do so. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), previously known as CRB, was created to help prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, such as children. Bridgewater obtains criminal records checks (DBS checks) for all adults working with children including volunteers.
NSPCC PANTS RULE
As part of our PSHE lessons we will be discussing the NSPCC PANTS rules. These are designed to teach children how to keep themselves safe from sexual abuse, without giving explicit information or telling scary stories or even using the term “sexual abuse”.
More information about talking PANTS including a short film and a parent guide can be found at www.nspcc.org.uk/pants
Operation Encompass
Operation Encompass is a project that all Newcastle schools and the Local Authority are involved in. It aims to support children who are affected by domestic abuse.
Following any domestic abuse incident reported into Northumbria Police, specialist Police Officers make contact with the school and communicate relevant and necessary information to nominated school staff. This ensures that the school is made aware at the earliest possible opportunity and enables us to provide support in a way that means the child feels safe.
Our school has two members of staff (key adults) who have been fully trained to liaise with the police, when required, and will ensure that necessary support is made available to the child following the disclosure of a domestic abuse incident.
We believe that this project demonstrates the school’s commitment to working in partnership, to safeguard and protect children, and to providing the best possible care and support for our pupils.
You can also find out more information through accessing the following website: https://www.operationencompass.org/
Operation Encompass Key Adults: Jenn Stoker (Deputy Head)
Donna Blacklock (Family Support Officer)
Supporting our Families
All agencies that work with families have a responsibility to work closely together with you to make sure every child and young person has the best possible chance to reach their full potential. Helping children, young people and families is everybody’s business. All agencies that work with children, young people and families are responsible for listening to your concerns and worries and taking the right actions to ensure you and your family get support at an early stage.
Providing early help is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life, from the foundation years through to the teenage years. Early help can also prevent further problems arising.
Effective early help relies upon local agencies working together to:
• identify children and families who would benefit from early help;
• undertake an assessment of the need for early help; and
• provide targeted early help services to address the assessed needs of a child and their family which focuses on activity to significantly improve the outcomes for the child.
In order to achieve this an Early Help Plan may be suggested.
What is an Early Help Plan?
The Early Help Plan is a way of working out what is going well for your family, what extra support your family may need and how best to provide this support. Agencies that may be involved include: Community Family Hub, Health Visitor, School Nurse and school representative who will meet with your family every 5-6 weeks in a Team around the Family (TAF) meeting.
The Early Help Plan is a voluntary agreement which the family give consent for.
E-safety
Technology has become integral to young people’s lives and it is important that they know how to stay safe online and make the most of the opportunities that the internet provides. Whether you are a young person, parent or carer, or working with children, there are lots of resources to help.
Please click on the links below to find resources regarding e-safety.
E-safety at Bridgewater
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/
Promoting Health and Wellbeing
One aspect of safeguarding children, is promoting their good health and wellbeing. High standards of hygiene and cleanliness will help to prevent the spread of infections and illnesses in the provision. At Bridgewater we also have procedures for administering medication and supporting children with medical needs or who appear unwell during the day. In identifying any allergies when children first register, practitioners can prevent contact with allergenic substances.
Named First Aiders: Mrs Laidler, Mrs Harker, Miss Toye, Mrs McCarthy, Miss Duggan and Mrs Gray.
Risk Assessments
Regular risk assessments help to identify aspects of the school environment that need to be checked on a regular basis, decide what should be done to prevent harm and make sure that the relevant actions are taken and updated whenever necessary. Schools are not expected to eliminate all risk – children should be given the opportunity to take appropriate risks – but they must take ‘reasonable precautions’ and ensure that staff are trained and aware of their responsibilities.
Risk Assessment: Adam Beechey (School Business Manager)
