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Safeguarding
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has an important role to play in safeguarding children.
School staff are particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children, to prevent concerns from escalating. Schools and their staff form part of a wider safeguarding system for children. At West Ashton C of E Primary School we are committed to the well-being and safety of all our children and we will always adopt a sensitive and caring approach to support them and their families.
What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Safeguarding means:
- protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
- preventing harm to children’s health or development ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
- taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.
What is Child Protection?
Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.
Safeguarding at West Ashton C of E Primary School
At West Ashton C of E Primary School we work to our values to ensure that every child, regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation, has a right to equal protection from harm.
Mrs Sandra Meehan is the West Ashton C of E Primary School Safeguarding link Academy Councillor and works with the school safeguarding team to support and sustain a safe and child-centred culture across all our school.
Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Alex Blake-Thwaite
- Email: head@westashton.wilts.sch.uk
- Telephone number: 01225 754354
- Out of school hours or non-term time: head@westashton.wilts.sch.uk
- Out of hours Children/Students can seek support via Childline on 0800 1111. The phone call is free and it is a confidential helpline.
Click here to see our safeguarding policies
Early Help Offer
We have a strong culture of safeguarding: children know they are valued and will be listened to. We appreciate the importance of early help in our safeguarding duty, and we aim to recognise families and children who may benefit from early intervention and put this in place in a timely manner.
We ensure that our children get the support that they need, at the time that they need it. This keeps them safe and, ultimately, enables them to thrive and learn so they can aspire, believe and celebrate. You can read more information about our early help offer in the document below.
Early Help Offer and Procedure
Operation Encompass
Our school receives information from Wiltshire Police in the event of any of our pupils experiencing or witnessing domestic violence or abuse.
This information is shared as part of Wiltshire Police’s ‘Operation Encompass’ programme, aiming to ensure schools can offer support to these pupils when needed.
Wiltshire Police aim to share this information with us before the next school day, following a domestic incident, so that we can be ready to support the pupil on their arrival to school.
Wiltshire Police also confirm with school whether or not the pupil is aware of the incident, so that decisions can be made around whether or not explicit or more discreet support can be offered.
In the event of an incident taking place outside of Wiltshire, the relevant Police Force dealing with the situation will pass the information to Wiltshire Police, who will then inform school via Operation Encompass.
Response to reports of sexual harrassment, harmful sexual behaviour & sexual violence
The whole school approach is clear - there is zero-tolerance to sexual harassment, harmful sexual behaviour and sexual violence. It is never acceptable and will not be tolerated.
The school has a clear set of values and standards, these are underpinned by the behaviour policy.
All staff know to report all incidents as a safeguarding concern to the Safeguarding Lead.
The flow chart below shows the response when a report is received.
Response to reports of sexual violence, harmful sexual behaviour and sexual harassment
Prevent Duty
The aim of the Prevent strategy is to reduce the threat to the UK from terrorism by stopping people being drawn into terrorism.
We are required to take a risk-based approach to the Prevent duty, under paragraph 14 of the Home Office’s statutory guidance.
The West Ashton CE Primary School Prevent duty risk assessment demonstrates our awareness of the specific risks of extremism and radicalisation in our school and our area.
If you have concerns about a child
If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. The Police will assess the situation and take the appropriate action to protect the child.
If you are a parent or another adult who has concerns about the safety of one of our children/students, please contact Mrs Alex Blake-Thwaite, our Designated Safeguarding Lead.
If the child is not at immediate risk, contact your local child protection services. Their contact details can be found on the website for the local authority the child lives in. Wiltshire Integrated Front Door Service can be contacted on: 0300 4560108 8.45am- 5pm, out of hours 0300 456 0100.
Many people worry, “What if I am wrong?” but if we take a child-centred approach to safeguarding, we should all be asking, “What if I am right?” By raising a concern, you could be protecting not just one child, but future children. Whenever you are worried, whether it’s a big or little worry, always tell someone who can help.
In England, the Department for Education is the government sector responsible for all child protection policy. On a local level, local safeguarding partners such as the police, the local authority and designated safeguarding groups are in charge of managing any complaints or issues and ensuring that the principles of the Children Act are upheld.
