Safeguarding and Child Protection AT BLUEBERRY PARK
Welcome to our Safeguarding section of the website.
At Blueberry Park Primary School we recognise the terms ‘child protection’ and ‘safeguarding’ are often used interchangeably, however they have very different meanings.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
- Protecting children from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
- Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
Child protection is a part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. This refers to the activity which is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are at risk of suffering, significant harm.
aT BLUEBERRY PARK We are committed to:
- Always acting in the best interests of the child, ensuring their views and wishes are heard and acted upon
- Safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. This is a shared responsibility within our school and together with all partner agencies.
- Working with partner agencies to safeguard children by adhering to Local Safeguarding Children Board policies and procedures and national guidance, particularly the LSCB responding to needs framework/levels of need guidance. We will contribute to effective holistic assessments of the child and family to ensure better outcomes for children.
- Working in partnership with other agencies to provide early help in keeping with the statutory guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education (DFE) and Working Together to Safeguard Children (DFE). Schools are well placed to promote early help and undertake early help assessments with other agencies before children’s needs escalate to a point where a statutory referral to Children’s Services is required.
- Providing effective induction of all staff and volunteers, and regular on-going training to ensure all adults can recognise signs and indicators of abuse and harm. Adults working with children are always expected to act in the best interests of the child and understand that, if necessary, anyone can make a referral to Children’s Services.
- Ensuring that safer recruitment practices are adhered to and that we have well understood safeguarding policies and procedures. Our code of conduct for adults will promote safer working practices and a culture of vigilance and challenge.
- Challenging ourselves and multi-agency partners to ensure actions to improve outcomes for children are completed in a timely way.
- Quality assuring our practices and specifically completing any actions arising from the Local Authority’s 175 safeguarding audit. Governors and school leaders will quality assure all safeguarding practices, including maintaining support and oversight through effective supervision of the Designated Safeguarding Lead and safeguarding team, their decisions, actions and record keeping.
- Implementing any learning arising from local and national serious case reviews and other reviews, for example the need to listen and respond to the views and wishes of children, especially when assessing their needs and providing on-going support.
- Providing children with a curriculum which enables them to learn about risk and how to keep themselves safe and maintain happy and healthy relationships. We will provide a listening culture where children have identified adults who they can discuss their concerns with.
Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy
Printed copies of our Safeguarding Policy are also available from the school office. Translations are also available upon request.
TACKLE CHILD ABUSE CAMPAIGN
The Department for Education's 'Tackle Child Abuse' campaign revisits the key message that safeguarding is everybody's responsibility.
Please click on the website link below to learn more:
https://tacklechildabuse.campaign.gov.uk/
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