Safeguarding

Safeguarding is a preventative agenda that helps children to achieve their full potential regardless of negative barriers such as poverty or social exclusion by providing services and support to overcome barriers to achievement.

Stamford Hill recognises that pupils may face many barriers to learning that may affect their prospects in later life. The school will safeguard and promote pupil’s welfare by focusing on preventative actions and services so that all pupils are able to fulfil their potential.

Stamford Hill will work closely with health professionals to monitor pupil’s health and ensure that pupil’s with health needs receive the extra support they need to fully participate in education.

A definition of safeguarding                                                                                                                        

  Safeguarding is a broad agenda and covers the following:

• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
• Ensuring children are growing in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• Enabling children to have optimum life chances so they can enter adulthood successfully

Safeguarding Aims   

Stamford Hill aims to provide a safe learning environment where pupils are:

• Kept safe from accidents whilst at school and during outings
• Protected from maltreatment through the implementation of Haringey Safeguarding Children Board’s Safeguarding procedures and Safe Recruitment practices
• Taught to keep themselves safe via safety messages delivered through the curriculum and other forums
• Taught how to stay safe on-line and report any inappropriate material
• All aware of the adults in school who they can talk to
• Able to feel supported, safe and protected and able to raise concerns

Safety messages will be delivered via the curriculum and pupils will be provided with opportunities to discuss issues they feel are affecting their safety at school and within the community

Safeguarding guidance                                                                                                                                             

We adhere to the following government guidance:

Working together to Safeguard Children (DfE 2015)  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children–2

Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE 2016)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2

Safeguarding Children and Young People (Ofsted 2015) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/446122/Safeguarding_children_and_young_people_and_young_vulnerable_adults_policy.pdf

Safeguarding Children in Early Years Education and Settings (Ofsted 2015)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspecting-safeguarding-in-early-years-education-and-skills-from-september-2015

Staff with Key Responsibilities:

• The Assistant Head Teacher for Inclusion, Wendy Futerman, is the school’s first designated Child Protection and Safeguarding Officer.
• The Head Teacher, Kathy O’Sullivan, is the second designated Child Protection and Safeguarding Officer.
• The Head Teacher has overall responsibility for all aspects of safeguarding within the school.

Safeguarding Leaders

Wendy Futerman – Assistant Headteacher for Pastoral Care and Inclusion, Designated Child Protection Officer

Kathy O’Sullivan – Heateacher, Deputy Child Protection Officer

Rehana Ali – Assistant Headteacher for Attainment and Teaching and Learning, Deputy Child Protection Officer

Samantha Edwards – Assistant Headteacher for EYFS, Deputy Child Protection Officer

Bridget Methuen – Governor responsible for Safeguarding

Key Areas of Safeguarding Responsibilities:

Safeguarding encompasses the following:

• Staff recruitment, vetting, appointment and training
• Volunteers, trainees and visitors to the school
• All aspects of child protection
• Site security and safety, including fire procedures
• Risk assessment of all activities, trips and residential journeys
• E-safety teaching, learning and procedures
• Medical and first aid procedures
• Behaviour, bullying and restraint
• Equalities and discrimination

Staff Recruitment

The school follows the safer recruitment procedures and the Head Teacher and Chair of Governors have undertaken the Safer Recruitment training. Application forms are carefully scrutinised and any education or employment gaps are queried. References and all necessary DBS checks are undertaken in line with recommended good practice and statutory requirements. The school maintains an up to date Single Central Record on all its employees. This is checked by the HT and Chair of Governors termly.

Staff receive a clear induction which includes information on safeguarding and their responsibilities towards ensuring children and all who come into the school are kept safe. All staff should read and familiarise themselves with key policies including – Health and Safety, Child Protection, Behaviour and Bullying.

Staff Training

All staff receive in house training with regard to child protection prior to beginning work with children. The Designated Teacher keeps a record of when staff have been trained, so to ensure this is updated every three years. The Designated Teacher and Deputy receive central training at least every two years. A log of training is kept by the school.

Allegations Against Staff

Any allegations made are referred to the LADO for advice and relevant procedures followed. Should a member of staff leave or be dismissed as a result of safeguarding concerns the school has a legal duty to make a referral to the DBS and failure to do so would be a criminal offence. This referral would be made by the Headteacher or in the case of an allegation against the Headteacher, by the Chair of Governors.

All staff have a duty to ensure any safeguarding issues concerning staff are brought to the Headteacher’s immediate attention.

Volunteers and Visitors

All volunteers and visitors sign in. Volunteers/visitors may not be left unsupervised with any children at any time. Regular volunteers to the school are asked to complete a DBS check.

Child Protection – the school has a separate, detailed and up to date CP policy – this is read and a declaration signed by all staff as part of the in house child protection training.

Site safety – please see our Health and Safety policy for a comprehensive understanding of all procedures here.

Risk Assessment – the school business manager maintains a risk assessment file for all school activities and trips, as well as for aspects of the site, and unexpected events such as a strike day or inclement weather plan.

E-safety – the school has separate E-safety guidelines for staff and children and also provides advice and support to parents. This is a constantly changing area and needs regular review. Updates on emerging issues are provided to staff by the IT technician – e.g. sexting is a recent issue emerging on the national news, so staff need to be made aware. E-safety teaching is incorporated regularly into IT and computing lessons.

Medical and first aid – the school has named first aiders, who receive regular training, 2 of these are paediatric first aiders. There is a key admin officer who oversees the maintenance of the medical room and orders all necessary first aid supplies. The school has a separate Medical Needs policy, which should be read in conjunction with this.

British Values at Stamford Hill

Click here to learn more about how British Values are promoted at Stamford Hill

Behaviour, Bullying and Restraint

All staff are expected to act as exemplary role models and ensure they create an environment with clear behaviour expectations which create security for the children. Children should feel safe and nurtured and be able to confide in adults in school if they are worried. The school has a clear Behaviour and Anti Bullying policy which staff need to be familiar with and apply. We encourage all pupils to ensure they inform a trusted adult if they feel unsafe or bullied in any way. All staff are made aware of the importance of listening to children’s concerns.

Equalities and Discrimination

All staff need to have a clear commitment to equalities and adhere to our Equalities Policy. Children are explicitly taught that any form of discrimination on grounds of race, religion, sexuality, disability is wrong and there is a zero tolerance approach. A log of discriminatory incidents is maintained by the AHT. All children and staff should be treated with care and respect. The school is vigilant with regard to ensuring children and staff are protected from any form of extremism or indoctrination.

Radicalisation and the ‘prevent’ strategy

The Prevent Strategy                                                                                                                                                       

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?                                                                                               

 From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence. Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice?                                                                                                                                  

Many of the things we do already in school help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent Strategy.

These include:

• Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity
• Challenging prejudices and racist comments
• Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
• Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils as well as British values such as democracy.

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils. Different schools will carry out the Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of the community.

Frequently asked questions

How does Prevent relate to British values?                                                                                                            

Schools have been required to promote British Values since 2014 and this will continue to be part of our response to the Prevent strategy. British Values include:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty and mutual respect
• Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?

The Prevent Strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. The school will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?                                                                                                            

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our areas than others. We will give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter now or later in life.

Teaching and Learning around Safety

The school teaches pupils to keep themselves safe and take responsibility for their own safety and well being. Our PHSE learning includes sex and relationships education and drugs education in Y5 and 6, learning about healthy diets, exercise in all year groups, learning about road, rail safety, stranger danger and how to deal with bullying. E-safety forms an essential part of IT lessons. PE lessons teach pupils about safe use of apparatus, warm up and exercising safely. Food technology lessons also cover elements of food hygiene and safe use of utensils. The school reviews its teaching on keeping safe regularly and aims to incorporate any new essential elements as they become relevant or are highlighted from current affairs.