Safeguarding and Child Protection
Keeping your child physically safe in school is hugely important to us.
This includes:
- regular Health and Safety checks of the premises and school site,
- termly fire drills and other regular drills to ensure we all know what to do in an emergency,
- water quality testing of our swimming pool and water system,
- annual fire risk assessment and safety lighting checks,
- DBS checks on all staff and regular visitors and helpers in school,
We also take your child's online and emotional safety very seriously with regular work in each class on e-safety (online safety) as well as how to ensure we treat each other with respect online.
Child Protection is a term used to describe the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. We work closely with a range of services and the county Multi Agency Support Hub to ensure every child feels safe, has an adult they can trust in school and that concerns are followed up quickly and appropriately.
We also work alongside the police through Operation Encompass to share information when children may have witnessed domestic violence to ensure we can give that child the support they need in school.
What to do if you are concerned about a child.
If you believe the child is in immediate danger, call the police on 999
- If any parent has a concern, come and see the Designated Safeguarding Lead - Miss Deborah Coggin or the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead - Hannah Enticknap in school at any time. Our Pre-school Supervisor, Sharon Hill is our EYFS DSL.
- If any parent or member of the community has a substantial concern about any child, the West Sussex County Council ‘Integrated Front Door’ number is 01403 229900
- The West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership can be contacted on
telephone – 0330 222 7799
email – wsscp@westsussex.gov.uk
and here is a link to their website https://www.westsussex scp.org.uk - You can also report concerns directly to the NSPCC – online or by telephone, anonymously if you wish – by clicking this link to the NSPCC website
If you would like more advice and support on Internet safety please visit the CEOP website.
Channel
Channel is a multi-agency process for identifying, referring and supporting any adult or child (of any faith, ethnicity or background) believed to be at risk of radicalisation, focusing on early intervention and engagement.
In West Sussex, to find out more about Channel or to make a referral you can contact
Sussex Police Prevent Team – telephone 101, extension 531355
or email prevent@sussex.pnn.police.uk
Local Channel Panel Chair, Beverley Knight – telephone 0330 222 4223
or email Beverley.knight@westsussex.gov.uk
You can find more information on this by clicking here.
Advice for Parents on keeping your child safe can be found here https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/underwear-rule/
Hate Crime
• Reminder of how to report Hate Incidents – We would like to reiterate that if you, or someone you know has been a victim of Hate Crime, this can be reported through the Hate Incident Support Service at www.westsussex.gov.uk/reportahateincident or by calling 0808 168 9274
We are members of Operation Encompass, supporting adults and children in the event of Domestic Violence
Operation Encompass is the reporting of police attended domestic abuse incidents to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, where there are children in the home.
Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school staff, (DSL) known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have experienced a domestic abuse incident.
We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved.
If you are affected by any of the above and you wish to discuss anything in confidence, please contact Ms Coggin .
You can download Bright Sky app for further information on this subject.