St Joseph's Catholic Primary School - Safeguarding statement

Safeguarding

Safeguarding statement

Safeguarding Children is Everybody's Responsibility

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Safeguarding is not just about protecting children from deliberate harm. It relates to a range of other aspects of care and education, including:

children's health and safety and well-being, including their mental health
meeting the needs of children who have SEND
the use of reasonable force
meeting the needs of children with medical conditions
providing first aid
educational visits
intimate care
online safety and associated issues
appropriate arrangements to ensure children's security

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all members of the school community to share this commitment.

Child Protection at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

Our school staff are trained to be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.

Parents and carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to concern about a child's welfare, including risk from abuse and neglect. The staff will seek to discuss any concerns with the parent/carer and, where possible, inform them of the referral to Children Social Care. This will only occur where such discussion will not place the child at increased risk of significant harm.

In accordance with local Information sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children are safe and receive the right support at the right time.

School will seek advice from the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and Wirral Integrated Front Door when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school responsible for Child Protection (known as the Designated Lead) is charged with carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interest of the child.

Designated Safeguarding Leads:

Mrs Hollis (Headteacher)

Mrs Boekweit-Hughes (Deputy Headteacher)

Mrs Airey (SENDCO)

Mrs Higgins (Pastoral Lead)

Are you concerned that a child is being abused or neglected?

If a child or young person is at risk of harm, abuse or neglect please report it to the Wirral Integrated Front Door Team:

Mon-Fri, 9:00am – 5.00pm Tel: 0151 606 2008

Outside of these hours Tel: 0151 677 6557

E-mail: IFD@wirral.gov.uk

You can also report your concerns online:

NSPCC Website: www.nspcc.org.uk