The school recognises the importance of providing an ethos and environment that will help children to feel safe, secure and respected; encourage them to talk openly; and enable them to feel confident that they will be listened to.

The school will endeavour to support the welfare and safety of all pupils through:

• maintaining children’s overall wellbeing as our paramount concern;
• ensuring the content of the curriculum includes social and emotional aspects of learning;
• developing and implementing procedures for tackling bullying (including cyber bullying); racist abuse; harassment and discrimination and ensuring these are included in the curriculum;
• ensuring that all aspects of child protection are included in the curriculum to help children stay safe; to understand what constitutes a healthy relationship both online and offline and to recognise when they don’t feel safe;
• the provision of suitable support and guidance so that pupils have a range of appropriate adults to approach if they are in difficulty;
• promoting a positive, supportive, neutral and secure environment where pupils can develop a sense of being valued and heard and where opposing issues and ideologies can be discussed in a controlled manner;
• working with parents to build an understanding of the school’s responsibility to ensure the welfare of all children including the need for referral to other agencies in some situations;
• ensuring all staff (and, where appropriate, other adults) can recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse through ongoing training and support and are aware of the school’s procedures for reporting concerns, lines of communication and whistleblowing procedures;
• promoting their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and, within this, the concept and inclusion of fundamental British values;
• ensuring that staff and other adults are aware of the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead;
• provision of training for staff/governors which will be updated regularly and inclusion of child protection and other safeguarding issues in the induction of new staff and other adults/governors;
• ensuring we practice safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff, governors and other adults including volunteers to work with children;
• monitoring children who have been identified as having welfare or protection concerns, particularly those who are identified as ‘carers’ and those looked after and previously looked after by the Local Authority; keeping robust confidential records which are stored securely and shared appropriately with other professionals;
• ensuring we have adequate and appropriate procedures in place for responding to children missing education whether as a one-off occasion or persistent absenteeism;
• having arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) having regard to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice and have identified a member of staff to act as Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO);
• developing effective and supportive liaison with other agencies;
• implementation of documented safeguarding and health and safety Policies and procedures including the organisation and arrangements for maintaining the health, safety and welfare of all those involved with the school, including pupils.

You may find the following links useful:

You will also be able to find parent training on https://nationalonlinesafety.com/login which we have a subscription to. Please email the office for login details.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Lynn Dobinson

Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is Leeanne Parkin.

Our Safeguarding governor is Elaine Ellar.

OPERATION ENCOMPASS

What is Operation Encompass?

Operation Encompass ensures that there is a simple telephone call or notification to a school’s trained Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), prior to the start of the next school day, after an incident of police attended domestic abuse where there are children related to either of the adult parties involved. 

Operation Encompass is a police and education early information safeguarding partnership enabling schools to offer immediate support to children experiencing domestic abuse.

The information is given in strict confidence to a school’s DSL to enable support to be given dependent on the needs and wishes of the child.

Culgaith CE Primary School engages with the Operation Encompass scheme.

To find out more click the link below:

Operation Encompass