Safeguarding
General Safeguarding Principles
Under the Education Act 2002 (section 175/157), schools must “make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children”. Helmsley Community Primary School will endeavor to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued.
The school will therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Board (NYSCB) procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The school should make parents/carers aware that records of welfare concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies. However, in situations where the child is suspected to be at risk of harm, the law says that schools may take advice from other agencies without informing parents/carers.
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 and young people are safe and receive the right service.
Schools will seek advice from North Yorkshire Social Care 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 with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.
Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, schools or any person who has care of a child “may….do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” a child in school whilst Social Care and the police investigate any concerns further.
The Designated Safeguarding Leader (DSL) with responsibility for child protection and safeguarding is our Headteacher, Mrs Claire Lamb and our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leader (DDSL) is Mrs Nicola Dunn. You can contact our DSL and DDSL by emailing info@helmsley-rlt.co.uk or by telephoning 01439 770783
Further information can be accessed using the link below
https://www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/
You can find the school's child protection policy and whistleblowing policy by clicking here
Prevent
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, 2015 requires that all schools must have arrangements in place to mitigate the risk posed by radicalisation. At Helmsley Community Primary School we believe radicalisation should be seen as a safeguarding issue. Vulnerable children and young people may be targeted in the same way as other areas of risk such as on-line abuse and sexual exploitation. All school staff are aware of their responsibilities in this area and have received training in the recognition of signs of radicalisation and referral routes. Opportunities to work with children to minimise risks of radicalisation are part of personal and social curriculum and through our promotion of core British values.
The trained Prevent Lead in the school is our Headteacher, Mrs Claire Lamb.
Operation Encompass
Our school is part of Operation Encompass which is a national scheme that operates jointly between schools and police forces.
Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has experienced domestic abuse.
As a school we have ensured that a member of our staff, (Designated Safeguarding Lead) known as a Key Adult, has been trained in the Operation Encompass procedures allowing us to then use the information that has been shared, in confidence, to support the child/ren in our care.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 identifies children who experience domestic abuse as victims of domestic abuse in their own right.
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.
