Safeguarding is the ‘umbrella’ term we use to mean everything we do to keep children safe and free from harm. The school has a strong commitment to keeping children safe as well as a range of statutory duties it must carry out in doing so. The SAFETY of the children in our care is of the highest importance to everyone at Northenden Community School. Click here to see our Safeguarding Policy Areas of the school’s work which relate to Safeguarding include:
Keeping Children Safe There are a number of key ways in which the school works to keep children safe. In managing safeguarding on a day-to-day basis we:
Statutory Duties The school has a number of statutory duties. These are defined in law. The school must:
Staff Roles All staff and volunteers in our school have a responsibility for Safeguarding and ensuring that the children are well cared-for and free for harm. All staff are made aware of these responsibilities during their induction and through regular training and updates regarding good safeguarding practice. This training includes:
If any member of staff or volunteer has a concern about the safety, care or well-being of a child, they:
Designated Safeguarding Officers (Designated Persons) All schools must designated one or persons to have overall responsibility in school for safeguarding and child protection. These staff are known as Designated Persons or Lead Safeguarding Officers. Designated people receive refresher training in their role every two years. The members of staff appointed as Designated Persons at Northenden Community School are:
Child Protection Child Protection is the term given to specific aspects of safeguarding practice which are concerned with ensuring children are free for the risks of significant harm. Significant harm is defined as:
The school will take steps to determine how children may be affected by the above and in doing so we may refer concerns to Children’s Services. More information about Child Protection is available here. Reporting a Concern about a Child If you are concerned about the welfare or safety of a child who attends our school, including your own child, please get in touch with the Headteacher at the school. Alternatively, you can discuss the matter with another member of staff but they will be obliged to share information with senior staff. Alternatively, if you feel that a child is at risk from any of the above or significant harm whilst at home or outside school hours, you should contact Manchester City Council’s Children’s Services Department (Contact Centre) on 0161 234 5001. Where the risk of harm is immediate (e.g. domestic violent, physical abuse, child left unsupervised), you should ring the police by dialling 999. |