Child Protection

Safeguarding our Children

Child protection is everybody's business. The safety and welfare of children, or child protection, means protecting each and every child from emotional, physical and sexual abuse or neglect. Please take time to read our Safeguarding Policy.

If you have any concerns about a child please do not ignore these concerns. You can contact any professional involved with a child to discuss your concerns or you can talk to a local Social Work duty team. Information on how to do so can be found by following the link below: “What to do if you're worried about a child”

The law is clear around physical chastisement. Under UK law, it is against the law to use physical punishment on a child that causes marking or bruising, either by hitting or using an implement of any kind to inflict injury. We expect all of our school community to understand and respect that law. Our pupil planners contain a page that we insist all parents/carers sign to demonstrate their understanding and compliance with the law. A copy of the pupil planner page cab be found below.

Safeguarding Procedures

St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

We expect all staff, volunteers and visitors, involved in any aspect of school life, to share this commitment.  We believe our pupils have the right to be happy, to be safe and to learn.  

Areas of safeguarding:

• Staff, volunteers and visitors – ensuring everyone is adequately vetted, informed and trained;
• Pupil behaviour – promoting safe and positive behaviours and lifestyles;
• Parents and carers – promoting links and supporting families;
• Premises – ensuring our school environment is fit for purpose;
• Curriculum – enabling children to access a broad and balanced curriculum which equips pupils with the skills to make positive life choices and develop positive relationships with others;
• Beyond school – exploring with children how to keep themselves safe when they access a wider range of activities.

Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) at St. Bernadette’s:

Designated Lead: Mrs Jane Zamora,  Headteacher

Deputy Designated Lead: Mrs Melanie Smith, Deputy Headteacher

Our DSL members of staff have undertaken relevant training.

General staff training:

At St. Bernadette’s, all staff and volunteers are trained in safeguarding children. In addition to single-agency safeguarding training, they are also trained to recognise signs, symptoms and appropriate responses regarding the Prevent Duty, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and a wide range of other safeguarding concerns.

All staff and volunteers are directed to our school policy –see the link above

Concerns about Pupil Safety and Wellbeing:

Staff are expected to report any causes for concern to DSL or Deputy DSL.  Concerns may range from pupils being upset, absenteeism , lateness, change in character, visible changes, injuries  to a direct pupil disclosure.

When the school has concerns about a child, the DSL will consider all the information provided and this will determine whether it is necessary to make a referral to relevant agencies. Generally, we will discuss concerns with parents/carers  before approaching external agencies and will seek agreement to contact other services. There may be occasions, however, when the school will make direct contact with other services before contacting parents/carers as the DSLs may take the view that to contact parents/carers, in advance of contact with external services, may increase the risk of significant harm to the child.

All safeguarding/child protections information is dealt with in a confidential manner.

It is possible that your child or children will be allocated a social worker due to issues relating to a child protection concern or to undertake an assessment of their needs. Below are links to resources that may be useful to you in understanding how the child protection process works. You may want to seek advice and support from an independent organisation such as the Family Rights Group or the NSPCC.

Safer Recruitment:

We follow strict protocols to ensure everyone who works in our school is vetted appropriately.  We ensure that a range of staff and governors involved in the recruitment process are adequately trained. See our Safer Recruitment Policy in the Policy section of our website.

Operation Encompass:

We are an Operation Encompass partner school.

Operation Encompass is a Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people exposed to domestic abuse.

Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools when a child or young person has been involved or exposed to a domestic abuse incident involving the police. 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

If you need help as a parent you should talk to a teacher, health visitor or doctor to find out what's available. They will be able to put you in touch with someone who can help.