Child Protection, Safeguarding and E Safety

Designated Safeguarding Lead - Beverley Accastello - Head Teacher 

Additional Designated Safeguarding Lead

Victoria Harjette - Deputy Head Teacher

Kay Pendergast - EYFS Leader

Anna Yendell - KS1 Leader

Safeguarding and Child Protection Governor - Mike Weatherburn

They can be contacted via the school office 01494 762552 or office@st-georges.bucks.sch.uk 

First response: 01296 383962

NSPCC - 0808 800 5000
ChildLine - 0800 11 11
Bucks Family Information Service: 01296 383065 - www.bucksfamilyinfo.org 

Education Safeguarding Advisory Service (ESAS) Bucks County Council - Advice service: 01296 382912

Bucks Safeguarding Children Board: 01296 383485 www.bucks-lscb.org.uk
 

Safeguarding Statement

Safeguarding is everybody's responsibility.  Children have a right to be cared for and protected, this is everyone's responsibility.  At St George's CE Infant and Preschool we recognise we have a duty of care to ensure our whole school community are kept safe from harm.  We are committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment in which children can develop and grow to reach their full potential and flourish.  Safeguarding children is an essential part of our holistic approach to ensure that children are protected to enable them to have the best outcomes.

At St George’s Church of England Infant and Preschool, we listen carefully to our pupils and take what they tell us, seriously. Our aim is for children to enjoy their time as pupils at this school. We want to work in partnership with you to help your child achieve their full potential and flourish.

To promote a safe environment for pupils, our selection and recruitment policy includes all checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, as recommended by Buckinghamshire Council, in accordance with current legislation.

In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002 and “Keeping Children Safe in Education” Sept 2022, we have a Designated Safeguarding Lead for Child Protection (Beverley Accastello) who is the Head Teacher and a member of the senior management team.  All St George's staff, irrespective of whether their role is in direct contact with children or not, receive child protection awareness training on a regular basis.

Occasions do arise when our concern about a child might mean we have to consult other agencies. Whilst we would always aim to work in partnership with parents, there may be exceptions to this when concerns are raised for the protection of a child.

On very rare occasions, Social Care, whilst undertaking an investigation under S47 of the Children Act 1989, may want to speak to a child without a parents’ knowledge. This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies and would only be done in situations where a child might be at immediate risk. To gain consent at this point may increase the level of risk to the child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost.

We cannot safeguard children alone.  All children's services agencies work in partnership with each other.  Parents and Carers can support this process too because everybody has a responsibility to safeguard children within their community and report concerns.  If you have concerns about the safety of a child, please contact First Response (01296 383962) or speak to one of the designated safeguarding team at school.  If a child is in immediate danger please phone 999.

The procedures we follow, are in accordance with the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board and Buckinghamshire Council.  The school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all. If you want to know more about our procedures, please speak to the Head Teacher (Beverley Accastello) or your child’s class teacher. The policy can be found at this link:

https://www.stgeorgesamersham.org.uk/policies/

CPOMS

To help staff record and analyse behaviour we use an online recording system. This is called CPOMS and allows staff to spot behaviour trends, develop appropriate strategies and manage behaviour more effectively. This system allows staff to discuss with students and their carers their progress as well as monitor the effectiveness of interventions.

Educate Against Hate Website

The ‘Educate Against Hate’ website offers parents, teachers and school leaders practical advice to protect children from the dangers of extremism, drawing on resources and guidance designed by the government and charities such as the NSPCC and Childnet.

The Educate Against Hate website is here: http://www.educateagainsthate.com/

E-Safety

Internet Safety is really important to us at St George's School.  The Internet is a fantastic resource for discovering, communicating and creating.

We want to ensure that we teach a balanced view of these amazing new technologies - recognising the wonderful opportunities that they represent and teaching the children to use them well, whilst understanding the dangers and how to stay safe.

We hope that children and parents will find this information interesting and informative.