Safeguarding
St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy which can be viewed in the Policies section of our website.
Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child's welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with his/her parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child's welfare.
Our Designated Senior Lead in Child Protection (DSL) is Mrs C McKinnon (Headteacher). Our Deputy DSLs are Mrs Woosey and Mrs Clemo.
Early Help Offer
Prevent Duty
Preventing Radicalisation in school
Building resilience in our young people and the promotion of British values is at the heart of preventing radicalisation. We do this by providing a safe place in which children can discuss issues, and we aim to give them the knowledge and confidence to challenge extremist beliefs and ideologies. (Click here to see British Value Policy)
Prevent duty, is carried out under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, which legally requires us to take steps to prevent pupils from being drawn into terrorism. We take this duty seriously and carry out the four main actions responsibly, namely: risk assessment, working in partnership, staff training and IT policies. If we assess a child as at risk, we will refer to the Channel Programme, which focuses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.
In terms of training, staff do annual Prevent training to familiarise them with the Prevent Duty. In terms of internet safety, we ensure suitable filters are in place to keep children away from extremist materials, in keeping with Lancashire guidelines.
We recognise that we play a vital role in keeping children safe from harm, including from the risks of extremism and radicalisation, and in promoting the welfare of children in our care.
What we do if there is a concern
If we have a concern about a particular pupil we will follow the school’s normal safeguarding procedures, including discussing with the school’s designated safeguarding lead, and where deemed necessary, with children’s social care. In Prevent priority areas, the local authority will have a Prevent lead who can also provide support.
We may also contact the local police force or dial 101 (the non-emergency number). They can talk to us in confidence about concerns and help us gain access to support and advice.
The Department for Education has dedicated a telephone helpline (020 7340 7264) to enable staff and governors to raise concerns relating to extremism directly. Concerns can also be raised by email to counter.extremism@education.gsi.gov.uk. Please note that the helpline is not intended for use in emergency situations, such as a child being at immediate risk of harm or a security incident In an emergency situation we will follow the recommended emergency procedures.
BULLYING
Context
Whilst we do all we can to ensure bullying does not happen in school it would be very naive to think that it could never happen. It is something that we take very seriously and review our approaches regularly. We do all of the following so that bullying stays under scrutiny at all times.
Standard practice
- A robust behaviour policy with clear channels of intervention
- We operate a key worker system so that any child feeling vulnerable has a point of contact to listen to them, offer advice and to take action where needed.
- We employ a family and pupil support worker who oversees the monitoring of vulnerable pupils and updates the senior leaders.
- Employment of a behaviour consultant who visits school monthly and supports pupils, staff and parents.
- A weekly briefing to governors includes a behaviour report –any bullying behaviour and action taken is reported there.
- Promotion of a Christian ethos of kindness and vigilance. We encourage children to keep their mouths and actions kind and encourage them not to be bystanders. (Including online)
- A full RE and PSHE curriculum that educates on emotional matters and a visit from the Life Education Bus annually.
- We hold regular online safety workshops for parents.
- We aim to give at least one piece of online advice to parents monthly through the school website app.
Special Events
- Every two years we have a theatre group performance with an anti-bullying theme. We find this a fantastic way to kick start discussions as workshops are done as follow ups.
- Every November we mark Anti bullying week with special lessons and projects.
- Every March we hold Safer Internet Day where cyber bullying is always very much on the agenda.
