Safeguarding and Child Protection
Designated Safeguarding Leads
Designated Safeguarding Lead:
Ms Claire Redwood
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Jacky Dawes
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Eline Walker
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Dawn Matthews
Governor Safeguarding Lead:
Mr Jerry Godfrey
Designated Child Protection Officers
Designated Child Protection Officer: Ms Claire Redwood
Deputy Designated Child Protection Officer: Mrs Dawn Matthews
Deputy Designated Child Protection Officer: Mrs Eline Walker
Additional Designated Child Protection Officer: Mrs Jacky Dawes
Attendance Improvement Officer AIO: Ruth Barnett
Prevent Officer: Ms Claire Redwood
CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation) Officer: Ms Claire Redwood
CIC (Child in Care) Officer: Mrs Dawn Matthews
E-Safety Officer: Miss Emma Hopkins
The safety and well-being of the children here at Highweek Community Primary School and Nursery is our first priority. Children cannot learn unless they feel happy and safe. We adhere to stringent Safeguarding procedures to protect the welfare of all the children who come here.
We are committed to:
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Establishing an ethos in which children feel secure, valued and confident of being listened to.
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Giving children the confidence to talk to adults in the school about abuse and to make disclosures to them.
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Establishing relationships with parents that build on an understanding of the school’s responsibility to protect children (and recognition that this may sometimes require referral of individual children to other child protection agencies).
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Establishing appropriate expectations of interpersonal behaviour; and developing strategies to help children to protect themselves.
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Providing training for staff in recognising signs, symptoms and behaviour which are symptomatic of abuse and in responding appropriately.
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Establishing good procedures and practices in relation to record keeping.
It is the moral and legal duty of all adults in charge of children to be ready to protect children in danger from abuse. Education staff have a responsibility to observe, monitor and refer suspected abuse.
Any member of staff suspecting child abuse or neglect must refer their suspicions to the Nominated Safeguarding Lead or Head Teacher, who will then refer to Social Services if appropriate.
It is important that staff are aware that many more children experience abuse than are registered as requiring protection. It is therefore essential that school staff are vigilant in identifying abuse.
Useful Information:
website: www.devonscp.org.uk
Visit the School Policies page to read our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
E-Safety
At Highweek Community Primary School and Nursery the safety of our children is of upmost importance. This includes keeping them safe when using electronic equipment and more specifically when entering the online world. E-Safety encompasses internet technologies and also electronic communications via mobile phones, games consoles and wireless technology. By educating our children in e-safety we aim to highlight the need for children and young people to think practically about the benefits, risks and responsibilities of using information technology.
We operate an open-door policy for reporting issues relating to e-safety and very much welcome parents and carers to come into school to speak with a member of the Senior Leadership Team about any perceived problems.
For additional support and information, please visit the links below:
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Parents and Carers can visit the Childnet website for support and advice for safe use of the internet at home
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Children can visit the Kidsmart website to learn how to use the internet safely at home
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Advice for Parents on Cyber bullying – external link to Deptartment of Education(PDF)
At Highweek Primary School we encourage all our children to use digital media. The use of digital media is part of the statutory computing curriculum and a necessary tool for learning. The internet is part of everyday life for education and the school has a duty to provide students with quality internet access as part of their learning experience.
Whilst encouraging the children to use the internet we also educate them about the risks that this can involve and provide them with information and strategies for staying safe online. Children and young people are more at risk of exposure if they are unaware of the dangers.
The internet has an impact on all of our lives, particularly our children’s. For parents and carers this opens up a whole new world of things to be aware of. Keeping up to date with these digital technologies can help parents and carers ensure their child’s safety whilst online.
These dangers can include:
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viewing unsuitable content e.g. hate material, adult content, sites that endorse unhealthy behaviour
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giving out personal information
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arranging to meet an online ‘friend’
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becoming involved in, or the victim of, bullying, identity theft, or making and sending indecent or illegal images
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spending too much time online which can effect concentration, education, sleep and health
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copying information from the Internet or buying work from other people to use as their own.
Advice on setting up parental controls and social media checks:
For any older children you have, or even yourselves, here are some links for downloading PDF checklist leaflets for Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter. These leaflets show how to set privacy levels, etc. which you may find useful.
Has someone acted inappropriately towards your child online?
Are you worried about your child? The Internet can be a wonderful place to explore and learn but sometimes things can go wrong.
If you or your child are worried about something that has happened on the internet you can report it here:
If you or your child are in immediate danger call 999
For more advice please follow this link
Child Sexual Exploitation
Child Sexual Exploitation, or CSE, is a form of sexual abuse which sees children/young people being manipulated or coerced into sexual activity for receiving ‘something’ such as; gifts, money, food, attention, somewhere to stay etc.
Technology is very often used to groom victims. This may occur through social networking sites and mobile phones with internet access.
CSE has gained a large amount of media attention over the last year as lots of services involved with children and young people have noticed a big rise in cases involving CSE.
Charities such as NSPCC and Barnardos have been campaigning to raise the profile of this form of child abuse. Information regarding CSE can be found here on their websites below:
Prevent Strategy
As part of Highweek’s commitment to safeguarding and child protection we fully support the government’s Prevent Strategy, and take guidance from Teaching Approaches to help build resilience to extremism.
What is the Prevent Strategy?
The Prevent strategy is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It:
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responds to the ideological challenge we face from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat we face from those who promote these views
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provides practical help to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support
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works with a wide range of sectors (including education, criminal justice, faith, charities, online and health)
Please visit this link here to view the official government document.
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Download our document (PDF) Guide for Parents – The Prevent Strategy
Concerned about a child?
If you believe that urgent action is needed because, for example, a child is in immediate danger or needs accommodation, phone the MASH team on 0345 155 1071 and give as much information as you can or email mashsecure@devon.gcsx.gov.uk
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub
PO Box 723
Exeter
EX1 9QS
Out of hours please call 0845 6000 388. If it is an emergency dial 999.