Safeguarding

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families and carers has a role to play in safeguarding children.

What to do if you are worried about a child:

If you are concerned that a child or young person is being harmed through abuse or neglect you should you should call the MASH immediately:

Telephone: 01793 466903 (during normal office hours which are 8.30am to 4.40pm Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am to 4.00pm Friday)

This number will take you through to Customer Services who will ask a series of questions and triage into MASH where safeguarding concerns are raised.

The Emergency Duty Service (EDS) is available outside office hours on 01793 436699 (or call the Police on 999 in emergency situations).

If you would like further information about keeping your child safe, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to children (NSPCC) has lots of advice and guidance: www.nspcc.org.uk

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

Safeguarding means:

Protecting children from maltreatment
Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
Taking action to ensure that all children have the best outcomes

Safeguarding children and child protection guidance and legislation applies to all children up to the age of 18.

What is Child Protection?

Child Protection is part of Safeguarding and promoting welfare. It refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.

Everyone who works with children has a responsibility for keeping them safe. No single practitioner can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances and, if children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone.

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility

At Westlea Primary School, we take seriously our responsibility to protect and safeguard the welfare of the children and young people in its care.

All adults working in our school maintain an attitude of ‘ it could happen here’. We recognise that staff, because of their contact with and knowledge of children in their care, are well placed to identify abuse or neglect and offer support to children in need.

We will contact parents/carers should safeguarding concerns arise about their child, unless to do so would increase the risk of harm to the child. In this instance, we take further advice and guidance from our children’s social care team.

Record-keeping

We maintain contemporaneous records of all safeguarding and child protection concerns, actions and communications.

We work in line with the DfE statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe In Education’ and follow the information-sharing guidance included in this document and in ‘Information-sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers.’