Safeguarding
Reporting an Immediate Risk
If you are concerned a child is at risk of immediate harm or in need of immediate protection please dial 999.
Reporting Safeguarding Concerns
If at any time it is considered that a child has suffered significant, harm is or likely to do so, a referral should be made to the Children’s Advice and Duty Team on 01782 235100.
Reporting On-line Abuse
To report online abuse please contact CEOP on the following link: https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre
If you have any safeguarding concerns please contact the school office on 01782 307530 and ask to speak to our Designated Safeguarding Lead. You can also email the Designated and Deputy Safeguarding Leads on safeguarding.sta@ctkcc.co.uk
If you have any concerns about the conduct of any adult within the school, these should be taken to the Headteacher (DSL) without delay or where this is not possible to the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads. If for any reason you cannot make a referral through these routes you have a duty to refer directly to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), whose contact details are as follows:
Mr John Hanlon, Local Authority Designated Officer, Stoke-on-Trent Children's Services, Swann House, Boothen Road, Stoke on Trent, ST4 4SY.
Email : John.hanlon@stoke.gov.uk, Direct Line 01782 233342, Mobile Number 07385 362877
Key Staff:
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Mrs S Moorhouse
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) Mrs C Horton
SENDCo, Inclusion and LAC Lead Mrs K Hellawell
E-Safety Lead Mr T Washington
PSHE/RSHE Lead Mrs T McLernon-Evans
Link Governor for Safeguarding and Looked After Children Miss S Milne
At St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School we take safeguarding very seriously and therefore we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and safety of all our children. We expect all of our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All of our staff are trained to at least Safeguarding Children Level 1, through Stoke on Trent Safeguarding Children Board. Staff receive Prevent training as the school supports the Government’s Prevent Agenda to counter radicalism and extremism.
Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies where there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with the parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.
We have the following Safeguarding measures in place:
Causes for Concern – All staff are asked to report any causes for concern to the Designated Safeguarding Lead via our online system, C-POMs. All concerns are recorded and kept securely and confidentially. Concerns may range from children being visibly upset, persistent lateness/non-attendance to children ‘disclosing’ concerns.
Attendance – Reasons will be sought for all absences and lateness. Attendance and lateness are monitored and any concerns will be referred to the appropriate staff member. First day calls are made between 9.30 am and 10 am by the Office Staff and any concerns may be referred to Educational Welfare, who may be asked to make a visit to the home. Records are kept of phone calls and visits. Parents/Carers will always be informed of any concerns around attendance at the earliest point. The school may refer attendance concerns to the Education Welfare Service.
Family Support – Families can be supported through an ‘Early Help’ programme which enables them to access a range of support from a variety of agencies other than school. This is used as a means of support and will be considered when a number of agencies are required to better safeguard the interests of the child. We work closely with Father Hudson's Care Family Support Service to offer greater support to families in need.
Operation Encompass is a unique Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people exposed to domestic abuse. The information is given in strict confidence to a school’s Key Adult to enable support to be given dependent on the needs and wishes of the child.
Further information about the scheme can be found on the Operation Encompass website.
http://www.operationencompass.org
Prevent Duty - The Prevent Duty aims to prevent young people from being radicalised by, for example, far right extremists or religious extremists. In school we have a duty to care for the children and take note of any child who is at risk of radicalisation, regardless of their background. We also have to take steps to help prevent children being exposed to extremist ideas. .
Click this link for the CEOP Button
The Click CEOP button is an asset of the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Command. The CEOP Command works to protect children from the harm of sexual abuse and exploitation both online and offline.
The button has been developed to offer children, young people, parents/carers and professionals working with these groups with a simple and convenient mechanism for gaining access to trusted online safety advice, help and support. It also provides access to an online mechanism for reporting known or suspected child sexual exploitation or child sexual abuse directly to CEOP. This is offered as a convenient and potentially less intimidating method of reporting these sensitive types of crime, alternative to face-to-face and telephone reporting to local police forces.
The NCA’s CEOP Command is here to help children and young people. We are here to help if you are a young person and you or your friend (up to age 18) has been forced or tricked into taking part in sexual activity with anyone online, or in the real world. We also have advice and links to support for other online problems young people might face, such as cyberbullying and hacking. Visit our Safety Centre for advice and to report directly to CEOP, by clicking on the Click CEOP button.
The CEOP Safety Centre
The Click CEOP button provides a gateway to the CEOP Safety Centre, an area of the CEOP website offering:
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advice on a range of online safety issues, such as hacking and cyberbullying;
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signposting to NCA-CEOP partners offering help and support on issues outside of CEOP’s remit, such as ChildLine and BeatBullying;
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reporting of suspected or known child sex offender activity directly to CEOP for investigation.
Reporting to CEOP
CEOP operates a 24/7 service for the receipt of reports.
Reports can be made to CEOP by a young person or on their behalf by a parent/carer or professional working with these groups. Children under 11 years of age are encouraged to tell an adult that they trust about what has happened and to ask for their help in reporting this either to CEOP or local police.
All reports to CEOP are treated as reports of crime and as such anonymous reports cannot be accepted.
