SAFEGUARDING

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all practitioners should make sure their approach is child-centred. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.

No single practitioner can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of
this guidance as:
• protecting children from maltreatment;
• preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development;
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of
safe and effective care; and
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes 

Keeping Children Safe In Education 2020

St. Teresa’s Commitment to Safeguarding and Child Protection

At St. Teresa’s school we are committed to safeguarding children and young people and we expect everyone who works in our school to share this commitment. We teach the children about personal safety and how to keep themselves safe from harm. We have rigorous policies for child protection, train staff and volunteers and complete all the checks required by the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board.

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Safeguarding Contacts in School

The Designated Safeguarding Leads in St.Teresa’s are:

Designated Safeguarding Leader: Mr Corkery          

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leader: Miss Shirley

Governor for Safeguarding and Child Protection: Mr J Courtney

If you are worried about the safety or welfare of any child or family please speak to Mr Corkery or Miss Shirley.  Remember disclosures of abuse or harm from children may be made at any time.  If anything worries you or concerns you, report it straight away.

Also see St.Teresa’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.

Communication with Parents

Our school will always discuss concerns with parents/carers and consent for any referrals should be sought unless to do so would:

• Place the child at risk of significant harm or further risk of significant harm.
• Place a vulnerable adult at risk of harm.
• Compromise any enquiries that need to be undertaken by children’s social care or the police.

The school will endeavour to ensure that parents have an understanding of the responsibilities placed on the school and staff for safeguarding children.

In the interests of safeguarding children there may be occasions when the school has to consult with other agencies without a parent or carer’s prior knowledge. Our first concern and responsibility is the child’s welfare and we have a duty to protect children first and always. Our school will follow the procedures required by the Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board.

Curriculum

Child safety issues and child protection will be addressed through the curriculum where appropriate, especially through Computing and E-Safety, Relationships and Health Education (RHE) and British Values.

We use a variety of resources and approaches to teach the children how to keep themselves safe, build their resilience and manage risks.