Safeguarding
St Luke's School is committed to helping children achieve good outcomes by providing a safe learning environment and to enable them to access all available services to achieve the most of their life chances. This document should be read in conjunction with the Education Department’s Child Protection Policy and the Safeguarding Partnership Board Interagency Child Protection Procedures.
We ensure that arrangements are in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils by:
• Providing a safe, healthy learning environment that allows them to develop to their full potential
• Identifying children who are suffering, or likely to suffer significant harm, taking appropriate action to safeguard their welfare, particularly those pupils who are most disadvantaged, with the aim of ensuring they are kept safe at home and school
• Providing pupils with opportunities to discuss issues and report problems affecting their safety and welfare
• Ensuring safe recruitment practices
• Ensuring robust procedures for recognition and referral where there are welfare or child protection concerns
• Monitoring and supporting pupils who are subject to child protection plans and contributing to the implementation of their plan
• Raising awareness amongst staff of child protection issues and ensuring staff are equipped to deal with concerns
• Teaching children to keep themselves safe and ensuring they know who to approach for help
• Promoting partnership working with parents/carers and professionals
Click on the icons below if you wish to find out more about the Jersey Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub
The Children and Families Hub provides information, advice and support for families and young people. Our aim is make sure you get the right help, at the right time. This could be some advice on the telephone or a one to one consultation. We’ll also put you in touch with any services that can help you. The hub also responds to any safeguarding concerns you may have for a child or young person. Whatever help you need, we’ll make a plan with you and with the services helping you.
Click here to view NSPCC Share Aware Campaign information
Click here for 'Think You Know' internet safety advice
Click here for Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness information
Please view the attachments below for further information about the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
St Luke’s School Safeguarding Procedures
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Adam Turner, Kath Hepworth
Deputy DSL’s: Charlotte Round & Lucy Scott
System used to log safeguarding concerns: My Concern. This is an online system that all members of school log into to report concerns. When the concern has been reported, the DSL’s receive an email and then log in to review the concern and action anything that is required.
System used to log safeguarding concern if it involves a member of staff or their child in the school: White safeguarding form system, given straight to Adam Turner. These forms are kept in each classroom.
Policies: We use the St Luke’s Safeguarding Policy, child protection policy and the Whistleblowing Policy. We have a Intimate Care Policy for children who require support with toileting. The parents of these children are asked to read and sign this policy.
Training: All staff received an annual refresher delivered at the beginning of the academic year. This training session recapped the following:
- What safeguarding is, why it is important and whose responsibility it is.
- We will discuss the 4 main types of abuse.
- We will know how to spot the signs of abuse.
- We will know what to do if we have a safeguarding concern.
All staff were required to read and sign to say they have read Keeping Children Safe in Education and the Whistleblowing policy at the beginning of the academic year.
During the course of the year Adam and Kath will complete a safeguarding audit of knowledge so we can train all staff in areas of safeguarding that they feel less confident with.
Safer Recruitment: Adam Turner and Kath Hepworth have all completed the Safer Recruitment training and therefore one or more of these members of staff are always presents in interviews. During interviews, safeguarding questions are asked usually in the format of a scenario.
Visibility: Throughout the school site the are safeguarding posters which indicate who to report safeguarding concerns too. All staff where blue lanyards, all DBS checked adults wear green lanyards and all visitors (without dbs) wear red lanyards.
Visitors: We have a robust DBS procedure in place. The office staff take photocopies of DBS’s and photo ID. All visitors sign in at the office and where ID’s around the school site. Regular volunteers have an initial meeting with Kath Hepworth.
Monitoring: Mobile phones usage is monitored carefully. DSL’s complete random mobile phone audits and records of such audits are kept in the safeguarding file. All children who bring a mobile phone into school must hand their mobiles phones in at the beginning of the school day to the school office.
Forms: Every staff member has access to pink and white recording sheets in their desk, as well as weekly monitoring forms to use as and when required.
Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH): When necessary we refer safeguarding concerns to the MASH team. We do this either over the phone or using the online form. If it is urgent we use the phone method. If our concern linked in any way to FGM, we would ring the policy immediately. Parents are informed when we make a referral to the MASH team unless we feel this would knowledge would put the child at further risk of harm.
Domestic Abuse Protocol
At St Luke's we are working in partnership with States of Jersey Police and Children’s Services to identify and provide appropriate support to pupils who have experienced domestic violence/abuse in their household. This scheme is called Operation Encompass in the UK with Jersey developing a Domestic Abuse Protocol to mirror good practice. This scheme has been designed to provide early reporting to schools of any domestic abuse incidents that might have an impact on a child that attends their school. This scheme is run in partnership between the States of Jersey Police, the Education Department and all schools.
All public agencies currently share information where there are safeguarding concerns or risk of harm to children and the Police currently share information on all incidents of domestic abuse in Jersey with the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub.
To support the welfare of our children this information sharing is being extended. During the school term our school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead will now be informed when any domestic abuse incident has been reported to the police and one of our pupils was in the household.
On receipt of any information, the Designated Safeguarding Lead will decide on the appropriate support the child requires. We record this information and store it securely. This information will be used to ensure the school is able to provide appropriate support to pupils who may be upset or worried about what has happened. The information will remain confidential and shared only on a strictly need-to-know basis, for example with the class teacher. It will not be shared with any pupils.
This has been introduced because domestic abuse in a household can have a significant impact on children, even if they do not see what is happening.
We look to offer the best support possible for our pupils and believe that this scheme is going to be beneficial and supportive for all those involved. In other countries where it is in place, it has been found to be a very effective way of supporting children at a most difficult time.
