TRINITY ST MARY’S C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL

SAFEGUARDING AT OUR SCHOOL

Trinity St Mary’s C of E Primary School is committed to equal opportunities and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

As headteacher, I am proud of the safeguarding systems and procedures that we have at our school. Safeguarding is the most important aspect of our school life and has the highest priority, no matter what is being undertaken. We ‘leave no stone unturned’. OFSTED identified the following during their 2017 inspection:

"Leaders ensure that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality... Systems and processes for safeguarding vulnerable pupils are effective. Staff know the pupils well and there is a clear process for all staff to communicate concerns... As a result, pupils are safe and well cared for." (OFSTED, 23rd March 2017)

Safeguarding leads:

• I am the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• Mrs Louise Allan is the Deputy Designated Lead.
• Mrs Karen Munro, our Chair of Governors, is the Link governor for safeguarding.

Safeguarding training:

• I have attended the Designated Safeguarding Lead Level 3 training as well as Mrs Allan.
• This training is refreshed at least every two years.
• All areas of safeguarding are refreshed through regular training via National Online Safety and The National College.
• All staff receive comprehensive Level 2 training annually which includes Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) training, Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) training, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) training, Sexual Violence and Harassment, Peer on Peer abuse, County Lines and Prevent (WRAP) training – they are well trained in identifying any safeguarding concerns.
• New staff joining the school are given safeguarding training.
• Staff are regularly updated of key issues through weekly staff bulletins and ongoing training. Their knowledge is checked through audits and quizzes.
• Governors undertake Safeguarding training and are well trained in ensuring the school has rigorous safeguarding procedures.
• Parent volunteers undertake safeguarding training.
• I attend termly Safeguarding Forum meetings.
• All staff know that they have a duty to report any concerns about a child or an adult and who to report them to at school. They are also fully aware of how to make referrals themselves and how to access advice and guidance.
• We are a certified National Online Safety School and all staff undertake annual training.
• We are a certified Safe Remote Education School via National Online Safety.
• We commissioned safeguarding audits from the Local Authority in 2018 and 2020 and completed the Local Authority Safeguarding Audit Document in 2021 and 2022.

Key documents:

• Our Child Protection Policy and other related policies are on our website and paper copies are available in the school office.
• All staff have been given and have signed to say that they have read all relevant documents and policies.
• All key documents such as Keeping Children Safe in Education, Working Together, SET Procedures and Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment between children in schools and colleges are also available.

How our school helps our children to feel safe and keep themselves safe:

• By always having safeguarding as our highest priority.
• Through our PSHE and Computing curricula.
• Through rigorous and ongoing monitoring by staff, governors and external consultants of our safeguarding systems and procedures.
• Concerns are logged onto CPOMS and Designated Leads have a holistic overview of all children.
• We provide excellent care for any child needing additional support.
• We have a very strong relationship with and work very closely with external agencies/services such as Specialist Teachers, the school nurse and Social Services to ensure that our children’s individual needs are fully met.
• All meetings are attended in person or remotely by a Designated Lead or Deputy Lead.
• Welfare checks during school closures ensured we had contact with our families.
• We review and maintain our school site to ensure it is a safe environment.
• All recruitment is carried out strictly in accordance with our Recruitment Policy.
• Regular and up-to-date staff training is given so that our staff report any concerns immediately to the headteacher or deputy headteacher.
• We ensure that our children always know that they can talk about their concerns/worries – we are a listening school and our children always say that they have someone they can talk to.
• We are a "National Online Safety" school.
• We have structured online safety teaching through our curriculum.
• In November 2018 and November 2019 we held whole day workshops for children, staff, governors and parents on online safety using the "2 John's".
• We provide workshops led by external visitors such as "2John's", "NSPCC", "Essex Fire and Essex Police".
• We conduct pupil and parent questionnaires which are extremely positive. In November 2019 100% of our parents (77 responses) agreed that their child was safe and well looked after at TSM. Any concerns are always followed up.

With safeguarding as our highest priority and as a listening school we always welcome any new opportunities or experiences that we can undertake which will support the safeguarding of our children. There are many things that we do within our curriculum and/or as additional learning events that promote a culture of safeguarding at our school. We consider this ongoing, consistent and constant approach to safeguarding to be a real strength of our school as it rightly should be.

Miss Janet Hoy

Headteacher