Safeguarding & Child Protection

What does Safeguarding look like at Paddock Wood Primary?

• All staff receive safeguarding training on induction as well as ongoing updates and personal development e.g. Online Safety, Prevent, County Lines.
• Allegations and concerns are reported proactively and taken seriously by all. Appropriate action is taken by the safeguarding team including rationale.
• We track and review the needs of our most vulnerable students regularly and involve outside agencies where required, beneficial or appropriate.
• We work with the Local Authority, Police and Support Services to ensure our students and families receive the support they need.
• We complete and review risk assessments to ensure that all potential dangers in activities have been identified.
• We teach our students how to identify dangers and keep themselves safe (including online) during weekly PSHE lessons, assemblies and tutor time.
• We understand that mental health and special education needs can have unique safeguarding requirements and regularly review these.
• Our students and staff are well trained to evacuate the building safely in case of fire or other emergencies.
• We have 3 experienced DSLs. Level 3 DSL Training is updated once every two years for all DSLs, SLT and Office Manager.
• Our safeguarding governor works closely with the school to ensure safeguarding practices are robust and upheld.
• All staff are DBS checked and can be identified easily via their ID badge which must be worn at all times. This is scanned upon entry into the school building.
• Our students have options and easy access to support from our student support mentors, wellbeing staff, safeguarding team and college leadership teams.

Further Information

Safeguarding and Mental Health Websites/Links

• NSPCC
• NHS
• Young Minds
• ChildLine
• Kooth - mental health and wellbeing

Online Safety

• ThinkUKnow - Ask the awkward
• ThinkUKnow
• GOV.UK - Internet Safety
• Parent Zone
• Childnet
• National Online Safety - parents receive a weekly online safety guide 'Wake up Wednesday' sent via the academy email.

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a national scheme that operates jointly between schools and all police forces. Operation Encompass means that our academy will be told, prior to the start of the next school day, when police have attended an incident of domestic abuse where there is a child or young person who attends our academy who is related to any of those involved in the incident.

We have ensured that a member of our staff, (Designated Safeguarding Lead) known as a Key Adult, has been trained about Operation Encompass procedures. This allows us to use the information that has been confidentially shared with us by the police, to understand how a child may be impacted by domestic abuse and to then offer support to the children in our care.

Find out more about Operation Encompass here

Child Protection Legislation