Safeguarding and Supporting Parents
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. All adults in the USH community work together to protect our children.
Safeguarding means:
- protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
- preventing harm to children’s health or development
- ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
- taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.
Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection (see our dedicated Child Protection Policy) which details how we respond to concerns about a child.
Parents and carers work in partnership with the school and we recognise that from time to time you may need support. Here are some useful links to a range of established services and guidance groups to help families who may need extra help. Scroll to the bottom of this page for information about Safeguarding arrangements during lockdown.
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NSPCC: 0808 800 5000 |
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Coronavirus Safeguarding Arrangements during Lockdown
Reporting a concern:
- As most children will not be physically attending school, staff will continue to look for signs of children at risk, and continue to record in school systems, anything noticed, however small. Mental and emotional health awareness will be an important facet of staff knowledge. Staff will be vigilant to observe behaviours of children who are attending live learning lessons. Concerns may be different to those that may be more usually seen when face to face with children and young people.
- Concerns will be shared with the safeguarding team as per the normal policy.
- If a parent is concerned about their own child or another young person they can inform any member of the pastoral team or Designated Safeguarding Lead, Miss Clements.
Attendance:
- During
the period of national lockdown, USH remains open to vulnerable children and
young people and the children of critical workers only. Vulnerable children are
defined by the government as those who are being assessed under Section 17 of
the Children Act 1989, or have been identified as vulnerable by the school.
- All other
pupils will receive remote education. Pupils who are self-isolating should not
attend school. Clinically extremely vulnerable pupils are also advised not to
attend school.
- Schools will continue to record attendance as per the government guidance during a school closure period. Schools will follow up on absences of the pupils who are expected to be in school but where a parent wishes for their child to be absent, the school will authorise the absence during this national lockdown period. Parents can be assured that absence escaltation procedures will be suspended during lockdown.
Vulnerable children
not attending school:
- Vulnerable
children will be encouraged to attend school, particularly where the social
worker (if applicable) agrees that attendance would be appropriate.
- Any
vulnerable children expected in school will be contacted if they do not
attend. If contact cannot be made, other
parent/carer contacts will be attempted.
Where no contact can be made and the school is concerned, then the local
authority and/or social services may be informed. If appropriate, doorstep-home visits may be
made to check on the child.
- Weekly contact will be made with vulnerable children not in school.
Working remotely:
- USH will
continue to ensure that appropriate filters and monitoring systems are in place
to protect children when they are on-line using the settings IT systems of
recommended resources.
- Communications
to parents will set out clearly what children and young people will be asked to
accessed and which staff will be communicating with their children during this
time.
- Expected
pupil conduct during remote lessons has been clearly communicated to parents
including actions that staff may take if pupils do not follow the expectations
for behaviour online.
- Staff will be made aware of the processes, protocols and code of conduct they should follow when working remotely from school and remotely online.
Maintaining a strong
safeguarding curriculum:
We
recognise that children may be worried and anxious at this time. Where appropriate, we will signpost children
to helpful information via the family newsletter. In addition the following links maybe useful:
Government guidance for parents and carers on children’s health and wellbeing
Axel Scheffler Coronavirus information story book illustrated for younger readers