Safeguarding at School

At The Place Independent School the proprietors and staff fully recognise the contribution the school makes to safeguarding children. We recognise that the safety and protection of all young people is of paramount importance and that all staff, including volunteers, have a full and active part to play in providing early help protecting young people from harm. We believe that the school should provide a caring, positive, safe and stimulating environment which promotes all young people’s’ social, physical, emotional and moral development.

 

Effective safeguarding of children can only be achieved by putting children at the centre of the system, and by every individual and agency playing their full part, working together to meet the needs of our most vulnerable children, in line with Working Together 2023 and Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025.

 

What do we aim to do: 

·       confirm that the young people’s’ development is supported in ways that will foster security, confidence and independence

·       raise the awareness of teachers, non-teaching staff and volunteers of the need to safeguard children and of their responsibilities in identifying and reporting possible cases of abuse

·       confirm the structured procedures to be followed by all members of the school community is cases of suspected harm or abuse

·       emphasise the need for good levels of communication between all members of staff and those with designated responsibility for child safeguarding, mental health, attendance, health and safety and other safeguarding responsibilities

·       emphasise the importance of maintaining and implementing appropriate safeguarding policies, procedures and arrangements of those service providers who use the school’s premises through extended schools or provide any other before and after school activities

·       highlight the connection between the Safeguarding Policy and the school’s policy for safer recruitment of staff and volunteers, and for managing allegations

·       confirm the working relationship with the Local Authorities that we work with including Nottinghamshire MASH, Nottingham City MASH, Nottingham City Safeguarding Partners, Lincolnshire and other agencies and, where appropriate with similar services in neighboring authorities.

 

 

All staff, teaching and non-teaching, volunteers and others working in school need to:

·       read and understand a minimum of Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025

·       be aware that to safeguard children, they have a duty to share information with the designated leads, and through the designated lead, with other agencies

·       be aware that despite the requirement to share information with designated leads they can make their own referral to Children’s Social Care, e.g., in urgent situations

·       be alert to signs and symptoms of harm and abuse. Further information regarding potential indicators of abuse, including specific information about risks such as Female Genital Mutilation and Forced Marriage are available through our in house training and our training links on National College.

·       know how to respond to their duty when they have concerns or when a young person discloses to them and to act

·       know how to record concerns and what additional information may be required

·       undergo child safeguarding training which is updated regularly in line with advice, (whole staff training every year and revisited termly or if a need arises) and statutory guidance (KCSIE, 2025)

·       recognise that abuse and neglect

·       report where can happen in any setting and maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’

·       they see or suspect that unacceptable content is being accessed online despite filtering and monitoring systems

·       ensure appropriate supervision when children are accessing online platforms

·       give due consideration to planned lesson content where it may impact the schools filtering and monitoring process, See E-safety policy for further information.

·       Staff will be aware a child being absent from school is a potential indicator of abuse or neglect and, as such, these young people’s are particularly at risk of being victims of harm, sexual and criminal exploitation, forced marriage, female genital mutilation or radicalisation. Staff will monitor young people’s that are absent from school, particularly on repeat occasions, and report them to the DSL following normal safeguarding procedures, and in accordance with the school Attendance Policy.