Safeguarding, Prevent and E-safety

‘Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.’

(“Working Together to Safeguarding Children” 2018)

At Ladybridge Primary School, we recognise our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children. We endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued. We are alert to the signs of abuse and neglect and follow our internal procedures to ensure that children receive effective support and protection.

Child Protection and Safeguarding procedures apply to all staff, volunteers and governors and any adult visiting the school site and are consistent with those of the local safeguarding children board. Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play in safeguarding children.

Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Emma Hill (Co-Headteacher) Mr Tom Bolan-Ashworth (Co-Headteacher)

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads: Mrs Amy Davies (Deputy Headteacher), Miss Sarah Ratcliffe (Pastoral Lead), Mrs Katherine Dumenil (Business Manager)

Safeguarding Governor: Kate Sargent

MASSH

The Multi-Agency Safeguarding & Support Hub (MASSH) is a partnership between Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council children's social care, education and youth services, Stockport NHS, Greater Manchester Police and the Probation Service working together to safeguard children and young people. We have a duty of care to the children in our school to report concerns in a timely manner and seek appropriate advice to ensure the safety of children and their families.

If you have any concerns about a child or young person in Stockport being at risk of harm, abuse or neglect, it is important that you contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASSH) on 0161 217 6028 and give as much information as you can. However, if the child is at immediate risk then call the Police on 999.

You can also report any concerns anonymously through the NSPCC website.

OPERATION ENCOMPASS

As part of Adswood Primary School's commitment to keeping children safe we have signed up to implement the principles and aims of the Operation Encompass Model. Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has been exposed to, or involved in, any domestic incident.

In signing up to Encompass the Governing Board and Senior Leadership Team:

Endorse the Encompass Model and support the Key Adults in our school to fulfil the requirements of the Encompass Protocol

Promote and implement Encompass processes and use these in accordance with internal safeguarding children processes.

Recognise the sensitive nature of the information provided and ensure that this is retained in accordance with the principles of data protection

Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school staff, known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been involved in, or exposed to, a domestic abuse incident. At our school the Key Adults are Emma Hill, Tom Bolan-Ashworth and Any Davies.

We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved. If you would like more information about this initiative, you can contact our Key Adults at school.

Team Around the School

Parents/Carers can also access parenting drop-in support through schools link School Aged Plus (SA+) workers. They can provide parents with tips and strategies on challenging behaviour, routines and boundaries.

Parents/Carers can also access drop-in sessions with the school nurse. She can support with any worries about your child’s wellbeing or general health, sleep routines, diet and physical activity levels or bladder and bowel issues.

Sarah Ratcliffe meets regularly (approx. every half term) with the team for our Team Around the School meetings.

Prevent

The way we educate our young people shapes the society we will live in. British schools have long been dedicated to encouraging students to think for themselves and to think about others, a blend of critical thinking and empathy that is the best inoculation against radicalism and extremism.”  Russell Hobby NAHT General secretary 06/11

In March 2015 new statutory duties were placed on schools by the ‘Counter Terrorism and Security Act’ (2015) which means we must work to prevent children being drawn into extremism. Safeguarding children from all risks of harm is an important part of a school’s work and protecting them from extremism is one aspect of that.

As a school we believe that our children should be given the opportunity to explore diversity and understand Britain as a multi-cultural society. Providing a safe learning environment in which children can raise controversial questions and concerns without fear of reprimand or ridicule and explore boundaries of what’s acceptable engenders an open attitude to multi-cultural and race issues. Our teaching is based on the principle that we should treat everyone with respect whatever their race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, special need or disability. We aim to enable our teachers to engage children in promoting a positive attitude to others with a focus on shared values whilst developing a high regard for themselves. By building self-esteem children are encouraged to stand firm and be positive about others and not influenced by negative peer pressure.

What is PREVENT?

PREVENT is a key part of the Government’s strategy to prevent extremism and radicalisation. Early intervention is at the heart of PREVENT in diverting people away from being drawn into terrorist activity. PREVENT happens before any criminal activity takes place – it is about recognising, supporting and protecting people who might be susceptible to radicalisation in whatever form that may take e.g. developing and pursuing political and religious beliefs that may harm and endanger others.

Awareness of PREVENT, and an understanding of the risks it is intended to address, is vital to help identify young people whose behaviours suggests they may be drawn into terrorism or extremism.

Radicalisation: process by which people come to support terrorism and extremism and in some cases, go on to participate in terrorist groups.

Extremism: vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths.

Warning Signs and Risk Factors

Accessing extremist websites, especially those with a social networking element

Possessing extremist literature

Peer, social, family or faith group rejection

International events in areas of conflict and civil unrest having a personal impact on the young person resulting in a noticeable change in behaviour

Verbal or written support of terrorist attacks or extremist views

First-hand experience of racial or religious hate crime

Extended periods of travel to international locations known to be associated with extremism

Evidence of fraudulent identity/use of documents to support this

Experience of disadvantage, discrimination or social exclusion

History of criminal activity

Pending a decision on their immigration/national status

Being in contact with extremist recruiters

Help and advice

If you need help or advice about PREVENT, please contact DSL Mr Richard Clarke or Mrs Smart . Concerns about suspicious activity or behaviour can be reported to the Confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321. In the case of an immediate threat, always dial 999.

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Sexual Exploitation (or CSE) is a term that explains what happens when abusers encourage children and young people under 18 into sexually exploitative situations, contexts and relationships. These often involve the young person being given things such as food, accommodation, drugs, affection, gifts of money in return for performing sexual activities. Victims will often be groomed for a period of time before physical or sexual abuse takes place.

Child Sexual Exploitation is a form of child abuse, it is not a specific criminal offence but the term encompasses a range of different forms of serious criminal conduct and a number of individual offences. The sexual exploitation of a child or young person will almost certainly involve the commission of a crime, or have the potential for a crime to be committed.

CSE can occur through the use of technology without the child’s immediate recognition, for example the persuasion to post or send sexual images of themselves with no immediate payment or gain. In all cases, those exploiting the young person have power over them by virtue of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and resources available to them.

Violence, coercion and intimidation are common in child sexual exploitation cases as many perpetrators target vulnerable young people. The vulnerability is often due to economic or physical circumstances that leave the young people with few choices, however, it is important to remember any child may be targeted so it is important to help them keep safe.

E-Safety

Information on CEOP

The 'Click CEOP' button is an asset of the National Crime Agency CEOP command which works to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation both online and offline. It has been developed for children and young people and is offered as a convenient and potentially less intimidating method of reporting these sensitive types of crime, alternative to face-to-face and telephone reporting to local police forces. It provides children and young people with access to an online mechanism for reporting known or suspected child sexual exploitation or child sexual abuse directly to CEOP.

Reporting to CEOP

CEOP takes all reports seriously and children of all ages can report through the Click CEOP button below. The reporting form is designed to be as accessible as possible by children, but it is highly recommend that young children seek the support of an adult they trust to help them make a report.

All reports to CEOP are treated sensitively and are read and risk assessed by a CEOP Child Protection Adviser. It is not possible to report to CEOP anonymously as CEOP have a duty to ensure the child or young person is safe. Reports made outside of office hours are viewed by the NCA Control Centre. Urgent concerns about a child’s safety are referred by the Control Centre to local police. CEOP advise any urgent reports where a child is in immediate danger should be reported to the local police force where the child is located.

PACE (Parents against Child Sexual Abuse) have created a free online learning module about the signs and symptoms as well as the impact of CSE. It also gives advice on what to do when you think a child might be at risk of CSE http://paceuk.info/training/keep-them-safe/.

E-safety does not finish with the end of school. Many children will go home and access the internet on any number of devices from desk top computers to lap tops and notebooks to tablets to mobile phones to games consoles. It can be a bewildering and ever changing world for parents, knowing what children are doing and what apps and software they are using.

We have included a number of guides to different aspects of staying safe which we hope you will find useful.

These first two sites give general information about esafety at home and specific guidance about particular websites, apps, videogames and programmes. If you have a question about what your child might be accessing online, you can seek information and advice from Protect Young Eyes – Defending Kids From Online Danger  (protectyoungeyes.com) and Net Aware : Your guide to the social networks your kids use (part of the NSPCC website)

We have compiled a list of the following sites give specific information about particular internet dangers that you may have questions about.

Help and advice for families in a digital world    CLICKHERE

An excellent resource put together by CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) that covers a wide range of online protection issues giving advice and information to parents.

The current advice from CEOP is that parents  should work to create a positive relationship with their children around their internet use, closely supervising younger children’s online access, and crucially, ensuring their children feel they can tell them (or another trusted adult) if they ever encounter anything worrying. Parental controls go some way to protecting children from accidentally viewing disturbing content but are unlikely to prevent it in many cases, for example when content  has been deliberately spliced into content aimed at children.

Parental Controls for iPads, iPhones and iPods  OurPact
OurPact  is a free parental control app which allows you to control and block the internet and Applications on individual devices in your home, teaching children proper device use and responsibility. The parental control solution gives parents the ability to manage their child’s screen time throughout the day. Parents can enforce bedtime, set dinnertime, manage study time and schedule family time throughout the day. By syncing your family’s iPads, iPhones, and iPods to OurPact, you can have the power to manage your entire family’s screen time & device use under one platform.
Netflix Parental Controls – how to set them
Many families have signed up for a video on demand online service. But how do you manage what your children watch – or buy? Netflix can be viewed on lots of devices including tablets and games consoles so children could be watching programmes without parents knowing. This handout looks at how to set up effective parental controls on video on demand services online, and how to prevent young people viewing content or spending money services that you don’t want them to.
Roblox
ROBLOX is a gaming platform where you can create your own games or play games that other users have made. There is also the option to chat to other players which means that children can be at risk of talking to other users they do not know. For this reason, it is important that parents monitor their child’s use of the platform. This guide will help you identify the possible dangers in allowing access to this game. The developers of Roblox have also published their own parental guidance that you can download here.
Pokemon Go: Tips and advice for keeping children safe on Pokemon Go
GoPokémon Go is a game where you collect and trade cute creatures called Pokémon (Pocket Monsters). It’s one of the first popular games to use “augmented reality” – a kind of cross between real life and an online world. The game makes it look like Pokémon appear in real life places by using the GPS and camera on your phone. It’s already become a craze in Australia and America, and has made it’s way into the news across the world. This guide will take you through what you need to know about the game and how you can help keep children using the app safe.
Guide to Using Social Media
Social networking is hugely popular. Many young people are sophisticated in the way they use social media apps and websites, tailoring their communication for different audiences, and accessing them from a range of devices including smartphones, tablets, and games consoles. But social media, like all forms of public communication, comes with some risks. Not all of these risks turn into actual problems; and if children never face any risks, they never learn how to deal with them. By helping your child understand what the risks are, you can play a big part in preventing them from turning into problems. This guide can help you discuss these issues. Further advice can be found using this link – Tips to Help You Guide Your Children’s Use of Social Media
A Parents’ and Carers’ Guide to Snapchat
Snapchat is a photo and video sharing app with a twist. The media you send disappear seconds after they’re viewed you get to decide how long a photo will “live,” from 1 to 10 seconds, after it’s viewed. There are still potential esafety dangers and this guide will help you find out what they might be and how to deal with them.
A Parents’ and Carers’ Guide to Instagram guide
Instagram is a simple photo and video sharing app with a huge and growing following, instagram especially among young people. Like everybody,kids use it to capture special moments, but also to carry on conversations in a fun way – using photos, filters, comments, captions, emoticons, hashtags and links elsewhere to talk about things and share interests. There are still potential esafety dangers and this guide will help you find out what they might be and how to deal with them.
ooVoo – a Guide for Parents and Carers
ooVoo is a video chat app. It lets you make video calls, voice calls and send texts to friends and family. It allows users to communicate via a group video chat with up to 12 people – a great way to see people that may live far away. Like many other sites and apps, ooVoo is used by both adults and children. This means that children can be directly contacted by an adult they don’t know. Also, activity on services such as ooVoo is often adult in nature. To find out more about how ooVoo works and e-safety guidelines for the app, look at the guide.

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