Keeping Children Safe

At Harlow Green Community Primary School, we aim to ensure that our duty of care fulfils the requirements of ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’. All children, whatever their race, gender, religion, disability, culture and class, have the right to grow up unharmed, to have the opportunity to develop fully, and to have their basic needs met.

Harlow Green Community Primary School promotes the principals:

• That the welfare of the child is paramount
• That we have a duty to ascertain the wishes and feelings of the child, in the lights of their age and understanding
• That we need to encourage all children to have a positive self-image, thereby increasing their level of confidence
• That we must promote the development of the child to their full potential: intellectual, cultural, physical, social, emotional and behavioural in a non-threatening and secure environment where they feel valued and respected and they value and respect others and their property
• That we must promote the protection of children from harm or ill treatment, including supporting a child`s development in ways which will foster self-esteem, security, confidence and independence to help ensure their own protection and understand the importance of protecting others.

Within school, we have a Designated Safeguarding Lead as well as Deputy Safeguarding Leads.  As part of the leadership and oversight of safeguarding, there is a link governor who will meet with DSLs as part of the school’s monitoring processes.

The role of this team is to lead and co-ordinate safeguarding practices within school so that it complies with legislation but, more importantly, to ensure that children and families are supported to keep them safe.

Those involved in leading safeguarding must undertake specific training which enables the individual to develop effective systems in schools which will help identify concerns and react when concerns are raised from families and agencies.

If a parent/carer has a concern about the safety of others – children or adults – it is important that this is shared with school and, in particular, the designated leads.  Even if the concern turns out not to be an issue, it is always better to have raised it.

‘In terms of safeguarding, you cannot be criticised for intervening, but you can be at fault for doing nothing.’

How are children supported to understand how to keep themselves safe?

Within school, there are many opportunities for staff to work with children and support their understanding of their personal safety.  This will happen within normal interactions, within the general curriculum, and through additional activities.

• The school has three rules – Ready, Respectful, Safe – and children are taught that the main responsibility of staff is to keep them safe ahead of anything else. However, children are also taught that they have a responsibility in keeping themselves safe through the decisions they make.
• Within specific subjects (i.e. PSHE, Science, Computing), children are taught about various aspects of their own personal safety in the home and out in the world.
• Through assemblies and visitors (e.g. police, nurses), children are able to focus on specific areas of their lives where their safety is a significant consideration.
• In addition to all of our work, we have chosen to be a KidSafe school which means a programme of work is delivered across each year group, on a half termly basis. Within this programme, children explore various scenarios and talk about their feelings of safety.  The key message is always about children identifying ‘trusted adults’, at home and at school, and ensuring that they are confident to share their ‘Yucky’ feelings knowing that they will be protected.

As a result of all of this work, children do speak with staff and share various aspects about how they feel; sometimes this can be about home-life.  Where this happens, children know that we never keep secrets and that we will speak with family members to help.

What will happen if school has a safeguarding concern about my child?

There are many reasons why a child’s context could raise some initial concerns to staff.  Through regular safeguarding training, staff are taught to be vigilant to even the slightest indication that there could be a worry for a child (e.g. things that they say, how they present). 

Where something has come to the attention of the member of staff, this will be passed on to a Designated Safeguarding Lead who will then decide on how to manage the situation depending on the nature of the concern.

• In most cases, a conversation between the teacher and parent/carer will take place which this usually clarifies the issue.
• Sometimes, a DSL will speak with a family member, and this may lead to identifying a specific low-level issue which can be addressed easily.
• In some cases, the issue is significant enough to require additional advice from Social Care colleagues who will be contacted by a DSL. Where this occurs, professionals will liaise to ensure they have the correct understanding of the situation and work with families to ensure that children and adults are safe.

It is understandable that parents/carers become anxious if discussion take place, especially if other agencies are contacted.  However, it is important to understand that while children’s safety is paramount, to make improvements, the emphasis is always on working together.

What should I do if I am worried about the safety of me or my family?

Life is full of ups and downs which can lead to periods where things have become challenging and that adults or children within the family are no longer thriving.  The first step is identifying this and being honest about the impact.  The next step is to talk to someone about the issues involved.

At Harlow Green, we encourage parents and carers to speak with key staff as issues begin to build.  There are different people who can be contacted, depending on who a parent or carer may feel most comfortable with.

In all situations, the aim for all staff is to support families so that they can get back on track and that all children and adults are safe and happy as quickly as possible.

What should I do if I am concerned about a child who is not part of my family?

Within any community, adults may see or hear things which raise concerns about children around them.  If this is the case, it is important that these are shared with the right people in order to identify whether support is needed.

It is possible to speak with a DSL at school as detailed above.  However, this can sometimes lead to difficulties with information being third hand.  Consequently, we would always advise that concerns are shared directly with the right agency.

Where there is a potential immediate safeguarding risk, the police should be contacted on 999 or 101.

If there are concerns about the general welfare and safety of a child, Gateshead Council's Children's Services (in confidence) can be contacted on:

0191 433 2653 (office hours: Monday - Thursday 9am - 5pm and Friday 9am - 4.30pm)

0191 477 0844 (out of hours, at night, at weekends and bank holidays) 

The Emergency Duty Team will help with personal or family problems that reach a crisis at these times. All calls go through to the Gateshead Care Call Service where a telephone operator takes all the calls. This service is the contact point for all council services out of hours. If the phone is not answered straightaway, please be patient as they will be dealing with another call.

Useful links

There are a range of agencies and services that can provide support and guidance in relation in to safeguarding.  The following links will direct to the websites of these agencies.