Safeguarding
Southwood Infant School is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for children, staff and visitors and promoting a culture where children and adults will feel confident about sharing any concerns which they may have about their own safety or the well-being of others.
We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This page has been created to offer important information to parents/carers regarding issues surrounding Safeguarding & Child Protection.
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We are fully committed to ensuring that consistent, effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support children, families and staff at school.
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We ensure that all staff receive appropriate training, guidance and support to undertake the effective safeguarding of children.
If you have any concerns regarding the safety or well-being of a child or children at our school, come and talk to our Safeguarding team.
Our Designated Safeguarding Leaders (DSL) are:
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Mrs Z Wisken Designated Safeguarding Lead Headteacher |
Miss R Park Deputy DSL Assistant Headteacher
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Mrs STaylor Deputy DSL SENCO
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Mrs H Stiff Safeguarding Governor Chair of Goveronrs
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Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. For example, Children Services, Early Help Hub, Mental Health Support Teams (MHST), health and police. We will ensure that our concerns about our children are discussed with their parents/ carers first unless we have reason to believe that it would be contrary to the child’s welfare.
Policies
Safeguarding is the policies and practices that schools and Governing Bodies employ to keep children safe and promote their well-being. This means everything from security of the buildings, to the safe recruitment of staff and everything in between. Southwood Infant Schools Safeguarding and Child Protection Policies are available by clicking the links and are reviewed annually.
Child Protection Policy
Link to Child Protection Policy
Safeguarding Policy
Reporting a Concern about Abuse or Neglect
If you have concerns that a child you know is at risk of serious harm through abuse or neglect, it is important that you report your worries to the correct agency. Support can be found through the link below which will direct you to children’s services or please contact the school for help.
https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/childrenandfamilies/safeguardingchildren
This team will use your information to make a decision about how they can best respond to your concerns.
You can also report your concerns to the NSPCC who will offer you support and advice if you are feeling worried about a child’s safety:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/report-abuse/
Resources
The NSPCC has a wide range of resources that help adults keep children safe from abuse and other dangers, both online and in the physical world.
P.A.N.T.S: Teach your child the Underwear Rule and help protect them from abuse. It’s a simple way that parents can help keep children safe from sexual abuse:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule/
Any links to local or national advice and guidance can be accessed via the safeguarding education webpages:
www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/safeguardingchildren/guidance
Focus Safeguarding days and assemblies
At Southwood, we have a cycle of safeguarding days and assemblies that include:
- Child protection
- Hygiene
- E-Safety
- Anti-bullying
- Fire safety
- Road safety
How we support our families
We aim to support our families to ensure the safety and well-being of children through:
- Regular newsletters
- Child and parent workshops eg. NSPCC on-line safety
- An open door policy
- Enabling access to the Early Help Hub and other referrals
- Support from our SENDCo
The school has supportive culture for children and their families. We can offer parent coffee mornings and signposting for parenting courses, along with being a listening ear - something we all need from time to time.
“If children feel safe,
they can take risks, ask questions,
make mistakes, learn to trust,
share their feelings, and grow.” ~ Alfie Kohn