Safeguarding

Safe Guarding at East Wichel Primary School and Nursery

Schools are charged with maintaining a safe, supportive environment which protects the rights and needs of children at all times. School staff have regular contact with children and young people, and a responsibility to help to identify signs of children in need of additional support or protection accordingly. Together, these responsibilities are called safeguarding.

At East Wichel Primary School and Nursery, the safety and welfare of our children is at the heart of everything we do.

We recognise our safeguarding responsibilities to include:

Pupil safeguarding and the promotion of fundamental British values are a core business of our work at East Wichel Primary.

We have developed an open and safe learning environment in which pupils express their views, seek help and help others, they make use of our class Worry Boxes to share concerns with staff.  The promotion of equality of opportunity and diversity, for pupils and staff, helps prevent any form of direct or indirect discriminatory behaviour. Our children learn to not tolerate any prejudiced behaviour. Our behaviour policy promotes making good choices and exhibiting good learning behaviours.

Class times are time for sharing ideas, addressing concerns and promoting important values.

Assembly time and class discussions are used to promote personal safeguarding matters and explore themes. For example, we talk about anti- bullying including cyber bullying and British values including how these values are promoted in our multi – faith society.

Staff and children are quick to challenge stereotypes and the use of derogatory language in lessons and around school. Our school reflects the diversity of pupils’ experiences and provides pupils with a comprehensive understanding of people and communities beyond their immediate experience including the role of women in society and different family groups including same sex couples. Throughout the curriculum there are planned opportunities to promote all forms of equality and foster greater understanding of and respect for people off all faiths (and those with no faith), races, genders, ages, disability and sexual orientations, through their words, actions and in their influence. Opportunities are created in a variety of subjects to address areas of safeguarding, for example, themes are highlighted through novels in English lessons.

Time is taken at the beginning of every new school year to reaffirm school values, expectations and rules for living and learning at East Wichel Primary. This good start to the year, with everyone clear about their roles and responsibilities, sets the tone for the rest of the year and leads to excellent safeguarding outcomes.

Great importance is placed on identifying opportunities within the taught curriculum and throughout our assemblies for children to learn about safeguarding.

Our broad curriculum gives pupils opportunities to experience life in all its diversity, to acquire knowledge, understanding and skills that significantly impact on personal development, behaviour and welfare and equips every child with the knowledge and skills required for personal safeguarding.

We use the KAPOW PSHE curriculum which covers all areas of Safeguarding through each of the strands.

We are sensitive in our teaching and recognise that some more sensitive subjects need to be taught at an age appropriate level, or at a small group or 1:1 level where a more urgent need arises for example we offer the SOSS SEND programme for any pupils needing this in Year 5 and 6.

We plan to constantly challenge children to think deeply about safeguarding matters and their own personal physical and mental wellbeing. We value pupils’ questions and give them space for their own thoughts, ideas and concerns. We give them opportunities across the curriculum to explore values, personal rights, responsibilities and equal opportunities that develop moral concepts that impact positively on safeguarding, promote British values and prevent radicalisation and extremism.

There are many opportunities throughout our Learning in school to explore safeguarding issues.

Practical safeguarding opportunities are planned into the curriculum.

For example: 

• Our annual safeguarding assembly programme includes - ‘Speak out, Stay Safe’ NSPCC year group assemblies. Road, rail, canal, fire, sun and E-safety and where possible with support from external visitors including the police and other services. Anti-bullying week, Black History month and different religious festivals also feature in our rolling assembly programme.
• Out of school visits and opportunities such as bikeability and work with police officers in the community 
• Water safety is developed further with poolside and water safety through swimming lessons 
• Fire awareness is developed further with visits from the local fire service to specified year groups 
• Visitors from charities such as Barnados, NSPCC, the dogs trust to do focused projects
• Work from local voluntary sector services particularly around safe transition to Secondary school
• Online safety quizzes and training are part of our computing curriculum and Miss Wilkinson, our computing lead posts a termly update for parents about topical and current e-safety tips and guidance on class dojo
• We train and use of digital leaders in school
• Our Forest School Programme which incorporates “Stranger Danger”, being safe in the outdoors, what to do if ? - scenarios.
• What to do if you are separated from your group is discussed (in relation to school visits) 
• Safe use of technology including password security and privacy settings