Safeguarding Policy
Child Protection/Safeguarding
Our school has a duty to take reasonable action to ensure the welfare and safety of our pupils. In cases where staff have cause to be concerned about the welfare of a pupil or concerns that there may be neglect or ill treatment, staff will follow Local Authority guidance. Click on the links to access our Safeguarding Policy and Child Protection Policy.
Designated Safeguarding Officer – Headteacher - Mrs Parnell
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Officer – Mrs Knight, Mrs Hall, Mrs Ashworth
Designated Safeguarding Governor – Chair of Governors, Mrs Dowson
All staff, governors and indeed all other individuals that come into St Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School, including parent helpers and other volunteers, have an up to date DBS check.
We are an Operation Encompass school
Operation Encompass is designed to provide early reporting to schools of any domestic abuse incidents that occur outside of normal school hours and that might have had an impact on a child attending our premises the following day. This information will be shared at the earliest opportunity between Monday to Thursday and, when an incident occurs on a Friday, Saturday or a Sunday, the police will contact us the following Monday.
A nominated member of school staff, known as a key adult, will receive awareness training to enable them to liaise with the police. They will be able to use information that has been shared with them, in confidence, to ensure that our school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children or their families. Information will be shared where it is identified that a child or young person was present, witnessed or was involved in a domestic abuse incident.
Operation Encompass was introduced in Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall, in February 2011 and has proved very effective in providing appropriate support in a timely manner. This initiative has already been implemented in Hartlepool and is now being extended across the Cleveland Police area. If you would like some more information about Operation Encompass and the benefits of it, you can view this online at http://www.cleveland.police.uk/advice-information/OperationEncompass.aspx
We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our children and we believe this is initiative is going to be extremely beneficial and supportive for all those involved.
“We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.”