Safeguarding

This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The designated safeguarding Leads are: Mrs Robinson (designated safeguarding lead) Miss Lister and Mrs Hache.

For all St. Joseph's Safeguarding Policies - please go to the school policies page.

Feeling Safe, Feeling Secure

Under the Education Act 2002 (Section 175), schools must make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Parent and carers should know that the law (Children Act 2006) requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare. This includes risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

Generally, the staff will seek  to discuss any concerns with parents and carers, and where possible, seek their consent to a referral to Social Care. This will only be done where such discussion will not place the child at increased risk of significant harm. Schools will seek advice form Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents and carers will appreciate that the designated person for child protection was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.    

St. Joseph's is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

Mrs Robinson, our Head Teacher, is the school’s designated lead member of staff for child protection and safeguarding (or 'DSL'). Miss Lister, the deputy, and Mrs Hache, our SENDco, are also responsible for safeguarding and are 'named people' for child protection (or Deputy DSL). This means that if you have a concern about your own or another child, you should speak to one of these members of staff.

Class teachers, in consultation with these staff members, are all responsible for pastoral care. If you have a concern, do not keep it to yourself!

If you need to talk to someone about something that is worrying you, we also have Jo Palmer from Catholic Care, who is experienced in counselling and social care. She comes to school on Tuesdays and you can make an appointment to see her if you wish. She is also available to support children who may be experiencing challenges, such as bereavement, separation, friendship difficulties, self-harm etc. Please speak to Mrs Robinson if you would like to refer your child into this support.

The school's Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and other Safeguarding Policies are under the 'School Policies' tab. 

Please see the Trust's website for further safeguarding Trust policies. These include policies about Online Safety, use of Volunteers, Acceptable Use Policies, Anti-bullying Policy, Whistelblowing Policy and the use of Medicines in school: Blessed Christopher Wharton, Catholic Academy Trust - Home (bcwcat.co.uk)

See our 'top tips' for keeping children safe online here!

Government safeguarding guidelines:

The government have produced some advice on how to keep your child safe whilst being online over the closure period and beyond. Their advice can be found following this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-online/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-parents-and-carers-to-keep-children-safe-online

The latest Keeping Children Safe in Education can be found on: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2

Bullying guidance can be found on: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying

Other information:

This website has lots of help guides for parents about various websites/games that children may use, such as Fortnite, Instagram, Facebook etc: https://parentzone.org.uk/advice/parent-guides

This leaflet has advice about how to keep your children safe while browsing the internet and using different sites.

Guidance on cyber bullying can be found on: https://www.childnet.com/resources/cyberbullying-guidance-for-schools

'Prevent' leaflet for parents

Here is a list of websites where you can find further information, help or advice on a number of issues. These websites are not suitable for children and should be used by adults requiring information only.

Here is a leaflet about inappropriate You tube videos and how you can help protect your child.

Please see also our dedicated pages for:

• Government safeguarding policies/documents
• The Prevent strategy
• Online safety