Safeguarding Statement
Safeguarding Statement
Safeguarding our Pupils
At Loudwater Combined School, the health, safety and well-being of every child are our paramount concerns. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. Our school procedures for safeguarding children are in line with Buckinghamshire Council and Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board Child Protection Procedures, “Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018” and “Keeping Children Safe in Education” 2023 and statutory guidance issued under section 29 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.
We recognise school plays a significant part in the prevention of harm to our children by providing them with effective lines of communication with trusted adults, supportive friends and an ethos of protection. We include within this the emotional wellbeing of our students and recognise the role school plays in recognising and preventing the political indoctrination of pupils either by self-radicalisation or through exposure to extremist views.
To provide a safe environment for pupils, we practice safer recruitment procedures, which includes all checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including disclosure and barring checks, as recommended by Buckinghamshire Council in accordance with current legislation. In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175 of the Education Act 2002, we have a Designated Person for Child Protection (Mrs Clare Cunnington) who has received appropriate training for this role. It is her responsibility to ensure that all staff in contact with children receive child protection awareness training on a regular basis.
On rare occasions our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies even before we contact parents. The procedures, which we follow, have been laid down by the Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership, and the school has adopted a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all. If you want to know more about our procedures or the policy, please speak to the head teacher or your child’s class teacher.
Preventing Radicalisation in school
Building resilience in our young people and the promotion of fundamental British values is at the heart of preventing radicalisation. We do this by providing a safe place in which children can discuss issues, and we aim to give them the knowledge and confidence to challenge extremist beliefs and ideologies.
Our prevent duty, is carried out under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, which legally requires us to take steps to prevent pupils from being drawn into terrorism. We take this duty seriously and carry out the four main actions responsibly, namely: risk assessment, working in partnership, staff training and IT policies. If we assess a child as at risk, we will refer to the Channel Programme, which focuses on providing support at an early stage to people who are identified as being vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.
Staff have receive WRAP (Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent) and training to familiarise them with the Prevent Duty . In terms of internet safety, we ensure suitable filters are in place to keep children away from extremist materials, in keeping with guidelines.
We recognise that we play a vital role in keeping children safe from harm, including from the risks of extremism and radicalisation, and in promoting the welfare of children in our care.
What we do if there is a concern
If we have a concern about a particular pupil we will follow the school’s normal safeguarding procedures, including discussing with the school’s designated safeguarding lead, and where deemed necessary, with children’s social care. In Prevent priority areas, the local authority will have a Prevent lead who can also provide support.
We may also contact the local police force or dial 101 (the non-emergency number). They can talk to us in confidence about concerns and help us gain access to support and advice.
The Department for Education has dedicated a telephone helpline (020 7340 7264) to enable staff and governors to raise concerns relating to extremism directly. Concerns can also be raised by email to counter.extremism@education.gsi.gov.uk. Please note that the helpline is not intended for use in emergency situations, such as a child being at immediate risk of harm or a security incident In an emergency situation we will follow the recommended emergency procedures.
If you are concerned about a child please speak to us at school or see the Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership guidance: https://www.buckssafeguarding.org.uk/childrenpartnership/
Designated Person for Child Protection is: Mrs Clare Cunnington (Head teacher).
Deputy Designated Persons for Child Protection are Mrs Belinda Welland (Deputy Head teacher) and Gemma Northeast (Family Support Adviser).
Governor with responsibility for Child Protection is Mr Paul Randall (Chair of Governors).