Keeping Children Safe
Safeguarding at Swimbridge
Our School Will:
Provide an ethos where children feel secure, are encouraged to talk and are listened to.
Ensure that children know there is an adult in school they can approach if they are worried or in difficulty.
Include opportunities for our children to learn the skills they need to stay safe from harm and who they should turn to for help.
Swimbridge School Safeguarding and child protection policy Sept 2023.docx.pdfSafeguarding Statement
Swimbridge CE Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
We recognise that all adults, including temporary staff, volunteers and governors, have a full and active part to play in protecting our pupils from harm, and that the child’s welfare is our paramount concern.
(The word “staff” is used to cover ALL staff on site, including ancillary supply and self-employed staff, contractors, volunteers and governors.)
The Safeguarding Team
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Dan Polak
Deputy DSLs: Gemma Poland, Penny Lewis and Claire Holm
Governor for Safeguarding: Angela Ward
SENDCo: Kate Ashley (TEAM Sendco)
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub
The MASH is the central resource for the whole of Devon receiving all safeguarding and child protection enquiries. It is staffed with professionals from a range of agencies including police, probation, fire, ambulance, health, education and social care. These professionals share information to ensure early identification of potential significant harm, and trigger interventions to prevent further harm.
If you are concerned about a child or young person in Devon and want to speak to someone contact MASH on 0345 155 1071 or email mashsecure@devon.gov.uk and give as much information as you can.
Operation Encompass
Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has exposed to, or involved in, any domestic incident.
Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school staff, known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been involved in, or exposed to, a domestic abuse incident.
E-Safety
It is our absolute priority at Swimbridge to keep children safe. As such, we would like to remind all parents and carers of the following information.
Please be aware that all social networking sites and apps have age restrictions. For instance, children should be age 13+ to use Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Musical.ly, Snapchat and YouTube. Further information about age restrictions and risks on popular sites can be found at www.net-aware.org.uk
Specifically, we advise:
* Children should NOT accept friend or follower requests from anyone they do not know on any app or site
* Children should always use the internet / apps in living areas where parents are around to supervise or support
* Children should be encouraged to share with you what they are doing on the internet and to speak up if inappropriate comments or language are used
Please talk to your children about this issue and help them to manage their internet accounts, ensuring their use is appropriate given their age, that any posts are private and any ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ they interact with, including on Xbox games etc. are known friends or family members.
Parental Controls
Parental controls are the names for a group of settings that put you in control of what content your child can see. Combined with privacy settings these can help you protect your children from the things they shouldn’t see or experience online.
Advice on setting parental controls, along with lots of other useful advice, can be found at https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/
If you have any concerns, please come into school where we will do our very best to support.