We believe that the purpose of safeguarding is to ensure every child at Bolton-le-Sands CE Primary School is safe and protected from harm. The Department for Education (DfE) ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE September 2020), states that safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
- Protecting children from maltreatment.
- Preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development.
- Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.
- Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
Our safeguarding procedures give clear direction to all stakeholders about expectations and our legal responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children at our school. For further information, please read our Safeguarding Policy.
Prevent Strategy Information for Parents
Operation Encompass
Our school is part of Operation Encompass. This is a Police and Education Early Intervention Safeguarding Partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse.
Online Safety
As our school becomes increasingly active in the world of digital learning, communication and content (blogging, Twitter, website, email, ‘the cloud’ etc) there is a real need to recognise that digital technologies are used by people in ways that can create very serious difficulties (or worse) for children.
We also recognise that an increasing number of children access a range of devices in and out of school. These may include access to mobile devices, such as tablets and smart phones, on a frequent basis. This tools can be invaluable but they also come with risks.
As a school we wish to do all we can to safeguard children and to promote new ways of working. To this end, we regularly evaluate our policy and procedures to ensure that we keep up-to-date with technological changes and advances.
There is a wealth of useful online safety information for parents in a variety of sources. Please see below some useful links that may help you to tackle online safety at home.
Online Safety Support for Parents
Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership
Online Safety Tips for Parents
Staying Safe Online: A Guide for Parents
National Online Safety: 7 Conversation Starters
National Online Safety: Age Ratings
National Online Safety: Instagram
National Online Safety: WhatsApp
National Online Safety: YouTube
Minecraft Information for Parents
Wellbeing Resources
Coping with bereavement
At different times in a child’s life he or she will face the loss of a loved one and have many questions and concerns. The Local Authority has a range of different services that can help at this difficult time.
Please click here for a list of wellbeing services for children and adults.
Taking care of children’s mental health
The following websites offer advice and information on a variety of mental health issues.
Mind Ed http://www.minded.org.uk – Free online education to help adults to identify and understand children and young people with mental health issues
Mind http://www.mind.org.uk – Lots of advice and guidance on various mental health issues
Sleep Council http://www.sleepcouncil.org.uk – Advice for better sleep and about the affects of technology
Understanding Childhood http://www.understandingchildhood.net – Information leaflets for families and professionals