Safeguarding

Safeguarding at Sacred Heart Primary School

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are fully committed to ensuring that consistent effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support families, children and staff at school. We believe all staff and visitors have an important and unique role to play in child protection.

At Sacred Heart we believe:

All children have the right to be protected from harm
Children need support which matches their individual needs, including those who may have experienced abuse
Children need to be safe and feel safe in school

Designated Child Protection Officers at Sacred Heart:
The Lead DSL, Mr Sean Woods, Headteacher, is a member of the Senior Leadership Team. The Deputy Designated Child Protection Officer’s are Miss Laura Wise and Miss Jenny Cook who are both members of the Senior Leadership Team. The Designated Governor is Mrs Claire Iles / Mrs Louise Liddle. These officers have undertaken the relevant training.

Cause for Concern:
Staff are expected to report any causes for concern to the DSL or Deputy DSL using a written pro-forma. Concerns may range from children being visibly upset to persistent lateness to children “disclosing” concerns.

When the school has concerns about a child, the DSL will act as a source of support, advice and expertise to staff on matters of safety and safeguarding and when deciding whether to make a referral by liaising with relevant agencies. In general, we will discuss concerns with parents/carers before approaching other agencies, and will seek their consent to making a referral to another agency. Appropriate staff will approach parents/carers after consultation with the DSL. However, there may be occasions when school will contact another agency before informing parents/carers, if the school decides that contacting them may increase the risk of significant harm to the child.

Child Protection information will be dealt with in a confidential manner.

Safeguarding Policies:
General information about safeguarding related policies and practices within our school can be found in the Policies section of the website. Guidance and advice about how to keep your child safe online can be found in the E-Safety section of the website. Links to these sections are below.

Operation Encompass:
We are involved in a new innovative project that schools in Gateshead will be participating in. The project, called Operation Encompass, is being run in partnership with both Gateshead Council and Northumbria Police. The project aims to support children who are affected by Domestic Abuse.

Classroom Worry Boxes:
Each classroom has its own ‘worry box’ so if children have any worries – big or small – they can use these to ask for help or just to arrange a time to chat with a teacher.