Safeguarding
Safeguarding across the Federation
The Federation of Holy Trinity and Little Marlow is dedicated to providing a safe and secure environment so effective teaching and learning can take place. We strive to ensure our school community is where each child can pursue success in the classroom, through Outdoor Learning, on the sports field and in all extra-curricula aspects of school life. We are a loving family where we encourage each other to flourish and we celebrate individuality and uniqueness.
Keeping our children safe is of paramount importance. We have robust systems in place and we listen to our children and take their concerns and worries seriously. It is every school’s statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, as outlined by the DFE in its publication Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). This means that a school must protect children from maltreatment, prevent impairment of children’s health or development, ensure that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and take action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
Across the Federation, we have safeguarding posters which are displayed to ensure all our children, staff and visitors are aware who they need to contact if they have a concern, are anxious or are worried about anything. The posters have been designed with the children in mind. All the children in school have been shown the posters to make them aware of the people that they can speak to if they are worried or upset.
Our Designated Safeguarding team is as follows:
Mrs Field – Designated Safeguarding Lead across the Federation
Mrs Harjette – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead at Holy Trinity
Miss Parmegiani – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead across the Federation
We ensure that everyone who comes into contact with children and their families is clear on the role that they play in safeguarding children and share in this responsibility. All staff and governors receive regular training; this was completed during our September 2022 inset where staff were updated with the recent changes to KCSIE. Our policies are shared, read and signed, and additionally we use SSS CPD training to ensure everyone is kept up-to-date throughout the year. New members of staff are trained as part of their induction package. The Federation is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all children, staff and visitors. In addition, we promote an ethos where children and adults feel confident about sharing their concerns about their own safety or the well-being of others.
Photographs and Videos
As a school we understand that sharing our children’s achievements with friends and family is something that many enjoy and is fantastic for the children’s self-esteem. Social media can be seen as a perfect solution for this and one of the questions that is frequently asked is “Why can’t I post photos of my child’s school play, sports day, event etc… ?”
Sharing images of children on social media sadly comes with and increasing number of risks.
Firstly, some children, parents or carers may not be comfortable with images being shared. Before any image is shared publicaly, the sharer should have the consent of the parents and children that are visible.
Images of children published on social media, especially if their school can be identified through uniform, logo, or buildings etc., can result in children being more vulnerable to grooming, and images being downloaded and shared by people not known to the families.
An additional, significant concern is that some of our children may be in care or have been adopted, and may be at risk if their family knew which school they were attending. Not all families share this knowledge with other parents, and a photo that includes their child may unintentionally, not only put them at potential risk, but could result in significant disruption to their life.
Finally, for the children, being in front of the whole school can be quite scary, having and then having lots of adults as well can become really daunting however, if there is then a bank of mobile phones and cameras pointing at them, it can be incredibly off-putting. What the children really want to see is your faces showing how much you are enjoying what they are doing. We all want to capture those special moments in our lives, but sometimes it means that we end up watching our children’s lives go by through a lens.
Many schools have put blanket bans into place however, we recognise how important these images are. As a Federation, we ask parents to ensure that all images taken on-site are only shared privately, and never posted publicaly without the explicit consent of the parents and children in the image. Many thanks for your understanding and continued support.
Below are some useful links to websites for parents, carers and family members.
https://nationalonlinesafety.com/guides
https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/
In the event that you become concerned for a child out of hours, please use the following information to report your concern directly to Buckinghamshire Council:
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL – FIRST RESPONSE TEAM
For any concerns about a child – including foster placements, notification of offenders in area, etc, you can make a referral to the First Response Team by completing a ‘Report a concern about a child online form’ at this address:
FIRST RESPONSE TEAM CONTACT DETAILS
Telephone: – 01296 383962 between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.
If you need an urgent response outside of these hours, contact the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 0800 999 7677.
Email: secure-cypfirstresponse@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
If there is immediate risk of harm to a child, call the Police on 999
For more information about safeguarding in Buckinghamshire, follow the link below:
https://www.buckssafeguarding.org.uk/childrenpartnership/reporting-a-concern/report-a-concern-professional/#:~:text=First%20Response%20Team%20Contact%20Details,EDT)%20on%200800%20999%207677.
Social Media