Safeguarding and Child Protection
Little Plumstead CofE Primary Academy is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children at all times. We expect all staff, governors and volunteers to share this commitment, and training, monitoring and reporting procedures are in place to ensure this commitment is realised.
We aim to provide a safe environment that is conducive to learning. We also aim to identify children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, and take appropriate to keep them safe in school and at home when required.
We have safer recruitment procedures in place, as well as a range of policies and procedures to ensure that your child is safe while at school.
Safeguarding Policy 2024 – New
We will take all appropriate measures to prevent unsuitable people working with the children; promoting safe practice (and challenging unsafe practice); identifying instances in which there are grounds for concern about a child’s welfare, taking appropriate action to keep them safe; and contributing to effective partnerships between all those involved with providing services for children.
We also ensure we take all possible safeguarding steps to ensure all volunteers are suitable as they work in a position of trust in our schools. Little Plumstead CofE Primary Academy request that all prospective volunteers fill in a safeguarding declaration and will ask for verification from previous schools or places of employment that there are not concerns over a person’s suitability to volunteer in school. In addition to this our school takes additional steps, such as a confidentiality agreement for voluntary helpers.
We have three Designated Safeguarding Leads:
Mr Hunt, Executive Headteacher, Mrs Tovell, Head of School and Mrs Hall, Pastoral. We also have a designated Safeguarding Governor, Mrs Bonfield, who monitors our safeguarding and child protection processes alongside the governing body.
If you have any questions regarding the safety of a child during term time please contact one of the DSLs via the school office on 01603 712165 or via email: office@littleplumstead.norfolk.sch.uk
If you need assistance outside of school hours, at a weekend or during a school holiday you can contact the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) 24 hours a day. You can do this via their website at: www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/report-abuse/ by telephone: 0808 800 5000, by text: 88858 or by email: help@nspcc.org.uk If you think a child is in immediate danger do not delay: CALL 999 straight away.
Visitors and Volunteers
It is really important to us that all of our visitors, volunteers and students understand how important safeguarding and child protection are to us. If you undertake one of these roles you will be provided with the leaflet below in relation to this. All supply staff, regular volunteers and students will be expected to assign a declaration confirming they have read and understood this document and the process it refers to.
There is a safeguarding board in each school staffroom for you to refer to if you wish to know any further information, along with information on reporting a concern on the reverse of every visitors’ badge. There are also posters with the designated safeguarding lead information on around the school. Any questions, then please ask a member of staff.
If any visitor or volunteer displayed any conduct that gave us cause for concern in terms of safeguarding, including confidentiality, their placement would be terminated immediately.
Safeguarding Visitor Leaflet 2023
Early Help
Early Help is a service available to all families in Norfolk. They have services to access support, information and guidance on a range of areas.
If you are worried about your child or family and think you might need some extra help you should first discuss your concerns with your family’s health visitor, a children’s centre you visit, or your child’s preschool or school. If you are unable to get the help you need you can talk to the early help team based in your local area.
Norwich – 01603 222812
If you aren’t sure which area you should contact, you can use the central telephone number – 01603 223161.
Please do come and talk to us if you think this could help you because we cannot help if we don’t know you are finding things difficult at home.
The Early help website can be found here for further information Early help – Norfolk County Council
CADS
Norfolk Children’s Advice and Duty Service (CADS)
CADS, the Children’s Advice and Duty Service is the service for people to raise a concern about the safety or welfare of a child.
What can you do as a member of the public if you have a concern?
If a member of the public, including a parent, wishes to speak to someone about a concern over a child, you can do this by phoning the customer service centre on 0344 800 8020.
They will want to know why you have a concern, what you may know about the child and any other relevant information.
In an emergency, or out of hours, dial 999.
What do schools do if they have a concern?
Schools are expected to use the service if they are worried about a child’s welfare or if we have a question or concern about child protection. They are the first point of contact for receiving new safeguarding concerns or enquiries. By working together, we can better support vulnerable children and young people and their families.
There is a single direct line and number for professionals for the Norfolk Children’s Advice and Duty Service (CADS). This is staffed by a team of senior social workers, who handle calls and act as point of contact throughout the process.
A senior social worker will discuss the concerns in order to make sure the child gets the right support, along with the Early help Pathway Advisors, police, and a wide range of partner agencies – a ‘never do nothing approach.’
If we speak to CADS and they give us advice or direction, we have to follow that process to safeguard children. A school will be given clear instructions as to what happens next and we have to follow them. This is part of our statutory duty.
Schools do not have to have consent for a referral if the concerns being raised suggest that the child/children or someone else (including the referrer) would be placed at risk of significant harm, or it might undermine a criminal investigation if the parents/carers are informed. There is still the MASH, (multi agency safeguarding hub) undertaking cross agency checks for children identified as at risk or likely risk of harm, and all the Early Help Family Focus staff and partner representatives, to ensure the right pathway and response is identified and put in place.
NSCP
The Norfolk Children Safeguarding Partnership works together to safeguard children.
Every Local Authority in the country has to have a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Agreement (MASA) in partnership with the Police and Health. In Norfolk, the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP) is led by the 3 statutory partners who work together with other local agencies including the voluntary sector to make sure that children are protected from harm and that their welfare is promoted. The NSCP has robust independent scrutiny arrangements to ensure that people working with children carry out their safeguarding responsibilities as required by the law.
They have useful information for parents and carers too, and on the website is a link to make a referral if you are concerned about a child or young person. Their website can be found here: www.norfolklscb.org
Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines
Tackling criminal exploitation (Children’s Society)
The Children’s Society, along with many other organisations, are working to disrupt the activity of criminal gangs and keep young people safer. They work with the police to stop county lines activity and recognise the young people that have been exploited by criminal gangs as victims, not criminals.
The Children’s Society has developed resources for parents and professionals if they are worried a young person is involved in county lines.
Criminal exploitation: A guide for parents
This parents’ guide can be downloaded here:
www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/cce-advice-for-parents.pdf
The guidance is also available in other languages including:
Arabic
Bengali
Bulgarian
French
Greek
Lithuanian
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Somali
Spanish
Tigrinya
Turkish
All the resources about Criminal exploitation and ‘county lines’ can be found here: www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/tackling-criminal-exploitation-and-county-lines/county-lines-resources
Statutory Documents
There are many documents and pieces of legislation that we as schools have to follow. There are others we need to know about. The most important documents are listed below:
Department for Education – Keeping Children safe in Education
Part 1 is essential for all schools and college staff to read and follow
Disqualification under the Childcare Act
Working together to safeguard children
What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused, DfE (March 2015)
There are many useful sites or links in relation to safeguarding. Here are a few.
The NSPCC – offering support and advice if you have concerns about a child
www.nspcc.org.uk/
Talk PANTS – toolkit and information for parents on teaching children how to keep safe. We use this in school
www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule/
The NSPCC has created a video in British Sign Language with subtitles and aim to teach deaf children about the Underwear Rule and encourages them to share secrets that upset them with a trusted adult.
You can find the video here:
PANTS with British Sign Language
MASH – Multi agency safeguarding hub
www.norfolk.gov.uk/what-we-do-and-how-we-work/policy-performance-and-partnerships/partnerships/mash
Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership
www.norfolklscb.org
Norfolk Early Help
www.norfolk.gov.uk/children-and-families/early-help
Norfolk Threshold Guide – this guide shows how decisions are made and how the safeguarding and child protection system works in Norfolk.
Norfolk Threshold Guide – animation
Norfolk Threshold Animation – this is a useful video clip, 3 minutes long, to show families and children the support available and how the process works
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d657F9xfx8
Guidance for safer working practice for those working with children and young people in education settings
Domestic Abuse Support
Little Plumstead CofE Primary Academy will support people and families affected by domestic abuse. Staff have completed training and are now trained to respond and support people affected by domestic abuse. Further information regarding this role can be accessed at www.norfolk.gov.uk/safety/domestic-abuse. There are also local services which include www.leewaysupport.org along with national support including www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk.
Mrs Hall, Mrs Holmes, Mrs Glendinning or Mr Beake are available during school hours and can be contacted on 01603 712165 or by emailing email dsl@littleplumstead.norfolk.sch.uk
Operation Encompass
Supporting children involved in or witness to domestic violence
Operation Encompass is the early notification to education settings that police have been called to a domestic incident and children were present at the time.
At Little Plumstead CofE Primary Academy we are working in partnership with Norfolk Constabulary and Norfolk Children’s Services to identify and provide appropriate support to pupils who have experienced domestic violence in their household; this scheme is called Operation Encompass.
In order to achieve this, Norfolk Children’s Services staff will share police information of all domestic incidents with our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) for all incidents where one of our pupils has been present. On receipt of any information, the Designated Safeguarding Lead will decide on the appropriate support the child requires, this could be silent or overt.
All information sharing and resulting actions will be undertaken in accordance with the ‘Norfolk Joint Agency Protocol for Domestic Abuse – Notifications to Schools’. We will record this information and store this information in accordance with the record keeping procedures outlined in the Safeguarding and Child Protection policy.
You can find further information on www.operationencompass.org
Child Sexual Exploitation
Listen to my story
Listen to My Story is a resource to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) developed by Merseyside Police, local councils, and other agencies throughout the Merseyside area, but is relevant to other areas too. Posters, stories and text help children find out how to keep themselves safe. You can find more information here
How to report your concerns tacklechildabuse.campaign.gov.uk
You can also report abuse or concerns to the Childrens Advice and Duty Service (CADS) on 0344 800 8021. For more information about raising a concern with CADS you can also visit the CADS information page on the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Board website – www.norfolklscb.org/people-working-with-children/how-to-raise-a-concern/
You can also contact the NSPCC via www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/report-abuse/ where you can report it online. You can also phone them on 0808 800 5000
If you are a child or young person under the age of 16 and you are worried about something that is happening to you or to someone you know you can contact childline via www.childline.org.uk or you can phone them confidentially on 0800 1111
The call to childline is free and if you live in the UK the number will not show on your phone bill. They have trained counsellors to support you. Even if you don’t have any credit, you can still call them from your mobile.
Could you spot a child suffering sexual abuse? Find out what to be aware of and if you think it, report it. Even if you’re not completely sure.
Visit gov.uk/tacklechildabu… for more information.
Online Safety
Keeping your children safe online
Children and young people today have access to a range of technology, including games consoles where they can play online with others, computers, tablets and mobile phones. They are a way of keeping in touch and communicating with their friends.
If used safely they give children good opportunities to share information, communicate and learn. However, every parent needs to understand the possible dangers, and more importantly what to do if they are worried about their child’s use of the technology or the people they are contacting on it.
As part of our role as parents, teachers and school staff, we have to talk to our children about keeping safe online and the dangers there are and how to protect themselves. The clear message is that the world changes but children don’t. They can be at risk from online activity, including social media, texting and sites such as Instagram, as well as computer games they are playing, and this may all happen from inside their own home where we presume they are safe.
Reporting concerns about online activity and safety
On each page of our website is the CEOP button:
If you have a worry or concern about being safe online, as a child or parent, you can click on this button and report it to trained experts who will deal with your concern. This relates to ANY website or online concern, including social media and online gaming. See their CEOP website for further information.
They also have lots of information for children and parents about online safety, how to stay safe and what to do if you are worried. If you have been a victim of online abuse or you are worried about someone else, report it through CEOP.
Their website is www.ceop.police.uk/ceop-reporting/
CEOP also have information on thinkuknow.co.uk for children from 5-19, and for parents, carers and school staff.
If you are not ready to make a direct report about an online safety concern, you can speak anonymously to Childline as a child, young person or adult via the website childline.org.uk or ring 0800 1111
The Breck Foundation
The Breck Foundation is raising the awareness of playing safe whilst using the internet. Breck Bednar was a 14 year old boy, from Caterham, Surrey who loved technology and online gaming. He was groomed via the internet and murdered on February 17th 2014 by another young person he met online.
This foundation has been set up in his memory to help other young people enjoy playing online but crucially to be aware of some simple rules to stay safe.
They tell you to always remember that the friends that are made online are not like your real friends.
They also have lots of information on their website www.breckfoundation.org on how to stay safe online and useful resources for parents and children.
| Be aware | Opening files, accepting emails, instant messages, pictures or texts from people you don’t know or trust can lead to problems – they may contain viruses, inappropriate images or nasty messages |
| Report | Tell your parent, or trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied |
| Educate | Someone online might lie about who they are and information on the internet may not be true. Always check information with other websites, books or someone who knows. If you like chatting online it’s best to only chat to your real friends and family |
| Communicate | Meeting someone you have only been in contact with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents or carers permission and even then only when they can be present. Remember online friends are still strangers even if you have been talking to them for a long time |
| Keep Safe | Keep safe by being careful not to give your personal information when you are chatting or posting online. Personal information includes your email address, phone number, password, location |
Use of Instagram
Young peoples’ rights on social media
Parent Advice – keeping children safe when gaming
Advice for parents – what to do if your child sees something upsetting online –saferinternet.org.uk/blog/advice-parents-what-do-if-your-child-sees-something-upsetting-online
Google Family Link
Google has a service called Google Family Link. The app helps parents set online guidelines for their children and stay on top of their child’s online activities as they explore the internet using an Android device or smartphone.
By using Family Link, parents can help manage the apps their child can use; approve or block the apps the child wants to download from the Google Play Store, keep an eye on screen time, see how much time they spend online with weekly or monthly activity reports, set device bedtime, see their child’s location and remotely lock the device.
For more details, click here.
Health Child Programme
The Norfolk Healthy Child Programme has been in operation since 2017. This is a model of care for all 5-19 year olds within the county. Each locality will have specialist community public health nurses leading a skills mixed team who will provide individual interventions with children and young people.
There is a single contact number for the team, which can be used to contact a duty clinician. This is known as ‘Just One Number’ and the contact details are: 0300 300 0123.
Online Safety Guides for Families
Screen Addiction Parents Guide
Mobile Phones
The use of mobile phones in school by adults, including visitors, is covered in our safeguarding policy.
We would just like all parents/carers to be aware of the following in relation to children’s phones in school.
Any phones brought into school should be taken to the school office upon arrival at school and locked in a phone locker. The key for the phone locker will be kept safely in the school office until the end of the school day. Children are not permitted to leave phones in their bags or on their person for any reason.
Children should ensure their phone is switched off and out of sight when they enter the school premises and once handed back at the end of the day it must not be used until the child has left the school premises. Any phones seen out on school premises will be confiscated and parents or carers will be asked to collect them from the school office.
Please do talk to your child about safe use of their phone whilst walking to or from school, including not using it whilst crossing the road.
School staff have the right to search bags etc. for mobile phones.
Any phone that is not taken to the school office at the beginning of the day, will be confiscated and kept in the office until an adult is able to collect it.
Government guidance says Headteachers and authorised staff can also search for any item banned by the school rules which has been identified in the rules as an item which may be searched for. At Little Plumstead CofE Primary Academy, this includes mobile phones and devices such as smart watches.
Please ensure you discuss this with your child and that they follow the rules. We thank you for your support with this.
These rules also apply to children in relation to other mobile devices, including smart watches and fit bits, which are not permitted to be brought into school by children.