Victoria

Safeguarding

What is the difference between safeguarding and child protection?

A term which is broader than ‘child protection’ and relates to the action taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. �Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

• protecting children from maltreatment
• preventing impairment of children’s mental health and physical health or development
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

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Child protection concerns, reasonable cause to suspect a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.

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How we safeguard your children?

At Victoria School we-

Ring daily to see why children are not in school

We use WhatsApp facetime if a child is off longer than 5 days and have not returned. Home visits if no contact can be made.

Or you take a holiday or extended periods of time out of school. (even abroad) within term time.

We attend child protection, child in need, continuing care reviews and short break review meetings

Hospital visits are conducted one a week - to support families with children in all areas of the hospital.

Safeguarding is not just about protecting children from deliberate harm, neglect and failure to act. �It relates to broader aspects of care and education, including:

• Children’s and learners’ health and safety and well-being
• the use of reasonable force- e.g. Team Teach
• meeting the needs of children and learners with medical conditions
• providing first aid
• educational visits
• intimate care and emotional well-being
• online safety and associated issues
• appropriate arrangements to ensure children’s and learners’ security, taking into account the local context.

What do we mean by the term Safeguarding?

Areas of Safeguarding

You will be familiar with the following areas of safeguarding:

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• neglect
• physical abuse
• sexual abuse
• emotional abuse

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But there are more concerns we need to be aware of.

Other Areas of Safeguarding

• bullying, including online bullying and prejudice-based bullying, child on child, sexualised behaviour
• racist, disability and homophobic or transphobic abuse
• gender-based violence/violence against women and girls
• radicalisation and/or extremist behaviour
• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and trafficking and grooming
• Child Criminal Exploitation(CCE) including county lines
• Contextual safeguarding, for example gang activity and youth violence

• sexting
• teenage relationship abuse
• substance misuse
• domestic violence
• honour based abuse- female genital mutilation & forced marriage
• fabricated or induced illness
• Up-skirting

What should you do if you are concerned about a child?

If you are ever concerned about a child at Victoria School, please ring the school office and ask to speak to a Designated Safeguarding Leader, sometimes referred to as DSL’s.

Every school has a designated person/people to ensure children are safeguarded at all times.

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At Victoria School, we have team of DSL’s who work together to ensure the best action is taken to safeguard children.

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If you are ever concerned about a child outside of school, you can report this to Children’s Services on 0121 303 1888 or if you believe they are at risk of serious harm, call 999 immediately.

Who are the DSL’s at Cherry Oak School?

Kate Thompson

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Lauren Orchard

Lead DSL

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Lucy Guppy

If you believe a child is at risk of immediate harm call 999 and report this to the police.

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Gary Coffey

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Deputy DSL’s