Children’s Rights
- Article 3 – Best interests
- Article 10 – Right to be safe
d’Auvergne School is committed to promoting the safety and wellbeing of Jersey’s children, and those who attend our school.
In order to achieve this, we will provide:
- A safe, healthy learning environment;
- Opportunities for children to build trusting relationships with adults, that allow them to discuss any worries or issues that are affecting them.
This policy should be read in conjunction with the following policies:
- Safeguarding Policy
- Well-being and Positive Mental Health Policy
- Anti-Bullying Policy
- CYPES Child Protection Policy (GoJ)
- Dealing with Allegations Against Staff and Volunteers Policy (GoJ)
- Education of Children Looked After Policy (GoJ)
- Intimate Care Policy (GoJ)
- Online Safety Policy
- Safer Recruitment Policy
Policy Aims
- It outlines the specific steps that must be taken where a child is suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm;
- To set out actions that will be taken to promote the safety and well-being of all children.
Key Staff
Designated Safeguarding Lead – Rachel Maguire
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead – Sam Cooper
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead – Alex Wheaton
SENCO – Sally Lacy-Kerr
School Business Manager – Rena Nelson
CYPES Safeguarding Lead – Dani Perrier
Working Together
d’Auvergne School will work in partnership with parents and carers to promote the safety and well-being of children, where possible. Where there is a specific concern about the care provided to a child, contact will be made with the child’s carers as long as it is assessed as safe to do so.
There will be times when it is necessary to make a referral to the Children and Families Hub (CFH) without consent, and consultation about when this is appropriate will be had with the CFH on a case-by-case basis.
d’Auvergne School works in partnership with a range of other agencies in order to safeguard children, including;
- Children’s Service
- CAMHS
- School Nurses
- Speech and Language Department
- Other Schools
Where information is shared with colleagues in these other agencies, this will be done with the consent of an adult that holds Parental Responsibility (PR) for the child, except where information sharing is in the best interests of the child to ensure their safety.
Child Protection Concerns
Where a member of staff becomes aware of a safeguarding issue, it should be recorded on MyConcern by the staff member. If a concern is noted by a volunteer or visiting adult, then the DSL should be informed so that an accurate record can be made on MyConcern.
If the concern relates to a child suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm, the DSL should be notified immediately so that prompt action is taken. In the DSL’s absence, the Head Teacher and/or the school office should be made aware of the need for a concern to be given immediate attention. The role of the school office is to locate a senior member of staff to respond.
Where it is identified that a family or child would benefit from support, the DSL will make an enquiry to the Children and Families Hub. This will be done with consent from an adult with PR, unless seeking consent would place the child at risk.
Where a child says something of concern, the staff member should record EXACTLY what was said by the child without paraphrasing. This should be done as soon as possible, and immediately if doing so will not prevent the child from speaking further. The child should be allowed to speak freely, and the TED talk questions used to clarify if absolutely necessary (see Appendix 1).
A record should also be made of which questions were asked by the adult, and the context in which the conversation took place. For example, did it arise from a class discussion or did the child approach out of the blue and begin talking. The child should be informed of the need to pass on the information, where appropriate.
After School Club (ASC)
Should any non-urgent concerns arise during ASC sessions, they should be recorded on MyConcern as in the usual school day. If there are concerns that a child is suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm then the ASC Co-ordinator will contact either the DSL or Deputy DSL for advice.
Multi-Agency Meetings
The DSL will attend Child Protection Meetings on behalf of d’Auvergne School, such as Child Protection Conferences, Core Groups and Strategy Meetings. Information will be shared at these meetings in respect of the child’s academic progress; presentation at school; parental engagement; home learning; attendance; and any concerns noted by staff. This information will aim to be balanced and include areas of strength and resilience for the child, as well as the child’s views on school.
The DSL will also attend other Safeguarding Meetings, such as Child In Need Meetings and Early Help Meetings, where consent has been given for this to happen. Where a family would prefer a specific staff member to also attend, then they are able to make this request to the DSL, Head Teacher or SENCO.
Further information on Safeguarding is available in the Safeguarding Policy.
Training
All staff and volunteers at d’Auvergne School are required to complete Safeguarding Training to the level specified by CYPES. Refresher training is then provided annually. This is to provide all adults within school the necessary basic information in order to be able to recognise any Safeguarding issues. A record is kept of who has attended training and when.
Members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) will have undertaken further training on specific areas of Safeguarding, for example neglect or emotional abuse, in order to be able to fully support the staff members that they manage.
A Safe Environment
d’Auvergne School promotes all children feeling safe and able to speak out about any concerns or worries that affect their safety and well-being.
The Positive Mental Health and Well-being Policy sets out the specific actions that are taken to achieve this, including:
- ‘Keeping Safe and Well’ program delivered in Year 2;
- ELSA Support available across year groups;
- Every child is aware that they can speak to any adult in school about worries, but specifically their teachers and the DSL.
The Anti-bullying Policy sets out actions that are taken to address bullying behaviours in school, including the Anti-bullying Ambassadors.
d’Auvergne School are implementing an Anti-bias Education Agenda to ensure that everybody feels safe and welcome at d’Auvergne School.
Safer Recruitment
d’Auvergne School adheres to their Safer Recruitment Policy, which is in line with CYPES requirements. There are clear guidelines on the appointment of staff and the expected conduct of staff members. Where conduct falls short of expectations there is a clear process to address issues and support the staff member to achieve them.
Any concerns about staff conduct that relate to the safety and well-being of children should be passed directly to the Head Teacher or Deputy Head, and the DSL informed. These are managed via the Government of Jersey Managing Allegations Policy.