Safeguarding
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 2: All Children have the RIGHT to ALL of these rights - no matter what!
“Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility”
“Don’t think what if I have got it wrong, think what if I have got it right”
At Penponds school we are committed to keeping our children safe.
In our recent Parent Survey (2023) 100% of respondents said that their child was safe at Penponds. View the full survey results here
If any of our parents/carers or pupils have any concerns they can speak to our Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Rebekah Bailey or our Deputy Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Hannah Richards. (See contact DSL contact information, our summary of 'What to do if you are concerned about a child' and the '7 Golden Rules for Safeguarding' below)
We adopt the local CAPH approved Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy for Schools in Cornwall.
Anyone visiting the Penponds site are given a copy of the Safeguarding Children Single Agency Induction Training (Inter Collegiate Level 1) leaflet (See below) and are advised who the DSLs are.
We regularly speak to our children about how to keep safe.
See below for examples of our Monthly Safeguarding Snapshots and our class 'How do we keep you safe in school' discussions.
Monthly Safeguarding Snapshots - where we speak to a cross-section of children across the school and ask them questions about keeping themselves safe. We aim to speak to every child each year.
'How do we keep you safe in school' class discussions - where one questions is asked and children think of all the ways Penponds keeps them safe. Anything that is missed we ensure it is taught in the moment with the children. These sessions are timetabled for each term, however they can be used more often if needed.
All staff receive regular refresher Safeguarding training.
In September we review the updated Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) with staff at INSET.
Staff then complete online training for Tier/Level 2 and KCSIE which assesses their understanding and are awarded certificates for achieving appropriate pass level through our subscription to the Flick Learning platform. Completion of this is monitored in school.
From October, we use Safeguarding: 7-minute briefings which are shared weekly with staff. The briefings cover one discrete area of safeguarding children (the list of topics covered can be seen below). Once staff have digested the information they complete a short quiz to assess their understanding of the briefing. Completion of the briefing and pass rates are monitored in school. See examples below of the briefings.
- To support each child's development in ways that will foster security, confidence and resilience.
- To provide an environment in which children and young people feel safe, secure, valued and respected, feel confident and know how to approach adults if they are in difficulties.
- To raise the awareness of all teaching and non-teaching staff of the need to safeguard children and of their responsibilities in identifying and reporting possible cases of abuse or neglect, and to be aware of signs of abuse in non-verbal children.
- To provide a systematic means of monitoring children known or thought to be at risk of harm and ensure we, the school, contribute to assessments of need and support plans for those children alongside other agencies e.g., Social Services, Children with Disabilities Team, School Nurse, Education Welfare Officer and the Police.
- To acknowledge the need for effective and appropriate communication between all members of staff in relation to safeguarding pupils.
- To develop a structured procedure and framework within the school that will be followed by all members of the school community in cases of suspected abuse or neglect.
- To develop effective working relationships with all other agencies involved in safeguarding children as shown above.
Rainbow Safeguarding Statement
The Rainbow Multi Academy Trust Safeguarding Statement should be read in conjunction with our Child Protection Policy and national statutory guidance such as (KCSIE), Working to Safeguard Children and Prevent Duty.
The health, safety and well-being of every child is our top priority. We expect all Trustees, Members, Executive leaders, Staff, Governors and Volunteers to share this commitment to safeguarding our children and young people.
As a trust we believe that:
• Children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind
• We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.
We recognise that:
• The welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take. All children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse
• Some children are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues
• Working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare.
We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:
• Valuing, listening to and respecting them
• Having Designated Safeguarding Leads and a lead trustee for Safeguarding
• Adopting a rigorous quality assurance process to facilitate critical review of our safeguarding policies, procedures and working practices across all schools within the Rainbow Trust
• Adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers
• Developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures including filtering & monitoring protocols
• Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently
• Recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
• Recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance
• Sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with children and their families via leaflets, posters, group work and one-to-one discussions
• Making sure that children, young people and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
• Using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately
• Developing and implementing an effective attendance strategy, policy and related procedures whereby all staff remain vigilant and responsive to incidents of Children Absent in Education
• Using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately
• Creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
• Ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
• Ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance
• Building a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Safeguarding Board
Multi-Agency Referral Unit - 0300 123 1116
Out of Hours Service - 01208 251300
Police - 101
If you have concerns about a professional working with a child/children you should contact your Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) on 01872 326536
