Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility.
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all staff follow a comprehensive, coordinated and child centred approach.
We keep children safe and supported by closely adhering to the important government guidance document, Keeping Children Safe in Education. This informs policies and practices within school, all of which are rigorously and comprehensively applied.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:
- Protecting children from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
- Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
For more information please read our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and School Procedures.
IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OR WELL BEING OF ANY CHILD YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULD ACT WITHOUT DELAY.
Please speak to one of our safeguarding team below if you have any safeguarding concerns. School telephone number 01642 211597
- Designated Safeguarding Lead – Mrs C Baker
- Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead – Mrs A Hurt
- Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead – Mrs Y Gamesby
- Designated Safeguarding Governor – Mrs S Hockney
Or you can:
- Contact the Multi Agency Children’s Hub on 01642 726004 or email [email protected]
- Contact the police on 101 or 999 if in an emergency.
Online Safety
As a school we take online safety very seriously and, to support all parents and carers and those parents and carers with children with additional needs, we regularly arrange talks and information sessions for parents. We recognise the need to ensure that you have handy access to useful links to help you navigate the world of online safety to support your child as best as practically possible.
Middlesbrough Council adopts a Digital Resilience model to tackle online risks in line with the government’s Digital Resilience Framework.
For useful links and documents to help you understand risk online (including risk of radicalisation) please click on the link below.
Please also visit our Online Safety tab for more information.
Operation Encompass
Corpus Christi School follows-up on any actions as directed by Operation Encompass and checks on the welfare of our pupils in school. Operation Encompass is an initiative led by Cleveland Police, launched on 1st October 2015. It is a process by which key adults (Safeguarding Leads) in schools, academies and nurseries are informed that a child/young person may have been affected by domestic abuse within 24 hours of the event taking place.
The sharing of information between police and schools allows early intervention support by schools and will assist the child to remain in school to continue learning in a safe and secure environment.
For more information, please click on the link below.
https://www.operationencompass.org
Keeping Children Safe In Education
A child should be able to go to school and feel safe so that they can achieve their very best.
- All staff and volunteers at Corpus Christi are subject to stringent checking procedures to make sure they are safe to work with children.
- The school has a senior Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy Safeguarding Leads who have had extra training to know what to do when a concern is brought to them.
- We ensure that all members of staff have up to date child protection and safeguarding training.
- We foster good relationships with parents and encourage open dialogue and ready access to a member of the safeguarding team.
- Information is shared with appropriate agencies if we have concerns.
- We will help your child to learn about keeping themselves safe. Lessons can include healthy eating, anti-bullying, online safety, road safety, fire safety, citizenship, drug and alcohol awareness, relationships and health education. As part of these lessons your child will be told what to do if they are worried or concerned about their safety.
What Parents Must Do
Parents are the most important people to keep their children safe. You should always
- Feel confident to raise concerns about your child or any other child.
- Talk to school if you need help or support.
- Read the school policies about safety issues.
- Let the school know if your child has a medical condition.
- Let the school know if you have any court orders relating to the safety of your child.
- Let the school know if there is a change in your circumstances such as a house move, a new contact number, a change of name, a change of parental responsibility, change of person dropping off or collecting your child.
Child ProtectionThis is an important subject in which all staff receive regular training. Our priority is to work with you but there may be times when we have to involve other people.
Everybody has a responsibility to keep all children under the age of 18 safe. Harm is identified in four ways:
Physical– This is when a child is deliberately hurt or injured.
Sexual– This is when a child is influenced or forced to take part in a sexual activity. This can be a physical activity or non physical, e.g. being made to look at an inappropriate image.
Emotional– This is when a child is made to feel frightened, worthless or unloved. It can be by shouting, using threats or making fun of someone. It can also be when children see their parents, or visitors to their home, fighting or using violence.
Neglect– This is when a child is not being taken care of by their parents. It can be poor hygiene, poor diet, not keeping appointments for additional support, not coming to school or being left alone.
Safeguarding Issues
Attendance– Your child’s attendance is monitored daily and significant absences are always followed up by the attendance officer. Corpus Christi’s first point of contact for attendance is Mrs Andrea Hurt. All attendance procedures are supported and monitored by the attendance team at Nicholas Postgate Multi Academy Trust, led by Mrs Jill Benson. The school has an attendance policy that you should read and understand.
Behaviour– Corpus Christi has clear behaviour rules for the whole school community that must be followed to keep everyone safe and happy. We understand that children do sometimes fall out and this will be dealt with by an adult who will listen to the children involved and help to resolve the situation.
Bullying- The school takes all cases of bullying very seriously and will work with children and families to try and resolve any problems. The school has an anti-bullying policy that you should read and understand.
Health and Safety– Everyone at Corpus Christi has a responsibility to ensure that all children and adults are working in a safe environment. The school has a clear health and safety policy which everyone must follow. The school have fully trained first aiders to deal with any accidents in school.
E-Safety- The school recognises that technology plays an important role in the education of all children and is committed to safeguarding children in the virtual world. To support parents, the school has e-safety information to help keep your children safe both in school and at home.
Complaints– If you have any complaints about how the school is working with you or your child, please feel confident to speak to us. The headteacher will always be happy to speak to you to resolve any difficulties. It is better to speak to us as soon as you have a concern so that it does not become a bigger issue. If you do not feel the matter has been resolved, you can raise your concerns with the governing body.
