Brookside Primary School is committed to providing a welcoming, safe, caring environment where every child is able to reach their full potential free from harm abuse and discrimination. We have high expectations of staff and volunteers to discharge their safeguarding responsibilities effectively. We acknowledge that good self-esteem, confidence, peer support and clear lines of communication with trusted adults helps all children, especially those at risk of or suffering abuse, to thrive.
To achieve this we will:
Maintain an ethos where children feel safe, secure, respected and valued and that they are confident they will be effectively listened to.
Ensure that all children know that there are adults in Brookside who they can approach if they are worried or are in difficulty.
Provide opportunities in the curriculum for PSHE which will equip the children with the skills they need to stay safe and/or communicate their fears or concerns about abuse.
Through curriculum material we will help children to grow and develop realistic attitudes to the responsibilities of adult life, particularly with regard to childcare and parenting skills.
Make every effort to establish effective working relationships with parents and other agencies.
Maintain a structured means of monitoring children known or thought to be at risk of harm. We will ensure that school contributes to the assessment of needs and support for those children.
Ensure that all staff within our school have been checked as to their suitability, their identity verified, relevant qualifications checked and a satisfactory DBS check carried out as per Safer Recruitment Guidance. A single central record is kept for audit purposes.
Designated Safeguarding Leads
Our Safeguarding Lead members of staff are Mrs B L Allan (Designated Safeguarding Lead) Mrs A Hailwood & Mrs S Birch (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads). These members of staff have undertaken Safeguarding and Child Protection training through Lancashire County Council.
If you have any concerns regarding safeguarding and child protections please contact one of the above members of staff.
All other staff members are trained and updated regularly in safeguarding and child protection.
Operation Encompass is an information sharing initiative which ensures schools are provided with details to support safeguarding of the children in their care. It enhances communication between the police and school where a child is at risk from domestic abuse, whether they have been directly involved in, heard or witnessed a domestic abuse incident first hand. Operation Encompass aims to ensure that the Designated Safeguarding Leads in school (Mrs B L Allan Headteacher & Mrs A Hailwood Deputy Headteacher) have the information in a timely manner to be able to support and understand the child's needs and the impact that the incident will have on the child's learning and behaviour in school.
Information is confidential and will only be shared by the DSLs on a need to know basis to further protect the child and to ensure appropriate support is available to the child and their family, ie to the class teacher.
For further information please see the Operation Encompass website https://www.operationencompass.org/
Brookside Primary School is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its pupils. As a school we recognise that safeguarding against radicalisation is no different from safeguarding against any other vulnerability.
On 1 July 2015 the Prevent duty (section 26) of The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 came into force. This duty places the responsibility on local authorities to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.
As part of Brookside Primary School’s commitment to safeguarding and child protection we fully support the government’s Prevent Strategy.
You can learn more about the Prevent Duty by clicking here
https://parentzone.org.uk/home works with PREVENT to provide digital safety advice for parents.
https://educateagainsthate.com/parents/ provides resources and government advice for parents and carers on keeping young people safe from extremism.
The internet is an inspiring and positive place and an amazing resource which enables children and young people to connect, communicate and be creative in a number of different ways on a range of different devices. However, the internet is always changing and being able to keep up to date with your children's use of technology can be a challenge. You may sometimes feel that your child had better technical skills than you do, however they still need advice and protection when it comes to managing their lives online. We have put together a few links below to aid you in supporting your child's internet journey.
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/ has guides on privacy settings, parental controls and internet safety features of the major internet providers
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ Thinkuknow is the online safety education programme from the National Crime Agency's CEOP command and provides resources for parents and carers to help keep children safe online.
https://www.childnet.com/ has developed guidance for parents and carers to begin a conversation about online safety and on keeping under fives safe online.
https://parentinfo.org/ provides digital support and guidance for parents and carers from leading experts and organisations.
https://www.net-aware.org.uk/ a collaboration between the NSPCC and O2 designed to help keep children safe online. Their site provides useful, specific information on popular apps and websites.
https://www.childline.org.uk/ Childline's website provides advice and support, if your child is worried, from dialling 0800 1111 or downloading the 'For ME' app.