Safeguarding Our Children and Families

At Seaburn Dene Primary we are committed to safeguarding, and promoting the welfare and well -being of all of our pupils and adults. We recognise that some children may be especially vulnerable which can impact on other children either directly or indirectly. We always take a considered and sensitive approach in order that we can support all of our pupils and families.

Everyone working in our school has a responsibility to help keep children and young people safe by:

•providing a safe environment for children and young people to learn and

•identifying children and young people who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, and taking appropriate action with the aim of making sure they are kept safe both at home and in school.

Seaburn Dene Primary is an Operation Encompass School

Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mr John Howe.

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads: Mr George Smith and Mrs Lynda Smith.

Nominated Governor for Safeguarding: Mrs Julie Cattarnach.

Designated Teacher for Looked After Children: Mrs Deborah Wilson.

We use Signs of Safety in our approach to safeguarding at Seaburn Dene Primary School. 

KIDSAFE Registered School UK

Seaburn Dene Primary School is a KidSafe UK Registered School.

KidSafe UK Children’s Mental Health & Safeguarding, provides schools with in-depth training materials enabling any member of staff to deliver KidSafe UK programmes directly to pupils from Early Years Foundation Stage through to secondary school.

KidSafe programmes are age appropriate and delivered to children without shattering their innocence, all KidSafe UK programmes contribute significantly to PSHE, RSE and KCSiE.

KidSafe UK Children’s Mental Health & Safeguarding is proactive, not reactive.

It educates children directly and empowers them to speak out to a trusted grown-up about anything that is having a detrimental impact on their mental health and emotional wellbeing and can help break cycles associated childhood trauma.

All children, from Reception to Year 6, complete at least one KidSafe module per year with one of our trained members of staff. Topics are age appropriate to each year group but the overall message is fluid throughout all year groups.

We teach children to recognise when something just doesn’t feel right. We call these yukky feelings.

We teach children to respond to yukky feelings by –

• Say no in uncomfortable situations
• Walk away from the problem
• Talk to a trusted adult

How Do We Achieve Our Safeguarding Duties and Responsibilities?

Seaburn Dene Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this responsibility. We ensure that consistent and effective safeguarding procedures are in place to protect children and staff at school and support families out of school.

What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
 
Safeguarding means:

• protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
• preventing harm to children's health or development
• ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
• taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes. 

Safeguarding children and child protection guidance and legislation applies to all children up to the age of 18.

What is Child Protection? 
Child Protection is part of safeguarding and promoting welfare.  It refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.

Concerns about a Child

All concerns relating to a child in school should be passed to the Designated Safeguarding Lead who is John Howe (Headteacher). In his absence, any concerns should be passed to George Smith ( Deputy Head teacher) who is the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead or Lynda Smith (HLTA) who is also Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Safeguarding and the Curriculum

It is vital that all children are taught the skills and knowledge to keep themselves safe in and out of school. Our PSHE curriculum, based on the JIGSAW scheme of work, promotes  an ethos in school that strongly supports keeping children safe in many diverse situations. From Reception onwards, children are taught about what to say and do if they don’t like something – from encountering strangers to bullying, and from unwanted physical contact to racism and being safe with technology. Teaching about safety and relationships as part of PSHE contributes to how schools approach the safeguarding of pupils. It helps them to recognise when they and others are at risk and equips them with the skills, strategies and language they need to take appropriate action. 

We use a number of excellent resources from reputable organisations (e.g. NSPCC and National Online Safety) to deliver specific lessons around safeguarding in school. Where these may be sensitive in nature, we would always inform parents in advance should they wish to know more.

We deliver the highly-recommended PANTS resource, designed by the NSPCC,  which helps keep children safe from abuse. Like the Green Cross Code, it takes a potentially tricky subject and gives children (and their parents) tools to talk about it in an engaging and age-appropriate way. 

Prevent Strategy
From 1st July 2015 all schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have "due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism".  This duty is known as the Prevent Duty.  It applies to a wide range of public-facing bodies, including all primary and secondary schools.
 Schools can build pupils' resilience to radicalisation by providing a safe environment for debating controversial issues and helping children to understand how they can influence and participate in decision making.  Schools are already expected to promote the spiritual, moral and cultural development of pupils and, within this, fundamental British values.

Please click on this link for more information - http://educateagainsthate.com/ 

Online Safety 
Here at Seaburn Dene School, we recognise the benefits and opportunities that new technologies offer to teaching and learning.  We encourage the use of technology in order to enhance skills and promote achievement.  However, the accessible and global nature of the internet and variety of technologies available mean that we are also aware of potential risks and challenges associated with such use. Online safety is taught to every child as part of our broad and balanced curriculum.

Anti-Bullying Week

Every year, we celebrate anti-bullying week and use it as an opportunity to raise awareness and understanding of what bullying looks like, and how we can stop it from happening. We use the Anti-Bullying Alliance materials to deliver assemblies to all year groups and for the children to engage in meaningful discussions and sessions around bullying. We have an Anti-Bullying Team, who are an active part of the school community, have drafted their own policy and delivered this via video to the whole school.

Safeguarding Training

All staff and governors undergo safeguarding training that is regularly updated and the Designated Safeguarding Leads attend termly training updates. Every three years we run whole school safeguarding updates, linked to Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Safer Recruitment

Everyone working at Seaburn Dene Primary School, including governors, students, third party staff and volunteers undergo appropriate safer recruitment checks, including the correct level of Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Checks are recorded on the school's Single Central Record (SCR). When we appoint new members of staff, at least two people on any appointment panel will have undertaken safer recruitment training. All new staff/volunteers/students receive induction including safeguarding updates.

Safeguarding Policies

At Seaburn Dene, we update our child protection policy and staff code of conduct annually. The child protection policy can be accessed from the 'POLICIES' link on the 'Key Information' page.  We have robust procedures covering particular safeguarding issues such as recruitment and selection, allegations against staff, peer on peer abuse, supervision of children and children missing education, radicalisation, whistle-blowing and attendance. Parents can request copies of any of this information by contacting the school office.

Operation Encompass

Seaburn Dene Primary is part of Operation Encompass which is run in partnership with both Sunderland City Council and Northumbria Police.

The project, which commenced in January 2016, aims to support children who are affected by Domestic Abuse. Witnessing domestic abuse is really distressing for a young person, who can often see the abuse, hear it from another room, see a parents injuries or distress afterwards or be physically hurt trying to stop the abuse.

As a result, following any domestic abuse incident being reported into Northumbria Police, specialist Police Officers will make contact with Childrens Social Care who will then communicate relevant and necessary information to nominated school staff. This will ensure that the school is made aware at the earliest possible opportunity and can subsequently provide support to children, in a way that means they feel safe and listened to.

Mr Howe, Mr Smith and Mrs Smith are the key adults who has been fully trained to liaise with the Police and Social Services, when required, and will ensure that necessary support is made available to the child following the disclosure of a domestic abuse incident.

We believe that this project demonstrates our schools commitment to working in partnership, to safeguard and protect children, and to providing the best possible care and support for our pupils.

School is also involved with Operation Encompass- the next steps.The project aims to break the cycle of Domestic Abuse through education and support at an appropriate level for the children. It will help all children learn about friendships, relationships, emotions and rules so that they can live and work together safely.

The School will be working with a School Safeguarding Liaison Officer who will lead age appropriate sessions with the children and also be available in School at specified times so that parents, adults and children can talk to them about any issues that they may have around relationships and Domestic Abuse.

These sessions are pitched appropriately and discuss friendships, emotions and empathy and rules and expectations. The session outlines/plans are attached to this page see below.

In the meantime, if you would like to speak to someone further about the project or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at school. You can also find out more information through accessing the following website: http://www.operationencompass.org/

NSPCC

Sunderland Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB) are supporting the NSPCC’s ‘Underwear Rule’ - PANTS campaign and we hope everyone in Sunderland will join us to protect our children and young people from sexual abuse.    All the PANTS materials are available to download, free of charge, from the NSPCC website -

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule

ACT Early

THE impact of Covid-19, social isolation and a rise in hateful extremism online is creating a ‘perfect storm’ which is making more young people vulnerable to radicalisation and other forms of grooming.

 But parents, friends and families can now get specialist support to stop their loved ones being drawn into harmful activities or groups, with the launch of ACT Early - a new dedicated safeguarding website and advice line from the specialists at Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP).

 This new resource will provide advice, guidance and support for anyone who is concerned that someone they know may be at risk from being radicalised by terrorists or extremist content online.

 Between 1^st January 2019 and 30^th June 2020, 17 children have been arrested in relation to terrorism offences. Some were as young as 14 years old, while nearly all will have been radicalised entirely online. In the same time period, more than 1500 children under the age of 15 were helped by the Prevent programme to choose a different path, away from hatred and violence.

  Family and friends are best placed to spot the worrying behaviour changes which can indicate that a loved one is heading down a path towards terrorism, but currently just 2% of referrals into the Government’s anti-radicalisation programme Prevent come from that group of people.

Prevent is a preventative programme delivered locally by teachers, healthcare practitioners, social workers, the police, charities, and religious leaders. It places protection around people vulnerable to radicalisation, stopping them from being drawn into terrorism – regardless of the ideology.

 It works in a similar way to safeguarding processes designed to protect people from gangs, drug abuse, and sexual exploitation.

 And with Covid-19 preventing regular access to schools, social workers and mental health support, specialists at CTP are concerned that people who need help are not getting it - which makes it more important for friends and family to use the new ACT Early resources to understand what might be happening to their loved one and what support Prevent can provide.

If you are worried that someone you know is being radicalised, visit http://www.actearly.uk/ You won’t be wasting our time and you won’t ruin lives, but you might save them.
For help and advice visit www.actearly.uk, or call the national Police Prevent Advice Line on 0800 011 3764, in confidence, and our specially trained Prevent officers will listen carefully to your concerns.