Safeguarding

Safeguarding at Burraton

At Burraton, we are committed to providing a secure environment for all children where they feel safe and are kept safe. All adults at the school recognise that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, irrespective of the role they undertake. We always work closely with our parents to support and help keep children safe.

Burraton School Safeguarding Team

Safeguarding Team (1) (ID 1234)

Mrs Tamblyn

Head Teacher, Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Tamblyn
Mr Woolner

Deputy Head, Deputy Safeguarding Lead

Mr Woolner
Mrs C Langead

SENDCo Deputy Safeguarding Lead

Mrs C Langead

Safeguarding (2) (ID 1235)

Mrs Langley

PSA, Deputy Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Langley
Mrs Olan

B4&L8R Manager, Deputy Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Olan

Pastoral Care

Pastoral care is concerned with attitudes and responsibility and a sense of caring about everyone in the school community. The school is a large family and the children and adults alike are expected to act responsibly and respectfully towards one another; to be aware of the feelings of others; to help, support, care for and encourage each other. Our HUG (Helping Us Grow) team are trained in supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing and do much to help our school feel the safe and happy place that it does to some of our children with fragile mental health.

Teachers and support staff act ‘in loco parentis’ in their pastoral role. They are the first in line of care; they know their children well and will always contact parents where there is any cause for concern. Each department in the school has an allocated staff pastoral leader whose role it is to support children, alongside their class teacher, if necessary. In addition, we have a Parent Support Advisor who works closely with parents when significant issues or concerns arise. Parents are encouraged to notify the school if they are concerned about any aspect of school life, or where home circumstances are such that they may affect a child’s progress at school. No problem which concerns a child or a parent should be thought of as trivial. Please do not hesitate to contact us about any concerns that you or your child may have.

Child Protection Referral

Section 47(1) of the Children Act 1989 gives the local authority a duty to investigate when it is suspected or found that a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm. The local authority will then make enquiries from other agencies to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare.

As a school, we have a statutory duty to assist social services departments acting on behalf of children in need or enquiring into allegations of child abuse. As well as this statutory duty, we have a pastoral responsibility towards our pupils and we recognise that pupils have a fundamental right to be protected from harm. Children cannot learn effectively unless they feel safe and secure. Our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy, which reflects both our statutory duty and our pastoral responsibilities, is available on our school website.

If we have a concern that a child has been abused or is at risk of harm, we have a duty to refer this to Social Care. In making a referral, the school is not making any judgment about individual parents or carers; it is for social services to decide whether there should be further assessment or other action taken. Our policies and procedures surrounding safeguarding are robust and efficient: they are there to protect children from harm and to provide them with the best life chances possible. Whilst we understand that discussions and referrals regarding children’s wellbeing and safety can be upsetting for parents, we will not shirk in our foremost responsibility which is that of protecting children.

The school’s designated safeguarding lead is Mrs. Tamblyn; deputy designated leads are Mr. Woolner, Mrs. Langmead, Mrs. Langley and Mrs. Olan. The designated governor for safeguarding is Mr. Mark Kelly.

There may be other circumstances whereby we feel a child or their family needs additional support in order to thrive; on these occasions we may ask you for your agreement in making a referral to other agencies eg. Early Help. Our Parent Support Advisor at school, Mrs. Langley, can provide support, advice and signposting for those parents who request such support; she may also make the first move in contacting parents to offer support if we feel that a child is not thriving or if we have other concerns.

Raising Concerns: Procedures for Children and Parents

If a child or parent has concerns about the conduct of a member of staff relating to the safeguarding of children, this should be reported to the Head Teacher as a matter of urgency. If this is not possible, the governor responsible for child protection and complaints against staff is Jocelyn Davis who can be contacted through the school. Concerns about the conduct of the Head Teacher with regard to safeguarding should be reported immediately to the Chair of Governors, Mark Kelly, or to the LADO at the Local Authority Safeguarding Children’s Standards Unit.

Concerns from children or parents may be raised verbally or in writing and will be investigated according to school policy. Although we endeavour to maintain confidentiality, this may not always be possible. Further information can be accessed in the Complaints Policy available on the website and from the school office.

Radicalisation and Extremism

Radicalisation is the process through which a person comes to support or be involved in extremist ideologies. It can result in a person becoming drawn into terrorism and is in itself a form of harm. Extremism is vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. What signs may be apparent of both radicalisation and extremism?

There is no place for extremist views of any kind in our school, whether from internal sources - pupils, staff or governors - or external sources - school community, external agencies or individuals. Our pupils see our school as a safe place where they can explore controversial issues safely and where our teachers encourage and facilitate this - we have a duty to ensure this happens.

When we have any concern regarding extremism or radicalisation, we will consult with the Local Authority to seek Prevent Duty. The prevent duty is the process by which we can help protect our children from risks associated with extremism and radicalisation.

Operation Encompass

Burraton School is an Operation Encompass school. This means that we are quickly informed if one of our children has been witness to, or has been the victum of, domestic abuse. This then empowers us to immediately put high quality support in place for the child as soon as they arrive at school after the incident. For more information about Operation Encompass please see below website.