Named personnel with responsibility for Safeguarding in our school

Head Teacher: Catherine Stratton

Chair of Governors: Daphne Whiteoak

Designated Safeguarding Lead: Catherine Stratton

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead/s: Alice Cowles

Safeguarding Governor: Becca Gibbons

Dedicated teacher for Looked After Children: Sarah Allen

SENDCO: Jilly Hicks

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Deputies (DDSL) have responsibility for ensuring that the safeguarding of children is central to the ethos of our school. They are suitably trained and experienced and carry out the duties of the DSL role as outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2022 and summarised in this policy.

This policy is reviewed annually or following national or local safeguarding changes to policy and procedure throughout the academic year.

Next Review Date: September 2023

Contents page

Page

4        Who does this policy apply to?

4        What is the purpose of this policy?

4        Our Commitment to Safeguarding

5         Equality

6        Our guidance and training

7        Whistleblowing and Professional Resolution and Escalation

8        Child Protection Procedures

9        Concerns that staff must act on immediately and report

9        Responding to disclosures

12      Recording and monitoring

12      Supporting the child and partnership with parents

12      Child Information

13      Transfer of Files

14      Roles and Responsibilities

21      Child Abuse, Neglect and Specific Safeguarding Situations

22      Child-on-Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment

22      Safer Recruitment

23      Individuals who have lived or worked outside the UK

24      Supply teachers and agency staff

24      Volunteers

25      Use of school premises

25      Home stays (exchange visits)

25      Safer Working Practice

26      Risk Assessments

26      Teaching about Safeguarding

27      Partnership with Parents

28      Partnerships with Others

28      Children placed in Alternative Provision

28      Allegations regarding Person(s) Working in or on behalf of School (including volunteers)

33      Appendix 1: Definitions of abuse and neglect

35      Appendix 2: Definitions and procedures for specific safeguarding situations

51      Appendix 3: Body Map Guidance

52      Appendix 4: Guidance

54      Safeguarding Contacts Form/Poster

Who does this policy apply to?

This document applies to all young people under 18 at the school. Anyone coming into contact with the children in our school or visiting the school site must abide by this policy. Everyone working at the school as a member of staff, or volunteer, has a duty to safeguard and protect our children. They must read this policy and sign to say they agree to work to it. Visitors to the school, including contractors, must read our safeguarding statement.

In this policy, the term ‘child’ or ‘children’ refers to anyone under the age of 18 years.

The term ‘parent’ refers to both parents and carers.

What is the purpose of this policy?

• to clarify the roles and responsibilities of everyone within our school in relation to child protection and safeguarding
• to provide information on the range of safeguarding concerns
• to explain the clear procedures that are followed when a child is identified as needing more than universal services can provide

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

We aim to work in partnership and have an important role in the inter-agency safeguarding arrangements as set out by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2022. KCSIE applies to all school, colleges and providers who educate children up to the age of 18. Everyone working in, or for our school, shares an objective to help keep children and young people safe by contributing to:

• providing a safe environment for children and young people to learn and develop in our school setting, and
• identify 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 within and outside of our school setting’
• creating a whole school approach to safeguarding through a culture of care where children are listened to, and heard, with the knowledge that their concerns and worries will be taken seriously

Our school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the well-being of all our children. Each child’s welfare is of paramount importance. We recognise that some children may be especially vulnerable to abuse e.g. those that are less mobile or have difficulty communicating, and that their needs are unique to them and that no one size fits all.  We recognise that children who are abused or neglected may find it difficult to develop a sense of self-worth and to view the world in a positive way. We will ensure that no child will feel that what they have to say is a problem or carries any shame. As a school we are committed to putting the child at the heart of any procedures that operate. We recognise that, safeguarding concerns do not adhere to school/home boundaries and that what happens at home and within the wider school environment including on social media, is as relevant as what happens within the classroom. Behaviour may be challenging and we recognise that at times, this may impact on other children either directly or indirectly. We will always take a considered and sensitive approach in order that we can support all our children.

Safeguarding is at the heart of how we run our school. It is not only about high-level child protection but about how we prevent the need for this. It is considered, for example, in our:

• anti-bullying policies
• staff conduct policy
• school attendance procedures
• online safety policy
• curriculum design
• behaviour management policy
• health and safety arrangements
• school transport provision
• safer recruitment practices

Equality

We recognise our obligations under the Equality Act 2010: advice for schools that we must not unlawfully discriminate against pupils because of their sex, race, disability, religion or belief, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, or sexual orientation (protected characteristics). In relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children our governing body will carefully consider how we are supporting our pupils with regard to particular protected characteristics – including disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and race.

Our guidance and training

It is important every agency knows what to do if they are worried about a child. We follow the above national guidance for schools (CTRL click on each image to access the document) so we are clear what to expect and can explain this to our children and their families.

Where there are additional risks, we will refer to other specific guidance which is listed in Appendix 2.

Our Governing Body is responsible for ensuring school staff read the appropriate parts of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 depending on their roles within the school. This will be based on the level of responsibility for safeguarding in the school and their contact with children. The Local Authority recommends that all staff read section 1 and 5; we will follow this guidance and Governors will review regularly to ensure that staff are appropriately informed.

In our school we follow a six-year training pathway which ensures that all staff receive suitable training to undertake their role. To guide us we follow the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (LSCP) pathway and guidance and access the expertise from the partnership.

The DSL (and any deputies) will undergo additional specific training at least every two years to provide them with the knowledge and skills required to carry out the role. If we recruit a new DSL or Deputy, we will ensure they are fully trained and undertake the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead course provided by the local authority.

In addition to the formal training, their knowledge and skills will be refreshed at regular intervals to allow them to understand and keep up to date with any developments relevant to their role. This will be done by attending the termly local

authority DSL Safeguarding Updates, of which we attend three per year, Autumn, Spring and Summer terms, attending DSL drop-in sessions and by attending appropriate LSCP inter-agency training and other relevant training and/or conference opportunities.

We use the LCC Self-Assessment Safeguarding Audit Tool which allows us to regularly assess the safeguarding in our school and identify areas of good practice as well as areas for improvement. We use this as our evidence to annually respond to the LSCP on the compliance of safeguarding in our school.

Whistleblowing and Professional Resolution and Escalation

It is essential that our school expect good practice and professional conduct from ourselves, and others involved in the safeguarding of our children. Staff must be committed to providing a high standard of service and children cannot be expected to raise concerns in an environment where staff fail to do so. All staff are aware of their duty to raise concerns, where they exist, about the management of child protection, which may include the attitude or actions of colleagues. They will follow the procedures for reporting low level concerns which are in our Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Policy and raise with the Head teacher and involve the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) if required. If a member of staff notices anything that gives them cause for concern, it is vital that this is raised. Acting upon staff concerns is fundamental to ensuring good practice and support for staff. Resolving issues must be viewed by all staff as a positive action and not a breach of trust between colleagues or an attack on the school. We value an atmosphere of openness and honesty and welcome suggestions, complaints, and criticisms in addition to compliments.

Our staff are encouraged to use the Whistleblowing policy as appropriate to raise or pass on concerns about any of the following:

1. a) Poor standards of service
2. b) Issues of bad practice
3. c) The conduct of colleagues or managers
4. d) Anything which is not in the best interest of the children or the school
5. e) Anything which is illegal or unacceptable behaviour.

We will always listen to any concerns and try to resolve them but should staff feel unable to raise concerns regarding child protection failures internally or have concerns about the way a concern is being handled in the school, they can use the NSPCC helpline The NSPCC’s ‘What you can do to report abuse dedicated helpline or call 0800 028 0285 – line is available from 8am-8pm, Mon-Fri or email: help@nspcc.org.uk

If there is a concern from within school about how a safeguarding concern is being handled or the school have concerns with the way other agencies are handling a safeguarding concern, then we will follow the Lincolnshire LSCP Professional Resolution & Escalation Protocol. This allows us to open up a dialogue with other professionals and resolve any issues in an open and honest approach and in the best interests of the child.

Child Protection Procedures

All staff follow the school’s Child Protection Procedures which are consistent with:

• ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018’,
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022; and
• the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures Manual.

Teachers and other adults in school are well placed to observe any physical, emotional or behavioural signs which indicate that a child may be suffering significant harm. Appendix 1 outlines the definitions of abuse. The relationships between staff, children, parents, and the public which foster respect, confidence and trust can lead to disclosures of abuse, and/or school staff being alerted to concerns.

All staff will have an awareness of specific safeguarding issues, as referred to in Appendix 2. Domestic Abuse, Child Exploitation (CE), Radicalisation and the Prevent Duty, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Attendance and Children Missing from Education (CME) and Contextual Safeguarding are some of these areas.

All staff will also be aware that safeguarding concerns can manifest themselves via child-on-child abuse. This is most likely to include but is not limited to: bullying (including cyber bullying), gender-based violence/sexual assaults and sexting. Staff are clear as to the school’s procedures with regards to child-on-child abuse.

It is not the responsibility of the school staff to investigate welfare concerns or determine the truth of any disclosure or allegation. All members of staff, however, have a duty to recognise concerns and maintain an open mind.  Accordingly, all concerns regarding the welfare of children will be recorded and discussed with the DSL (or the deputy DSL in their absence) prior to any discussion with parents. The DSL or DDSL should seek advice from the Children’s Services Customer Service centre if they are unsure of what action to take. Telephone- 01522 782111.

Concerns that staff must act on immediately and report:

• any suspicion that a child is injured, marked, or bruised in a way which is not readily attributable to the expected knocks or scrapes received in play. (We will refer to the LSCP policy on Bruising in babies and children who are not independently mobile for additional guidance).
• any explanation given to the above which appears inconsistent or suspicious
• any behaviours which give rise to suspicions that a child may have suffered harm (e.g., worrying drawings or play)
• any concerns that a child may be suffering from inadequate care, ill treatment, or emotional maltreatment
• any concerns that a child is presenting signs or symptoms of abuse or neglect
• any significant changes in a child’s presentation, including non-attendance
• any hint or disclosure of abuse from any person
• any concerns regarding person(s) who may pose a risk to children (e.g., living in a household with children present)
• any potential indicators of Child Exploitation
• any potential indicators of FGM
• any potential indicators of Radicalisation
• any potential indicators of living in a household with Domestic Abuse

Responding to disclosure

Staff will not investigate nor ask any leading questions but will, wherever possible, elicit enough information to pass on to the DSL in order that they can make an informed decision of what to do next.

The DSL will ensure that the child’s wishes and feelings are considered when determining what action to take and what services to provide. Child Protection processes will operate with the best interests of the child at their core.

Staff will:

• listen to and take seriously any disclosure or information that a child may be at risk of harm
• try to ensure that the person disclosing does not have to speak to another member of school staff

• clarify the information
• try to keep questions to a minimum and of an ‘open’ nature e.g., using TED technique – ‘Tell me, Explain to me, Describe to me….’
• try not to show signs of shock, horror, or surprise
• try not to express feelings or judgements regarding any person alleged to have harmed the child
• explain sensitively to the person that they have a responsibility to refer the information to the DSL, children need to know that staff may not be able to uphold confidentiality where there are concerns about their safety or someone else’s
• reassure and support the child as far as possible
• explain that only those who ‘need to know’ will be told
• explain what will happen next and who will be involved as appropriate
• record details including date, what the child has said, in the child’s words on to the school’s safeguarding recording system and ensure that the DSL is made aware.
• record any visible signs, injuries, or bruises on a Body Map (see appendix 3)
• record the context and content of their involvement, distinguishing between fact, opinion, and hearsay

Action by the DSL (or deputy DSL in their absence)

Following any information raising concern, the DSL will consider:

• any urgent medical needs of the child
• whether the child is subject to a child protection plan

• discussing the matter with other agencies involved with the child/family
• consulting with appropriate persons e.g., Duty and Advice Team
• the child‘s wishes

Then decide:

• to talk to parents, unless to do so may place a child at risk of significant harm, impede any police investigation and/or place the member of staff or others at risk
• whether to make a child protection referral to Children’s Social Care-Duty and Advice Team because a child is suffering or is likely  to suffer significant harm and if this needs to be undertaken immediately

OR

• not to make a referral at this stage

• if further monitoring is necessary
• if it would be appropriate to undertake an assessment (e.g., Early Help Assessment – EHA)

All information and actions taken, including the reasons for any decisions made, will be fully documented. All referrals to Lincolnshire’s Customer Service Centre will be followed up in writing and these referrals will always be kept on file irrespective of the outcome.

Action following a child protection referral

The DSL (or deputy DSL in their absence) will:

• make regular contact with the social worker involved to stay informed
• wherever possible, contribute to the strategy discussion
• provide a report for, attend, and contribute to any subsequent child protection conference
• if the child or children are made the subject of a child protection plan, contribute to the child protection plan, and attend core group meetings and review conferences
• where possible, share all reports with parents prior to meetings and ensure that they understand the content
• where in disagreement with a decision and concerns remain with the child firstly:

1. talk in the first instance to the social worker/customer service centre
2. check the referral including all the relevant information and clearly document the concerns about the child
3. finally follow the professional resolution and escalation protocol if the concern remains

• Where a child subject to a child protection plan moves from the school or goes missing, immediately inform the social worker and/or Children’s Social Care Customer Service Centre.

Recording and monitoring

Accurate records will be made as soon as practicable and will clearly distinguish between observation, fact, opinion, and hypothesis. All records will state who is providing the information, the date and time, information will be recorded in the child’s words where possible and a note made of the location and description of any injuries seen, if this is a paper record than this should be signed. An example of how this is done can be found in Appendix 3. Photographs of injuries will not be taken.

The DSL ensures that the method for other members of staff or volunteers passing on concerns or information is always adhered to as consistency is paramount in ensuring that nothing gets missed. All records of concerns are followed up and clearly show what action is being taken as a result of the concern and the outcomes of this action.

All documents will be retained in a ‘Child Protection file’, separate from the child’s school file. It is kept secure with appropriate level of limited access.

Supporting the child and partnership with parents

Our school recognises that the child’s welfare is paramount, and that good child protection and safeguarding practice and outcomes rely on a positive, open and honest working partnership with parents

Whilst we may, on a rare occasion, need to make referrals without consultation with parents, we will make every effort to maintain a positive working relationship with them whilst fulfilling our duties to protect any child.

We will also provide a secure, caring, supportive and protective relationship for the child. Children will be given a proper explanation (appropriate to age and understanding) of what action is being taken on their behalf and why.

We will endeavour always to preserve the privacy, dignity and right to confidentiality of the child and parents. The DSL will determine which members of staff need to know personal information and what they need to know for the purpose of supporting and protecting the child.

Child Information

To keep children safe and provide appropriate care for them, we

require accurate and up to date information about:

• names, contact details and relationship to the child of any persons with whom the child normally lives
• names and contact details of all persons with parental responsibility (if different from above)
• emergency contact details (if different from above). We need to know that if the person(s) with parental responsibility is unable to collect their child, there is someone known to us who can collect the child and keep them safe until either the person(s) with parental responsibility is available or a more suitable arrangement is made. We need more than one emergency contact, so we have additional options to make contact with a responsible adult when there is a welfare and/or safeguarding concern
• any relevant court order in place including those which affect any person’s access to the child (e.g., Residence Order, Contact Order, Care Order, Injunctions etc.)
• if the child is or has been subject to a Child Protection Plan
• if the child is or has been subject to an Early Help Assessment (EHA) or Child In Need (CIN) processes
• if the child is a Looked After Child (LAC) or previously looked after
• name and contact details of the child’s GP
• any other factors which may impact on the safety and welfare of the child

Transfer of files

A child protection file is kept separate to a main child record. When a child leaves the school, the child protection file is transferred within 5 days for an in-year transfer or within 5 days after the start of a new term. It is transferred separately in a sealed envelope clearly labelled.

A record of transfer is kept and signed by the DSL and the signed and dated receipt of transfer is retained by our school.

This is the information that is added to a record of transfer which we keep until your child reaches their 25^th birthday:

• name & DOB of child
• name & address of receiving school
• date file(s) transferred with name and role of person who received it
• date our school received confirmation of receipt of files from receiving school
• summary of safeguarding concerns at the time of transfer e.g., Child Protection Plan: Neglect.

In addition to the child protection file, the DSL will consider if it is appropriate to share any information with the new school or college in advance of a child leaving. This will allow the new school to have support in place for when a child arrives.

The full child record is transferred to the next school unless there are any records with a short retention period. It is important that full information is transferred to ensure a vital piece of information is not missing that could contribute at a later stage.

We do not keep any copies of records except where there is an on-going legal action. Once records are transferred, they are the custody and responsibility of the new school.

A child’s last school is responsible for retaining the main child record until they reach the age of 25 years. These files are stored securely. Any record relating to child protection concerns is placed on the main child file, in a sealed envelope and then retained for the same period of time as the child file (DOB + 25 years).

We refer to the guidance below for further support:

• IRMS Information Management Toolkit
• IRMS Information Management Academies Toolkit
• DfE Data Protection Toolkit for Schools
• LCC Data Protection Advice Service for Schools

Roles and Responsibilities

The Governing Body

It is the responsibility of our Governing Body to ensure that everyone in the setting understands their role in safeguarding children. It is accountable for the strategic overview and to make sure that safeguarding runs through every policy and procedure that operates within the school. The Governing Body will ensure that the safeguarding measures reflect the specific needs of the children in our school and consider any additional risks related to this.

They will do this by ensuring that:

• there is a named Safeguarding Governor who is appropriately trained
• the school has an effective Child Protection and Safeguarding policy and procedures in place that are in accordance with local authority guidance and locally agreed inter-agency procedures.
• the policy is available publically via the school website or other means and that the policy is reviewed and updated on an annual basis or sooner if there are national or local changes to procedures or guidance.
• our school staff know who are required to read all or parts of the Department for Education statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 and that this is recorded for evidence and reviewed regularly.
• the school has a staff behaviour policy/code of conduct and that this is provided to all staff and volunteers on induction. This policy includes acceptable use of technology, staff/pupil relationships and communications including the use of social media.
• the school operates safer recruitment procedures and makes sure that all appropriate checks are carried out on staff and volunteers who work with children; and that any panel involved in the recruitment of staff has at least one member who has undertaken the Safer Recruitment Training.
• the school has procedures for dealing with allegations against staff and volunteers that comply with guidance from the local authority and locally agreed inter-agency procedures.
• the school has procedures for dealing with low level concerns in relation to staff behaviour and that there is a culture of openness in reporting and dealing with these concerns and a process of escalation if any allegation reaches or contributes to a risk of harm to children.
• staff, including the Head teacher, undertake appropriate safeguarding training and that there is a training plan that reflects the national, local, and school requirements.
• they remedy, without delay, any deficiencies or weaknesses regarding child protection arrangements and reflect on incidents, or near misses, to consider lessons learnt.
• The chair is nominated to be responsible for liaising with the LA LADO team and /or partner agencies in the event of allegations of abuse being made against the Head teacher
• where services or activities are provided on the school premises by another body, the body concerned has appropriate policies and procedures in place regarding safeguarding children and child protection and that they are reviewed annually. There should be arrangements in place to liaise with the school about safeguarding matters where appropriate and inspections should take place if required. Any transfer of control or lease or hire arrangements will include safeguarding arrangements. Failure to comply with these arrangements will result in termination of the agreement. (see section below on using school premises)
• the school appoints an appropriately trained designated teacher with responsibility for “promoting the educational achievement of children who have left care through adoption, special guardianship or child arrangement orders or who were adopted from state care outside England and Wales” in addition to Looked After Children (LAC).

The Head Teacher will ensure that:

• the policies and procedures adopted by the Governing Body are fully implemented, and followed by all staff
• sufficient resources and time are allocated to enable the DSL, DDSL and other staff to discharge their responsibilities including taking part in strategy discussions and other inter-agency meetings and contributing to the assessments of children.
• there are arrangements in place for safeguarding supervision for the DSL and the DDSL’s.
• all staff and volunteers feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice regarding children, and such concerns are addressed sensitively and effectively in a timely manner in accordance with agreed whistle blowing policies.
• the DSL is supported in providing a contact for the school to provide a report and attend Initial Child Protection Case Conferences, Reviews and Looked After Children Reviews.
• allegations regarding staff or any other adults in the school are referred to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), as set out in the Managing Allegations procedure.
• low level concerns in relation to staff behaviour are dealt with through disciplinary policy and a culture of openness and transparency is developed
• individuals are referred to the Disclosure and Barring Service or/and the Secretary of State via the Teaching Regulation Agency where a person is dismissed or has left due to a safeguarding concern or serious misconduct.

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Deputies as stated in KCSIE (2022) Annex C

The DSL and Deputy DSL’s maintain oversight and hold lead responsibility for any concern about a child, including children requiring early help or child protection

A DSL will always be available during school hours for staff in the school to discuss any safeguarding concerns. Arrangements will made for appropriate cover for any out of hours/out of term activities.

Their role will include ensuring that the school, and staff, know who their vulnerable or potentially vulnerable children are, understand their additional needs, academic progress and attainment and maintain a culture of high aspirations for this cohort by supporting teaching staff to identify the challenges that children in this group might face and the additional support and adjustments, both pastoral and academic that could be made to best support them.

As part of their role, they will:

Manage referrals by:

• referring cases of suspected abuse to the local authority children’s social care (Customer Service Centre)
• supporting staff who make referrals to Customer Service Centre
• seeking advice from Prevent Team regarding radicalisation concerns and refer cases to the Channel programme when necessary
• supporting teachers to report any cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as outlined in the duty
• supporting the Head to refer cases where a person is dismissed or left due to risk/harm to a child to the Disclosure and Barring Service as required
• referring cases to the Police where a crime may have been committed

Work with others by:

• liaising with the Head Teacher to inform them of issues especially on-going enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 and police investigation
• as required, liaising with the “case manager” (as per Part four of KCSIE) and the designated officer (LADO) for child protection concerns (all cases which concern a staff member or volunteer)
• liaising with staff on matters of safety and safeguarding and when deciding whether to make a referral by liaising with relevant agencies.
• acting as a source of support, advice, and expertise for staff.
• liaising with mental health team or lead where safeguarding concerns are linked to mental health
• helping promote educational outcomes by sharing the information about the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that children, including children with a social worker, are experiencing, or have experienced, with teachers and school and college leadership staff
• act as a point of contact with safeguarding partners
• promote supportive engagement with parents and/or carers in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including where families may be facing challenging circumstances.

Undertake training

The DSL (and any DDSL’s) will undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills required to carry out the role. In Lincolnshire we have a combined LSCP and education six-year Safeguarding Training Plan which is followed by the DSL and any DDSL’s. The DSL will undertake training around their specific role at least every two years. New DSL’s or DDSL’s will need to be familiar with the content of the LSCP’s procedures manual and to keep up to date with bi-annual updates.

The DSL and Deputies will attend the LCC DSL Safeguarding Updates and/or drop-ins, LCC support forums and appropriate LSCP inter-agency training to ensure that they are sufficiently trained and informed to:

• understand the assessment process for providing early help and intervention, for example through locally agreed common and shared assessment processes such as early help assessments
• have a working knowledge of how local authorities conduct a child protection case conference and a child protection review conference and be able to attend and contribute to these effectively when required to do so
• understand the importance of the role in providing information and support to local authority children social care in order to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
• ensure each member of staff, especially new and part-time staff, has access to and understands the school’s child protection policy and procedures
• be alert to the specific needs of children in need, those with special educational needs and young carers
• be able to understand the unique risks associated with online safety and keep up to date with knowledge to keep children safe whilst they are online at school.
• understand the lasting impact that adversity and trauma can have on children’s behaviour, mental health and wellbeing, and know what is needed in responding to this in promoting educational outcomes
• understand the importance of information sharing, both within the school and with the safeguarding partners, other agencies, organisations, and practitioners
• be able to keep detailed, accurate, secure written records of concerns and referrals
• understand and support the school with regards to the requirements of the Prevent duty and can provide advice and support to staff on protecting children from the risk of radicalisation
• maintain access to resources and receive information about additional relevant course

Raise Awareness by:

• ensuring the school’s child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures are known, understood, and used appropriately
• ensuring the school’s child protection and safeguarding policy is reviewed at least

annually and the procedures and implementation are updated and reviewed regularly

• working with the Governing body in particular, the Safeguarding Governor.
• ensuring that the latest version of the child protection and safeguarding policy is available publicly and parents know that referrals about suspected abuse or neglect may be made and the role of the school in this
• linking with the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership to make sure staff are aware of training opportunities and the latest local policies on safeguarding.

All staff and volunteers will:

• read and sign to say that they understand and will fully comply with the school’s policies and procedures
• read the appropriate parts of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 in accordance with the Governors direction and sign to say that they have read and understood them
• identify concerns and inform the DSL as early as possible to prevent concerns from escalating and identify children who may need extra help or who are suffering or are likely to suffer significant harm
• ensure there is a culture of listening to children and always considering their thoughts and wishes
• recognising the difficulties that some children have in approaching and sharing concerns with adults, putting in place measures to build relationships
• attend annual whole school safeguarding training and other appropriate training identified, covering a range of safeguarding topics, agreed by the school.
• provide a safe environment in which children can learn
• be aware that they may be asked to support a Social Worker to make decisions about individual children
• inform the Head teacher of any safeguarding concerns regarding an adult within school at the earliest opportunity
• inform the Chair of Governors of any concerns regarding the Head teacher at the earliest opportunity
• inform the Head teacher of any behaviour of staff that is deemed as low-level concerns (see section on Allegations against staff)
• act on the concern and make the referral themselves if they feel the concern is not being taken seriously.

Child Abuse, Neglect and Specific Safeguarding Situations

Abuse or neglect of a child can happen by someone inflicting harm or failing to act to prevent harm. Young people may be abused in a family, an institutional or community setting by those known to them or by others (e.g., via the internet). They may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children. Sometimes they tell us about abuse, sometimes they do not.

Abuse is categorised in Working Together to Safeguard children (2018) into four areas; Sexual Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse and Neglect. Further information can be found in Appendix 1.

Children also face risks within several safeguarding situations, these are detailed in Appendix 2. In our school, we ensure that staff training focuses on the situations that are relevant to our children in our school environment, recognising also that children are part of a wider community and that a ‘it may happen here’ culture allows early intervention. We also ensure that children themselves develop skills in recognising risks and keeping themselves and others safe within these situations.

Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment

We will create a culture where Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment including online sexual abuse is not tolerated. We will ensure this is a whole school approach assuming that sexual abuse is, to some extent, happening in our school. This will allow us to identify issues and intervene early to better protect our children. We will refer to Part Five of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 and the LSCP policy, ‘Child-on-child Sexual Harassment, Sexual Abuse and Sexually Harmful behaviours.’ Further specific details of this type of abuse can be found in Appendix 2.

Safer Recruitment

Safer recruitment ensures that every new member of staff understands their duties to safeguard young people from the outset starting from the advertisement, through the interview, to their induction, and start at the school. It is essential that no one gets to work with children who cannot keep them safe.

We ensure that all appropriate measures are applied in relation to everyone who works in the school who is likely to be perceived by the children as a safe and trustworthy adult including e.g., volunteers and staff employed by contractors. Safer recruitment practice includes scrutinising applicants, verifying identity, seeing academic and vocational qualifications, obtaining professional references, checking previous employment history (and ensuring all gaps in employment are accounted for) and ensuring that a candidate has the health and physical capacity for the job. It also includes undertaking interviews and all relevant safer recruitment checks, e.g., Disclosure and Barring Service and Right to Work in the UK checks.

The key staff involved in staff recruitment are trained in safer recruitment and vetting as detailed in the LCC Employment Manual. At least one member of the recruitment panel, including appointment of volunteers and contracted services, will have received safer recruitment training in the last 6 years and accessed more regularly updates on changes to safer recruitment legislation and procedures.

The school maintains a Single Central Record (SCR) which is a statutory document that holds relevant information including safer recruitment checks on:

• all staff (including supply staff, and teacher trainees on salaried routes) who work at the school: this means those providing education to children; and
• for independent schools, including academies and free schools, all members of the proprietor body

The information that must be recorded in respect of all staff members mentioned above is whether the following checks have been carried out or certificates obtained, and the date on which each check was completed/certificate obtained:

• an identity check
• a barred list check
• an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• a prohibition from teaching check
• a section 128 check (for management positions as set out in paragraph 99 for independent schools, including free schools and academies) and governors in maintained schools
• further checks on people who have lived or worked outside the UK: this would include recording checks for those European Economic Area (EEA) teacher sanctions and restrictions
• a check of professional qualifications; and
• a check to establish the person’s right to work in the United Kingdom.

Individuals who have lived or worked outside the UK

Individuals who have lived or worked outside the UK must undergo the same checks as all other staff in school. This includes obtaining (via the applicant) an enhanced DBS certificate (including barred list information, for those who will be engaging in regulated activity) even if the individual has never been to the UK. In addition, the school must make any further checks they think appropriate so that any relevant events that occurred outside the UK can be considered. These checks might include, where available:

• criminal records checks for overseas applicants or Home Office guidance and for teaching positions

• obtaining a letter of professional standing from the professional regulating authority in the country in which the applicant has worked using the UK European Information Centre UK ENIC for advice about which regulatory or professional body applicants could be contacted.

Where available, such evidence will be considered together with information obtained through other pre-appointment checks to help assess suitability. Where this information is not available school will seek alternative methods of checking suitability or undertake a risk assessment that supports informed decision making on whether to proceed with the appointment. Although sanctions and restrictions imposed by another regulating authority do not prevent a person from taking up teaching positions in England, the school should consider the circumstances that led to the restriction or sanction being imposed when considering a candidate’s suitability for employment.

The school use further information from the DfE Guidance: Recruit Teachers from Overseas and will contact our senior HR advisor within LCC for further guidance on visas and immigration.

Supply teachers and agency staff

We obtain information in writing from our supply staff agencies that relevant checks have been carried out on the supply staff and that appropriate certificates have been obtained. We also seek confirmation that an enhanced DBS check certificate has been provided and the date that confirmation was received.

Where appropriate, we will recognise the safer recruitment process within an organisation as proof that all staff who work for the organisation have been recruited safely e.g., for Lincolnshire County Council staff and other partner organisations that have been assessed by the LSCP as being section 11 compliant.

If at any point we are concerned about whether safer recruitment procedures have been implemented to employ a member of staff who is intending to work in our school, we will immediately contact the organisation to check. We will also feedback any concerns we have about the staff and expect the agency to action this.

Volunteers

Volunteers play an important role in our school and we value the work they do. We will ensure that appropriate checks will be carried out and recorded and that no volunteer will be left unsupervised or allowed to work in regulated activity with a child without checks.

If required, we will carry out a risk assessment based on the nature of the work with children, what we know about the volunteer, whether the volunteer has other employment or volunteering where referees can be acquired and if the role is eligible for a DBS check and at what level.

Use of school premises

We will ensure that adequate checks are carried out when the school premises are used by others not employed by the school. We will:

• with the person’s consent, apply for a DBS using the online system
• check for any updates to the DBS every 3-6 months
• check if the person involved is with a regulated body and if so, contact the body to see if there are any concerns
• ask the person involved for names of other schools that they have worked in and contact these schools to see if any concerns have been raised

Home-stays (Exchange Visits)

Where children from overseas are staying with UK parents as part of an exchange organised by the school, those parents will be deemed to be in ‘Regulated Activity’ for the duration of the stay and as such will be required to submit an enhanced DBS check including barring check. As a volunteer, all checks will be processed free of charge by the DBS. Where additional people in the host family are aged over 16 (i.e., elder siblings) the school will consider on a case-by-case risk assessment basis whether such checks are necessary

If the stay is more than 28 days, we will consider if the child is being privately fostered and report to the Local Authority as per guidance in Appendix 2.

Safer Working Practice

Parents need to be confident that the environment they send their children to daily is safe and secure. Children also need to know that school is a protective environment where their health and wellbeing is a priority.

Following the Guidance for Safer Working Practice for those Adults who work with children and young people all staff in our school:

• are responsible for their own actions and behaviour and avoid any conduct which would lead any reasonable person to question their motivation and intentions

• work in an open and transparent way
• work with other colleagues, where possible, in situations open to question
• discuss and/or take advice from school management over any incident which may give rise to concern
• record any incidents or decisions made
• apply the same professional standards regardless of gender, sexuality, or disability
• comply and are aware of the confidentiality policy
• are aware that breaches of the law and other professional guidelines could result in criminal or disciplinary action being taken against them.

If our staff have any concerns about the conduct of another member of staff, they will report these to the head teacher. If staff members have concerns about the head teacher, these will be reported to the chair of governors. The Head teacher/Chair of Governors will then consider if the concerns need to be reported to the LADO. Where the Head teacher/principal is the proprietor then the concern should be reported to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).

Risk Assessments

We will carry out risk assessments to help us promote safety in our school. They can be carried out for all aspects of school work including use of equipment, off site activities, transport as well as for individual or groups of children. An action plan will be produced out of the assessment to help us manage any of the risks identified.

We also use individual risk assessments when deciding a response to a child demonstrating potentially harmful behaviour such as sexually harmful behaviour or when identifying whether a child may be particularly vulnerable, such as a child at risk of sexual exploitation.

Teaching about Safeguarding

All children in our school are regularly reminded that they can approach any member of staff if they have a concern.  The school is committed to ensuring that children are aware of behaviour towards them that is not acceptable and how they can keep themselves safe. All children know that we have a senior member of staff (DSL) with responsibility for child protection and safeguarding and know who this is. We inform children of whom they might talk to, both in and out of school, their right to be listened to and heard and what steps can be taken to protect them from harm.  We use a wide range of organisations and resources as part of our PSHE and Relationships Education to help children learn how to keep safe. In addition to this we make use of opportunities in other curriculum areas to discuss safeguarding topics so pupils are constantly reminded. This is planned for in many other areas of the school including; our computing curriculum, something to share initiative, check ins and check outs, collective worship.

We recognise that some children may find it difficult to talk about abuse that is happening within the school especially sexual abuse and harassment. We will ensure all children feel confident that their concerns will be taken seriously, and any disclosure will not be judged or seen to be minor. We will not wait until incidents occur but will be proactive in ensuring our children understand behaviours that are unacceptable and feel confident to report and be part of the solution to eradicate the behaviour within the school.

Partnership with Parents

The school shares a purpose with parents to educate and keep children safe from harm.

If you are visiting our school and you are worried about the safety of a child, you need to do something about it: –

1. If the child is in immediate danger, make sure the child is safe, inform a member of staff and if necessary, call the Police on 999 or Lincolnshire Customer Services on 01522 782111
2. If you are worried about the behaviour in the school, talk to the DSL or the Head teacher
3. If you have other worries, talk to your child’s class teacher who will share these with the DSL/Head teacher.
4. We will contact you as soon as possible but at least by the next school day to inform you of any actions taken. We may not be able to give you details if it is concerning another child/family but we will assure you that your concerns have been heard and dealt with.
5. If you do not hear from us, then speak to the Head teacher.

We are committed to working with parents positively, openly, and honestly. We ensure that all parents are treated with respect, dignity, and courtesy. We respect parents’ rights to privacy and confidentiality and will not share sensitive information unless we have permission, or it is necessary to do so in order to protect a child.  We make safeguarding information available in a variety of formats, e.g., for families with English as an additional language (EAL) etc.

School will share with parents any concerns we may have about their child unless to do so may place a child at risk of harm.  If parents have any concerns about their child’s welfare, they can raise this with the child’s teachers or with the Head teacher. If a parent feels that their concerns are not being addressed, they can follow the school complaints procedure which is outlined in the school complaints policy found on the school website. Any serious safeguarding concerns can be reported to the local authority Customer Services centre by calling 01522 782111.

Partnerships with others

It is essential that we establish positive and effective working relationships with other agencies who are partners in Lincolnshire’s Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) in order for us to effectively safeguarding our children. We have a joint responsibility to share information when it will help a child/children to stay safe. Key partners include Lincolnshire County Council, Police and Health but we also engage with a wide network of local and national organisations in our mission to protect the children in our school.

Children placed in Alternative Provision

Some of our children may be placed in alternative provision for a period of time. In order to fulfil our duty to keep all our children safe, we will seek written reassurance from the provider that they have acceptable safeguarding practices in place including; their response to concerns about a child, safer recruitment processes, attendance and child missing education procedures, appropriate information sharing procedures and an educational safeguarding programme for children.

When organising work placements, the school will ensure that the placement provider has policies and procedures in place to safeguard children.

Allegations regarding Person(s) Working in or on behalf of School (including Volunteers)

As per the guidance in Part 4 of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022, our school recognises two levels of concerns:

1. Allegations that meet the harms threshold – further details outlined in our

Managing Allegations policy

2. Allegation/concerns that do not meet the harms threshold referred to as ‘low-

level concerns’. Our staff Code of Conduct policy outlines our expectations of staff and how they should behave.

Any concerns may impact on a staff member’s employment, therefore we also refer to the LCC School Employment Manual/Disciplinary policy

Allegations that meet the harms threshold

• Behaved in a way that has harmed a child or may have harmed a child
• Possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child
• Behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he or she would pose a risk of harm to children or
• Behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children. This is to take account of situations where a person’s behaviour outside school may suggest ‘transferable risk’. For example, where a member of staff or volunteer is involved in an incident outside of school which did not involve children but could have an impact on their suitability to work with children’

We will apply the same principles as in the rest of this document and we will always follow the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures that can be accessed at Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership.

The Head teacher will be the case manager who will take the lead in any investigation. If the Head teacher is the subject of the allegation, then the chair of governors will manage the case. If there is any doubt as to the procedure to follow, we will contact the Lincolnshire Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for advice.

The priority in any allegation is the safety of the child. The DSL will follow normal safeguarding procedures if there is risk of harm to a child.

Following our procedures, the case manager will undertake basic enquiries to obtain facts being careful not to jeopardise any potential police investigation. All investigations will be carried out by:

• applying common sense and judgement
• dealing with the allegation quickly, fairly, and consistently
• providing protection for the child and support for the person subject to the allegation

We will inform the person subject to the allegation when it is right to do so based on advice from LADO and if appropriate Social Care and the Police.

Following the initial investigation and discussions with LADO there may be an outcome of:

• no further action – record of decision and rationale is made as well as decision of information to be shared with the individual
• further enquiries – following discussion with LADO, these are carried out by a senior member of staff or an independent investigator depending on the nature of the investigation. The case manager will monitor the progress of this following the timescales and reviews outlined in the Managing Allegations Policy

If the allegation is in relation to a supply teacher, the school will seek guidance from the LADO and the agency as to the appropriate actions in relation to employment or deployment of the individual within the school and across other schools. The agency should then fully cooperate with the school in any investigations that need to take place. The allegations management meeting arranged by LADO will take into consideration any previous concerns in relation to the individual.

If the allegation is in relation to a governor, we will follow our local procedures; removing the person from office should the allegation be substantiated.

Suspension is not an automatic response when an allegation is reported. The case manager will make a decision on this and review regularly throughout any investigation. The case manager will consider all possibilities to avoid suspension including temporary redeployment. Suspension will be implemented if there is cause to suspect a child is at risk of any harm or if the case is so serious that it is most likely to result in dismissal. The governing body will seek guidance from LADO as well as social care and the Police to decide whether suspension is the most appropriate action.

We recognise that this process can be very stressful for all involved; the school are committed to provide support as outlined in our Managing Allegations policy.

Information sharing is crucial in this process. This includes all relevant information about the person subject to the allegation to aid investigations as well as information about the child involved to determine the level of protection required. Our policy outlines conditions related to the confidentiality of this information.

The outcomes from an allegation are:

Substantiated: there is sufficient evidence to prove the allegation.

Malicious: there is sufficient evidence to disprove the allegation and there has been a deliberate act to deceive or cause harm to the person subject of the allegation.

False: there is sufficient evidence to disprove the allegation.

Unsubstantiated: there is insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the allegation. The term, therefore, does not imply guilt or innocence; or,

Unfounded: to reflect cases where there is no evidence or proper basis which supports the allegation being made.

Following the decision, the case manager, with support from LADO will determine the next actions. If an allegation was found to be malicious, the school must consider whether the person/child who made the allegation is in need of help themselves and whether a referral to customer services is required.

Details of the allegations will be kept on the file of the person accused, except those resulting in a malicious outcome where the choice to retain is that of the individual.

Non-recent allegations

If an adult wishes to raise an allegation to the school that they were abused as a child, the adult will be strongly advised to contact the police. Any non-recent allegation made by a child must be reported to the LADO who will follow the local authority procedures for dealing with historic reporting of incidents.

Allegations that do not reach the harm threshold

Our school fosters a culture in which all allegations and concerns about adults are taken seriously and responded to promptly and appropriately. By being open and transparent about addressing ‘low level concerns’ we can respond early and reduce the escalation of situations and potential risk of harm to children.

Further details can be found in our Low-Level Concerns section of our staff Disciplinary policy

A low-level concern is defined as behaviour that:

• is inconsistent with the staff code of conduct, including inappropriate conduct outside of work,
• does not meet the allegations threshold or is otherwise not considered serious enough to consider a referral to the LADO.

Examples of such behaviour could include, but are not limited to:

• being over friendly with children
• having favourites
• taking photographs of children on their mobile phone
• engaging with a child on a one-to-one basis in a secluded area or behind a closed door; or,
• using inappropriate sexualised, intimidating, or offensive language.

Our school will ensure that staff are very clear about what appropriate behaviour is and are confident to share any low-level concerns with the Head teacher. All unprofessional behaviour will be address at early stage with sensitivity and proportionality. Any weakness in the school safeguarding system that has allowed this behaviour to exist will be addressed.

All low-level concerns will be reported to the Head teacher who will follow the procedures in the policy to address these. Low level concerns will be recorded and kept safe. They will be reviewed regularly to see if there are any emerging patterns in relation to an individual so that a decision can be made as to whether to escalate to an allegation that meets the harm threshold.

Appendix 1: Definitions of abuse and neglect

(Working Together’ 2018 and ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ 2022)

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:

• protecting children from maltreatment
• preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Development means physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development.

Health includes physical and mental health; maltreatment includes sexual abuse and other forms of ill-treatment which are not physical.

Abuse: a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. Harm can include ill treatment that is not physical as well as the impact of witnessing ill treatment of others. This can be particularly relevant, for example, in relation to the impact on children of all forms of domestic abuse. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others. Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. Children may be abused by an adult or adults or by another child or children.

Physical abuse: a form of abuse which may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

Emotional abuse: the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond a child’s developmental capability as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning or preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying (including cyberbullying), causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, although it may occur alone.

Sexual abuse:  involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children. The sexual abuse of children by other children is a specific safeguarding issue in education and all staff should be aware of it and of their school or college’s policy and procedures for dealing with it.

Neglect: the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy, for example, as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to: provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers); or ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

Appendix 2: Definitions and procedures for specific safeguarding situations

In addition to the situations below the LSCP policy and procedures manual maintains an extensive section on ‘Children in Specific Circumstances’ – (section 5) that a DSL and any deputy DSLs should be familiar with.

Children and the court system

Children are sometimes required to give evidence in criminal courts.  There are two age appropriate guides to support children Going to Court 5-11 year olds and 12-17 year olds.

Children Missing out on Education

Missing school can act as a vital warning sign of a range of safeguarding possibilities.  This may include abuse and neglect, which may involve sexual abuse or exploitation and child criminal exploitation. It may also indicate mental health problems, risk of substance abuse, risk of travelling to conflict zones, risk of female genital mutilation or risk of forced marriage.  Early intervention is necessary to identify the existence of any underlying safeguarding risk and to help prevent the risks of a child missing school in the future. It is the school’s duty to notify the local authority of any children who go missing from school and cannot be found at the known place of residence.

Children with family members in prison

Schools understand that children with a parent(s) in prison are at risk of poor outcomes including poverty, stigma, isolation, and poor mental health.  They may require specific services and support. Families and children of people in prison will be seen as families first and school will work to ensure their needs are appropriately met. This will include providing support to ensure the voice of the child is considered when seeking contact with a family member in prison. Support is available from the National Information Centre of children of offenders NICCO who provide information designed to support professionals working with offenders and their children, to help mitigate negative consequences for those children.

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology.  (Child sexual exploitation: Definition and a guide for practitioners, local leaders and decision makers working to protect children from child sexual exploitation (2017)

School staff are trained in recognising the key indicators of CSE and understand their role in the prevention of CSE and the importance of awareness within the curriculum e.g., within the teaching of Healthy Relationships.

If staff identify children for whom CSE may be a concern they will apply the usual referral process and Child Protection procedures and pass this information to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). The DSL will make referrals to the CSC as appropriate. The school also appreciates that they have a role to play in sharing soft intelligence in relation to perpetrators of CSE, and therefore if such information should come to light within school the DSL will share this appropriately with the police on Tel: 101.

Child Criminal Exploitation: County Lines and Cyber Crime

School recognises that criminal exploitation of children is a geographically widespread form of harm that can affect children both in a physical and virtual environment. We recognise that experienced of boys and girls being exploited may be very different; appropriate support will be given to address the individual needs of our children.

County Lines Criminal Activity: Drug Networks or gangs groom and exploit children and young people to carry drugs and money from urban areas to suburban and rural areas, market, and seaside towns. Key to identifying potential involvement in county lines is missing school episodes, when the victim may have been trafficked for the purpose of transporting drugs. School will consider whether a referral to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) should be undertaken in order to safeguard that child and/or other children. First responders’ organisations e.g., the local authority can complete the referral, on the schools behalf, online. If school feels that the threshold is not met for an NRM referral then any relevant information will be shared using a Partnership information report (Operation Insignia).

Cybercrime Involvement: Organised criminal groups or individuals exploit children and young people due to their computer skills and ability, in order to access networks/data for criminal and financial gain.

There are a number of signs that may indicate a child is a victim or is vulnerable to being exploited which include;

• missing from school
• showing signs of other types of abuse/aggression towards others
• having low self-esteem, and feelings of isolation, stress, or fear
• lacking trust in adults and appearing fearful of authorities
• having poor concentration or excessively tired
• becoming anti-social
• displaying symptoms of substance dependence
• excessive time online computer/gaming forums
• social Isolation in school with peers
• high functioning with an interest in computing.

This is not an exhaustive list, and our school are aware of other factors which may also impact on the child. Like with all other safeguarding concerns, if our children are in this situation, support will be provided through the school or partner agency. Further advice and support regarding concerns of this nature can be found in the contact’s section.

Domestic Abuse and Operation Encompass

The Home Office 2021 definition of domestic violence and abuse now states:

Behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is “domestic abuse” if A and B are each aged 16 or over and are personally connected* to each other, and the behaviour is abusive.

Behaviour is “abusive” if it consists of any of the following:

1. a) physical or sexual abuse;
2. b) violent or threatening behaviour;
3. c) controlling or coercive behaviour;
4. d) economic abuse;
5. e) psychological, emotional or other abuse;

It does not matter whether the behaviour consists of a single incident or a course of conduct.

*Personally connected: They are, or have been, married; civil partners; have agreed to marry one another; have entered into a civil partnership agreement; are or have been in an intimate personal relationship; they have or have had a parental relationship in relation to the same child; or are relatives.

Controlling behaviour is: a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour.

Coercive behaviour is: an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.

If staff identify children for whom Domestic Abuse may be a concern, they will apply the usual referral process and Child Protection procedures and pass this information to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). The DSL can then refer cases where relevant, to Lincolnshire Customer Services. Where domestic abuse notifications are received from the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC), this information will be added to a child’s chronology and child protection record to ensure that appropriate support can be provided where necessary. A coding system will be in place. Further guidance is available in the Domestic abuse resources – Professional resources (lincolnshire.gov.uk) domesticabuse@lincolnshire.gov.uk ; https://edanlincs.org.uk/  email: info@edanlincs.org.uk  Tel: 01522 510041

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is a national police-led initiative to notify schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has experienced, any domestic abuse. The police officer attending a domestic abuse incident will record at the scene the names and school of any children in the household.  This will result in an email notification to the DSL and Deputy DSL in our school in readiness for the start of the next school day. We will not discuss the domestic abuse notification with the parent. Notifications are about the child in the school the following contact/day. The information is limited and therefore does not safely allow any such discussion and we could increase the risk by discussing with the child, or parents of the child. We will however talk to parents about the situation should they wish to raise this with the school.

All staff will receive training on the Operation Encompass process. If we are unsure whether our concerns need to be reported to Children’s Services, we will contact 01522 782111 and request a consultation with a social worker, which will be arranged for the following working day.  If we notify the parents that we wish to discuss the situation with Children’s Services, the consultation can be recorded on the child’s record and the social worker can review any relevant history beforehand.  If we do not notify the parents, a hypothetical consultation will be held, and the social worker will only have the information available during the discussion.

If the child referred to in the email does not attend our school and we have been sent a notification in error, we will report this to OperationEncompass@lincs.pnn.police.uk

Homelessness

Being homeless or at risk of homelessness presents a real risk to a child’s welfare.  The DSL (and DDSL) is aware of contact details and referral routes into the Lincolnshire Housing Authority so they can raise /progress concerns at the earliest opportunity. We refer to the Homeless Reduction Act Factsheets which summarises the new duties that focus on early intervention and encourage those at risk to seek support as soon as possible, before they are facing a homelessness crisis.

‘Honour-based’ violence (including Female Genital Mutilation and Forced Marriage)

So called ‘honour-based violence’ (HBV) encompasses incidents or crimes which have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and/or the community, including female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, and practices such as breast ironing.  All forms of HBV are abusive and should be handled and escalated as such.  Our staff are alert to the possibility of a child being at risk from HBV, or have already suffered HBV and understand the duty on them to protect the welfare of these children

Female Genital Mutilation/FGM

Our school understands that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs.  Staff know that FGM is illegal in the UK and a form of child abuse with long-lasting harmful consequences.

The reporting of FGM is a mandatory duty for teachers.

Our teachers are aware that Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015) places a statutory duty upon them (and those employed or engaged to carry out teaching work) to report to the police where they discover that FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under 18 years of age. Those failing to report such cases will face disciplinary sanctions.  It will be rare for teachers to see visual evidence, and they should not be examining children.  We refer to the DfE guidance Mandatory reporting of female genital mutilation procedural information

Teachers must personally report to the police, cases where they discover that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out.  Unless the teacher has a good reason not to, they should still consider and discuss any such case with the DSL and involve children’s social care as appropriate.  The duty does not apply in relation to at risk or suspected cases.  In these cases, teachers will follow usual safeguarding procedures reporting to DSL.

Forced Marriage

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used. It is an indefensible practice and is recognised in the UK as a form of violence against women and men, domestic/child abuse, and a serious abuse of human rights.

Our staff understand that, likewise this is a potential safeguarding issue and that they must pass on concerns by applying the usual referral process and Child Protection procedures and passing this information to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).  We refer to The Forced Marriage Unit on Tel; 020 7008 0151 and their statutory guidance;

Multi-agency statutory guidance for dealing with Forced marriage and Multi-agency practice guidelines: Handling cases of Forced marriage.

Preventing Radicalisation, The Prevent Duty and Channel

Children are vulnerable to extremist ideology and radicalisation.  As with other safeguarding risks, staff should be alert to changes in children’s behaviour, which could indicate that they may be in need of help or protection and report concerns to the DSL. Under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, our school is aware that we must have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism, and that this is known as the Prevent Duty.

In order to fulfil the Prevent Duty, staff have received information/training to help them to identify children who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and the school is committed to accessing further training to ensure that all staff are up to date and aware of this duty.

If a staff member identifies children for whom this may be a concern, they should apply the usual referral process and Child Protection procedures and pass this information to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). If the individual is at immediate risk of harm or immediate risk of terrorist related activity, then the Police should be contacted on 999. If there is no immediate risk, the Designated Safeguarding Lead will contact the Lincolnshire Prevent team (Lincolnshire Police, Prevent Officer 01522 558304 CTP-EM-Prevent@lincs.pnn.police.uk or LCC, Prevent Lead prevent@lincolnshire.gov.uk) to seek further help. The Prevent Lead may be able to support the school or may decide that a referral into the Channel process is required, Channel guidance. It may be decided that there are no Prevent related concerns but a referral into Lincolnshire Customer Services is required.

Our School will also incorporate the promotion of fundamental British Values into the Safeguarding Curriculum and/or PSHE in order to help build children’s resilience and enable them to challenge extremist views. School will provide a safe space in which children and staff can understand the risks associated with terrorism and develop the knowledge and skills to be able to challenge extremist arguments.

Radicalisation will also be considered within current Online Safety policies, procedures and curriculum in terms of having suitable filtering and monitoring in place and raising awareness with staff, parents and children about the increased risk of online radicalisation, through the use of the internet, Social Media and Gaming.

We refer to the Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales which contains information for schools. For further local guidance we refer to the Prevent Duty Guidance for Lincolnshire for Schools and registered childcare providers September 2018.

Child on Child Abuse

All staff are aware that children can abuse other children (often referred to as child- on-child abuse).  This is most likely to include, but not limited to:

• bullying (including online bullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying)

• physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm
• sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault
• abuse in intimate relationships
• sexual harassment, such as sexual comments, remarks, jokes and online sexual harassment, which may be stand-alone or part of a broader pattern of abuse
• upskirting, which typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without them knowing, with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks to obtain sexual gratification, distress or alarm
• nudes/semi-nudes (sexting); and
• initiation/hazing type violence and rituals.

Body Shape

Young people come under increasing pressure to conform to so-called ideals by peers, adults, sometimes parents, the mass media, through social media and through their own view of themselves. Research shows more than half of young people worry about the way they look, and this can lead to withdrawal, isolation, emotional and at its extremes serious physical harm. We work assertively to tackle these values, support individuality, and teach body confidence at the school and encourage young people to work together to present a positive and healthy view of body shape.

Bullying

Bullying is a form of abuse and can cause serious anxiety and distress leading to poor attendance at school and further safeguarding risks. It comes in many different forms which are detailed in this appendix. All bullying including cyber bullying and prejudice-based bullying must be reported and will be managed through our anti-bullying procedures. The school will make a child protection referral if required. Staff are fully trained to deal with bullying within the school and support children who are being bullied. Staff recognise the different levels of bullying and the seriousness of racist, homophobic and gender related bullying. We recognised that, whilst those who are bullying may need sanctions put in place, we also recognise that they may be in need of support, and we will engage with appropriate services to address this.

Serious Violence

All staff are aware of indicators, which may signal that children are at risk from, or are involved with serious violent crime.  These may include increased absence from school, a change in friendships or relationships with older individuals or groups, a significant decline in performance, signs of self-harm or a significant change in wellbeing, or signs of assault or unexplained injuries.  Unexplained gifts or new possessions could also indicate that children have been approached by, or are involved with, individuals associated with criminal network or gangs.

• All staff are aware of the associated risks and understand the measures in place to manage these.  We refer to the Home Office publication for advice and guidance. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-to-schools-and-colleges-on-gangs-and-youth-violence and

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-exploitation-of-children-and-vulnerable-adults-county-lines

Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment  

Staff are aware of sexual violence and sexual harassment and that children can, and sometimes do, abuse other children in this way.  Sexual violence refers to Rape, Assault by Penetration and Sexual Assault as described in the Sexual Offences Act 2003.  Sexual harassment means ‘unwanted conduct of a sexual nature’ that can occur online and offline.  Staff understand that when we reference sexual harassment, we do so in a context of child-on-child sexual harassment.  Sexual harassment is likely to: violate a child’s dignity, and/or make them feel intimidated, degraded, or humiliated and/or create a hostile, offensive or sexualised environment.

Neither is acceptable and will not be tolerated by the school. School takes all such reports seriously and they will receive the same high standard of care that any other safeguarding concern receives. A multi-agency approach will be undertaken when responding to all such complaints; however, the school will always take immediate action to protect children despite the actions of any other agency. These actions may include an immediate risk assessment in respect of the needs of the child victim and will address any risks identified to any child in respect of an alleged perpetrator of sexual violence or sexual harassment to ensure children are protected from harm. Any risk assessment will be fluid and may change to reflect any developments during the management of the case.

All such reports will be managed by the Designated Safeguarding Lead. There are several options the school may consider in respect of the management of a report of sexual violence or sexual harassment between children and each case will receive an appropriate bespoke response once all the facts are known. Irrespective of any potential criminal outcome, the school have a duty to safeguard all children and may deal with any such report on a balance of probability basis when considering the outcomes for children involved.

Any report of sexual violence will trigger the school to do a risk assessment to consider

• the needs of the victim and their support and protection
• any other potential victims
• the perpetrators and,
• all other children, and if appropriate, students and staff if protection is required against the perpetrator.

This risk assessment does not replace those assessments carried out by professionals but helps the school decide on the next course of action particularly in relation to keeping the victim and other potential victims safe from harm or distress. The assessment may result in reorganisation of classes or transport arrangements, for example to ensure that the victim and perpetrator are not in close proximity.  It may be necessary to consider a move to an alternative school or educational setting based on the risk assessment or the decision of the court. Where a managed move is being considered, we may contact the local authority Pupil Reintegration Team for further advice. Any decisions will be made based on the wishes of the victim, the nature of the incident and the safety of others. Actions will be taken immediately to reduce risk and undue distress and assessments will be reviewed regularly.

The outcome of a report of sexual violence may be that we will manage the situation within our own processes, request early help from the local authority, report the incident to social care or report to the Police. All reports will be reviewed and potential lessons to be learnt by the school will be considered.

We recognise in our school that reporting of the above can be difficult for children and therefore we provide a range of ways in which children can let us know of their concerns and we will promote these regularly. We will adopt an understanding that it could and is most likely happening in our school and not depend on reporting to dictate actions. We will develop a ‘zero tolerance’ approach and not judge any disclosure as ‘low level’ or acceptable. We understand that peer on peer abuse does not only happen in school but also outside of the setting and online. The way we respond to a concern is likely to have a long-lasting impact on how others react if they wish to disclose therefore we are very aware of ensuring appropriate support is in place. We will continue to reflect on our approaches using the experiences of children and families to guide this. If we find the information to be false, unfounded or malicious, we will also reflect and act on, if necessary, why this disclosure was made and any potential ‘cry for help’ that could escalate into a safeguarding concern. Support will also be considered for the perpetrator in order to reduce harmful behaviour and potential risk to others.

All staff have received the appropriate level of training to be able to respond to sexual abuse and harassment incidents.

Our behaviour policy provides further information on the process followed by the school and all staff have read and understood this policy.

Upskirting

‘Upskirting’ typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without them knowing, with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks to obtain sexual gratification, or cause the victim humiliation, distress, or alarm.  It is now a criminal offence. Staff will always act in the best interests of a child and follow usual safeguarding procedures. Additional information can be found at Upskirting: Know your rights.

Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nudes images and/or videos (sexting or nudes) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sharing-nudes-and-semi-nudes-advice-for-education-settings-working-with-children-and-young-people

Where there is a disclosure or the school becomes aware that a child may have been involved in sending nudes or semi-nudes images or videos which is sometimes referred to as ‘sexting’, it will refer to the guidance in the document ‘Sexting in Schools and Colleges, Responding to incidents and Safeguarding young people’ published by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (2016).

Overview of Sexting Guidance

Staff understand that when an incident comes to their attention the incident should be referred to the DSL as soon as possible. The DSL will then hold an initial review meeting with appropriate school staff and subsequent interviews with the young people involved (if appropriate). Parents will be informed at an early stage and involved in the process unless there is good reason to believe that involving parents would put the young person at risk of harm. At any point in the process if there is a concern a young person has been harmed or is at risk of harm a referral will be made to children’s social care and/or the police immediately

We will refer to the following guidance if appropriate:

The DfE guidance on Searching, Screening and Confiscation Advice for Schools

Contextual Safeguarding

School recognises that safeguarding incidents and/or behaviours can be associated with factors outside the school and/or can occur between children outside the school. All staff, but especially the designated safeguarding lead will consider the context within which such incidents and/or behaviours occur. This is known as contextual safeguarding, which simply means assessments of children should consider whether wider environmental factors are present in a child’s life that are a threat to their safety and/or welfare. The school will provide as much information as possible to children’s social care as part of any referral undertaken.

https://www.contextualsafeguarding.org.uk/

Carrying Knives/offensive weapons and gang culture

Bringing and carrying a knife/offensive weapon onto school/college premises is a criminal Offence and immediate action will be taken by calling the police and informing all relevant personnel. The DfE guidance on Searching, Screening and Confiscation for schools will be consulted and the school will consider and may apply the disciplinary procedure. If a member of staff suspects a child of being involved in gang culture, this is a safeguarding concern and will require a discussion with the Designated Safeguarding Lead who will seek advice from agencies and professionals including reference to the Safeguarding procedures as outlined by the local authority. The child may be an exploited child and victim to which the school will offer support

Children who may require Early Help

All Staff (Governors and Volunteers) working within the school are aware safeguarding is not just about protecting children from deliberate harm, neglect, and failure to act.

Early Help is defined as anything that supports children, young people, and their families to achieve their potential, by either preventing difficulties, or stopping those getting worse.

Early Help is about providing the right help, at the right time, in the right place. Our belief is that children and young people are best supported by people they know and trust.

All children and young people may need extra help and support at some point in their lives. All of us are committed to continuing to identify and provide support to children and young people who are at risk of poor health and wellbeing.

The school will identify who their vulnerable children are, ensuring all staff and volunteers know the processes to secure advice, help and support where needed.

We refer to the guidance for Early Help at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/tac  or seek help via TACadmin@lincolnshire.gov.uk or earlyhelpconsultants@lincolnshire.gov.uk 

The Family Services Directory is a useful tool when discussing early help, it can be accessed here. https://lincolnshire.fsd.org.uk/kb5/lincs/fsd/home.page

Lincolnshire Early Help Strategy – Early help strategy 2021/23 (lincolnshire.gov.uk)

Children with special educational needs and disabilities or physical health issues

Lincolnshire SEND Offer   is available for every child and family in Lincolnshire.  Special consideration should be given to safeguarding and protecting children who may have additional vulnerabilities. Additional barriers can exist to the recognition of abuse and neglect which can include assumptions that indicators of abuse such as behaviour, mood and injury relate to the child’s disability without further exploration. It is common to see a disability first and abuse second which may delay support required. Vulnerable children can be disproportionately impacted by things like bullying and abuse, without outwardly showing any signs. There may also be communication barriers and difficulties in overcoming these barriers

These additional challenges are addressed through a high level of pastoral care and communication and interaction with our young people.  These communication tools may include Makaton, communication in print and Colourful Semantics to ensure the child’s voice is heard despite their additional needs.  Our communication with parents will be frequent and informative allowing on-going risk assessments to be carried out to avoid any assumptions being made in relation to any change in behaviour or physical appearance.

Looked After Children

All staff recognise that Looked After Children and Care Leavers are more vulnerable than other children, often having poorer educational outcomes. Therefore, it is important to ensure their wellbeing, safety and welfare as well as help them to reach their potential. This includes the looked after child who is moving out of care. The school will also ensure that care leavers are supported with pathways including liaison with the local authority where a personal advisor will be appointed and that a full working relationship is maintained with the Lincolnshire Virtual School

We have a member of staff who is dedicated to supporting Looked After Children. This member of staff liaises with the Lincolnshire Virtual School in respect of all children at the school who have ‘looked after’ status. virtualschool@lincolnshire.gov.uk Schools address any queries directly to the child’s social worker until they are 17 years 6 months after which they are transferred to Lincolnshire Leaving Care Service.

Young Carers

We recognise that there may be children within our school who act as young carers for someone they are related to or know. To provide support to them with this we will contact and work with the Lincolnshire Young Carers Service to ensure that the young carer is recognised, valued and supported to have good health and wellbeing and to achieve their full potential. youngcarers@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Online safety

Young people are increasingly using mobiles phones, tablets, and computers on a daily basis. While mobile devices are a source of fun, entertainment, communication, and education we know that some adults and young people will use these technologies to harm young people. The harm might range from hurtful and abusive messages directed at them, inappropriate and harmful content, to enticing young people to engage in sexually harmful conversations, video calls, indecent image sharing or face-to-face meetings. Our e-safety policy explains how we try to keep young people safe in the home. The school follows UK Council for Internet Safety and Department for Education Guidance around sexting and staff will immediately report concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/647389/Overview_of_Sexting_Guidance.pdf

Gaming networks, messaging apps and social media are the more obvious sources of inappropriate and harmful behaviour and young people cannot access these on our IT system. We will work with young people on how to maintain their own safety and how to summon help if they are concerned about what they see online. Some young people will undoubtedly be chatting through apps or social media at home and parents are encouraged to consider measures to keep their young people safe. Information on parental controls can be found at https://www.internetmatters.org/

The staff Code of Conduct provides further advice and guidance regarding the use of social networking and electronic communication with young people in our care.

All staff are aware of and follow the DfE guidance Teaching online safety in school 2019 to ensure our children understand how to stay safe and behave online as part of existing curriculum requirements.  We also make use of UKCIS Education for a connected world framework

Photography and Images

The vast majority of people who take or view photographs or videos of young people do so for entirely innocent, understandable, and acceptable reasons. However, we know some people abuse young people through taking or using images, so we must ensure that the following safeguards are in place.

While parents are permitted to bring in a camera to events, no staff member should use their personal equipment to take photographs of young people. The school provides equipment for this purpose.

Where a staff member has concerns someone is taking photographs in breach of this policy, they should contact the Head teacher.

To protect young people, we need to:

1.  seek parental consent for photographs to be taken or published (for example, on our website or in the newspapers or other publications)
2. ensure that the child is appropriately dressed
3. encourage young people to tell us if they are worried about any photographs that are taken of them.

Staff should be aware that many indecent images in current circulation were taken by the child themselves or peers. Sex, sexuality and relationships should be an age-appropriate topic in the home and include what to do if young people are worried about an image they see. At school, children will be taught about healthy relationships and the dangers of inappropriate images and the sharing of these.

Private Fostering

Private fostering is when a child or young person under 16 years old (or 18 if they have a disability) is to be looked after for a period of 28 days or more by someone who is not a close relative, guardian, or person with parental responsibility. Close relatives include parents, step-parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

By law, the local authority must be told about all private fostering situations. The child’s parents, private foster carer, and anyone else (including the school) involved in the arrangement are legally required to inform the local authority.

It is then the local authority’s legal duty to make sure all private fostering arrangements are safe for the child or young person. Once informed of the arrangement the local authority will check the suitability of private foster carers, make regular visits to the child or young person, and ensure advice, help and support is available when needed.

Pre-Birth Protocol

Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 requires agencies to have in place mechanisms to ensure that they are able to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

All practitioners whether adult or children services, have a responsibility to protect and safeguard children and work collaboratively with Children’s Services and other childcare professionals in contributing to assessments and interventions. Therefore, the professional who is first made aware of the pregnancy should initiate the pre-birth protocol and complete an Early Help Assessment or make a referral for unborn to Social Care.

A young person of statutory education age is entitled to 18 weeks of maternity leave. Either side of this period there is an expectation that the young person continues to attend school or alternative provision. The educational establishment is required to make all reasonable adjustments to allow the young person to have appropriate access to the curriculum whilst they attend the establishment including timetable and learning environment adjustments. It is important that the provision participate in the Team Around the Child) in order for them to fully support the continued education of the young parent. Education establishments should have a clear strategy for engaging with the young person while they are away from the provision in order to limit the disruption to their education and make appropriate arrangements that work for the young person and educational establishment. Where there is robust medical evidence that indicates that the young person is unfit to attend, the educational establishment can make a referral to the pupil reintegration team on 01522 554525 who will assess and consider alternative arrangements if appropriate.

The Lincolnshire Pre-Birth Protocol link to the full document is below;

https://lincolnshirescb.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_pre_birth_protocol.html?zoom_highlight=pre+birth+protocol 

https://lincolnshirescb.proceduresonline.com/pdfs/pre_birth_flow_chart.pdf

Substance Misuse

The school takes a serious view of substance misuse while recognising that young people may get caught up in misusing substances through vulnerability or exploitation. All cases of substance misuse should be brought to the attention of the Head teacher who will consider both the student behaviour policy and any factors that may indicate a young person is in need of help or protection.

Trafficking and exploitation

The two most common terms for the illegal movement of people – ‘trafficking’ and ‘smuggling’, are very different. In human smuggling, immigrants and asylum seekers pay people to help them enter the country illegally; after which there is no longer a relationship. Trafficked victims are coerced or deceived by the person arranging their relocation. On arrival in the country of destination the trafficked child or person is denied their human rights and is forced into exploitation by the trafficker or person into whose control they are delivered.

Young people are a special case, any child transported for exploitative reasons is considered to be a trafficking victim, whether or not they have been deceived. This is partly because it is not considered possible for young people to give informed consent.

Even when a child understands what has happened, they may still appear to submit willingly, to what they believe to be the will of their parents.

Any concerns about trafficking and exploitation will be reported by the school to Customer Services immediately, Tel-01522 782111

Appendix 3: Body Map Guidance

Body Maps should be used to document and illustrate visible signs of harm and physical injuries.

Always use a black pen (never a pencil) and do not use correction fluid or any other eraser.

Do not remove clothing for the purpose of the examination unless the injury site is freely available because of treatment.

*At no time should an individual teacher/member of staff or school take photographic evidence of any injuries or marks to a child’s person, the body map below should be used.  Any concerns should be reported and recorded without delay to Customer Service Centre or the child’s social worker if already an open case to social care.

When you notice an injury to a child, try to record the following information in respect of each mark identified e.g., red areas, swelling, bruising, cuts, lacerations and wounds, scalds, and burns:

• Exact site of injury on the body, e.g., upper outer arm/left cheek.
• Size of injury – in appropriate centimetres or inches.
• Approximate shape of injury, e.g., round/square or straight line.
• Colour of injury – if more than one colour, say so.
• Is the skin broken?
• Is there any swelling at the site of the injury, or elsewhere?
• Is there a scab/any blistering/any bleeding?
• Is the injury clean or is there grit/fluff etc.?
• Is mobility restricted as a result of the injury?
• Does the site of the injury feel hot?
• Does the child feel hot?
• Does the child feel pain?
• Has the child’s body shape changed/are they holding themselves differently?

Importantly the date and time of the recording must be stated as well as the name and designation of the person making the record.  Add any further comments as required.

Ensure First Aid is provided where required and then recorded appropriately.

A copy of the body map should be kept on the child’s concern/confidential file.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility

Customer Service Centre for referrals and advice Tel: 01522 782111

Appendix 4: Guidance

• Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Multi-Agency Procedures
• Working Together to Safeguard Children & Young People 2018
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022
• Information Sharing Document 201
• What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused 2015
• Children Act 1989 and  Children Act 2004
• Education Act 2002
• Teaching Standards
• Guidance for Safer Working Practice for those Adults who work with Children and Young People
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sharing-nudes-and-semi-nudes-advice-for-education-settings-working-with-children-and-young-people
• The Domestic Abuse Act (2021)
• Behaviour in Schools: advice for Headteachers and school staff (2022)
• The Equality Act 2010: Advice for Schools

Elective Home Education (EHE)   ehe@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Children Missing Education (CME) cme@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Child in Entertainment or Employment cee@lincolnshire.gov.ukSchool Attendance Queries attendance@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Prevent

• Prevent Lead, Lincolnshire County Council, prevent@lincolnshire.gov.uk
• PREVENT Officer, East Midlands Special Operations Unit – Special Branch, 01522 558304, CTP-EM-Prevent@lincs.pnn.police.uk

Online Safety incidents

National helpline

 Saferinternet Helpline

Early Help Team

TACadmin@lincolnshire.gov.uk

www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/tac

earlyhelpconsultants@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Training Materials

LCC and LSCP Online, virtual and face to face Safeguarding Training courses including Safer Recruitment training: LSCP Training

LCC Safeguarding in Schools and education settings package (including training)–

safeguardinginschools@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Safeguarding Governor Training governorsupport@lincolnshire.gov.uk

LSCP Training

Prevent Training-

Face to face Prevent Awareness training is available through the Stay Safe Partnership webpage

Staff can also undertake Prevent Awareness e-learning through:

Prevent Home Office e-learning

Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership

Safeguarding Contacts

Advice on any aspect of Child Protection and Safeguarding may be sought from the Safeguarding Team;