Safeguarding

Draycott and Rodney Stoke Church of England First School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this responsibility. We ensure that consistent and effective safeguarding procedures are in place to protect children and staff at school and support families out of school.

What is Safeguarding?

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

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

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

What is Child Protection?

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

If you are worried about a child and would like to talk to a member of staff in private, please speak to Mrs. Netto, the Headteacher, who is also our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). In her absence, please speak to Mrs. Brabbins or Mrs. Bradley who are the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads.

Safeguarding and the Curriculum

It is vital that all children are taught the skills and knowledge to keep themselves safe in and out of school. Our PSHE curriculum, based on the JIGSAW scheme of work, promotes an ethos in school that strongly supports keeping children safe in many diverse situations. From Reception onwards, children are taught about what to say and do if they don’t like something – from encountering strangers to bullying, and from unwanted physical contact to racism and being safe with technology.

Teaching about safety and relationships as part of PSHE contributes to how schools approach the safeguarding of pupils. It helps them to recognise when they and others are at risk and equips them with the skills, strategies and language they need to take appropriate action. We use a number of excellent resources from reputable organisations (e.g. NSPCC and the Safer Internet Centre) to deliver specific lessons around safeguarding in school. Where these may be sensitive in nature, we would always inform parents in advance should they wish to know more.

We deliver the highly-recommended PANTS resource, designed by the NSPCC, which helps keep children safe from abuse. Like the Green Cross Code, it takes a potentially tricky subject and gives children (and their parents) tools to talk about it in an engaging and age-appropriate way. More on the PANTS rules and other excellent NSPCC resources you can use to talk to your child can be find at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule

Online Safety

Here at Draycott and Rodney Stoke, we recognise the benefits and opportunities that new technologies offer to teaching and learning. We encourage the use of technology in order to enhance skills and promote achievement. However, the accessible and global nature of the internet and variety of technologies available mean that we are also aware of potential risks and challenges associated with such use. There is a separate section on this website under the ‘Children’ tab at the top entitled ‘Online Safety’. Here you will find advice and resources to help you find out more about current online risks and how you can try and keep your child safe online at home.

Other useful contacts include:

NSPCC 0808 800 5000 – help for adults concerned about a child
POLICE 101 (or 999 in an emergency) – for concerns about children in the community.
Somerset Direct Children & Young People’s Team 0300 123 2224; childrens@somerset.gov.uk – for concerns about individual children and to contact the local authority for advice.

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/newscentre/smart-living/digital-parenting/