Safeguarding is about keeping children and young people safe from abuse or neglect. All those who come into contact with children and families in their everyday work, have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We are committed to this and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

This section will offer important information to parents and carers regarding issues surrounding Safeguarding and Child Protection. It also provides information on how we safeguard your children at St Martin’s.

Alongside St Martin’s CE Primary School’s own policies and procedures, additional information may be posted to give advice, facts and resources to support parents and carers to help protect their children.

Designated Safeguarding Leads

The Designated Safeguarding Lead for St Martin’s is:  Mrs K Lees (Deputy Headteacher)

Deputy Designated Safeguarding leads are: Mrs R Rought (Headteacher), and Miss K Hunt (SENDCO).

Our Safeguarding Governors are: Mrs V Kavanagh (Chair) and Mrs J Cooksey.

Reporting a Concern

If you have concerns that a child you know is at risk of serious harm through Abuse or Neglect, it is important that you report your worries to the correct agency.

The link below will direct you to Sandwell Council’s Social Service page, which tells you how to report a concern.

You can also report your concerns to the NSPCC who will offer you support and advice if you are feeling worried about a child’s safety.

Below is the link to the Sandwell Safeguarding Board. Sandwell’s Safeguarding Children’s Board (SSCB) is a statutory board which has been set up as part of the Every Child Matters government reforms. SSCB ensures that all organisations that work with children work together to keep children and young people safe from harm. SSCB undertakes this role through providing training, the development of policies and procedures and awareness training.

Important documents

Domestic Abuse:

St Martin’s Primary School is a part of Sandwell's Operation Encompass. This project is run jointly between school and West Midlands Police. Operation Encompass is a strategy used to inform schools when a child has been exposed to domestic violence or domestic abuse. Following an incident, the relevant information is shared with schools the next day. School can then monitor the child and provide support if necessary.

If you are a victim of domestic abuse or domestic violence, or know someone who is, school can provide a wide range of support. You can also contact Black County Women's Aid on 0121 552 6448

Child Sexual Exploitation

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a firm of sexual abuse which sees children / young people being manipulated or coerced into sexual activity for receiving something such as gifts, money, food, attention, somewhere to stay etc.

Technology is vey often used to groom victims. This may occur through social networking sites and mobile phones with internet access.

Charitie such as NSPCC and Barnardos have been campaigning to raise the profile of this form of abuse. Information regarding CSE can be found here:

PACE (Parents against Sexual Exploitation) is a national charity that works with parents and carers whose children are sexually exploited. PACE offers one-to-one telephone support, national and local meet-ups with other affected parents and information on how parents can work in partnership with school, police and social care.

Internet Safety

Children and young people spend lots of time on the internet. They may go online to research information for homework or to play games, chat with friends and make new ones. The internet holds a massive amount of useful information and can also be a really good way of learning about new things and keeping in contact with friends and family. It can also be a very dangerous place so it is important that children are protected and monitored when they are online.

CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) has lots of information about how to keep your children safe online. The link to the website is below.

The NSPCC also offers lots of helpful tips and advice that parents can use to keep their children safe on the internet and social networks. The link below outlines the risks and dangers children can face when using the internet and advice on how to set parenting controls on computers, tablets and mobile phones.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

In April 2014 every school in England received new safeguarding guidelines and detailed information on identifying to and responding to Female Genital Mutilation. FGM is a procedure carried out on young girls between the ages of infancy and 15 years of age. FGM is classified as a form of child abuse in the UK. It therefore makes the procedure of it a serious Child Protection issue.

It is illegal for anyone to perform FGM in the UK or to arrange for a child to be transported to another country for the procedure. The maximum sentence for carrying out FGM or helping it take place is 14 years in prison.

There is lots of information and support online for parents/carers concerned about this subject or if you know someone that is a risk.

Contact the Police if you think that a girl or young woman is in danger of FGM and is in the UK

Contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (020 7008 1500) if she may have already been taken abroad.

The NSPCC has detailed advice on how to spot the signs, symptoms and effects of FGM and provides support for people who are concerned about a child or who have been affected themselves.

PREVENT

As part of our ongoing safeguarding and child protection duties we fully support the Government’s PREVENT strategy.

At St Martin’s we build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British Values. Our approach is very much part of our curriculum, culture and processes. We see it as an integral aspect in promoting the safeguarding and well-being of our children.

The Prevent Strategy

Prevent is  a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.

Since July 2015 all schools have a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” This duty is known as the PREVENT Duty for schools.

This means that we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist, extreme or violent views.

Importantly, as an educational setting we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so that they better understand how to protect themselves. We feel that it is important for children to have access to an environment in which they feel safe to discuss challenging views.

What does this look like in school?

Many of the things that we already do in school to help children become positive , happy members of society help contribute to the Prevent strategy. This includes exploring other cultures, developing thinking skills and a positive self - identity and promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy.

We also protect children from radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to ensure children are not able to access extremist material.

Designated PREVENT Leads

The Designated PREVENT Leads are Mrs R Rought (Headteacher) and Mrs K Lees (Deputy Headteacher). 

Our PREVENT Governor is Mrs V Kavanagh (Chair).

PREVENT Training

The statutory guidance refers to the importance of PREVENT awareness training to equip staff to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas.

Reporting concerns

Report illegal or harmful information, pictures or videos you've found on the internet. You can make your report anonymously. If you need to make a report you can use the link below:

REPORT