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Safeguarding

Safeguarding and Child Protection

At Great Horwood Church of England School we take the safety of all our pupils seriously. If you have any concerns regarding our children please speak to the designated safeguarding leader Paula Shaw (Headteacher). Our safeguarding governor is Danielle Evans and can be contacted via the school office. All safeguarding and child protection policies can be found on the school website on the policies and procedures page.

The designated safeguarding lead at Great Horwood School is Paula Shaw (Headteacher).

The deputy designated leads are Chelsea Dumbarton and Jazzmin O'Shea

The designated safeguarding leads for Seedlings Nursery are Ashleigh Nicolls (Nursery Manager), Sue Sutton and Gemma McCluskey.

In the event that another DSL is required Lucy McFarlane, Headteacher at Padbury CE school may be contacted.

The designated safeguarding leads can be contacted on dsl@ghw.odbst.org

The designated safeguarding governor is Danielle Evans and can be contacted on devans@ghw.odbst.org

If you have any safeguarding concerns regarding the headteacher then contact Stuart Bayliss the Chair of Governors on sbayliss@ghw.odbst.org

Safeguarding Statement 

​At Great Horwood Church of England School, the health, safety and well-being of every child are our paramount concern. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. Our aim is for children to enjoy their time as pupils in this school. We want to work in partnership with you to help your child achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution.
 
To promote a safe environment for pupils, our selection and recruitment policy includes all checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks, as recommended by the Oxford Diocese Bucks Schools Trust and in accordance with current legislation.
 
In accordance with our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002 and “Keeping Children Safe in Education" we have a designated safeguarding lead for child protection (Paula Shaw - Headteacher) who is a member of the senior management team, and has received appropriate training for this role.  We also have Chelsea Dumbarton and Jazzmin O'Shea as deputy designated leads. For safeguarding concerns in Seedlings Nursery the first point of contact is Ashleigh Nicolls, Nursery manager. It is their responsibility to ensure that all staff in contact with children receive child protection awareness training on a regular basis. 
 
Occasions do arise when our concern about a child means we have to consult other agencies.  Whilst we would always aim to work in partnership with parents there may be exceptions to this when concerns are raised for the protection of a child.
 
On very rare occasions Social Care, whilst undertaking an investigation under section 47 of the Children Act 1989, may want to speak to a child without a parents’ knowledge.   This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies and would only be done in situations where a child might be at immediate risk.  To gain consent at this point may increase the level of risk to the child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost.
 
The procedures, which we follow, have been laid down by the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, and the school has adopted a child protection policy in line with this for the safety of all. If you want to know more about our procedures, please speak to the Headteacher, Paula Shaw.  The policy can be found on the school website on the policies and procedures page.

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies, when there are concerns about a child's welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child's welfare.

We actively support the Government's Prevent Agenda to counter radicalism and extremism and have a PRevent Risk Assessment in place.

Photographs and videos at school events

Whilst lots of parents and carers really enjoy seeing photos and videos of their children’s school life we are very mindful of our duty of care towards all our pupils. We take the issue of safeguarding very seriously and this includes the use of photographic and video images.

Any photographs or videos taken by parents, carers and relatives at school productions, sports days or other events are for the enjoyment of individual families. They must not be used in any way that could potentially place a child at risk. This would include publishing images in any form of print or on the internet including social networking sites. Some parents do not wish their child to be photographed or videoed.  This must be respected.  This is emphasised before concerts and shows etc. 

We like to use photographs of our children on our website, in school documents and in newsletters.  All parents have the right to withdraw permission for photographs of your child to be used for these purposes. You may do this by contacting the school office and updating your details or completing our e-safety permissions form.

Useful websites and details if you have any social media or internet concerns:

Sleepover Information leaflet for parents

 

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