Our Safeguarding Statement

Eccleston Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. To achieve this commitment, we ensure continuous development and improvement of robust safeguarding and child protection processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our staff and volunteers.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mr Craig Todd, Headteacher

Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are: Mrs Kate Cranage (Deputy Headteacher) and Mrs Kayleigh Thomas (Early Years Lead). 

Our Designated Governors are Mrs Rachel Faris and Mr Dean Skelton.

If children have any concerns or worries whilst they are in school they can always speak to a member of the safeguarding team, their class teacher or teaching assistant. In fact all staff are always ready to listen if you our child has any worries. We do understand that sometimes they may be worried when they are not in school or may not feel comfortable talking to someone, so for that reason we have created the Safeguarding pages which have lots of links to websites where you are able to access support and advice. Please remember that we are here to help and although sometimes it may be difficult to talk about personal worries and feelings always remember “a problem shared is a problem halved”

Keeping Children Safe in Education – Statutory guidance

What is the status of this guidance This is statutory guidance from the Department for Education (‘the Department’) issued under Section 175 of the Education Act 2002, the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015, and the Education and Training (Welfare of Children) Act 2021. Schools and colleges in England must have regard to it when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. For the purposes of this guidance children includes everyone under the age of 18. 

Educate Against Hate – Click here for link

All adults have Safeguarding training at the beginning of each academic year, in September, and new starters on induction. Additionally, we include safeguarding in our weekly staff briefing, to ensure staff are aware of current issues. All staff are expected to read:

  • The DfE guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education
  • Staff Code of Conduct and Staff Handbook
  • Policy on the use of social networking sites and other forms of social media
  • Guidance for Safe Working Practice Document – February 2022

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  • Anti-bullying Policy
  • Behaviour Policy
  • Prevent Duty Policy
  • Online Safety Policy
  • Child protection and Safeguarding Policy

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Help! What should I do to keep myself safe online?

To keep yourself safe when using the internet and mobile devices use these simple rules:

Never give out personal details to online ‘friends’. Use a nickname when logging on and don’t share full name, email address, mobile number, school name and any photos – any picture or video online can be changed or shared without permission.

Be aware of “stranger danger”. People online can pretend to be someone else to gain your trust and confidence. Don’t keep online experiences secret – share your online experiences with family or friends – remember your real friends can help

Beware of what you share (i.e. no inappropriate words, images or videos). Think: “Would I be embarrassed if my family or friends saw this?”

Learn how to respond to negative words, messages, images or video that upset you. Tell a trusted adult and then take steps to avoid this being repeated…

Delete spam, junk emails and texts are not true. Don’t reply or send them to anyone else. When in doubt ask a trusted adult how to deal with it.

Don’t open files sent from people you don’t know. They could contain a virus, or worse – an inappropriate image or film.

Talk to a trusted adult before responding to any suggestions that make you feel uncomfortable. An online ‘friend’ is anyone you have not met in real life; no matter how long you have been friends with them.

Remember that online ‘friends’ can lie and will try to convince and influence you ‘to do things that you would not normally do’.

Keep online ‘mates’ online. Never meet up with any online ’friends’ without an adult you trust.

Know how to block or “unfriend” anyone who makes them feel unhappy online and report any behaviour that you feel uncomfortable with.

Remember – it’s never too late to tell someone when someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable.

Don’t blame, support the victim and give them your trust.

Further advice is available from:

CEOP

The Cyber Helpline

Internet Matters

NSPCC advice for parents and carers on talking about different topics with their children

GOV UK – Reporting Child Abuse

CEOP – Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre

ThinkUKnow

Vodafone – Digital Parenting

Setting up parental controls

SAFEGUARDING AND ONLINE SAFETY ADVICE

NSPCC (for adults) - 0808 800 5000

NSPCC ChildLine (18 and under) - 0800 1111

Each week on our Newsletter we share guidance from National Online Safety – you can access these weekly on Twitter/X by clicking here. 

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If you are worried about or have experienced Bereavement or loss please talk to school in the first instance; you can also access support from;

Cruse

Children’s Bereavement Centre

Prevention of bullying

Bullying is unacceptable at Eccleston Primary School and is taken very seriously by all members of staff. If we discover that an act of bullying or intimidation has taken place, we act immediately to stop any further occurrences of such behaviour. While it is very difficult to eradicate bullying, we do everything in our power to ensure that all children attend school free from fear. In order to prevent bullying and deal with any incidents of bullying, we employ a range of strategies – Circle Time – Assemblies linked to our school values – PHSE curriculum – Monitoring areas within the school building i.e. toilets, cloakrooms etc. – Staff training – Monitoring of playground by staff on duty and the SLT.

Relationships: We believe that by developing excellent relationships we are promoting a school environment where everyone is treated with respect and trust. Children are taught the difference between right and wrong. (Also see our Anti-Bullying Policy in our Policies and Procedures).

Please talk to school in the first instance if you have any concerns for your child. You and or your child can also access these websites

Family Lives

Family Lives listen and give you the space to talk, helping you to explore your situation and identify the way forward.  Listening means that we let you, the caller, direct the conversation to wherever you want to go. We will take what you say seriously, and not minimise it. We may ask you some questions to help us fully understand your situation and explore your feelings, and help you talk through options or consider specific organisations which may be able to help you.

We do our best to provide you with as much helpful information and support and encouragement as we can, and then we hope that that puts you, as the expert on your own life, in a good position to make whatever choices are best for you. Core to our organisational values is to ensure that you will be listened to with empathy, care and respect. Click here for link

Anti-Bullying Alliance

The Anti-Bullying Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals that are united against bullying. Click here for link

Stomp Out Bullying

Childline

The Diana Award

Internet Matters

Kidsacpe

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If you or anyone in your family is experiencing Domestic Violence or abuse you can access support from;

Victim Support

Refuge

Chorley Council – Domestic Abuse and Violence

GOV UK – Domestic Abuse: How to get help

NHS – Domestic violence and Abuse

If you are struggling with your own Mental Health or are worried about someone else you can access support from;

Kaleidoscope

Young Minds

Mind

Stem4

Place2Be

NSPCC

Barnardo’s

The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in or witness to a domestic abuse incident. Domestic abuse impacts on children a numbers of ways. Children are at increased risk of physical injury during an incident, either by accident or because they attempt to intervene. Even when not directly injured, children are greatly distressed by witnessing the physical and emotional suffering of a parent.

Operation Encompass has been created to address this situation. It is the implementation of key partnership working between the police and schools. The aim of sharing information with local schools is to allow ‘Key Adults’ the opportunity of engaging with the child and to provide access to support that allows them to remain in a safe but secure familiar environment.

Following the report of an incident of domestic abuse, by 9:00am on the next school day the school’s Key Adult will be informed that the child or young person has been involved in a domestic incident. This knowledge, given to schools through Operation Encompass, allows the provision of immediate early intervention through silent or overt support dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child.

At Eccleston Primary School our Key Adult is Mr Craig Todd (Headteacher)

Click here for further information

We use the National Decision Making Model, used by organisations including Police, health and social care.

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What is 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.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence. Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice?

Many of the things we already do in our school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy.

These include:

  • Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity and tolerance
  • Challenging prejudices and racist comments
  • Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
  • Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy.

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils. We will carry out our Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of our community.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Prevent relate to British Values?

Schools have been required to promote British Values since 2014, and this will continue to be part of our response to the Prevent strategy. British values include:

  • Democracy
  • The rule of law
  • Individual liberty and mutual respect
  • Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?

The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. Our School will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others. We will give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.

KEY TERMS

Extremism – vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values such as democracy, the rule of law and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Ideology – a set of beliefs

Terrorism – a violent action against people or property, designed to create fear and advance a political, religious or ideological cause

Radicalisation – the process by which a person comes to support extremism and terrorism

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