Safeguarding

Introduction to safeguarding

At St Teilo's, there is no greater responsibility than to keep children and young people safe. There are three main aspects to our approach to safeguarding:

• Prevention through the teaching and pastoral support offered to pupils.
• Procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases, of abuse. 
• Support to pupils who may have been abused.

It is our expectation that all school staff adhere to the Education Workforce Council's 'Code of Professional Conduct' which can be found here.

Prevention

We recognise that high self-esteem, confidence, supportive friends and good lines of communication with a trusted adult help to safeguard pupils. The school will therefore:

• Establish and maintain an ethos where children feel secure, are encouraged to talk and are listened to.
• Ensure children know that there are adults in the school whom they can approach if they are worried or in difficulty.
• Include in the curriculum activities and opportunities for character development which equip children with the skills they need to stay safe from abuse and to know to whom to turn for help, where appropriate.
• Include in the curriculum material which will help children develop an understanding of the culture in which they are now part of.
• Be involved in regular discussions with relevant professionals in the life of the young person to ensure consistency and clarity.

In the case of asylum-seeking and refugee children, greater consideration will be given to the following needs (whilst noting these are not homogenous experiences for all young people with this status):

• having an interrupted education in the country of origin.
• having horrific experiences in their home countries and during their journey to Wales.
• living with families who experience a drop in their standard of living and status in society.
• changing care arrangements.
• living with families who do not know their legal and social rights in Wales.
• speaking little or no English on arrival.

Procedures

Staff at St Teilo's follow the All Wales Child Protection Procedures. Therefore, the school will:

• Designate - and appropriately train - a Senior Person for child protection (DSP).
• Ensure every member of staff and every governor knows the name and role of the DSP, their individual responsibility for referring child protection concerns and the procedures to follow to act on such concerns.
• Ensure that members of staff are aware of the need to be alert to signs of abuse and know how to respond to a pupil who may disclose abuse.
• Ensure that parents have an understanding of the responsibility placed on the school and staff for child protection by setting out its obligations on the school website.
• Ensure all staff undertake child protection training relevant to their role annually, as a minimum.
• Notify Children's Services if a pupil on the child protection register is excluded (either for a fixed term or permanently) or if there is an unexplained absence of a pupil on the child protection register of more than two days duration from school.
• Work to develop effective links with relevant agencies and co-operate as required with their enquiries regarding child protection matters; including attendance at strategy meetings, initial/review child protection conferences and core group meetings together with the submission of written reports to the conferences.
• Keep written records of concerns about children (noting the date, event and action taken), even where there is no need to refer the matter to Children's Services immediately.
• Ensure all records are kept securely.
• Adhere to all national guidelines.