We take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously

We are committed to keeping all of our children safe

To ensure this, we:

• check that every person who works in our school has the clearances necessary to work with children
• have trained and nominated staff members as Designated Safeguarding Leads within our school
• provide accredited safer recruitment training for our Headteacher, School Business Manager and Chair of Governors
• carry out regular training and Safeguarding updates for all staff members and school governors
• provide up-to-date online safety information for staff, pupils and parents
• filter internet traffic at the Internet Service Provider level, before it comes into school's servers and computers

Every member of our school staff is responsible for safeguarding our children. They understand this, and are vigilant in their duty. We have a designated Safeguarding Team (listed below) to whom staff members report their concerns.

We follow procedures and guidance set out by Derbyshire County Council and the Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Board. We have processes in place to share concerns regarding children's welfare with our Safeguarding Leads, with parents, and with relevant external agencies. We use a system called MyConcern to register any safeguarding concerns, and then act upon these appropriately. Should the need arise, our legal duty to safeguard our children may give us cause to consult with Children's Social Care, the police, the School Nursing Team, Early Help, and Multi-Agency Teams. By working closely with our partner agencies, we can continue to provide a safe environment for our children.

We have a page of school's policies related to safeguarding. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions about any aspect of safeguarding, or if you have any concerns about a child.

Roles

• Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mr James Blake (Headteacher)
• Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead: Mrs Jackie Waller (School Business Manager)
• Governor responsible for Safeguarding: Mrs Melissa Eggleston 
• Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCO): Miss Harriet McKirdy
• Governor responsible for SEND: Mrs Louise Cross

Staff training

• Most-recent whole school staff training (Safeguarding and Prevent): Monday 9th January 2023
• Designated Safeguarding Leads refresher training: Tuesday 1st November 2022
• Next whole school staff training (Safeguarding and Prevent): Monday 6th January 2025

Important info and contact details 

Starting Point

For all safeguarding concerns. Phone 01629 533190 (choose option 1).

Out of Hours - Call Derbyshire

Children, young people, or Adult Social Care. Phone 01629 533190.

Police Central Referral Unit

Butterley Hall

Ripley

Derbyshire

DE5 3RS

Phone 0300 122 8719 or dial 101 for the local police call centre (24 hours).

NSPCC - National Helpline

Phone 0808 800 5000.

Childline

Phone 0800 11 11.

Mental health and wellbeing of adults and children

A recommended first port of call for anyone struggling is Derby and Derbyshire Emotional Health & Wellbeing. This signposting website contains local and national links and resources to help individuals and families with many different issues. It has a very useful search feature. You can call the Derbyshire Mental Health Support Line (available 24/7) on 0800 028 0077.

Sexual abuse

Stop Abuse Together is the government's advice and support website to help keep children safe from sexual abuse. The site includes advice for parents and carers on spotting the signs of sexual abuse and speaking to your child about relationships and safety. It also signposts to sources of further support for children and adults.

Domestic abuse

• Derbyshire Domestic Abuse Helpline advisors can chat to you discreetly and provide you with emotional and practical support. The helpline is open from 8AM-10PM, Monday to Friday. Call 08000 198 668 or text 07534 617 25.
• The National Domestic Abuse Helpline can be called free of charge and in confidence, 24/7, on 0808 2000 247. There is also an online live chat feature.
• Refuge's website provides guidance and support for potential victims, as well as for those who are worried about friends and loved ones. It also has a form which anyone can fill in to book a safe time for a call.
• The Elm Foundation offers free, confidential counselling for those recovering from domestic abuse. Call 08000 198 668.

Issues with online safety

Please report any concerns to school via your child's teacher or the office. See our Online Safety page for useful information to help parents keep their children safe while they are using connected devices. Here are some other websites offering advice:

• Youth Produced Sexual Imagery (a.k.a. 'sexting'): visit Childnet's advice page.
• Children encountering inappropriate content: visit Internet Matters' advice page.
• Online bullying (a.k.a. 'cyberbullying'): visit BullyingUK's advice page.

Home alone

The law does not specify an age for when children can be left alone on their own, but it is an offence to leave a child alone if it places them at risk. See this NSPCC page for guidance. If you have concerns about a child being home alone, contact the local police on 101. You can do this without giving your name. Officers can carry out a routine 'Safe and Well' check to make sure the child is safe, and will handle the situation sensitively. If the child is in immediate danger, call the police on 999 immediately.

School transport

In Derbyshire, home-to-school transport arrangements can be made for children of compulsory school age if they are attending a maintained school, college or academy; and meet any of the eligibility criteria. Full information is on DCC's website.

Dealing with debt

Debt worries can directly and indirectly affect the mental health and wellbeing of the whole family. You can get free, one-to-one debt-counselling help from Citizens Advice, StepChange or National Debtline. If you need emotional support, try CAP (Christians Against Poverty).

Healthy, warm and well in Derbyshire

See the booklet below for a guide to council, health, voluntary and community services in Derbyshire.