Keeping children safe in education is our priority.

At Kirk Ella St Andrew’s Community Primary School, the health, safety and welfare of our children are of paramount importance to us. We respect our pupils and want to provide them with a stimulating and safe environment that encourages them to do their best.

In order to keep our children safe at school, we

• ensure that all our staff – through their induction and on going training – have a clear understanding of their responsibilities towards our children’s safeguarding
• make sure that we have a range of clear and up to date policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety and protection of our pupils in all aspects of school life
• ensure that we teach our pupils how to keep themselves healthy and safe – in and out of school
• ensure that we audit our safeguarding practices regularly so we remain vigilant

The Children Act 1989 places a clear responsibility on schools to ensure they work together with other agencies to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of all children.

Our School recognises the contribution it can make to protect and support pupils in school. The Child Protection Policy states the aims of the school to safeguard and promote our pupils’ welfare, safety and health by fostering an honest, open, caring and supportive climate.

The school’s commitment to Child Protection is reflected in the award of the School Safeguarding Accreditation by the East Riding Safeguarding Children Board (ERSCB) and East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC).

If concerns are raised within the school or a child or parent reports a situation involving possible abuse the school has a duty to inform the local Social Services Team Manager. Any person employed to work with children in our school is expected to be cleared by a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS).

Values

The term ‘safeguarding’ encompasses the whole range of issues. It starts with our values that we instill in our children from their first day at Kirk Ella St Andrew’s. Values such as kindness, respect and wisdom teach children to be ready, be safe and be respectful. We have an open and honest atmosphere at school, where children are nurtured and taught that they are able to confide in any adult if they are worried about anything.

If you click this link , you can find out more about our School Values

Behaviour

We have very clear expectations of our children’s behaviour and these are regularly discussed in class and whole school assemblies. In addition at the beginning of each year, children discuss with their Class teachers their own classroom rules and they are expected to follow them. Our children learn from an early age that bullying in any form is not tolerated at Kirk Ella St Andrew’s and that we expect our staff to act as exemplary role models.

You can read the Behaviour in the school policies section

Inclusion And Equality

The school has a commitment to equality and accessibility for all and we believe that everyone at Kirk Ella St Andrew’s should be treated with care and respect. Our children are explicitly taught that any form of discrimination on grounds of race, religion, sexuality or disability is wrong. In PSHE, our RE lessons and assemblies we explore different ideas, cultures, faiths and beliefs to broaden our pupil’s awareness of the world and we teach tolerance and mutual respect.

You can also find out more on how we support our children with SEND here.

Teaching And Learning

In addition to teaching our children about behaviour and attitudes, we also equip them with a range of practical learning via the curriculum to help keep them safe and healthy throughout their lives. Our PE and PHSE lessons include education on healthy diet, the importance of exercise, road and pedestrian safety, stranger danger and how to deal with bullying. The school follows our RSE policy which details our approach to teaching relationships and sex. This details the statutory and non-statutory elements. We also have more practical training through the school such as cycle training.

From Foundation our children are taught about the importance of staying safe online. At Kirk Ella St Andrew’s we have very clear E-safety guidelines for both staff and children and everyone signs an Acceptable Use Agreement before they use a computer. As this is a constantly changing world, we try to provide children and parents with as much up to date information as we can about practical ways to stay safe on the internet and E-safety teaching is incorporated regularly into all ICT lessons.

You can follow this link to our dedicated Online Safety page. Or you can find out more about the curriculum using the tab at the top of the page.

Our Staff

As already mentioned, our staff are expected to act as role models at all times. All members of staff – teaching and non teaching alike – have been recruited following safer recruitment procedures. Their application forms are carefully scrutinised and any education or employment gaps are queried. References and all necessary DBS checks are undertaken as a matter of course and we keep an up to date single central record on our employees.

When a new member of staff (or Governor) joins our school they receive an induction and staff handbook which includes up to date information on safeguarding, child protection and our health and safety induction booklet. We also ensure that they have read part one of the Government’s guidelines on Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020, which you can find out more about here. Our safeguarding and child protection policy clearly sets out the school and our staff’s responsibilities towards ensuring that all children at Kirk Ella St Andrew’s are kept safe and protected from harm. All our staff and governors undertake regular safeguarding and child protection training.

First Aid and Medical Needs

In addition to safeguarding and child protection training, a number of our teachers and teaching assistants have first aid and paediatric first aid qualifications.

Our Administering Medicines, Health and Safety and Medical Conditions Policy are in the policies section

Volunteers And Visitors

We also make sure that any volunteer or visitor to school – which includes the staff who run our after school clubs – visits the School office to sign in and read the school information sheet on safeguarding. Volunteers and visitors are not left unsupervised with children at any time unless they are regular volunteers who have completed a DBS check. As a parent, if you would like to know more about volunteering, please come into the School Office.

The Volunteer Safeguarding Information sheet

Site Safety

Ensuring that the school site is safe and risk assessed is the responsibility of our School Office Manager and Headteacher. We have a comprehensive Health and Safety policy to ensure that our premises are safe for all. This includes undertaking risk assessments for all school activities and trips, as well as for aspects of the site.

Staff with key safeguarding responsibilities

Our designated Child Protection and Safeguarding Lead is Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Stevens.

Other safeguarding leads are Mr Church (Headteacher) and Mrs McGarry (Department Head)

Our Inclusion Manager is Mrs Steven’s

Our School Office Manager, Mrs Hodgson, is responsible for all aspects of site health and safety along side the Headteacher and our Site manager, Mr O’Neil.

All our Safeguarding policies are kept in the policies section.

Our school takes part in a project that runs in partnership with Humberside Police and the Early Help and Safeguarding Hub (EHaSH). The project provides early reporting to schools of any domestic abuse incidents that occur outside of school but which might have an impact on a child attending school the following day.

Domestic abuse impacts on children in a number 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. The purpose and procedures in Operation Encompass have been shared with all parents and governors, are detailed as part of the school’s Safeguarding Policy and published on our school website.

A nominated member of school staff, known as a Key Adult, is trained to liaise with the police. At Kirk Ella St Andrews’ Community Primary School our Key Adult is Mrs Steven’s and Mr Church They will be able to use information that has been shared with them, in confidence, to ensure that the school is able to support children and their families. Information will be shared where it is identified that a child or young person was present, witnessed or was involved in a domestic abuse incident.

We always endeavour to offer the best support possible to our pupils and believe that Operation Encompass is going to be beneficial and supportive for all concerned children and families.