Safeguarding at Stillness

Safeguarding and Child Protection

The definition of “Safeguarding”.

Keeping children Safe in Education, DfE, 2024, defines safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as:

• providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge.
• protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home, including online.
• preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development.

Safeguarding within Stillness Junior School:   Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to pay in safeguarding children.  School staff are particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children, to prevent concerns from escalating.  Schools and their staff form part of the wider safeguarding system for children working with social care, the police and health services both to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

Every school is required to have a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and a deputy designated safeguarding lead (DDSL).  At Stillness Junior School this role is undertaken by Mrs Mitzi Nichol, Headteacher (DSL), Mrs Z Renner-Thomas (DSL) and Mrs P Brown (Inclusion Lead).  The DSL has a legal duty and responsibility to follow the law as outlined in the school’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.  At times the DSL and DDSL have to undertake difficult conversations and would be negligent in their role if they did not follow up on any potential safeguarding concerns identified.  The responsibilities of a DSL are:

• Making sure all staff are aware how to raise safeguarding concerns
• Ensuring all staff understand the symptoms of child abuse and neglect
• Referring any concerns to Children’s Social Care (formerly Children’s Social Services)
• Monitoring children who are the subject of child protection plans
• Maintaining accurate and secure child protection records

If you have any safeguarding concerns about a pupil please email us on safeguarding@stillnessjs.lewisham.sch.uk.

Pastoral Care within Stillness Junior School: Our aim is to provide the highest quality pastoral care throughout the school. All staff work together to help pupils to achieve their best, educationally, socially and emotionally.

All staff members at Stillness Junior School are committed to supporting the emotional health and well-being of all our pupils and their families. We are happy to speak to pupils and parents/carers about any concerns they may have.

Our pupils are encouraged to make the most of their time here, so every effort is made to remove barriers to successful learning and to equip them with the confidence and skills to be enthusiastic learners and effective members of the community.

Our aims are:

• To offer an environment which will support the emotional health and well-being of all our pupils.
• To support and empower families who are experiencing challenges.
• To help our children develop empathy for social, spiritual, emotional and physical needs within the school.
• To uphold an atmosphere in which children feel secure, are encouraged in their learning, growth and social development and know that they are valued within a healthy and safe environment.
• To work with a range of stakeholders, parents, support staff, outreach agencies and other schools to ensure the best outcomes for every pupil.

Early Help:  Every family goes through challenging times at some point, and it is ok to ask for help.  Early help means working with you and your family so that small problems don’t become big problems, and help you be the very best family you can be.  Early help is for everybody, for families with children and young people of any age.  It is about helping as early as possible; from pregnancy to your child being under 18.  It is about looking at what help you need as a family before you start to struggle.  The earlier we can get the support, the better the outcome.  Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

Prevent Duty: Children are encouraged to express and discuss their ideas, thoughts and feelings through a variety of activities and have access to a range of cultural opportunities which promote respect and empathy for others.  As part of our new Prevent duty under s.26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 we are aware of the importance of building children’s’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British values and enabling them to challenge extremist views.  Schools can build children’s resilience to radicalisation by providing a safe environment for debating controversial issues and helping children and young people understand how they can influence and participate in decision making.

On 1 July 2015 the Prevent duty (section 26) of The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 came into force.  This duty places the responsibility on local authorities and schools to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

We are fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its pupils.  As a school we recognise that safeguarding against radicalisation is as important as safeguarding against any other vulnerability.

All staff are expected to uphold and promote the fundamental principles of British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.  We believe that children should be given the opportunity to explore diversity and understand Britain as a multi-cultural society; everyone should be treated with respect whatever their race, gender, sexuality, religious belief, special need or disability.

All our staff have received training to familiarise them with safeguarding.  As part of internet safety, we ensure suitable filters are in place to keep children away from extremist materials, in keeping with Lewisham guidelines. Lewisham Safeguarding Children Partnership

What we do if there is a concern:   If we have a concern about a particular pupil we will follow the school’s normal safeguarding procedures, including discussing with the school’s designated safeguarding lead, and where necessary, with children’s social care.  We may also contact the local police for confidential support and advice.

As part of our commitment to safeguarding and child protection we fully support the government’s Prevent Strategy.

E-Safety:   E-Safety encompasses Internet technologies and electronic communications such as mobile phones as well as collaboration tools and personal publishing. It highlights the need to educate pupils about the benefits and risks of using technology and provides safeguards and awareness for users to enable them to control their online experience.

The school’s e-safety policy will operate in conjunction with other policies including those for ICT, Behaviour, Bullying, Curriculum, Child Protection, Data Protection and Security. Thinkuknow.co.uk

Safeguarding Newsletter:  As part of our safeguarding duty here, we send a termly safeguarding newsletter to parents.  The aim of the newsletter is to inform parents and carers of any up to date advice regarding any safeguarding aspect.