Safeguarding
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:
- protecting children from maltreatment;
- preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development;
- ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
- taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
At Marwood School we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We strive to make sure that all children We expect all staff, visitors and volunteers to share this commitment. We have a statutory duty to report concerns raised that might indicate that a child is at risk of harm to the relevant authorities. In some circumstances, we may be required to do this without your consent or/or without informing you.
We believe that
- The welfare of the child is of the greatest importance
- All children, regardless of age, gender, ability, culture, race, language, religion or sexual identity, have equal rights to protection
- All staff have an equal responsibility to act on any suspicion or disclosure that may suggest a child is at risk of harm
- Pupils and staff involved in child protection issues will receive appropriate support
Key Agencies and Contacts
Making a front door - Previously MASH - Multi-agency safeguarding hub
The purpose of a MASH is to bring together different agencies to allow fast information sharing with the purpose of making an efficient and fast decision to safeguard children If you are concerned about the safety of a child in Devon or want to speak to someone, or if you are a child worried about your own safety, you can contact our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) by completing an online request for support form https://devoncountycouncil.outsystemsenterprise.com/MASH/homepage or by calling on 0345 155 1071.
Prevent
From July 2015 the Counter Terrorism and Security Act placed a statutory duty on schools, Local Authorities and other specified authorities and institutions, to prevent people being drawn into terrorism and extremism. The Prevent duty https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance requires all education providers ‘to help prevent the risk of people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism’. This includes safeguarding learners from extremist ideologies and radicalisation. The government has defined extremism in the Prevent strategy as: “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British Values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.”
The Educate Against Hate website has useful information and resources. https://www.educateagainsthate.com/parents/
Operation Encompass
The school is part of Operation Encompass which runs jointly between schools and Devon and Cornwall Police. This allows for early reporting and communication to schools regarding children that are exposed to domestic abuse. https://www.operationencompass.org
Early Help - What is Early Help?
Early Help is the extra support your family can get if you need it. It may be that you want to prevent a problem, or change things for your family before the problem becomes more serious.
It is not a specific service or team, it’s an approach that brings together people from a range of services and teams who will work together with your whole family to help improve the situation for everyone.
It can offer support to families from pre-birth to adolescents with all sorts of issues from parenting, employment and school attendance to emotional wellbeing or anti-social behaviour.
For more information click here
Click here for the Devon Children and Families Partnership.
Childline
Childline is a free, private and confidential service for children to talk about things that are worrying them. Contact number is 0800 1111.
NSPCC
The NSPCC help us to help children who’ve been abused, protect children at risk and find the best ways to prevent child abuse from ever happening. Encouraging your children to speak up and share their feelings help keep them safe. The NSPCC website https://www.nspcc.org.uk/ has useful information for helping parents keep children safe.
NSPCC Bullying and Cyber Bullying
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/parental-controls/
NSPCC PANTS Rule
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/
Mental Health
If you are concerned about your child’s mental health please speak to the GP and make your child’s class teacher aware of the concerns you have shared with your GP.
You can also get advice from:
Young minds https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
Lumi-nova- A therapeutic mobile game to help 7-12 year olds learn to self-manage their fears and worries. https://childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk/lumi-nova/