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Safeguarding & E-safety

Safeguarding Statement

Our Designated Safeguarding Officer is Mr Andrew Spooner (Headteacher)

Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Officers are Mrs Elizabeth Mathers (SENCO), Mrs Lorna Page (Deputy Headteacher) and Mr Tom Churchill (HSLO)

Our Governor with responsibility for safeguarding is Mrs Eluned Hallas.

The Headteacher, Mr Spooner can be contacted regarding safeguarding concerns at head.3247@st-nicolas.oxon.sch.uk.

 If your concern is urgent and outside of school hours, then please contact 'Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Multi-agency Partnership' using this link to report your concern: 

Report child abuse | Oxfordshire County Council

Childline - 0800 11 11

NSPCC Helpline - 0808 800 5000

If a child is in immediate danger, call the emergency services using 999.

The welfare of the children in our care is paramount and all staff are trained in child protection issues and know the procedures they must follow to ensure the best outcomes for every child in their care.  We believe that all children have the right to be happy, safe and to learn.  This is a responsibility that all of our staff take seriously.

We believe that:

  • The welfare of children is paramount
  • All children, regardless of age, culture, disability, gender, language, race, religion and sexual identity, have the right to be protected from harm

To this end, all our staff have a duty to take any allegations or suspicions of abuse seriously and respond to them swiftly and appropriately.  Our staff are responsible for reporting any concerns to the safeguarding team at school as soon as possible. We work closely with other agencies such as health authorities, social services and the police to ensure we fulfil our obligations to the children in our care.  As already stated, our first concern is the well-being of the children in our care. We are as open and honest as we can be in these matters and will discuss any issues with parents, however there are occasions when we have to consult other agencies before we contact parents/carers. 

Information sharing with other agencies:

At St Nicolas Primary School we consider that a child’s welfare and experience is of paramount importance for their emotional, social and academic progress.  In some circumstances decisions have to be made about sharing personal information with other agencies where the needs of children in our care are compromised.  The most important consideration in sharing information with other agencies is the need to safeguard and protect children.  We follow the ‘seven golden rules’ about information sharing. 

These are that:

  • The Data Protection Act provides a framework for appropriate sharing of information
  • We are open and honest with the individual about whom the information will be shared with
  • We seek advice from other practitioners if in any doubt, and will try to do so without disclosing an individual’s identity
  • We share information with informed consent, where possible, and share without consent if a child’s safety is at risk
  • We base information-sharing decisions on the safety and well-being of the individual or others
  • We ensure information is shared in accordance with the principles of information sharing (that the information being shared is necessary and proportionate, relevant, adequate, accurate, timely and secure)
  • We will keep a record of any information-sharing decisions and the reasons behind them

Operation Encompass

Our school is part of Operation Encompass which is a national scheme that operates jointly between schools and police forces. Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has experienced domestic abuse.

As a school we have ensured that a member of our staff, (Designated Safeguarding Lead) known as a Key Adult, has been trained in the Operation Encompass procedures allowing us to then use the information that has been shared, in confidence, to support the child/ren in our care. 

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 identifies children who experience domestic abuse as victims of domestic abuse in their own right. We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved.

Use of ICT and media statement :

All staff, Governors and visitors understand that ICT includes a wide range of systems, including mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops and tablets.   All of our staff are held to a code of conduct in their work with us.  No staff member is allowed to use social media, phone or e-mail communications directly with a pupil at the school.  Mobile phones will not be used to photograph or record any child at St Nicolas, nor will any images of pupils at our school be shared via phone, e-mail or personal social media site.  Images will only be taken, stored and used for purposes within school unless there is parental permission for further release. At the start of each year, our parents are asked to sign a media release form if they agree to their children’s images being used in a broader context, e.g. in our prospectus or in the local media. If a parent does not agree to this, we ensure that their child’s photograph is not used. Filming and photography by parents and the wider community at school events, such as sports days and school productions, are not allowed.

While in school children are able to access the internet, however the school has set firewalls etc. that should limit their access to inappropriate materials.  Children are educated about what to do should inappropriate images, conversation or contact occur while they are using the internet or their mobile phones.  Children are also explicitly taught about the dangers of sharing personal information over the internet.  We also highlight the permanence of statements, messages and images sent via the internet – that language and images must be appropriate - and the same rules apply to the use of ICT as apply to the use of school or community space.

All staff, pupils, Governors and visitors using school equipment will not browse, download, upload or distribute any material that could be considered offensive, illegal or discriminatory.  Staff have a duty to report any unsafe or worrying mobile phone or ICT usage they see or hear about to the Designated Safeguarding Officers:

Andrew Spooner (Headteacher), Elizabeth Mathers (SENCO)and Lorna Page (Deputy Headteacher)

Volunteers working within the school are expected to adhere to all of our policies and their induction includes an explanation of our expectations of them with regard to their behaviour around the children and their safeguarding responsibilities.

Prevent Strategy

As part of St Nicolas CE School’s commitment to safeguarding and child protection we fully support the government's Prevent Strategy, and take guidance from Teaching Approaches to help build resilience to extremism.

All staff have received training covering the Prevent Strategy and have completed an online module to further their understanding.

What is the Prevent Strategy?

The Prevent strategy is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It:

responds to the ideological challenge we face from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat we face from those who promote these views
provides practical help to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support
works with a wide range of sectors (including education, criminal justice, faith, charities, online and health)

E-Safety - Parent guides on internet safety

E-safety is a priority at St Nicolas. Please follow the link to our E-safety page for more information.

A number of parent guides have been published by ThinkUknow. This is a Government website where parents can find useful information about internet safety and other related topics. We have included some parent guides for your information.

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