Safeguarding Children & Child Protection

Newfield School is committed to safeguarding & protecting the welfare of children & vulnerable adults as its number one priority.

The school has produced a Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Policy based on the Government’s Department for Education guidelines and advice.

Emphasis is placed upon protecting the child through established procedures that are known to all staff.

Our staff are trained in the recognition of symptoms of abuse and to be vigilant for all kinds of safeguarding concerns, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, bullying or extremist behaviour, including the PREVENT duty. We have a PREVENT statement and Risk Assessment which is updated annually.

We have clear procedures in place for the recording and reporting of incidents where any potential safeguarding concerns are identified and appropriate action is taken.

Leaders and governors are clear about the vulnerabilities facing the school’s pupils. They ensure that staff are well trained in how to keep pupils safe. Ofsted, 2021

Jenny Riley, Deputy Head, is our Designated Safeguarding Lead, DSL, member of staff responsible for the implementation of Child and Safeguarding Policy and Protection procedures; supported by Rachel Kay, Headteacher and Vicki Clements, Deputy Head, both DSL trained.

All members of the Senior Leadership Team are trained to be designated for child protection if required.

We also have a designated Lead Governor for Child Protection on the Governing Body, Sara Barr-Frost.

Keeping children safe in education is statutory guidance that schools and colleges in England must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It is essential that everybody working in a school or college understands their safeguarding responsibilities. All staff who work directly with children have read at least part one of the guidance, which is available here - Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 - Part 1.

All staff are also aware of the following documents, which support development of policy and practice at Newfield:

• What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused: advice for practitioners
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 - A guide to multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children
• Guidance for safer working practice for those working with children and young people in education settings
• Prevent duty guidance: Guidance for specified authorities in England and Wales

We work closely with our colleagues from CADS (Children’s Advice and Duty Service) who are part of the Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (CSAP), which is the multi-agency safeguarding arrangement across Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Lancashire.

Where a child or young person appears to demonstrate the outward signs of abuse, or is deemed to be at significant risk, the school is obliged to refer the matter to Blackburn with Darwen’s Children’s Advice and Duty Service.

Where information is shared with other public bodies, we work within the agreed local information sharing protocols to make sure that information is shared in line with local and national rules.

Where safeguarding concerns are raised that relate to any adults in school, we work closely with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) to make sure we follow the correct procedures, and ensure all concerns are investigated and followed up appropriately.

All adults who regularly work on our site are required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check to prevent unsuitable people from working with our pupils.

Our pupils are taught about how to keep themselves safe and about what to do if they have any concerns. We have a school counsellor who can support pupils.

We are participating in Operation Encompass, which is a unique Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership. This ensures that a child’s school is informed, prior to the start of the next school day, if there has been an incident of Domestic Abuse, which may have an impact on the child.

Staff are skilled at identifying potential safeguarding risks. They take swift and effective action when pupils’ actions might put themselves or others at increased risk. Ofsted, 2021

Visitors to school

We have a robust signing in procedure for staff and visitors.

All visitors to Newfield must sign in at our reception at the school entrance.

They are issued with an identity badge and lanyard, which must be worn and visible during their visit.

Lanyard colour identifies people around school:

• Pale Blue lanyards - members of our school staff.
• Bright Blue lanyards - visitors who are known to school and for whom we have DBS clearance, who can be in school without close supervision.
• Red lanyards - visitors who must be under close supervision and escorted by a member of school staff.

Visitors are also given safeguarding cards which inform them of our safeguarding arrangements, Designated Senior Lead staff and our visitor code of conduct, which you can see in our ‘Visiting School’ section on our Parent Handbook page.

If you have a concern about the health & safety of any child at Newfield you should report this to a member of staff immediately.

For further information and advice please see:

Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership - CSAP

Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub - MASH

If you are concerned about a child and you feel they are being abused, neglected or at risk of abuse/neglect, then you should consider making a safeguarding child referral. Contact Blackburn with Darwen Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for confidential advice and consultation.

Monday to Friday 08.45-17.00 please call : 01254 666400.

If you are calling outside these hours please contact the Emergency Duty Team on 01254 587547.