Safeguarding at Thornton Primary School

At Thornton Primary School, keeping children safe from harm is our highest priority. We are committed to safeguarding children and all staff at the school are employed subject to a clear DBS check for a regulated activity. Below, you'll find some useful sources of information about how we safeguard pupils. We all have a responsibility to keep children safe. This is even more important during current school closure due to the Covid-19 situation. If you have concerns about a child's wellbeing, please contact the school's DSL staff: Mrs S Acton or Mr J Simpson. 

Our school is part of Operation Encompass. This is a Police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse.  

Designated Safeguarding Contacts
If you have any concerns about the safety or well-being of a child, please contact our safeguarding team:

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Mrs S Acton or Mr J Simpson
Tel: 01530 230250
Email: office@thornton.leics.sch.uk

Our Policies
Our safeguarding policies outline how we protect our children and respond to concerns. You can view or download our policies below:
Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Anti Bullying Policy
Online Safety Policy

Reporting Concerns
If you are worried about the safety of a child, please contact the DSL directly. If it is outside school hours, you can also contact:
Local Authority Children’s Services
NSPCC Helpline: 0808 800 5000
Police (Emergency): 999

What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding is the action taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. This includes:
• Protecting children from abuse and neglect.
• Ensuring children grow up in safe, supportive environments.
• Taking action to ensure all children have the best outcomes.

Online Safety
We teach our children about staying safe online through lessons and workshops. For resources and advice, visit:
ThinkUKnow
Childline

Children’s rights and entitlements

We promote children's right to be strong, resilient and listened to by creating an environment in our setting that encourages children to develop a positive self-image.

We promote children's right to be strong, resilient and listened to by encouraging children to develop a sense of autonomy and independence.

We promote children's right to be strong, resilient and listened to by enabling children to have the self-confidence and the vocabulary to resist inappropriate approaches.

We help children to establish and sustain satisfying relationships within their families, with peers, and with other adults.

The nominated person for safeguarding is Sarah Acton.

Safeguarding children and child protection
Our setting will work with children, parents and the community to ensure the rights and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Our safeguarding policy is based on the key commitments of Thornton Safeguarding Children Policy. Use of cameras is guided by the Images of Children policy. Use of mobile phones, by children and adults is guided by policy within school.

Maintaining children’s safety and security on premises
We maintain the highest possible security of our premises to ensure that each child is safely cared for during their time with us. Entry and exit is controlled by a member of staff managing parent and pupils’ entrance and exit to the Hall. Children are released to their classrooms at the end of the morning session. Children attending Afterschool Club are expected to arrive at the room by themselves (reception and year 1 children are escorted). Children other than those in reception and year 1 are expected to take responsibility for ensuring they get to and from their classrooms. If an expected child does not arrive at Afterschool Club a check is first made in the child’s class, then at the office for any message. If the child has been in school and has still not appeared, parents will be contacted. Parents are expected to ensure their child knows when they will be attending Breakfast and Afterschool Club so that confusion can be avoided at the end of the day.

Uncollected child
In the event that a child is not collected by an authorised adult at the end of an afternoon session, the setting puts into practice agreed procedures. These ensure the child is cared for safely by an experienced and qualified practitioner who is known to the child. We will ensure that the child receives a high standard of care in order to cause as little distress as possible.

We inform parents/carers of our procedures so that, if they are unavoidably delayed, they will be reassured that their children will be properly cared for.

Procedures
Contact information for children is contained in registration pack at Club

On occasions when parents are aware that they will not be at home or in their usual place of work, they inform us in writing of how they can be contacted.

On occasions when parents or the persons normally authorised to collect the child are not able to collect the child, they provide us with details of the name, address and telephone number of the person who will be collecting their child. We agree with parents how to verify the identity of the person who is to collect their child.

Parents are informed that if they are not able to collect the child as planned, they must inform us so that we can begin to take back-up measures. We provide parents with our contact telephone number.

We inform parents that we apply our child protection procedures in the event that their children are not collected from the setting by an authorised adult within one hour after the setting has closed and the staff can no longer supervise the child on our premises.

If a child is not collected at the end of the session, we follow the following procedures:

• The child’s file is checked for any information about changes to the normal collection routines.
• If no information is available, parents/carers are contacted at home or at work.
• If this is unsuccessful, the adults who are authorised by the parents to collect their child from the setting – and whose telephone numbers are recorded – are contacted.
• All reasonable attempts are made to contact the parents or nominated carers.
• The child does not leave the premises with anyone other than those named in their file.
• If no-one collects the child after one hour and there is no-one who can be contacted to collect the child, we apply the procedures for uncollected children.
• We contact our local authority children’s social care team:

• The child stays at setting in the care of two fully-vetted workers until the child is safely collected either by the parents or by a social care worker.
• Social Care will aim to find the parent or relative if they are unable to do so, the child will become looked after by the local authority.
• Under no circumstances do staff go to look for the parent, nor do they take the child home with them.
• A full written report of the incident is recorded in the child’s file.
• Depending on circumstances, we reserve the right to charge parents for the additional hours worked by our staff.
• Ofsted may be informed

Missing child
Children’s safety is maintained as the highest priority at all times both on and off premises. Every attempt is made through carrying out the exit/entrance procedure to ensure the security of children is maintained at all times. In the unlikely event of a child going missing, our missing child procedure is followed.

Procedures
Child going missing on the premises

• As soon as it is noticed that a child is missing the key person/staff alerts the setting leader.
• The setting leader calls the police and reports the child as missing and then calls the parent.
• The setting leader will carry out a thorough search of the building and garden.
• The register is checked to make sure no other child has also gone astray.
• Doors and gates are checked to see if there has been a breach of security whereby a child could wander out.
• The setting leader talks to the staff to find out when and where the child was last seen and records this.
• The setting leader contacts the headteacher and reports the incident. The headteacher comes to the setting immediately to carry out an investigation, with the management committee where applicable.

Child Development

Achieving positive behaviour
Thornton believes that children flourish best when their personal, social and emotional needs are met and where there are clear and developmentally appropriate expectations for their behaviour. Children need to learn to consider the views and feelings, needs and rights, of others and the impact that their behaviour has on people, places and objects. This is a developmental task that requires support, encouragement, teaching and setting the correct example. The principles that underpin how we achieve positive and considerate behaviour exist within the programme for promoting personal, social and emotional development.

This provision works within the guidelines of the Behaviour Policy for Thornton Primary School.