St Edward's School
SAFEGUARDING
Safeguarding is a priority at St Edward’s School. We are committed to effectively promote the safety and well-being of young people and protecting all vulnerable individuals in our care from any form of abuse.
We adhere to guidance outlined in Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2023. Safeguarding themes are well understood across our school and we are particularly mindful of issues around:
Children missing from care or education
Bullying and cyber-bullying and the misuse of social media
Radicalisation
Gang culture
Contextual Safeguarding
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
A WELCOMING
AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT
KEY STAFF
Designated Safeguarding Lead:
Karen Thorne (Head of Pastoral Care)
Nominated Governor for Safeguarding:
Michael Tennant (Chairman of the Board)
The School’s Independent Listeners
Mrs Cathy Swann
Mr Callum Barnes
Contact
The school has a dedicated email address for safeguarding concerns: safeguarding@melchetcourt.com
(Please note the account is monitored during term-time only.)
Safeguarding
&
Child Protection Policy
Safeguarding is effective. Staff are collectively committed to supporting pupils and providing effectively for their needs. Consequently, pupils feel safe and extremely well cared for.
Ofsted
"A truly whole-school approach ensures that pupils’ learning and development are top priorities for all who care for them. The staff are attuned to the individual needs of the pupils. They are intuitive and nurturing in their approach. Consequently, pupils develop trusting relationships with an experienced and well-established team of staff."
Ofsted
KEEPING CHILDREN
&
YOUNG PEOPLE SAFE
We invest in robust policies, processes and structures, ensuring all our young people are safe and have a high quality network of support.
All adults who work with our young people undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check prior to appointment.
We restrict unsupervised contact with children and young people only to those who have been correctly vetted and suitably trained.
A COMMITMENT TO
SAFEGUARDING
We strive to maintain a transparent and open culture where everyone feels safe and able to share concerns. We firmly believe that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. To ensure the best possible provisions and outcomes in relation to safeguarding:
Safeguarding is represented at a senior level.
We work in partnership with key local and national agencies involved in safeguarding.
A safeguarding e-learning module is included in St Edward’s mandatory training programme, provided to everyone working in our school. All site based staff also complete mandatory face-to-face training in safeguarding which is regularly refreshed.
All recruitment into school follows robust procedures, developed in line with safeguarding requirements and recommendations.
Robust Governance and monitoring processes ensure that policy is appropriately applied, and that practice is regularly evaluated.
"FEELING SAFE AT
ST EDWARD'S SCHOOL"
REPORTING CONCERNS
Concerns relating to safeguarding are always listened to and taken seriously. In accordance with our safeguarding policy all staff, volunteers and visitors to our school are expected to immediately report any safety and safeguarding concerns about any child or young person.
