At Dussindale Primary School, we want our pupils to grow up as confident, happy young people. Our vision is to create a safe and inclusive learning community. We aim to work in partnership with families, in order to achieve the best outcomes for our children. As part of this, safeguarding underpins all we do and we use a child-centred approach, in order to gain a clear understanding of the needs, wishes, views and voices of the children.
We work with parents, staff, governors and all stakeholders to ensure that all children and young people in the school are protected from harm, both while at school and when away from the school premises.
This means we will always work to:
- Protect children and young people at our school from maltreatment;
- Prevent impairment of our children’s and young people’s mental and physical health or development;
- Ensure that children and young people at our school grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care;
- Undertake that role so as to enable children and young people at our school to have the best outcomes.
We have safer recruitment procedures in place, as well as a range of policies and procedures to ensure that your child is safe while at school. Our safeguarding and Child Protection policy and practice documents can be found below and on our policies page.
Designated Safeguarding Lead
If you want to know more about our procedures or policies, or if you have a concern about the welfare of a child please contact Mrs Bradley, who is the Designated Safeguarding Lead or one of the ADSL’s Mrs Norgate (Headteacher), Mrs Dorling (SENCO) or Miss Copeman (Norfolk STEPS lead). You can contact any member of the safeguarding team by emailing or calling the school office. (01603 436180)
Mr Nathan Buxton is our safeguarding link local governor, who liaises with the school on behalf of the Local Governance Committee.
Norfolk Children’s Advice and Duty Service (CADS) is made up of a team of Consultant Social Workers who have had specialist training and will provide advice, support and signposting, identifying the correct services and support for the child or young person.Anyone can call CADS with any safeguarding concern about a child.
Norfolk CADS: 0344 800 8020
Domestic Abuse and Operation Encompass
This is a police and education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people who experience Domestic Abuse. Operation Encompass means that the police will share information about Domestic Abuse incidents with our school PRIOR to the start of the next school day when they have been called to a domestic incident.
Our parents are fully aware that we are an Operation Encompass school. The Operation Encompass information is stored in line with all other confidential safeguarding and child protection information.
The Designated Safeguarding Lead has also led training for all school staff and Governors about Operation Encompass, the prevalence of Domestic Abuse and the impact of this abuse on children. We have also discussed how we can support our children following the Operation Encompass notification. We are aware that we must do nothing that puts the child/ or the non-abusing adult at risk.
As part of our commitment to safeguarding our families, Ms Allison Bingle is a Domestic Abuse Champion trained by the Norfolk County Community Safety Partnership. Part of this role involves working with families suffering from domestic abuse to signpost them to the many support agencies that can assist them. If you would like to speak to Ms Bingle in confidence, please contact her through the school office – you do not need to give a reason for requesting a meeting.
If you, or anyone else, is at immediate risk of harm, phone the police on 999.
The silent solution: If you can’t speak or make a sound when calling 999, listen to the operator’s questions, then tap the handset. If prompted, press 55. Your call will be transferred to police who will know it’s an emergency.
Support For Families
All children and families can benefit from early help at times. Early help is the support given to families as soon as there is a problem in a child’s life. Most of us get the best support from the people who care about us – our friends, families and the community we live in. This is our family network.
If you need more help than your family network can give, you can speak to people like your health visitor, child’s school or family doctor. You can also get help and support in these places:
- Just One Norfolk (Children and Young People’s Health Service)
- Family information service
- Norfolk Assistance Scheme (financial hardship support)
- SEND Local Offer (This website is for anyone in the life of a child or young person aged 0-25 who has a special educational need and/or disability (SEND) in Norfolk)
We all have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and at our school we take this responsibility seriously. Where there is a safeguarding concern, we will always act in the best interests of the children.
More information about the approach to safeguarding in Norfolk can be found in this short 3 minute video: Norfolk Threshold Guidance
We support the work of the NSPCC and use their ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’ Programme which teaches that:
- Every child has the right to speak out and stay safe
- Making a child feel scared or worried is never ok and is never their fault
- If they are worried about anything they should tell an adult they trust
- Whatever their worry they can always call Childline on 0800 1111 or visit childline.org.uk/kids
NSPCC – Pants Rule
Every year, each class will cover the NSPCC Pants Rule. This is designed to teach pupils how to stay safe from sexual abuse without giving explicit information or telling scary stories or even using the term “sexual abuse”. In the lesson, children will learn about the ‘PANTS’ acrostic, which stands for
- Privates are Private
- Always remember your body belongs to you
- No means no
- Talk about secrets that upset you
- Speak up, someone can help
The lesson will be delivered in a way that’s fully age appropriate.
More information about the Underwear Rule, including a short film and a parent guide can be found at www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule
How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools and parents?
As part of Dussindale Primary School’s ongoing safeguarding and child protection duties we are fully behind the government’s Prevent Strategy. From 1 July 2015, all schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent Duty for Schools.
All schools have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from drugs or gang violence. At Dussindale, we build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting British values and enabling our pupils to challenge extremist views.
The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself. Importantly, we provide a safe place for pupils to discuss any issues so they better understand how to protect themselves. Children are spending more time than ever on social media and gaming platforms so it is no surprise that online grooming by extremists is on the rise.
Young people are especially being targeted by groups and individuals promoting violence and hatred. Helping your child be digitally savvy and knowing the signs of radicalisation will help keep them safe and protect them from potential risks.
This video from Educate Against Hate shows how public sector staff work together to stop radicalisation:
If you are concerned that somebody close to you is expressing extreme views or hatred, which could lead them to harming themselves or others; please report your concerns by visiting the website: http://www.actearly.uk/
If you are concerned about a child outside of school (in Norfolk) and want to speak to someone, contact Norfolk County Council on 0344 800 8020. If you consider the incident to be an emergency, call 999.
It is everyone’s responsibility to keep children safe and report concerns. We all need to play our part. If you see something, or hear something that doesn’t feel right – say something.
Safeguarding Newsletters
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