Safeguarding

Safeguarding Statement

At St Dennis Primary Academy, we have a child-centred approach to safeguarding where our staff consider what is in the best interests of our pupils at all times. We understand that safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (DFE, 2022) as:

• protecting children from maltreatment;
• preventing impairment of children’s health or development;
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Child Protection refers to all the specific processes, policies and measures that we have in place to prevent and respond to instances where a child may be suffering, or likely to suffer from harm, as a result of abuse.

We have policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Child Protection Policy which can be viewed here.

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies, when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents or carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.

At St Dennis Primary Academy, safeguarding is led by:

Mrs Cathy Brokenshire - Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Rachael Nash - Deputy Headteacher and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Jo Waters - SENCO and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Miss Lizzie Stokes - Mental Health Lead and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead

Our Safeguarding Governor is Mrs Samantha Truscott and she supports our work in this area ensuring that our provision is constantly of the highest standards.

Prevent Duty

The Prevent Duty involves working positively to protect young people from radicalisation.

You may have heard about the Prevent Duty, which aims to prevent young people from being radicalised by, for example, far right extremists or religious extremists.

In school we have a duty to care for the children and take note of any child who is at risk of radicalisation, regardless of their background. We also must take steps to help prevent children being exposed to extremist ideas.  Our overriding concern is that children feel safe and also express tolerance towards all cultures and religions, even when personal views may be different.  Please read the booklet below for more information.

CLICK HERE to view an information leaflet for parents explaining the Prevent Duty.

Online Safety

Parents and carers often share concerns about their own computer skills or a limited understanding about the online environment. Some believe that their children know more about the internet and technology than they do, and this can sometimes be a difficult issue to overcome. It is therefore important to remember that online safety is more about parenting and communication skills than technology. Follow this link to view our Online Safety page. 

Operation Encompass  

St Dennis Primary Academy is an Operation Encompass School.

Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has exposed to, or involved in, any domestic incident.

Operation Encompass ensures that a member of the school staff, known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared in confidence. This enables us to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been involved in, or exposed to, a domestic abuse incident.

Our Key Adult is Cathy Brokenshire who is supported by Rachael Nash.

We believe this is extremely beneficial for all those involved.