Safeguarding

The safeguarding, welfare and well-being of the children in our care at Dene House is our absolute priority without exception.  We take the safeguarding and protection of our pupils very seriously and expect all parents, staff, visitors, governors and colleagues to share this view.  Our school has a clear Child Protection Policy and procedures in place.

At times, 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 his/her parents/carers first, unless we have reason to believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s safety. If a member of staff is concerned about a child’s safety, they will record their concern and report this to one of the DSLs immediately.

If a member of staff has concerns which relate to the actions or behaviour of another member of staff (which could suggest that s/he is unsuitable to work with children), then this will be reported to one of the DSLs in confidence, who will refer the matter to the Headteacher (or the Chair of Governors/Trust CEO if the concern relates to the Headteacher), who will consider what action to take.

If you are worried about a child please speak to a member of staff or ring First Contact on 03000 267 979.

More information about Safeguarding Children and Young People in County Durham can be found via the Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership website.

Our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) are:

• Governor Lead: Mrs J Craggs
• Nominated Lead Member of Staff: Mrs D Turnbull
• Nominated Deputy Lead Member of Staff: Mrs P Cook
• Additional DSL Trained Staff: Mrs L Watson and Mr I Leyland

You can view our Keeping Children Safe in School Policy and Appendices in the School Policies section of our website.

Further Information

More information about how we ensure the safety of our children can be found here:

• DH KCSIE Safeguarding School Policy 2021-22
  • Appendix 1 – Roles Responsibilities and Entitlements
  • Appendix 2 – Indicators of Harm
  • Appendix 3 – First-Contact-Referral-Form-MASTER
  • Appendix 4 – Summary of Multi Agency Meetings
  • Appendix 5 – Information Sharing 2018
  • Appendix 6 – UKCIS Sharing Nudes and Semi-Nudes Advice for Education Settings
  • Appendix 7 – Low Level Concerns Guidance-2020
  • Appendix 8 – Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges
  • Appendix 9 – When to call the police guidance for schools and colleges
• Working Together to Safeguard Children
• EYFS Safeguarding Policy 2021-22

The Prevent Duty:

• Channel Duty Guidance
• Prevent Duty

Useful Information Leaflets

• Advocacy for young people at Child Protection Conferences
• Barbados Child Sexual Exploitation (leaflet for parents)
• Child Protection Conferences
• Child Protection Enquiry
• Erase (Leaflet)
• FG MPO (Leaflet)
• Get Safe Online (Leaflet for parents)
• My Child Protection Pack
• Safe Online Gaming
• Single Assessment and the Team Around the Family
• What to do if your child goes missing.

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