Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy | St Peter's Catholic Primary School, Lytham

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Our pupils safety and wellbeing is of the highest priority. Through support from the Local Authority our staff our trained in policy and procedures related to all aspects of child protection and safeguarding.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Cate Gili-Ross and our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are Mrs Sam Alfrey and Miss Katy Seed.

There is a Governor Committee dedicated to supporting the school in ensuring the highest possible standards in this area. Mrs Julie Cowser is the Governing Body Safeguarding Lead

Purpose of our Safeguarding Policy, Procedures and Practices

At St Peter’s we live out our safeguarding policy on a daily basis. The policy provides clear direction to all our stakeholders, ensuring that everyone is clear about their roles and responsibilities. We are committed to ensuring that we continually review our safeguarding, practices and procedures and our policy makes these explicit. The policy supports our sensitive and skilled approach to handling safeguarding concerns and referrals, placing the needs of the child at the centre of all decisions.

The aims of our Child Protection Policy, Procedures and Practices

Empowerment: by giving both children and adults the confidence to speak up. Allowing informed decisions to be made and thoughts and feelings to be captured.

Prevention: by creating a culture which recognises that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Ensuring that all stakeholders have the training, support and care in order to support this whilst, also providing high quality teaching and pastoral support to pupils.

Proportionality: through training, support and experience we are able to make decisions that are appropriate to the risk presented

Protection: by following agreed procedures that ensure that staff are appropriately recruited, trained and continually supported to respond appropriately and sensitively to Child Protection concerns providing support for those in need.

Partnership: with safeguarding community and multi agencies that provide skilled and appropriate support for pupils and school staff.

Accountability: creating a shared approach to safeguarding where all stakeholders are aware of their roles and responsibilities and there is a transparency in safeguarding practice.

According to the DfE, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as:

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

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility at St Peter’s Catholic Primary.