St Jude's Church of England Primary School

Safeguarding

At St Jude's, safeguarding is EVERYBODY'S responsibility but we do have a dedicated team who make sure we have a strong culture of keeping our children safe.

Our Safeguarding Team 

• Matt Jones
  DSL - Co-Headteacher
  Matt Jones

• Casey Penn
  DSL - Co-Headteacher
  Casey Penn

  ,

• Kate Pakthyiendra
  DDSL - ADHT
  Kate Pakthyiendra

• Leila Abbassy
  DDSL - ADHT
  Leila Abbassy

• Naomi Palmer
  DDSL - CLO
  Naomi Palmer

Everyone at St. Jude's works together to ensure that children and young people are kept safe by contributing to:

• Providing a safe environment for children and young people to learn; and identifying children and young people who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, and taking appropriate action with the aim of making sure they are kept safe both at home and at the school.

Guidelines for Staff

If you think a child or young person at St. Jude's is in need because they are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, you MUST do the following. 

1. Make a note of what you have seen or been told.
2. Don’t make assumptions – keep an open mind.
3. Don’t ask any leading questions and don’t cross-examine the child. Only ask simple and open questions – Who? What? Where? When? etc.
4. Don’t physically examine the child (other than in an emergency when no first aider is available).
5. NEVER promise to keep “secrets”. Explain that you can listen to them, but make it clear that if you perceive that they are in any danger of harm then you will have to seek advice because you have a duty to protect children and young people. Reassure them that they can be helped and kept safe.
6. Maintain confidentiality for the child or young person. Be discreet – do or say nothing that may place the child or yourself at risk.
7. It is normally the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead to ring home or contact Children’s Social Care services.
8. Act quickly and share the information with your Designated and/or Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead at St. Jude's. They are:

DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEADs: Casey Penn and Matt Jones (Co-Headteachers)        

DEPUTY DESIGNATED SAFEGUARDING LEADS: Kate Pakthyiendra (Acting DHT) & Naomi Palmer (Attendance and Community Liaisons Officer)

Please inform the DSLs in the first instance, and DDSLs if they are not available.

1. If neither of the Designated Safeguarding Leads are available and you are extremely concerned about the safety of a child, then see an onsite member of the SLT team. 
2. If the disclosure or your concern relates to a member of staff, this must as soon as possible be shared with the Headteacher or the Designated Safeguarding Lead if the Headteacher is not available and nothing should be said to the colleague involved. It must be shared with the Chair of Governors if it relates to the Headteacher. 

If you are in any kind of doubt about procedures for Safeguarding Children, then please see the DSL/DDSL straight away. 

KNOW YOUR PROCEDURES – THEY ARE YOUR BOUNDARIES. THEY ARE THERE TO PROTECT YOU AS MUCH AS TO PROTECT CHILDREN.

The School’s Safeguarding Policy contains more detailed information about safeguarding children and can be accessed online on the school website. All staff and volunteers should protect themselves by following the school's code of conduct for staff. Safe professional practice is vital for ensuring that they do not place themselves at risk.

Link to Policy