Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)

Information for Parents/Carers

If you have any safeguarding concerns about either your child or another child talk to the Designated Safeguarding Lead at the school, their deputy or another senior member of staff. Alternatively you can contact:

BCP MASH 01202 123334 or MASH@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
Police on 999 in an emergency or 101 for non emergency
NSPCC 0808 800 5000
Childline 0800 1111

What is Safeguarding?

All children and young people need to have trusted adults around them to make sure they are kept safe from harm by other people or from hurting themselves. It is also about taking action to enable all children to have the best possible outcomes.

How can this be done?

We should ensure that all children and young people:

What is Safeguarding?

How can this be done?
We should ensure that all children and young people:

are well cared for
are healthy
are safe
have the best chances in life
and that:
people working with children and young people are safe and suitable to do so
places where children and young people go are safe.

Safeguarding is also about…

giving support to children, young people and their families
getting other people to help if necessary
Early Help - Early identification and intervention if a child or young person needs help
knowing what to do if you’re worried about a child or young person
recognising if a child or young person is at risk of harm or abuse
taking action to protect the child or young person.

Safeguarding is about working together to prevent harm or abuse happening in the first place. It’s not just about protecting and getting involved with those families where children and young people are most at risk of harm or being hurt.

Safeguarding includes a wide range of issues such as…

Child Abuse
Bullying
Prejudice
Fire Safety
Running Away
Eating Disorders
Child Protection Depression
Mental Health Issues Children Missing Education
Road, Rail, Water Safety

Gangs, Youth Violence
Female Genital Mutilation
Domestic Abuse
Criminal Exploitation
Sexual Exploitation
Child Trafficking/Modern Slavery
Drugs & Alcohol
Self Harm
Online-Safety
Health & Safety Issues

Recognising abuse

At the most extreme end, safeguarding is the protection of children and young people from abuse. Child abuse or neglect is when anyone under 18 is being harmed or isn’t being looked after properly. Sometimes a child or young person can be abused by a stranger or by another child or young person, but usually they know the person who is causing them harm e.g. family member or someone in their social network.

Children and young people can be abused anywhere, for example at home, at school, a local sports centre or after school club, online etc. Sometimes someone else knows what is happening, but they don’t try to stop it. This is wrong too.

Impact of Abuse
Children who have been abused or neglected will be affected short term but for some long term effects can last throughout their life e.g. relationship difficulties, mental health issues or drug and alcohol abuse.

Types of Abuse

There are four main types of abuse: Emotional, Physical, Sexual and Neglect.

Emotional abuse - is when parents/carers or others fail to show their children sufficient love or attention or when they threaten, taunt or belittle them, causing them to become nervous, withdrawn, aggressive, or disturbed in their behaviour.

Physical abuse - is when parents/carers or others deliberately inflict injuries on a child or young person, or do not protect their child from being physically harmed by someone else.

Sexual abuse - this involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.

Neglect - is when a parent/carer fails to meet a child or young person’s essential need for food, clothing, shelter or medical care, or when children are left without proper supervision which leaves them unsafe or unprotected.

Domestic abuse – is any incident of controlling, coercive or theatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of their gender or sexuality. The school receives an alert from the Police when a domestic abuse event happens in a child’s family. They will offer support, monitor and contact Social Care if they have other concerns.

Child Exploitation – is the act of using a child for profit, labour, sexual gratification or some other personal or financial advantage.

Safeguarding Issues

Attendance – your child’s attendance is monitored daily and significant absences are always followed up by the attendance officer. The school has an attendance policy that you should read and understand.

Behaviour – the school has clear behaviour rules for the whole school community that must be followed to keep everyone safe and happy. We understand that children do sometimes fall out and this will be dealt with by an adult who will listen to the children involved and help resolve the situation.

Bullying – the school takes all cases of bullying very seriously and will work with children and families to try and resolve any problems. The School has an anti-bullying policy that you should read and understand.

Health and Safety – everyone at the school has a responsibility to ensure that adults and children work in a safe environment. The school has a clear health and safety policy which everyone must follow. The school have fully trained first aiders to deal with any accidents in school.

Online-Safety – the school recognises that technology plays an important role in the education of children and is committed to safeguarding children in the virtual world. To support parents, the school has online-safety information to help keep your children safe both in school and at home.

What a School Must Do

A child should be able to go to school and feel safe so that they can achieve their very best. Anybody who works or volunteers at this school will be checked to make sure they are safe to work with children and then trained in child protection and safeguarding and what to do if they are concerned.The school has a Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL/DDSL) for Safeguarding, who have extra training to help students.

We will always listen to you and work closely with you if we are concerned about your child or another child. Sometimes, concerns cannot be shared with you before Children’s Social Care have become involved. The school has a safeguarding policy which tells you more about this and when we must speak to the police or children’s services. Please ask us about how you can see a copy of this policy.
We will help your child to learn about keeping themselves safe e.g. healthy eating, anti-bullying, online -safety, road safety, healthy relationships, drug and alcohol awareness, preventing extremism. As part of these lessons your child will be told what to do if they are worried or concerned.

What Parents/Carers Must Do

Parents/carers are the most important people to keep their children safe. You should always:

feel confident to raise concerns about your child.
talk to school if you need help or support.
let the school know if you have any court orders relating to the safety of your child.
let the school know if there is a change in your circumstances such as a house move, a new contact number, a change of name, a change of parental responsibility
let the school know who will be dropping off or collecting your child and provide two other emergency contacts. You must inform the school of any changes to agreed arrangements.
let the school know if your child is going to be absent and the reasons why.