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Keeping Children Safe
At Queensway Infant Academy and Nursery, safeguarding our children is our highest priority.
It is the responsibility of every member of staff, volunteer and visitor to our school to ensure that they are aware of safeguarding and the requirements to follow procedures at all times.
Everyone must work in a way that will safeguard and promote the welfare of all the pupils at this school. Everyone must take on the responsibility of providing a safe environment in which children can learn.
All visitors to the school will be asked to sign in and will be informed what they will need to do in the event of concerns regarding safeguarding. Contractors and agencies working within the school will be asked for proof of ID and a copy of their DBS.
For more information, please read our Safeguarding and Child Protection PolicyIf you have any concerns about a safeguarding issue, please use the contact details below.
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Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Kim Barker |
01842 753163 |
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Deputy Designated Lead: Mrs Sarah Carter (Mental Health First Aider) |
01842 753163 |
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Assistant Designated Lead: Mr Tom Slaney (Assistant Principal and EYFS Leader) |
01842 753163 |
Alternatively, if you are concerned about a child and want to speak to someone, contact the Norfolk County Council's Social Care Team on 0344 800 8020.
If you consider the incident to be an emergency, call 999.
If you see something or hear something that doesn’t feel right – say something.
What is Operation Encompass?
Operation Encompass is an initiative enhances communication between the police and schools where a child is at risk from domestic abuse.
The purpose of the information sharing is to ensure schools have more information to support safeguarding of children. By knowing that the child has had this experience, the school is in a better position to understand and be supportive of the child's needs and possible behaviours. Operation Encompass will complement existing safeguarding procedures.
This is a process used to inform schools when the police have attended an incident of domestic violence or abuse, where domestic abuse incidents have occurred in the homes of their pupils since the previous school day.
How will it work?
Police will share information with First Response who will phone the school between 8 and 8.30am and ask to speak with the Head teacher or a Designated Safeguarding Lead. The school will be informed simply that there was an incident and the name of the child. The First Response Children’s Duty (FRCD) Officer making the phone call will not be in a position to give more information at that point.
What is the school meant to do with this knowledge?
By knowing that the child has had this experience, the school is in a better position to be supportive and understanding of the child's needs and possible behaviours. The Principal or DSL will share this information on a need to know basis e.g. the form teacher. The initial approach is that the sharing of information should not, in itself, provoke a proactive response to individual children by the school, but informs the schools' response to any presenting behaviour. Some schools will have the staff and resources to reassure the child that they know. This can be a real relief to a child as it can give them a tacit permission to talk about how they feel and what has been happening to them. The key aim of this process, however, is to ensure that the child is offered sensitivity and understanding following a distressing incident.
PANTS - NSPCC
As part of our safeguarding duty we understand that we need to teach the children about being safe and looking after their bodies when they are not with us. With this in mind we are using guidance from NSPCC and using their very catchy pants song.
So what does PANTS stand for?
P - Privates are private
A - Always remember your body belongs to you
N - No means no
T - Talk about secrets that upset you
S - Speak up someone can help
The song will be used in the setting to help us teach your child about what parts of their bodies need to be kept private and most importantly what to do if they are worried about how someone has touched them.
We understand that as parents this is a tough topic to be teaching such small children but this is why we are using the NSPCC guidance to make sure we get it right. We feel that it is so important that children learn these rules from a young age and early education is the key.
The pants song linked below is a fun, friendly approach but educational for children:
Key External Contact Numbers for Students and Parents
Norfolk County Council Children’s Services Customer Services Helpline (duty team) Police Child Abuse Investigation Unit
Local Area Designated Officer (LADO) Department for Education Extremism Concerns
Social Care Hub - (Choose option 2)
Resources for parents and pupils with SEND
National Autistic Society – guidance and helpline for parents, young people and staffMencap - Easy Read guide to Coronavirus
