It is every school’s statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, as outlined by the DFE in its publication Keeping Children Safe in Education, which was updated for September 2024.

This means that a school must protect children from maltreatment, prevent impairment of children’s health or development, ensure that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and take action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

At St Ethelbert’s, we ensure that everyone who comes into contact with children and their families is clear on the role that they play in safeguarding children. All staff and governors renewed their safeguarding training during September 2024. New members of staff are trained as part of their induction package.

St Ethelbert’s is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all children, staff and visitors. In addition, we promote an ethos where children and adults feel confident about sharing their concerns about their own safety or the well being of others.

Safeguarding Leaflet For Parents

Safeguarding & Child Protection 2024 2025

Safeguarding Team

Our designated safeguarding leads are:

  • Mrs Messham (Headteacher)
  • Mrs Turner (Deputy DSL)
  • Mrs Postlewaite (Deputy DSL)
  • Miss Murphy (Deputy DSL)

The governor with responsibility for safeguarding is Karen Baxendale.

What to do if you are Concerned

If you are concerned about a child’s wellbeing, please share your concern with Mrs Messham, the Head teacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead, at the earliest opportunity. Contact the Headteacher on 01204 333036 or contact the school office: office@stethelberts.stoccat.org.uk

Alternatively, members of the public are able to voice their concerns to Children’s Social Care via the Integrated Front Door – Telephone: 01204 331500.

If your concerns relate to the actions or behaviour of a member of staff or volunteer in school, then you should report this to the Headteacher who will consider what action to take and seek relevant advice.

If the concern relates to the Headteacher, refer the matter to the Chair of Governors: Mr Joseph Roberts.

KCSIE 2024

Please click here to read ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024’.

Operation Encompass

Bolton Encompass

The purpose of Bolton Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been exposed to Domestic abuse. This abuse impacts on children in a number of ways. Children are at increased risk of physical injury during an incident, either by accident or because they attempt to intervene. Even when not directly injured, children are greatly distressed by witnessing the physical and emotional suffering of a parent.

Encompass has been created to address this situation. It is the implementation of key partnership working between the police and schools. The aim of sharing information with local schools is to allow ‘Key Adults’ the opportunity of engaging with the child and to provide access to support that allows them to remain in a safe but secure familiar environment.

Following the report of an incident of domestic abuse, by 9.00am on the next school day the school’s Key Adult will be informed that the child or young person has been involved in a domestic incident. This knowledge, given to schools through Operation Encompass, allows the provision of immediate early intervention through silent or overt support dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child.

Encompass Parents Letter

Online Safety

Read our Online Safety Policy to see how we help to keep our children safe online.

Online Safety Policy 2024 2025

While there are huge benefits to being online in order to stay connected to friends and family, it’s important to have regular conversations with your children about staying safe online and encouraging them to talk to you if they see anything worrying.

What harms might my child experience online?

You may have concerns about specific harms that your children experience online including: abuse, criminal exploitation, exposure to radicalising content, consensual and non-consensual sharing of images/videos, cyber-bullying, exposure to age-inappropriate content and harmful content.

Where can I go for help?

These resources will support you to talk to your child about a range of online safety issues, set up home filtering in a child-friendly way and set up age-appropriate parental controls on digital devices:

NSPCC

The following are useful website if you are concerned at all about the safety of a child:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/

https://www.childline.org.uk/

Prevent

The Prevent strategy is a key part of the UK government’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, and is focused on preventing individuals from being drawn into terrorism or extremist ideologies. In schools, the Prevent strategy is implemented as part of a broader duty of care, aiming to safeguard children from risks of radicalisation.

At St. Ethelbert’s, all staff receive annual training so that they are able to recognise the signs of radicalisation or vulnerability to extremist views.

Staff have learned how to identify possible signs such as:

  • sudden changes in behaviour & attitudes
  • expressing extremist or divisive views
  • isolation from peers or withdrawal from school activities
  • accessing or sharing extremist material online

At St. Ethelbert’s, Prevent principles are integrated into our curriculum, including:

  • Promoting British Values, including democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect for different faiths and beliefs.
  • Critical Thinking Skills: building resilience by encouraging debate, critical thinking, and understanding of different perspectives.
  • Online Safety – teaching our children about the risks of accessing harmful content and promoting safe internet use.

Our Prevent Risk Assessment outlines how the school meets the requirements of the strategy.

Prevent Action Plan 2024 2025