Safeguarding

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Early Help is interventions that are offered to all our pupils to prevent problems developing and it targets support to particular children and families with additional needs.

The purpose of Early Help is to support the well-being of children and families by tackling emerging needs at the earliest opportunity and prevent them from getting worse. This means working with you to identify any support you may need and gain access to additional services that can promote positive outcomes.

Effective Early Help may be delivered at any point in your child’s life about any issue which is impacting or could affect their development and well-being, including education and health.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 (a guide to Inter-agency working) identifies that supporting children to achieve positive outcomes is more effective when local agencies work together to:

• Identify children and families who would benefit from Early Help.

• Undertake an assessment with you (known in Bolton as the Early Help Assessment)

• Provide Early Help services to address the assessed needs of a child and their family to improve outcomes.

We will ensure that we:

• Gain your consent and are open and honest.

• Seek your views and opinions.

• With your consent, work jointly with other professionals and services already working with your family.

• Empower you to gain positive outcomes.

• Allocate a lead person to help co-ordinate any support put in place.

• Consider the age and stage of your child’s development to make sure that actions are appropriate and inform our expectations and concerns.

• Keep you and your child involved and informed.

*Add anything additional relating to your school.

Click here to view the Online Safety Information at Masefield

All schools in Bolton participate in a project, called Operation Encompass, which is run in partnership with Greater Manchester Police.

The project, which commenced in April 2019, aims to support children who are affected by domestic abuse.

Following a domestic abuse incident attended by Greater Manchester Police, at which children from our school were present, Greater Manchester Police will notify us early the next morning and prior to the start of the school day. This enables us to offer support or whatever is needed to any child arriving at school.

Each school has a member of staff (key adult) who is trained to liaise with the police, when required, whilst ensuring support is available to the child. 

We are committed to providing the best possible care and support for all our pupils.  In the meantime, if you would like to speak to someone further about the project or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Masefield Primary School Domestic Abuse offer/pledge

Encompass Letter

What is Operation Encompass?

What is the Prevent duty?

The aim of the Prevent Duty is to reduce the threat of terrorism in the UK by working actively to stop individuals from supporting terrorism or becoming terrorists. The expectation placed upon schools and childcare settings is that they will work closely with a multi-agency support network (including contacts such as the Police and the Local Safeguarding Children Board) to raise awareness of issues of extremism, and to support individuals who are vulnerable of being drawn into terrorism.

The current legislation surrounding Prevent duty came into force on 1st July 2015, and remains a staple feature of every UK school, college, nursery, or other childcare setting’s safeguarding policy. If you are a teacher, or work in any of these institutions, you will undoubtedly require Prevent training.

At its heart, Prevent is another form of safeguarding; an extension of the policies that should have already been in place prior to the Prevent strategy’s introduction.

The Prevent duty guidance requires that:

• School staff have undertaken training in the Prevent Duty as identified by their leaders and managers including the Head teacher.

• School staff are aware of when it is appropriate to refer Prevent related concerns about students, learners or colleagues to the Prevent officer, usually the provider’s safeguarding officer.

• School exemplify British values of “democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs” into their practice.

OUR COMMITMENT

Masefield Primary School are fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all learners. We recognise that safeguarding against radicalisation and extremism is no different from safeguarding against any other vulnerability. All our staff, learners and services are expected to uphold and promote the fundamental principles of human rights and British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

This statement reinforces our expectation that staff are fully engaged in being vigilant about radicalisation and extremism; that they overcome any professional disbelief that such issues will happen here and ensure that they work alongside each other, professional bodies and external agencies to ensure that our learners are safe from harm.

WHAT IS A WHISTLEBLOWER?

You’re a whistleblower if you’re a worker and you report certain types of wrongdoing. This will usually be something you’ve seen at work - though not always.

The wrongdoing you disclose must be in the public interest. This means it must affect others, for example the general public.

As a whistleblower, you’re protected by law - you should not be treated unfairly or lose your job because you ‘blow the whistle’.

You can raise your concern at any time about an incident that happened in the past, is happening now, or you believe will happen in the near future.

The Policy can be found here

LOW LEVEL CONCERNS

Masefield Primary School ensure that all staff are aware of how to recognise and report low level concerns around staff behaviour or conduct.

The term ‘low-level’ concern does not mean that it is insignificant. A low-level concern is any concern – no matter how small, and even if no more than causing a sense of unease or a ‘nagging doubt’ - that an adult working in or on behalf of the school or college may have acted in a way that:

• is inconsistent with the staff code of conduct, including inappropriate conduct outside of work and
• does not meet the harm threshold or is otherwise not serious enough to consider a referral to the LADO.