Safeguarding

Safeguarding Policy

Safeguarding our Children

The NSPCC describes safeguarding as the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. It is a top priority at Ruskin Junior School.

Safeguarding - as defined in Working Together to Safeguard Children - means:

• providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems
• emerge
• protecting children from maltreatment, whether that is within or outside the home,
  including online
• preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
  
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of
  safe and effective care
  
• promoting the upbringing of children with their birth parents, or otherwise their
  family network4 through a kinship care arrangement, whenever possible and where
  this is in the best interests of the children
  
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes in line with the
  outcomes set out in the Children’s Social Care National Framework5.

Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.

Safeguarding children and child protection guidance and legislation applies to all children up to the age of 18.

Key People

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mr James Wood

Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL) are Mrs Mitchell, Miss Hardcastle and Ms Buckby

If you are ever concerned about the safety or wellbeing of any child, please speak directly to:

• one of the named safeguarding leaders above
• any member of Ruskin's staff team
• a member of the NSPCC safeguarding helpline on 0808 800 5000
• a member of Contact Swindon on 01793 464646
• Emergency Duty Service: 01793 436696
• LADO: Local Authority Designated Officer/Designated Officer for Allegations: 01793 463854

Our Duty of Care

 All staff have a duty of care to report concerns when they arise. Parents and carers will be informed of such concerns unless to do so would increase the risk to the child. 

The school uses CPOMs to record any safeguarding concerns which are transferred on to any subsequent schools the child may attend.

Our Policy

Please click here to access our current Safeguarding and Child Protection policy.

A copy of the Blue Kite Academy Trust's Safeguarding Statement can be found here.

Training

• All members of staff receive Level 1 safeguarding training annually.
• Every member of staff is expected to read and understand Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education
• All members of staff are expected to undertake online Prevent Duty training
• The DSL and DDSL have attended Level 3 training with Swindon's Safeguarding Partnership 
• The headteacher and specific members of the LGB and also the Senior Leadership Team, have attended Safer Recruitment training with Swindon's Safeguarding Partnership..
• In staff meetings, we regularly review safeguarding scenarios and share termly safeguarding updates from Swindon Safeguarding Partnership, Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub and other pertinent information
• The school undertakes a yearly safeguarding audit from an external provider and all outcomes are fed back to the governors and the Blue Kite Academy Trust 

The Wider Context of Safeguarding at Ruskin

First Aid and Medicines

We have a team of First Aiders here at Ruskin who receive Paediatric first aid training regularly. We also work closely with our school nursing team.

Health and Safety

A team of senior staff works hard to keep our premises safe and secure. We undertake fire drills regularly and we also have an emergency plan. The Health and Safety team is also responsible for ensuring that all trips that the children attend are properly risk assessed. When on site, all visitors are expected to sign in and out and must wear a Ruskin identification badge.

Safer Recruitment

We expect all staff and volunteers to share our commitment to safeguarding. All staff and volunteers are expected to undertake an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We also carry out identity, professional qualification and disqualification by association checks before any person undertakes any role within our school.

E-Safety

Through Securly, we apply strong filters and safety systems on all our school computers and tablets. All internet use by children is overseen by a member of staff and we actively teach children about keeping safe online through our cross-curricular Computing curriculum.

Web Links for Parents and Carers 

NSPCC Pants - The Underwear Rule 

NSPCC - Protecting children from County Lines

NSPCC - Children's Mental Health

Think U Know - a guide for parents about online safety

All actions are taken in line with the following legislation/guidance:

• Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE September 2024)
• South West Child Protection Procedures (SWCPP)
• Section 175 Children Act 2002
• Working Together to Safeguard Children (December 2023)
• Swindon Safeguarding Partnership
• What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused (DfE March 2015) – non-statutory advice for practitioners
• Information-sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services (DfE July 2018)
• The Prevent duty - Departmental advice for schools and childcare providers (Updated October 2023)

Advice for parents on keeping children safe

For further reading, and additional policies linked to promotion of Safeguarding at Ruskin, please click on the following:

All staff must read the Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 document. Confirmation of this is held in the school office.