Child Protection / Safeguarding
St Joseph’s is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for children, staff and visitors and promoting a climate where children and adults will feel confident about sharing any concerns which they may have about their own safety or the well-being of others. We aim to safeguard and promote the welfare of children by protecting them from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
The School’s Child Protection (CP) policy draws upon duties conferred by the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, The Children and Families Act 2014, S175 of the 2002 Education Act, The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (for independent schools), and the guidance contained in “Working Together to Safeguard Children”, the DfE’s statutory guidance “Keeping children safe in education”, Ofsted Guidance and procedures produced by the Lancashire Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) . We also have regard to the advice contained in DfE’s “What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused” and “Information Sharing – Advice for practitioners”. The policy is applicable to all on and off-site activities undertaken by pupils whilst they are the responsibility of the School.
If school were concerned about the welfare of a child either from a disclosure, general monitoring or information passed on, a referral to Social Services will be made. Whenever possible and appropriate parents or carers would be informed before this happens, unless this would compromise the safety and well-being of a child.
ENCOMPASS
Every school in the Local Authority receives Police Operation Encompass Notifications as soon as there has been an incident in a domestic setting. School is alerted so that staff can make sure that every opportunity is given to support the child, after what might have been a very frightening experience. The more information school has, the more we can help and support the children in school.