London Fields Primary School

Safeguarding

Designated Senior Person for Safeguarding Children: Nedal Al-Chamaa

Deputy Senior Person for Safeguarding Children: Sharon Taylor

Deputy Senior Person for Safeguarding Children: Rebecca Austin (On maternity leave currently) 

Deputy Senior Person for Safeguarding Children: Alexandra Hurst

Nominated Governor responsible for Child Protection: Aleisha Ebrahimi

How does the consultation line (MASH) work?

• it is recommended that only professionals use this service but anyone can call and seek advice from social services if needed. The school would recommend that named individuals (safeguarding leads) should use the service. 
• for cases that are not already open to the Council’s service
• you must have consulted your designated safeguarding lead first
• you will need to use the usual MASH number – 020 8356 5500 – and ask for a consultation
• experienced members of staff from MASH will respond

Concerns about a child? (My Concern online)

Please click the following button below to report/record any concerns/disclosures. You will need to use log in details to access the system. 

Please do not email Mr Al-Chamaa directly or use the old disclosure written form - but use the system/link below

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

Safeguarding means:

• protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
• preventing harm to children’s health or development
• ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
• taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.

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

What is Child Protection? 

Child Protection is part of Safeguarding and promoting welfare. It refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specfic children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm. 

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy  

Please click here to access our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. 

Safeguarding Summary/Staff understanding - Quick overview

Please click here to obtain a basic overview on CP/Safeguarding. The summary information acknowledges the key areas that all staff/volunteers are expected to have an understanding of. A series of key questions and answers are included which will inform a series of discussions with staff. It is this aspect (as reflected in KCSIE Sep 2016) where schools are expected to demonstrate and provide evidence that ‘mechanisms are in place to assist staff to understand and discharge their role and responsibilities’. Assessing and providing evidence that staff has understood key information/statutory guidance/procedures will be through:

• Online CPD/courses/training attendance
• Through daily practice
• Questions answered at various points in the year from a defined list. See Appendix A in the summary document 

Volunteer/Parent agreement

Please click here to read the document. Please be reminded that all volunteers/parents will need to read and agree to the expectations of this document before the placement starts. 

 Mandatory Reporting of FGM - Procedural information 

From 31 October 2015 it is mandatory for teachers, health and social workers to report to the police if they find, or are told, someone under 18 has undergone FGM. Please click here to obtain more information (Statutory Guidance) 

Online Safety  

London Fields recognises the benefits and opportunities which new technologies offer to teaching and learning. We encourage the use of technology in order to enhance skills and promote achievement. However, the accessible and global nature of the internet and variety of technologies available mean that we are also aware of potential risks and challenges associated with such use. We teach the SMART Rules for online safety through our computing topic to guide pupils’ management of these associated risks and challenges, and equip them with the knowledge and skills to stay safe online, navigate and manage information and attend to their own wellbeing. 

To find out more please read our Online Safety Policy by clicking here. 

Please click here to access an NSPCC best practice guide on online safety.

For more information, parental advice and resources on online safety please visit the following websites:

Internet Matters

ParentSafe

Virgin Media

City of London Safer Schools App

Please click here to access the free App. The App "includes key advice about essential advice about making your home and devices safer. It provides information about social media and how to block, mute and report anything that either you (or your child) may find worrying – from images to comments from online bullies.  The App will also help you create healthy media habits, limit screen time, learn about scams and keep your personal data safe. It will complement the information your child’s school will have made available via their communications with you and your child."

Use of reasonable force in schools 

The following guidance from the DFE (click here) provides clarification on the use of force:

• to help school staff feel more confident about using reasonable force when they feel it is necessary
• to make clear the responsibilities of school leaders and governing bodies in respect of this power

Keeping Children Safe in Education - September 2022  

Recent update (September 2022) - full version - click here

Please click here (Part one) to access the statutory guidance from the Department for Education. The guidance above affirms that 'all staff members should be aware of systems within their school or college which support safeguarding and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction. This should include:

• the child protection policy; 

• the staff behaviour policy (sometimes called a code of conduct); and 

• the role of the designated safeguarding lead (See Annex B/Page 58) or click here for more information.

It is imperative that all staff (including volunteers) read this guidance (Have to read at least Part 1) and provide consent that they have done so (A register exists to determine this) Schools must have regard to the guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This document contains information on what schools should do and sets out the legal duties with which schools must comply. 

The Prevent Duty  

Schools' "Prevent" duties to safeguard children from extremism were placed on a statutory footing by the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (CTSA 2015), which was accompanied by guidance from the Home Office and Department for Education.

It is important to remember that issues in regard to radicalisation and extremism are safeguarding issues, and the same level of risk assessment and proportionate response are required.

Please click here to access departmental advice for schools on the Prevent Duty (DFE) Alternatively you can also refer to (Keeping Children Safe in Education) above for further information or our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy. Staff have been completing a series of online training modules - A register exists to determine which staff have completed the training. 

At a local level, we have refined the referral route for schools to clarify the contacts for additional support:

PREVENT team on 0208 356 8104 or prevent@hackney.gov.uk

Referrals to Children's Social Care (MASH - Formerly FAST) 

Please click here to obtain further information on the referral process and the responsibilities of the school. 

Procedure for dealing with allegations of abuse against staff/headteacher 

 Please click here to access the policy. The policy (in line with statutory guidance from the DFE) is designed to ensure that all staff, students and parents or carers are aware of the procedure for the investigation of allegations of abuse in order that all complaints are dealt with consistently, and as efficiently as possible. 

After School Procedure for Uncollected Children/children missing 

 Please click here to access the procedure for uncollected children/children missing/absent at the end of the day.

Online Training CPD (CP/Safeguarding)

 Staff can access a variety of online training courses here.  The courses which are run by EduCare is an online safeguarding, duty of care/education law and guidance learning service.

Website link for login: www.myeducare.com

You will need to enter a username and password 

The Hackney Child Wellbeing Framework

Children & Young People's Services - (Resource Guide for Professionals)

 The Hackney Child Wellbeing Framework focuses upon child and family need, not thresholds for services. It does, however, attempt to give an indication of what might be an appropriate approach to responding to child and family need by defining three levels:

• Universal - a response by universal services, often working individually
• Universal and Universal Partnership Plus - a response by universal services working together in universal settings and sometimes bringing additional targeted resources into a multi agency partnership plan to both assess and address concerns
• Complex/high risk – a response that requires high level specialist services, often governed by statutory frameworks, to take the lead role. 

Children Missing in Education (To be read alongside Attendance/Punctuality Policy)

From September 2016, amendments to regulations require the following actions from all schools:

• All schools – are required to inform the LA when they are about to remove a pupil’s name from the admissions register.
• Schools also have to inform the LA within 5 days of registering new pupils
• For a pupil who has not returned after 10 days, the amended regulations require the school and LA tomake those enquiries collaboratively, not separately. Schools should ensure that they consult with HLT before any decisions are made to de-register a child without a clear destination having been established and agreed. The Pupils Registration Regulations make reference to ‘jointly making reasonable enquiries’.

HLT has written guidance for schools which clarifies expectations, provides guidance on what constitutes ‘joint reasonable enquiries’, and gives further guidance on software updates.

Schools are advised to:

- Record the Future Address and address Start Date for the pupil/student or contact;

- Record the destination school in the Destination Institution field in the School History panel of the - pupil/student record;

- Record the start date in the Destination Expected Start Date field in the School History panel of the - pupil/student record; and

- Use the Communication Log or Linked Documents to store any evidence.

Further Resources

Guidance for safer working practice for those working with children and young people in education settings

Keeping Children Safe In Education (Whole document)

HLT Resource page 

City of London & Hackney Safeguarding Children Board 

Safeguarding Children (NSPCC) 

Online safety (NSPCC) 

Definitions and signs of child abuse (NSPCC)

Summary guidance - Protecting children from radicalisation and extremism