Safeguarding

All staff receive appropriate training in ‘Safeguarding’ and ‘Child Protection’ to ensure that they are aware of the school’s procedures for child protection and their responsibilities.

Staff have received Prevent Training from Joanna Fitzsimmons, Prevent Education Officer at Liverpool City Council

Please use the links below to view our school policies and guidance for parents/guardians in relation to safeguarding issues.

Safeguarding Team

Designated Safeguarding Lead

Ms Rowlands, Assistant Head

Deputy Safeguarding Lead

Mrs Wrigley, Head Teacher

Safeguarding Team

Mrs Garnett, Welfare Office

Safeguarding Governor

Mrs Jane Owens, Safeguarding Governor

Online Safety (e-safety)

Internet Safety Guidance:

At Greenbank Primary School the safeguarding of pupils is a very high priority. We are committed to ensuring our pupils are safe in school and online. By giving the pupils the knowledge to safeguard themselves and their personal information we are empowering them with a vital life skill

What is E-Safety?

E-safety is the safe use of information systems and electronic communications, including the internet, mobile phones and games consoles. It is important that children and young people understand the benefits, risks and responsibilities of using information technology.

  • e-safety concerns safeguarding children and young people in the digital world.
  • e-safety emphasises learning to understand and use new technologies in a positive way.
  • e-safety is less about restriction and more about education about the risks as well as the benefits so we can feel confident online.
  • e-safety is concerned with supporting children and young people to develop safer online behaviours both in and out of school.

E-safety forms part of our curriculum and pupils are regularly reminded of how to stay safe online.

If you have any concerns speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Ms Rowlands or a member of the school’s safeguarding team.

Using the Internet safely at home

Whilst many Internet Service Providers offer filtering systems to help you safeguard your child at home, it remains surprisingly easy for children to access inappropriate material including unsuitable texts, images and movies. Parents/guardians are advised to set the security levels within internet browsers with this in mind.

Locating the device to access the Internet in a family area will enable you to supervise children as they use the Internet. However, don’t deny your child the opportunity to learn from the wide variety of material and games available on the Internet. Instead, set some simple rules for keeping them safe and make sure they understand the importance of these rules.

Simple, suggested rules for keeping your child safe

  • ask your permission before they use the internet
  • only use websites you have chosen together or a child friendly search engine
  • only email people they know (perhaps an address book would be useful)
  • ask permission before opening an email sent by someone they don’t know
  • do not use Internet chat rooms
  • do not use their real name when using games on the Internet (perhaps encourage them to create a suitable nick name)
  • never give out a home address or personal contact details
  • never tell someone where they go to school
  • never send an image of themselves, their home or school
  • never arrange to meet someone they have ‘met’ on the Internet
  • only use a webcam with people they know
  • ask them to tell you immediately if they see anything they are unhappy with

Using these rules

Go through the rules with your child and ensure they understand what you suggest. It is also a good idea to regularly check the internet sites your child is visiting e.g. by clicking on ‘history’ and ‘favourites’. Please reassure your child that you want to keep them safe rather than take Internet access away from them.

Cyber-bullying

Cyber bullying is any form of bullying which takes place online or through smartphones and tablets. Social networking sites, messaging apps, gaming sites and chat rooms such as Facebook, XBox Live, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and other chat rooms can be great fun and a positive experience but they can be used as platforms to upset and bully individuals.

Tips and advice

  • If you post abuse about anyone else online or if you send threats, you can be traced by the police without any difficulty. Every time you visit a website or make a posting, your internet service provider, Sky, BT or Virgin, has an electronic note of your activity. Even if you create an anonymous email address like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo, you can still be traced.
  • Keep safe by using unusual passwords. Use a combination of letters, lowercase, uppercase, symbols and numbers. Don’t use any part of your name or email address and don’t use your birth date either because that’s easy for people who know you to guess. Don’t let anyone see you signing in and if they do, change the password as soon as you can.
  • If you are using a public computer such as one in a library, computer shop, or even a shared family computer, be sure to sign out of any web service you are using before leaving the computer so that you can protect your privacy.
  • Being bullied online can affect someone enormously. Being bullied can impact on a person’s self-esteem, confidence and social skills. Try to consider the impact your words may have and think twice before posting.
  • Think twice before you post anything online because once it’s out there you can’t take it back.

Prevent Strategy

The government has published guidance for authorities, including schools, on their responsibilities under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, which came into effect on 1 July 2015.

Under the Act, schools and other authorities have a duty to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.

What is the Prevent strategy?

Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.

The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.

This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from other dangers.

Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice?

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy.

These include:

  • Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity
  • Challenging prejudices and racist comments
  • Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
  • Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.

Different schools will carry out the Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of the community.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Prevent relate to British values?

Schools have been required to promote British values since 2014, and this will continue to be part of our response to the Prevent strategy.

British values include:

  • Democracy
  • The rule of law
  • Individual liberty and mutual respect
  • Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?

The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect.

The school will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others.

We will give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.

KEY TERMS

Extremism – vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values such as democracy, the rule of law and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Ideology – a set of beliefs

Terrorism – a violent action against people or property, designed to create fear and advance a political, religious or ideological cause

Radicalisation – the process by which a person comes to support extremism and terrorism

Where to go for more information

Contact the school

If you have any questions or concerns about the Prevent strategy and what it means for your child, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

External sources

The following sources may also be useful for further information:

Childrens Support

There is always someone you can talk to in school – any trusted adult will always make time to listen to you and offer help and advice. They will never promise to keep a secret though because sometimes it is important that we are able to speak on your behalf – we will always be your advocate.

If you don’t want to speak directly to someone in the first instance There’s also lots of help and support online from official sources:

Childline: Call, 0800 1111 or visit www.childline.org.uk

NSPCC: www.nspcc.org.uk

Young Minds: www.youngminds.org.uk

E-Safety: www.thinkuknow.co.uk 

Remember, we are here to talk to, to seek advice from and as a way of getting help. There is always something that someone can do to help.

Operation Encompass

OE Information Sharing Platform

In conjunction with Merseyside Police, we are involved in an initiative called Operation Encompass.  The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in, heard or witnessed a domestic abuse incident.  Following such an incident, children will often arrive at school distressed, upset, worried and unprepared. Operation Encompass aims to ensure that appropriate school staff (called Key Adults) are made aware early enough to support children and young people in a way that means they feel safe and included.

At Greenbank Primary School our Key Adult is Miss Rowlands (Assistant Head & Designated Safeguarding Lead).

When an Encompass notification is received, school will make sure that a person the child trusts is available to help – if the child needs this.  Most of the time this support is silent; keeping a careful eye on them and making sure the child has a calm school day. The confidential information is ordinarily not shared with all staff, but will be shared with the child’s class teacher. 

All schools have a duty to share any information with other organisations if they feel a child is at risk of being hurt. The Key Adult may contact other organisations.  This is described in our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.

The sharing of information from the Police allows us to be ready to help your child straight away, and it means that parents are aware that the Key Adult knows that something has happened.  Parents can come and talk to our Key Adult if they wish.  The Key Adult can point you towards other people that can help.  Our aim is to support children and their families.   

Operation Encompass is a valuable initiative that means we can continue to support and help children and families within our school community when they need it the most.

You can find out more by visiting www.operationencompass.org or by contacting the Safeguarding team at school or by clicking on the links below. OE Information Sharing Platform