At Meadowcroft we provide a caring, safe environment within the school.
Safeguarding is the most integral part of ensuring our pupils healthy and successful lives both in and out of school. Although safeguarding is the responsibility of all staff members here at Meadowcroft, to ensure this is done to the highest standard the safeguarding team are forever vigilant and knowledgeable of the indicators of negligence and different forms of abuse, the Safeguarding Team are paramount in guiding all of us out our school, as to how best to keep our pupils safe.
Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies, when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with parents/carers first, unless we believe that such a move would be contrary to the child’s welfare.
Safeguarding is defined as:
- Protecting Child from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of Children’s health and development
- Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- Taking action to enable children to have the best outcomes
The members of the Meadowcroft School Safeguarding Team are:
Strategic Senior DSL – Donna Howard
Operational Senior DSL – Sarah Fisher
Deputy DSL’s – Hannah Littlewood, Eva Blade, Ann Cleasby and Hira Ashraf
Staff Training on Safeguarding
Prior to Starting at Meadowcroft all staff will receive an induction, during the induction they will receive safeguarding training which is regularly updated so they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to keep children and young people safe.
- Be aware of the Early Help process and understand their role in it.
- Know what to do if a child tells them he/she is being abused or neglected and how to share this information appropriately.
- Be aware that safeguarding issues can manifest themselves via peer on peer abuse and be clear about the school policy on peer on peer abuse.
Alongside regular cascades of information relevant to the staff, in order to support their work with our young people, all staff are given individual and whole school training and regularly updated on emerging trends on a weekly basis.
Safeguarding Policies and legislation
We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our policy for Safeguarding and Child Protection (which can be viewed in the Policies section of our website. These policies apply to all staff, governors and volunteers working in the school.
- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023
- Working together to Safeguard Children 2018
The school follows the Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2
Our school is also linked to the Operation Encompass Scheme. Operation Encompass is a unique Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people exposed to domestic abuse. Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools before the start of the next school day when a child or young person has been exposed to a domestic abuse incident the previous evening.
The information is given in strict confidence to one of the school’s trained Key Adult (Designated Safeguarding Lead) to enable support to be given depending on the needs and wishes of the child.
Further information about the scheme is detailed on the Operation Encompass website: http://www.operationencompass.org
If in the event a Parent/Carer or member of the community have any concerns in relation to a pupils please contact a member of the Safeguarding Team by calling 01924 366242 or alternatively you can email us on Meadowcroftsafeguarding@meadowcroftschool.com