Safeguarding at Stoneyholme Community Primary

At Stoneyholme Community Primary, the safety and well-being of our students is our utmost priority. We are committed to creating a secure and supportive environment where children can thrive academically and socially. Our safeguarding policies are designed to protect every child from harm and ensure that they feel safe and valued within our school community.

We understand that parents play a crucial role in safeguarding their children. We encourage open communication between parents and staff to ensure that any concerns are addressed promptly and effectively. Our team is trained to recognise the signs of abuse and neglect, and we work closely with local authorities and specialist agencies to provide the necessary support for our families.

Stoneyholme Community Primary actively promotes a culture of vigilance and care. We provide regular training for our staff and engage with our students to educate them about personal safety and awareness. Together, we can foster a safe environment where children are empowered to speak up and seek help, ensuring that every child at our school can learn and grow in a protective atmosphere.

Designated Safeguarding Leads

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020 says

'It could happen here…'

If you have a concern about a child, please discuss with your DSL immediately.

DSL details:

Name: Lisa Wilkinson

Role: Children & Family Support Lead Deputy DSL details:

Name: Jayne Fernandes

Role: Assistant Head

Name: Anne Reid

Role: Middle leader

Name: Luanne Galawan

Role: School Business Manager

In the rare event of not being able to contact a DSL, or for concerns out of school hours, YOU can seek advice or make a referral to Children's Social Care or the NSPCC using the numbers below.

Schools Safeguarding Helpline: 01772 531196

Children's Social Care: 0300 123 6720

Children's Social Care Out of Hours Team: 0300 123 6722

NSPCC: 0808 800 5000 or you can report concerns online anonymously using the www.NSPCC.org.uk website.

If you have concerns about the conduct of any adult in school, either staff or visitor please report directly to the Headteacher.

SAFEGUARDING IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY.

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass Parents Awareness Letter

Dear Parent/Carer,

This letter is to inform you / remind you that our school/ college is participating in Operation Encompass.

Operation Encompass is a unique Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership which ensures that a child/ young person's school/ college is informed, prior to the start of the next school day, that there has been a domestic abuse, vulnerable child or missing incident to which the child or young person has been exposed, and which might then have an impact on them in school/ college the following day.

Each school/ college is informed of all such incidents, not just those where an offence can be identified or those which are graded as high risk. The partnership recognises that all domestic abuse, vulnerable child and missing incidents can be harmful to children and young people.

This information will be shared throughout the year, including holidays and weekends. Information will only be shared with the school/ college by the police where it is identified that a young person was present, witnessed or was involved.

A nominated member of staff, known as a Key Adult, has been trained to liaise with the police. At insert school name our Key Adult is insert details. They will be able to use information that has been shared with them, in confidence, to ensure that the school makes provision for possible difficulties experienced by children or their families. The Key Adults will keep this information confidential and will only share it on a need to know basis, for instance, to teaching staff for the child or young person. It will not be shared with other school students.

This national initiative has been implemented across the whole of the Lancashire Police area. If you would like some more information about it, you can view it online at www.operationencompass.org.

We are keen to offer the best support possible for our pupils and a recent review of Operation Encompass showed that it is beneficial and supportive for all those involved.

Yours sincerely,

Anisa Bibi Lisa Davison

Chair of Governors Head Teacher

Pan Lancashire Operation Encompass

The purpose of Operation Encompass is to safeguard and support children and young people who have been involved in or witness to a domestic abuse, vulnerable child or missing incident.

Operation Encompass has been created to address such situations that create a safeguarding risk to young people. It is the implementation of key partnership working between the police and schools/ colleges. The aim of sharing information with local schools/ colleges is to allow ‘Key Adults’ the opportunity of engaging with the child and to provide access to support that allows them to remain in a safe but secure familiar environment.

Following the report of a domestic abuse, vulnerable child or missing incident, by

9.00am on the next school/ college day the school’s Key Adult will be informed of the child or young person’s involvement. This knowledge, given to educational establishments through Operation Encompass, allows the provision of immediate early intervention through silent or overt support dependent upon the needs and wishes of the child/ young person.

The purpose and procedures in Operation Encompass have been shared with all parents and governors, is detailed as part of the school’s Safeguarding Policy and published on our school website.

Safeguarding Policy

Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy 2024 - 25

Policy Leader / DSL / HT

Lisa Wilkinson- Children and family

Support lead

Lisa Davison- Headteacher

Deputy DSL (s)

Jayne Fernades

Luanne Galawan- School Business Manager

Safeguarding Governor /

Chair of Governors

Aneesa Bibi

Last Updated

September 2024

Approved by the

Governing Body

Date to Review

September 2025 (at the latest)

Table of Contents
1	Context & Rationale		19	Extremism & Radicalisation
2	Definition		20	Private Fostering
3	Law and Guidance		21	Pupils with Family Members in Prison
4	Roles and Responsibilities		22	Child-on-Child Abuse including Sexualised Abuse
5	Training and Induction		23	Serious Violence
6	Multi-Agency Working		24	Online Safety
7	Early Help		25	Sharing Nude and Semi-nude images (Including Sextortion)
8	Abuse & Neglect		26	Context of Safeguarding Incidents
9	Domestic Abuse		27	Pupils potentially at greater risk of harm
10	Homelessness		28	Extra Curricular Clubs
11	Children absent from school		29	Alternative Provision
12	Children attending educational activity	approved	30	Managing Referrals
13	Child Criminal Exploitation		31	Concerns about staff and safeguarding practices
14	Child Sexual Exploitation		32	Allegations of Abuse against staff
15	Concealed and denied pregnancy		33	Safer Recruitment
16	Modern Slavery		34	Review
17	Female Genital Mutilation		35	Key Contacts, Roles, and Training
18	Forced Marriage

1. Context and Rationale

Stoneyholme Primary School is a two form entry primary school which is larger than the average size primary school. The school has majority of pupils from Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage with a larger than average proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils supported by pupil premium is much higher than national average with deprivation levels being very high.

Stoneyholme Primary School fully recognises the contribution we can make to protect children from harm and to support and promote the welfare of all children who are pupils at our school. This policy applies to all stakeholders; this includes pupils, staff, parents, governors, volunteers, placement students and visitors.

This policy will give clear direction to all stakeholders about expectations and our legal and moral responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children at our school.

Stoneyholme Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the physical, mental and emotional welfare of every pupil. We implement a whole-school preventative approach to managing safeguarding concerns, ensuring that the wellbeing of pupils is at the forefront of all action taken. We recognise that no single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances. If children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action.

This policy sets out a clear and consistent framework for delivering this promise, in line with safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance. It will be achieved by:

Ensuring that members of the governing body, the headteacher, staff and all stakeholders understand their responsibilities under safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance, are alert to the signs of child abuse, and know to refer concerns to the DSL. In addition, to ensure that staff are aware that ANYONE can make a referral and understand professional challenge.
Teaching pupils how to keep safe and recognise behaviour that is unacceptable.
Identifying and making provision for any pupil that has been subject to, or is at risk of, abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
Creating a culture of safer recruitment by adopting procedures that help deter, reject or identify people who might pose a risk to children.
Endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued; where the voice of the child is listened to and is paramount.
Where it is believed that a child is at risk of or is suffering significant harm, the school will follow the procedures set out by our local Lancashire Safeguarding Children Partnership arrangements.

Reporting & Support

The school will have due regard to Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (CSAP) Procedures Manual.

https://panlancashirescb.proceduresonline.com/chapters/contents.html#ind_cases

2. Definitions

The terms “children” and “child” refer to anyone under the age of 18.

The purpose of this safeguarding policy is to ensure every pupil at Stoneyholme Primary

School is safe and protected from harm. The Department for Education (DfE) ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (September 2024), states safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:

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 the 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
taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Children can abuse other children. This is generally referred to as child-on-child abuse and can take many forms. This can include (but is not limited to) bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying); sexual violence and sexual harassment; physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm; upskirting; initiating/hazing type violence and rituals; abuse in intimate personal relationships between children; consensual or non-consensual sharing of nudes or semi-nude images or videos, or causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent.

For the purposes of this policy, “sexual violence” refers to the following offences as defined under the Sexual Offences Act 2003:

Rape: A person (A) commits an offence of rape if they intentionally penetrate the vagina, anus or mouth of another person (B) with their penis, B does not consent to the penetration, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
Assault by penetration: A person (A) commits an offence if they intentionally penetrate the vagina or anus of another person (B) with a part of their body or anything else, the penetration is sexual, B does not consent to the penetration, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
Sexual assault: A person (A) commits an offence of sexual assault if they intentionally touch another person (B), the touching is sexual, B does not consent to the touching, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent: A person (A) commits an offence if they intentionally cause another person (B) to engage in an activity, the activity is sexual, B does not consent to engaging in the activity, and A does not reasonably believe that B consents. This could include forcing someone to strip, touch themselves sexually, or to engage in sexual activity with a third party.

For the purposes of this policy, “sexual harassment” refers to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that occurs online or offline, inside or outside of school. Sexual harassment is likely to violate a pupil’s dignity, make them feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated, and create a hostile, offensive, or sexualised environment. If left unchallenged, sexual harassment can create an atmosphere that normalises inappropriate behaviour and may lead to sexual violence. Sexual harassment can include, but is not limited to:

Sexual comments, such as sexual stories, lewd comments, sexual remarks about clothes and appearance, and sexualised name-calling.
Sexual “jokes” and taunting.
Physical behaviour, such as deliberately brushing against someone, interfering with someone’s clothes, and displaying images of a sexual nature.
Online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a wider pattern of sexual harassment and/or sexual violence. This includes:
- - The consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos.
- - Sharing unwanted explicit content.
- -
- - Sexualised online bullying.
- - Unwanted sexual comments and messages, including on social media.
- - Sexual exploitation, coercion, and threats.

Upskirting refers to the act, as identified the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, of taking a picture or video under another person’s clothing, without their knowledge or consent, with the intention of viewing that person’s genitals or buttocks, with or without clothing, to obtain sexual gratification, or cause the victim humiliation, distress or alarm. Upskirting is a criminal offence. Anyone, including pupils and staff, of any gender can be a victim of upskirting.

Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos, colloquially known as “sexting” and "youth produced imagery", is defined as the sharing between pupils of sexually explicit content, including indecent imagery. This definition does not cover children under the age of 18 sharing adult pornography or exchanging messages that do not contain sexual images.

Indecent imagery is defined as an image which meets one or more of the following criteria:

Nude or semi-nude sexual posing
A child touching themselves in a sexual way
Any sexual activity involving a child
Someone hurting a child sexually • Sexual activity that involves animals.

“Deep fakes” and “deep nudes” refer to digitally manipulated and AI-generated nudes and semi-nudes.

Consent is defined as having the freedom and capacity to choose to engage in sexual activity. Consent may be given to one sort of sexual activity but not another and can be withdrawn at any time during sexual activity and each time activity occurs. A person only consents to a sexual activity if they agree by choice to that activity and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. Children under the age of 13 can never consent to any sexual activity. The age of consent is 16.

3. Law and Guidance

This policy has due regard to all relevant legislation, statutory and non-statutory guidance including, but not limited to:

Legislation

Children Act 1989
Children Act 2004
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended)
Education Act 2002
Sexual Offences Act 2003
Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by the Serious Crime Act 2015)
Apprenticeships, Children and Learning Act 2009
Equality Act 2010
Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
Data Protection Act 2018
**This only applies to primary schools – delete for secondary schools** The Childcare (Disqualification) and Childcare (Early Years Provision Free of Charge)

(Extended Entitlement) (Amendment) Regulations 2018

Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019
Domestic Abuse Act 2021
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022

Statutory guidance

HM Government (2020) ‘Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation’
HM Government (2013) ‘Multi-agency practice guidelines: Handling cases of Forced

Marriage’

HM Government (2021) ‘Channel Duty Guidance: Protecting people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism’
HM Government (2021) ‘Channel Duty Guidance: Protecting people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism’
Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2023) ‘Multiagency statutory guidance for dealing with forced marriage and Multi-agency practice guidelines: Handling cases of forced marriage’
DfE (2024) ‘Keeping children safe in education’
DfE (2023) ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’
Home Office (2022) ‘Domestic Abuse guidance’
DfE (2023) ‘The Prevent Duty Guidance’
DfE (2018) ‘Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006’
DfE (2023) ‘Academy Trust Handbook 2023’
DfE (2024) ‘Working together to improve school attendance’

Non-statutory guidance

DfE (2015) ‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused’
DfE (2024) ‘Information sharing’
DfE (2024) ‘Academy Trust governance’
DfE (2017) ‘Child sexual exploitation’
DfE (2024) ‘Recruit teachers from overseas’
DfE (2024) ‘Behaviour in schools’
DfE (2021) ‘Teachers’ Standards’
DfE (2024) ‘Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges’

Department of Health and Social Care (2024) ‘Virginity testing and hymenoplasty: multi-agency guidance’
DfE (2024) ‘Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people’

This policy operates in conjunction with the following school policies: School Attendance Policy

▪ Anti-Bullying Policy (child and family friendly version)
▪ Online Safety Policy
▪ Data Protection Policy
▪ Safer Recruitment Policy
▪ Whistleblowing Policy
▪ Allegations of Abuse Against Staff Policy
▪ Staff handbook
▪ Behaviour Policy
▪ Managing pupils with medical conditions policy
▪ Low-level Safeguarding Concerns Policy
▪ Complaints Policy

4. Roles and responsibilities

All staff have a responsibility to:

Consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the pupil with a child-centred approach
Contribute to, and maintain a high safeguarding ethos within the setting, with safeguarding pupils at the forefront of practice, at all times
Ensure ALL children have opportunities to communicate and know that they are listened to and understood
Contribute to providing a curriculum which will equip all children with the skills to keep themselves safe and develop an attitude which will enable them to enter adulthood successfully and reach their full potential
Establish effective, supportive, and positive relationships with parents, carers, pupils and other professionals
Maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned
Be proactive to provide a safe and secure environment in which pupils can learn
Be prepared to identify pupils or families who may benefit from early help
Be aware of the school’s individual procedures that support safeguarding, including all policies, internal reporting procedures, information and engage with training provided
Be aware of the role and identity of the DSL and deputy DSLs and seek them for advice if required
Undertake safeguarding training, including online safety training, during induction and subsequently on a regular basis (at least annually), (which, amongst other things, includes an understanding of the expectations and responsibilities relating to filtering and monitoring) including receiving bulletins, emails and briefings. Staff should undertake Prevent awareness training at least every two years

Be aware of the local early help process and understand their role in it.
Be aware of, and understand, the process for making referrals to Children's Social Care, understanding that anyone can make a referral.
Understand how to make a referral to CSC and/or the police immediately, if at any point there is a risk of immediate serious harm to a child
Be aware of and understand the procedure to follow in the event that a child confides they are being abused, exploited or neglected, in a timely manner
Maintain appropriate levels of confidentiality when dealing with individual cases
Reassure victims that they are being taken seriously, that they will be supported, and that they will be kept safe.
Be aware of safeguarding issues that can put pupils at risk of harm.
Be aware of behaviours linked to safeguarding issues such as drug-taking, alcohol misuse, deliberately missing education, sharing indecent images, extremist behaviours and other signs that pupils may be at risk of harm
Be fully aware of the importance of mental health in relation to safeguarding and that all staff should also be aware that mental health problems can, in some cases, be an indicator that a child has suffered or is at risk of suffering abuse, neglect or exploitation.
Be aware that a pupil may not feel ready or know how to tell someone that they are being abused, exploited or neglected, and/or may not recognise their experiences as harmful.
Avoid victim-blaming attitudes, and challenge it in a professional way if it occurs.
Understand the process for reporting concerns over staff or adult conduct or behaviours.
All staff will be aware of the indicators of abuse, neglect and exploitation and will understand that children can be at risk of harm both inside and outside of the school and home, and online. Staff will also be aware that pupils can be affected by seeing, hearing or experiencing the effects of abuse.

Teachers, including the headteacher, have a responsibility to:

Safeguard pupils’ wellbeing and maintain public trust in the teaching profession as part of their professional duties, as outlined in the ‘Teachers’ Standards’
Report, by law, any disclosures of FGM to the police.

The governing body has a duty to:

Take strategic leadership responsibility for the school’s safeguarding arrangements
Ensure that the school complies with its duties under the above child protection and safeguarding legislation
Ensure that all governors receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training. This should equip them with the knowledge to provide strategic challenge to test and assure themselves that the safeguarding policies and procedures in place are effective. Their training should be regularly updated.”

Ensure that staff read, understand and follow part one and Annex B of KCSIE September 2024.

Ensure a named Governor takes leadership responsibility for safeguarding arrangements and receives appropriate training in the management of safeguarding
Attend Prevent training at least every two years
Appoint an appropriate member of staff from the SLT to the role of DSL and one or more deputy DSLs to provide support. Ensure that they are trained to the same standard as the DSL ensuring that the roles are explicit in their job description(s). Ensure the provision of appropriate support, funding, training, resources, and time to carry out their role effectively.
Support and monitor a whole-school approach to safeguarding; this includes ensuring that safeguarding and child protection are at the forefront and ethos remains consistently high
Ensure systems are in place so that children to confidently report abuse, knowing that their concerns will be treated seriously, and they can safely express their views and give feedback; these systems will be well-promoted, easily understood, and easily accessible. Ensure that the voice of the child is heard and acted upon.
Ensure effective and appropriate policies and procedures are in place
Make sure that pupils are taught about safeguarding, that safeguarding is embedded with the curriculum, including protection against dangers online (including when they are online at home), through teaching and learning opportunities, as part of providing a broad and balanced curriculum
Adhere to statutory responsibilities by conducting pre-employment checks on staff who work with children, following safer recruitment protocol.
Ensure the school has clear systems and processes in place for identifying possible mental health problems in pupils, including clear routes to escalate concerns and clear referral and accountability systems
Ensure that at least one person on any recruitment panel has undertaken safer recruitment training
Ensure that all staff receive relevant safeguarding and child protection training updates, including online safety and expectations and responsibilities relating to filtering and monitoring systems e.g. emails, as required, but at least annually, including a thorough induction
Confirm that there are transparent procedures in place to handle allegations against staff, supply staff, volunteers and contractors, including when the school premises are let out to a third party
Confirm that there are procedures in place to make a referral to the DBS and the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), where appropriate, if a person in regulated activity has been dismissed or removed due to safeguarding concerns or would have been had they not resigned.
Ensure that appropriate disciplinary procedures are in place, as well as policies pertaining to the behaviour of pupils and staff
Ensure that procedures are in place to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, including those in relation to child-on-child abuse.
Appoint a designated teacher to promote the educational achievement of CLA and ensure that this person has undergone appropriate training

Ensure that the appropriate level of recruitment checks are completed on Governors

Create a culture where staff are confident to challenge senior leaders over any safeguarding concerns or lack of action taken
Understand that online safeguarding is an interrelated and running theme through safeguarding practice. Ensure that children are safe online by ensuring that appropriate filters and monitoring systems are in place and regularly review their effectiveness, understanding those children that are potentially at greater risk of harm, along with the proportionality of costs versus safeguarding risks.
Put in place appropriate safeguarding responses for pupils who become absent from education, particularly on repeat occasions and/or for prolonged periods, to help identify any risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation and prevent the risk of escalation in the future
Ensure staff in school are aware of, and policies are personalised to reflect, an understanding of specific issues such as child-on-child abuse and safeguarding children with disabilities and special educational needs.
Partake and complete the S175/175 audit tool on a two yearly cycle (at least) as directed by the Local Authority
Be aware of their obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 (including the Public Sector Equality Duty), and the local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
Ensure there is an effective early help procedure and ensure all staff understand the procedure and their role in it.
Ensure that all practice and procedures operate with the best interests of the child at the centre with a firm child centred approach.
Ensure that the school contributes to multi-agency working in line with the statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023’.

The DSL has a duty to:

The designated safeguarding lead should take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety and understanding the filtering and monitoring systems and processes in place, ensuring their effectiveness) whilst creating a culture of safeguarding throughout the setting, continually raising the profile of safeguarding
Provide advice, support and expertise to other staff on child welfare, safeguarding and child protection matters.
Take part in strategy discussions, inter-agency meetings and Child Protection Conferences and/or support other staff to do so.
Contribute to the assessment of children, and/or support other staff to do so
Ensure that all staff receive appropriate safeguarding training at induction, including online safety and expectations and responsibilities relating to filtering and monitoring. This updated regularly, at least annually
Be available during school hours for staff to discuss any safeguarding concerns
Arrange, alongside the school, adequate and appropriate cover for any activities outside of school hours or terms.

Refer cases:

To CSC where abuse and neglect are suspected, and support staff who make referrals CSC
To the Channel programme where radicalisation concerns arise, and support staff who make referrals to the Channel programme
To the DBS where a person is dismissed or has left due to harm, or risk of harm, to a child.
To the police where a crime may have been committed, in line with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) guidance.

Act as a point of contact with the multi-agency partners
Ensure effective communication and information sharing (when appropriate) between Deputy DSL's/ SLT/Governors/ Head teacher/Staff.
Liaise with staff when deciding whether to make a referral by liaising with relevant agencies so that children’s needs are considered holistically
Liaise with the senior mental health lead and, where available, the Mental Health Support Team, where safeguarding concerns are linked to mental health.
Promote supportive engagement with parents in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, including where families may be facing challenging circumstances
Work with relevant staff, taking lead responsibility for promoting educational outcomes for children, by understanding the lasting impact that adversity and trauma can have on children’s behaviour, mental health and wellbeing, knowing the safeguarding and child protection issues that children in need are experiencing, or have experienced, and identifying the impact that these issues might be having on their attendance, engagement and achievement at school. This includes:
- - Ensuring that the school knows which pupils have or had a social worker
- - Understanding the academic progress and attainment of these pupils
- - Maintaining a culture of high aspirations for these pupils
- - Supporting teachers to provide additional academic support or reasonable adjustments to help these pupils reach their potential
Ensure that child protection files are kept updated and secure, monitoring the quality and accuracy of logs
Ensure that a pupil’s child protection file is transferred as soon as possible, and within five days, when transferring to a new school, and consider any additional information that should be shared to support a child's journey
Ensure all stakeholders understand the Child Protection Policy, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 statutory guidance and internal procedures to report any concerns are transparent and understood by all. Ensure this information is given in induction and at regular intervals/ training
Work with the governing board to ensure the school’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy is reviewed annually, and the procedures are updated and reviewed regularly
Undergo DSL initial training, and update this training with refresher training at least every two years to remain compliant.
Ensure opportunities for further training and opportunities for upskilling are taken
Have due regard to the PACE Code C 2023 in regards to the role of an appropriate adult
Encourage a culture of listening to children promoting the voice of the child Recognise the importance of information sharing, including within school, with other schools and with the safeguarding partners and other agencies by understanding relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR

Undertake Prevent awareness training (at least) every two years
Be provided with appropriate support and supervision in order to carry out the role safely and effectively
Liaise with the Local Authority Personal Advisors for any Care Leavers.
Have due regard to Appendix C of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024– 'The Role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead'

Stoneyholme Primary School recognises that Deputy DSL's must be trained to same standard as the DSL.

The designated teacher has a responsibility for promoting the educational achievement of CLA and previously CLA (PLAC), and for children who have left care through adoption, special guardianship or child arrangement orders or who were adopted from state care outside England and Wales. In our setting, this is Anne Reid.

5. Training and Induction

Stoneyholme Primary School recognise the importance of ongoing staff training and development to keep staff aware of emerging issues and keeping the ethos of safeguarding high. Everybody has a role to play in safeguarding our children and we strive to ensure all staff are well informed and know what to do if they have any concerns. Staff members, governors and volunteers will undergo safeguarding and child protection training at induction, which will be updated on a regular basis and/or whenever there is a change in legislation.

The induction training will cover:

The Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
The Child-On-Child Abuse procedures
The Staff Code of Conduct
Part one and Annex B of ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE 2024)
The Behaviour Policy
The School Attendance Policy, including the safeguarding response to children who have unexplained absences or go missing from education
Appropriate child protection and safeguarding training, including online safety training • Information about the role and identity of the DSL and deputy DSL(s) • How to record concerns in your setting.

▪ Records will be kept of all inductions

Following induction, Stoneyholme Primary School recognises the need to ensure continual, effective training to staff and other stakeholders. We will ensure:-

ALL staff, Governors and volunteers will receive Safeguarding Training (at least) annually
The DSL/s will provide ALL staff, volunteers and governors with regular safeguarding updates
ALL staff, volunteers and governors will read and show an understanding of any updates that are provided
DSLs will attend DSL training every 2 years and update their knowledge, skills and understanding of relevant safeguarding issues on a regular basis
The DSL, along with Governors and all staff will undertake Prevent awareness training (at least) every two years
That at least one person on any recruitment panel has undertaken safer recruitment training
ALL staff, volunteers and governors will undertake any additional specialised training on matters such as Child Sexual Exploitation, Prevent, Child-on-Child abuse, Online Safety, FGM etc as is deemed necessary by the SLT/DSL and that is particularly relevant to the context and needs of the setting
Any staff member will discuss any specific training requirements or gaps in knowledge or understanding with the DSL/s
Staff will receive opportunities to contribute towards and inform the safeguarding arrangements in the school
Detailed records will be held of staff safeguarding training and ensure that no training becomes out of date.

6. Multi-Agency Working

The school contributes to multi-agency working as part of its statutory duty. The school is aware of and will follow the local safeguarding arrangements. Further details on www.safeguardingpartnership.org.uk

The school will be fully engaged, involved, and share information with local safeguarding arrangements. Once the school is named as a relevant agency by local safeguarding partners, it will follow its statutory duty to cooperate with the published arrangements in the same way as other relevant agencies.

The school will work with Children & Family Well – Being Team, CSC, the Police, Health services and other relevant partners and agencies for the benefit of families and children ensuring contribution to multi-agency plans to provide additional support.

Where a need for early help is identified, the school will allow access for CSC from the host LA and, where appropriate, a placing LA, for that LA to conduct (or consider whether to conduct) a section 17 or 47 assessment.

Stoneyholme Primary School also recognises the particular importance of inter-agency working in identifying and preventing CSE and CCE.

Information sharing

The school recognises the importance of proactive information sharing between professionals and local agencies in order to effectively meet pupils’ needs and identify any need for early help.

Considering the above, staff will be aware that whilst the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 place a duty on schools to process personal information fairly and lawfully, they also allow for information to be stored and shared for safeguarding purposes – data protection regulations do not act as a barrier to sharing information where failure to do so would result in the pupil being placed at risk of harm.

Staff members will ensure that fear of sharing information does not stand in the way of their responsibility to promote the welfare and safety of pupils. If staff members are in doubt about sharing information, they will speak to the DSL or deputy DSL(s).

7. Early help

Early help means providing support as soon as the need emerges, at any point in a child’s life. Staff at Stoneyholme Primary School recognise that any professional can provide early help. Any pupil or family may benefit from early help, but staff will be alert to the potential need specifically for early help for pupils who:

Are disabled, have certain health conditions, or have specific additional needs
Have SEND, regardless of whether they have a statutory EHC plan • Have mental health needs
Are young carers.
Show signs of being drawn into anti-social or criminal behaviour, including gang involvement and association with organised crime groups or county lines
Are frequently missing or going missing from care or from home
Are at risk of modern slavery, trafficking, or sexual or criminal exploitation
Are at risk of being radicalised
Is misusing drugs or alcohol
Have family members in custody, or are affected by parental offending
Are in a family circumstance presenting challenges for them, such as drug and alcohol misuse, adult mental health problems, or domestic abuse
Have returned home to their family from care • Are at risk of HBA, such as FGM or forced marriage.
Are privately fostered.
Are displaying harmful sexual behaviours which may pose a risk to other children and themselves
Are persistently absent from education, including persistent absences for part of the school day, or not in receipt of full-time education.
Show any other early signs of abuse, neglect any other identified reason not listed above that requires extra support or intervention to improve outcomes for families and children
Have experienced multiple suspensions and are at risk of, or have been, permanently excluded from school, alternative provision or a PRU.
Have experienced bereavement.
Viewing problematic or inappropriate online content or developing inappropriate relationships online.

The DSL will take the lead where early help is appropriate and consent has been gained. This includes liaising with other agencies and setting up an inter-agency assessment as appropriate. The local early help process will be followed as required to help provide the right, effective support at the right time.

Early Help Assessment - information for professionals - Lancashire County Council

Staff may be required to support other agencies and professionals in an early help assessment, in some cases acting as the lead practitioner. Any such cases will be kept under constant review assessing the impact of the support.

We therefore ensure that:

All staff and volunteers can identify the risk factors that indicate a family or pupil may benefit from Early Help and can follow school procedures to share this with the DSL
DSLs or SENCO will undertake a Family Early Help Assessment, when appropriate, to identify what Early Help is required
DSLs will signpost and refer to appropriate support agencies
DSLs will lead on TAF meetings where is it appropriate for them to do so
DSLs will follow the local safeguarding processes and refer to Working Well with Children and Families in Lancashire guidance using the Continuum of Need.

8. Abuse and neglect

Abuse is defined as a form of maltreatment of a child which involves inflicting harm or failing to act to prevent harm. Harm can include ill treatment that is not physical as well as the impact of witnessing the ill treatment of others – this can be particularly relevant, for example, in relation to the impact on children of all forms of domestic abuse. Children may be abused in a family, institutional or community setting by those known to them or by others, e.g. via the internet. Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. Children may be abused by one or multiple adults or other children.

Physical abuse is defined as a form of abuse which may involve actions such as hitting, shaking, throwing, biting, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical abuse can also be caused when a parent fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child. Staff are aware of Female Genital Mutilation, a form of Physical abuse.

Emotional abuse is defined as the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. This may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless, unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may include not giving the child the opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them, ‘making fun’ of what they say or how they communicate. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children, such as interactions that are beyond their developmental capability, overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child from participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying, including cyberbullying, causing the child to frequently feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, but it may also occur alone.

Sexual abuse is defined as abuse that involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving violence, and regardless of whether the child is aware of what is happening. This may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration, or nonpenetrative acts, such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside of clothing. It may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse can be perpetrated by people of any gender and age. Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse.

Neglect is defined as the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of a child’s health or development. This may involve a parent or carer failing to provide a child with adequate food, clothing or shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); failing to protect a child from physical or emotional harm or danger; failing to ensure adequate supervision (including through the use of inappropriate caregivers); or failing to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

All staff will be aware of the indicators of abuse and neglect and be vigilant and always raise concerns with the DSL. All staff, especially the DSL and deputy DSL(s), will be aware that safeguarding incidents and/or behaviours can be associated with contextual factors outside the school and/or can occur between children outside of these environments; this includes being aware that pupils can at risk of abuse or exploitation in situations outside their families (extra-familial harms.)

All staff will be aware that technology is a significant component in many safeguarding and wellbeing issues, including online abuse, cyberbullying, radicalisation and the sharing of indecent images.

ALL staff understand that children who perpetrate abuse or display harmful behaviour should be treated as victims first and foremost and supported in the same way a victim of abuse would be supported - Risk Assessments will be undertaken where a child's behaviour poses a risk to others, themselves or the environment.
ALL staff and volunteers understand that there are specific and emerging ways in which children can be abused and are aware of these specific issues, reporting any concerns, in the appropriate manner to the DSL.

Specific issues include (but are not limited to):

9. Domestic abuse

In line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, domestic abuse is defined as abusive behaviour of a person towards another person where both are aged 16 or over and are personally connected. Abusive behaviour includes physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, or another form of abuse.

The school will recognise the serious, long lasting emotional impact of domestic abuse on children, as victims in their own right, if they see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse. All staff will be aware of the signs of domestic abuse and follow the appropriate safeguarding procedures where concerns arise.

Stoneyholme Primary School has a commitment to Operation Encompass, the information sharing agreement between police and school settings following police involvement in an incident of domestic abuse, or other potential crimes, and informing all stakeholders of the initiative.

The lead person for Operation Encompass is Miss Wilkinson (Children & family Support Lead).

www.operationencompass.org

10. Homelessness

The DSL and deputy DSL(s) are aware of the contact details and referral routes into the Local Housing Authority so that concerns and support over homelessness can be raised as early as possible. Indicators that a family may be at risk of homelessness include:

Household debt
Rent arrears
Domestic abuse
Anti-social behaviour
Any mention of a family moving home because “they have to” or frequent moves. Referrals to the Local Housing Authority do not replace referrals to CSC where a child is being harmed or at risk of harm. For 16- and 17-year-olds, homelessness may not be family-based and referrals to CSC will be made as necessary where concerns are raised.

11. Children absent from school

Staff will be aware a child being absent from school is a potential indicator of abuse or neglect and, as such, these pupils are particularly at risk of being victims of harm, sexual and criminal exploitation, forced marriage, female genital mutilation or radicalisation. Staff will monitor pupils that are absent from school, particularly on repeat occasions, and report them to the DSL following normal safeguarding procedures, and in accordance with the School Attendance Policy. The school will inform the LA of any pupil who fails to attend regularly or has been absent without the school’s permission for a continuous period of 10 school days or more, in accordance with LA protocol.

Where reasonably possible schools and colleges will hold more than one emergency contact number for their pupils and students.

Stoneyholme primary School will follow local guidance when children go missing from home https://www.safeguardingpartnership.org.uk/missing-from-home-protocol-trigger-plan/

12. Children attending an approved educational activity

An approved educational activity is where a pupil is attending another school at which they are registered or taking part in off-site activity such as field trips, educational visits, work experience or unregistered alternative provision.

Pupils can only be recorded as attending an off-site activity if it is approved by the school, of an educational nature and supervised by someone authorised by the school. Ultimately, school are responsible for the safeguarding and welfare of pupils taking part in an off-site educational activity so it would be reasonable to expect that the school would only authorise someone who was answerable to the school to supervise an activity. Such activities include:

Attending a place other than the school
Participating in a supervised sporting activity
Educational visit or trip
Work experience.

All relevant school policies continue to apply throughout any approved educational activity. Any activity which is approved will be risk assessed (where relevant) and school will ensure that attendance at any activity is monitored and robust communication is agreed with the provider/accompanying adults.

Remote education is not considered an approved educational activity. As set out in the DfE’s guidance on ‘Providing remote education’, pupils who are absent from school and receiving remote education will be recorded as absent using the most appropriate absence code.

School will monitor and record a pupil’s engagement with remote education, but this is not formally tracked in the attendance register.

13. Child Criminal exploitation (CCE)

Child criminal exploitation is defined as a form of abuse where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into taking part in criminal activity, for any of the following reasons:

In exchange for something the victim needs or wants
For the financial advantage or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator
Through violence or the threat of violence (this could be online or through technology)

Specific forms of CCE can include:

Being forced or manipulated into transporting drugs or money through county lines.
Working in cannabis factories.
Shoplifting or pickpocketing.
Committing vehicle crime.
Committing, or threatening to commit, serious violence to others.

The school will recognise that pupils involved in CCE are victims themselves, regardless of whether they have committed crimes, and even if the criminal activity appears consensual. The school will also recognise that pupils of any gender are at risk of CCE.

School staff will be aware of the indicators that a pupil is the victim of CCE, including:

Associating with other children involved in exploitation
Suffering from changes in emotional wellbeing
Misusing drugs or alcohol
Going missing for periods of time or regularly coming home late
Regularly missing school or education
Appearing with unexplained gifts, money or new possessions.

Criminal exploitation of children can include County Lines. This is a geographically widespread form of harm that is a typical feature of county lines criminal activity: drug networks or criminal networks / gangs groom and exploit children and young people to carry drugs and money into one or more areas. Key to identifying potential involvement in county lines are missing episodes, when the victim may have been trafficked or the purpose of transporting drugs and a referral to the National Referral Mechanism should be considered in addition to normal safeguarding procedures. School would liaise with a 'First responder Organisation' as details in part 4 of the guidance, to support and request a referral to the NRM.

As well as the general indicators for CCE, school staff will be aware of the specific indicators that a pupil may be involved in county lines, including:

Going missing and subsequently being found in areas away from their home.
Having been the victim or perpetrator of serious violence, e.g. knife crime.
Receiving requests for drugs via a phone line, moving drugs, collecting money
Being found in accommodation they have no connection
Owing a ‘debt bond’ to their exploiters
Having their bank account used to facilitate drug dealing.

14. Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

Child Sexual Exploitation is defined as a form of sexual abuse where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into sexual activity, for any of the following reasons:

In exchange for something the victim needs or wants
For the financial advantage, increased status or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator
Through violence or the threat of violence, this could be online or through technology.

The school will recognise that CSE can occur over time or be a one-off occurrence, and may happen without the pupil’s immediate knowledge, e.g. through others sharing videos or images of them on social media. The school will recognise that CSE can affect any pupil who has been coerced into engaging in sexual activities, even if the activity appears consensual; this includes pupils aged 16 and above who can legally consent to sexual activity. The school will also recognise that pupils may not realise they are being exploited and they believe they are in a genuine romantic relationship.

School staff will be aware of the key indicators that a pupil is the victim of CSE, including:

Appearing with unexplained gifts, money or new possessions.
Associating with other children involved in exploitation.
Suffering from changes in emotional wellbeing.
Misusing drugs or alcohol.
Going missing for periods of time or regularly coming home late.
Regularly missing school or education or not taking part.
Having older boyfriends or girlfriends.
Suffering from sexually transmitted infections.
Displaying sexual behaviours beyond expected sexual development.
Becoming pregnant.

All staff will consider the language and terms used when raising concerns and providing ongoing support to pupils who have experienced abuse through exploitation to ensure victims are not unintentionally blamed or seen as active participants in their own abuse.

Where CSE, or the risk of it, is suspected, staff will discuss the case with the DSL. If after discussion a concern remains, local safeguarding procedures will be triggered.

15. Concealed and Denied pregnancy

A concealed pregnancy is when a woman knows she is pregnant but does not tell anyone; or when she tells a professional but conceals the fact that she is not accessing antenatal care; or when she tells another person or persons and together they conceal the fact from all agencies. A denied pregnancy is when an expectant mother is unaware of or unable to accept the existence of her pregnancy. Physical changes to the body may not be present or be misconstrued; they may be intellectually aware of the pregnancy but continue to think, feel and behave as though they were not pregnant. There may be a number of reasons why a pregnancy is concealed or denied, including, but not limited to; fear of stigma or shame, in cases of rape, sexual or domestic abuse, forced or sham marriage, in cases of rape, sexual or domestic abuse, forced or sham marriage, fear of a child being removed or asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who may be reluctant to come to the attention of authorities. In some cases the woman may be truly unaware that she is pregnant. In some cases an expectant mother may be in denial of her pregnancy.

Where there is a suspicion of a concealed or denied pregnancy, the school will follow the procedures set out by our local Safeguarding Children Partnership arrangements.

Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (proceduresonline.com)

Further training is available for staff regarding concealed or denied pregnancy

Concealed-and-Denied-Pregnancy-2020-7MB.pdf (lancashiresafeguarding.org.uk)

16. Modern slavery

Modern slavery encompasses human trafficking and slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour. This can include CCE, CSE, and other forms of exploitation.

All staff will be aware of and alert to the signs that a pupil may be the victim of modern slavery. Staff will also be aware of the support available to victims of modern slavery and how to refer them to the National Referral Mechanism. (From The Modern Slavery Act 2015, Section 52) The public authority bears this obligation where it has ‘reasonable grounds to believe that a person may be a victim of slavery or human trafficking’: School would liaise with a 'First responder Organisation' as details in part 4 of the guidance, to support and request a referral to the NRM.

17. FGM

FGM is defined as all procedures involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs. FGM is illegal in the UK and a form of child abuse with long-lasting harmful consequences.

All staff will be alert to the possibility of a pupil being at risk of FGM, or already having suffered FGM. If staff are worried about someone who is at risk of FGM or who has been a victim of

FGM, they are required to share this information with CSC and/or the police. The school’s procedures relating to managing cases of FGM and protecting pupils will reflect multi-agency working arrangements.

As outlined in Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015), teachers are legally required to report to the police any discovery, whether through disclosure by the victim or visual evidence, of FGM on a pupil under the age of 18. Teachers failing to report such cases may face disciplinary action. Teachers will not examine pupils, and so it is rare that they will see any visual evidence, but they must personally report to the police where an act of FGM appears to have been carried out. Unless the teacher has a good reason not to, they should also consider and discuss any such case with the DSL and involve CSC as appropriate. NB: This does not apply to any suspected or at-risk cases, nor if the individual is over the age of 18. In such cases, local safeguarding procedures will be followed.

All staff will be aware of the indicators that pupils may be at risk of FGM. While some individual indicators they may not indicate risk, the presence of two or more indicators could signal a risk to the pupil. It is important to note that the pupil may not yet be aware of the practice or that it may be conducted on them, so staff will be sensitive when broaching the subject.

Indicators that a pupil may be at heightened risk of undergoing FGM include:

The socio-economic position of the family and their level of integration into UK society
The pupil coming from a community known to adopt FGM
Any girl with a mother or sister who has been subjected to FGM
Any girl withdrawn from PSHE
Travel abroad or a long holiday with relatives to a country known to practise FGM.

FGM is included in the definition of honour-based’ abuse (HBA) which involves crimes that have been committed to defend the honour of the family and/or community. All forms of HBA are forms of abuse and will be treated and escalated as such. Staff will be alert to the signs of HBA, including concerns that a child is at risk of HBA, or has already suffered from HBA, and will consult with the DSL who will activate local safeguarding procedures if concerns arise.

18. Forced marriage

Forced marriage is defined as a marriage that is entered into without the full and free consent of one or both parties, and where violence, threats or any other form of coercion is used to cause a person to enter into the marriage. Threats can be physical, emotional, or psychological. A lack of full and free consent can be where a person does not consent or where they cannot consent, e.g. due to some forms of SEND. Forced marriage is a crime in the UK and a form of HBA.

Staff who have any concerns regarding a pupil who may have undergone, is currently undergoing, or is at risk of forced marriage will speak to the DSL and local safeguarding procedures will be followed – this could include referral to CSC, the police or the Forced Marriage Unit. It will be made clear to staff members that they should not approach the pupil’s family or those with influence in the community, without the express consent of the pupil, as this will alert them to the concerns and may place the pupil in further danger.

19. Extremism & Radicalisation

For the purposes of this policy, “extremism” is defined by the government as the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to:

negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; or
undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights; or
intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in (1) or (2)

For the purposes of this policy, “radicalisation” refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups.

For the purposes of this policy, “terrorism” refers to an action that endangers or causes serious violence to a person or people, serious damage to property, or seriously interferes with or disrupts an electronic system. The use or threat of these actions must be designed to influence the government or intimidate the public, and be made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.

Protecting pupils from the risk of radicalisation is part of the school’s wider safeguarding duties. The school will actively assess the risk of pupils being radicalised and drawn into extremism and/or terrorism. Staff will be alert to changes in pupils’ behaviour which could indicate that they may need help or protection. Staff will use their professional judgement to identify pupils who may be at risk of radicalisation and act appropriately, which may include contacting the DSL or making a Prevent referral. The school will work with local safeguarding arrangements as appropriate to ensure awareness of local & national incidents that may heighten the activity of extreme groups or cause increased curiosity of children.

The school will ensure that they engage with parents and families, as they are in a key position to spot signs of radicalisation. In doing so, the school will assist and advise family members who raise concerns and provide information for support mechanisms. Any concerns over radicalisation will be discussed with the pupil’s parents, unless the school has reason to believe that the child would be placed at risk as a result.

The DSL and the Prevent Lead will undertake the Lancashire Prevent partnership in depth training, available via the Lancashire Prevent partnership website. www.lancashirepreventpartnership.org.uk. All other staff should complete the online Home Office Prevent training as a minimum.

The DSL and the Prevent Lead are able to provide advice and support to other staff on how to protect pupils against the risk of radicalisation and will ensure that all staff and governors have received appropriate and up-to date training that is refreshed at least every two years.

The Online Safety Policy will support the safeguarding of children online by ensuring they cannot access terrorist and extremist material when using the internet and that suitable filtering and monitoring software and supervision is in place. Systems are regularly tested using technology such as the testfiltering.com filter checking utility.

DSLs understand when it is appropriate to make a referral to the Channel Panel and are aware of how to do so. 'Notice. Check. Share.'

The Prevent duty

Under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, all schools are subject to a duty to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”, known as the Prevent duty, forming part of the school’s wider safeguarding obligations.

Stoneyholme primary School will ensure that ALL Staff, Governors and volunteers are informed and have 'due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’, known as the ‘Prevent Duty' and follow guidance from www.lancashirepreventpartnership.org.uk

Prevent referral process -

Prevent Lead	Lisa Wilkinson (Children & family Support lead)
Prevent Governor Lead	Aneesa Bibi
Prevent Curriculum Lead	PSHCE Lead

20. Private fostering

Where a period of UK homestay lasts 28 days or more for a child aged under 16, or under 18 for a child with SEND, this may amount to private fostering under the Children Act 1989. Where the school becomes aware of a pupil being privately fostered, they will notify CSC as soon as possible to allow the LA/CSC to conduct any necessary checks.

21. Pupils with family members in prison

Pupils with a family member in prison will be offered pastoral support as necessary. They will receive a copy of ‘Are you a young person with a family member in prison?’ from Action for Prisoners’ Families where appropriate and allowed the opportunity to discuss questions and concerns.

22. Child-on-Child abuse including sexualised abuse

Child-on-Child abuse is defined as abuse between children under 18 years of age.

Stoneyholme primary School has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, including child-onchild abuse.

Stoneyholme primary School will refer to the specific guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024 Part five: Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment and Lancashire Procedures. 5.31 Peer Abuse (proceduresonline.com)

All staff will be aware that child-on-child abuse can occur between pupils of any age and gender, both inside and outside of school, as well as online. All staff will be aware of the indicators of child-on-child abuse, how to identify it, and how to respond to reports. All staff will also recognise that even if no cases have been reported, this is not an indicator that childon-child abuse is not occurring. All staff will speak to the DSL if they have any concerns about child-on-child abuse.

All staff will understand the importance of challenge inappropriate behaviour between peers and will not tolerate abuse as “banter” or “part of growing up”.

Child-on-child abuse can be manifested in many different ways, including:

Bullying, including cyberbullying and prejudice-based or discriminatory bullying.
Abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers.
Physical abuse – this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages physical abuse.
Sexual violence – this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages sexual violence.
Sexual harassment, including online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a broader pattern of abuse.
Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent.
The consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos.
Upskirting.
Initiation and hazing-type violence and rituals, which can include activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group, and may also include an online element.

All staff will be clear as to the school’s policy and procedures regarding child-on-child abuse and the role they have to play in preventing it and responding where they believe a child may be at risk from it.

All staff will be made aware of the heightened vulnerability of pupils with SEND, who evidence suggests, are more likely to be abused than their peers. Staff will not assume that possible indicators of abuse relate to the pupil’s SEND and will always explore indicators further.

All staff will be made aware of the heightened vulnerability of LGBTQ+ pupils, who evidence suggests, are also more likely to be targeted by their peers. In some cases, pupils who are perceived to be LGBTQ+, regardless of whether they are LGBTQ+, can be just as vulnerable to abuse as LGBTQ+ pupils. The school’s response to sexual violence and sexual harassment between pupils of the same sex will be equally as robust as it is for incidents between children of the opposite sex.

Pupils will be made aware of how to raise concerns or make a report and how any reports will be handled. This includes the process for reporting concerns about friends or peers. Pupils will also be reassured that they will be taken seriously, be supported, and kept safe. This process will be continually reviewed by the DSL / SLT.

The school’s procedures for managing allegations of child-on-child abuse are outlined in the School Behaviour Policy.

Stoneyholme Primary School & DSL will consider:

the wishes of the victim in terms of how they want to proceed
the nature of the alleged incident
the ages of the children involved
the development stages of the children involved
any power imbalance between the children
is the incident a one-off or a sustained pattern of abuse
are there ongoing risks to the victim, other children, school or college staff
contextual safeguarding issues.

Following a report of sexual violence, the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) will make an immediate risk and needs assessment, considering:

the victim
the alleged perpetrator
all other children (and if appropriate adult students and staff)
Risk assessments (if required) will be recorded and kept under review as a minimum termly
Refer to Guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education Sept 2024, Part 5.

Where relevant, risk assessments will be written, informed by the voice of the children involved, consulted on with parents and shared on a need to know basis with relevant staff.

and kept under review as a minimum, termly.

23. Serious violence

Through training, all staff will be made aware of the indicators which may signal a pupil is at risk from, or is involved with, serious violent crime. These indicators include, but are not limited to:

Increased absence from school.
A change in friendships.
Relationships with older individuals or groups.
A significant decline in academic performance.
Signs of self-harm.
A significant change in wellbeing.
Signs of assault.
Unexplained injuries.
Unexplained gifts or new possessions.

Staff will be made aware of some of the most significant risk factors that could increase a pupil’s vulnerability to becoming involved in serious violence. These risk factors include, but are not limited to:

Being male.
Having been frequently absent from school.
Having been permanently excluded from school.
Having experienced child maltreatment or trauma.
Having been involved in offending, such as theft or robbery.

Staff members who suspect a pupil may be vulnerable to, or involved in, serious violent crime will immediately report their concerns to the DSL.

24. Online Safety

Stoneyholme primary School will adhere to the Online Safety Policy at all times and is committed to keeping children safe online. The school recognises that addressing online safety issues should form an integral part of the school’s safeguarding arrangements. As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, all pupils will be made aware of online risks and taught how to stay safe online.

The school will ensure that suitable filtering systems are in place on ALL ICT equipment to mitigate opportunities for children to access inappropriate material. This system will be regularly monitored and reviewed with any inappropriate behaviours or searches being followed up appropriately.

Further information regarding the school’s approach to online safety can be found in the Online Safety Policy.

When school become aware of an online safety issue that has occurred outside of school, it is managed in accordance with the Online Safety Policy and School Behaviour Policy.

Staff will be aware that ongoing in-person monitoring is required in addition to the software in place as it is vital staff don’t rely solely on IT systems as this may leave some children vulnerable.

Staff will be aware of the filtering and monitoring systems in place and will know how to escalate concerns where they are identified. Staff will be made aware of their expectations and responsibilities relating to filtering and monitoring systems during their induction.

Personal electronic devices

The use of personal electronic devices, including mobile phones, smartwatches and cameras, by staff and pupils is closely monitored by the school, in accordance with the Staff Code of Conduct within the Staff Handbook.

Where photographs and videos will involve pupils who are CLA, adopted pupils, or pupils for whom there are security concerns, the headteacher will liaise with the DSL to determine the steps involved. The DSL will, in known cases of pupils who are CLA or who have been adopted, liaise with the pupils’ social workers, carers or adoptive parents to assess the needs and risks associated with the pupils.

Staff will report any concerns about pupils’ or other staff members’ use of personal electronic devices to the DSL, following the appropriate procedures. Stoneyholme primary School is committed to keeping pupils safe by ensuring that electronic devices such as cameras, phones and tablets are used in an appropriate manner.

School will therefore ensure that:

informed parental consent is obtained to take and use photographs and/or videos of children, for use in school, to market the school or to share on social media / internet
staff, visitors, volunteers and students do not use their own mobile phones or devices to take or record any images of children.

Upskirting

Under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, it is an offence to operate equipment for the purpose of upskirting. “Operating equipment” includes enabling, or securing, activation by another person without that person’s knowledge, e.g. a motion-activated camera.

Upskirting will not be tolerated by the school. Any incidents of upskirting will be reported to the DSL, who will then decide on the next steps to take, which may include police involvement.

25. Sharing nude and semi-nude images

Formerly referred to as ‘Sexting’, sharing nudes and semi-nudes is defined as the sending or posting of nude or semi-nude images, videos or live streams online by young people under the age of 18. This could be via social media, gaming platforms, chat apps or forums. (UKCIS, 2020)

UKCIS – Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings (UKCIS, 2024) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sharing-nudes-and-semi-nudes-advice-foreducation-settings-working-with-children-and-young-people

The school will ensure that all staff are aware to treat the sharing of indecent images as a safeguarding concern.

Staff will receive appropriate training regarding child sexual development and will understand the difference between sexual behaviour that is considered normal and expected for the age of the pupil, and sexual behaviour that is inappropriate and harmful. Staff will receive appropriate training around how to deal with such instances in the school community, including understanding motivations, assessing risks posed to pupils depicted in the images and how and when to report.

Staff will be aware that creating, possessing, and distributing indecent imagery of children is a criminal offence, regardless of whether the imagery is created, possessed, and distributed by the individual depicted; however, staff will ensure that pupils are not unnecessarily criminalised.

Where a member of staff becomes aware of an incidence of sharing nudes/semi-nudes that involves indecent images of a pupil, they will refer this to the DSL as soon as possible. Where a pupil confides in a staff member about the circulation of indecent imagery, depicting them or someone else, the staff member will:

Refrain from viewing, copy, printing, sharing, storing or saving the imagery.

Tell the DSL immediately if they accidentally view an indecent image and seek support.
Explain to the pupil that the incident will need to be reported.
Respond positively to the pupil without blaming or shaming anyone involved, and reassuring them that they can receive support from the DSL.
Report the incident to the DSL.

The DSL will attempt to understand what the image contains without viewing it and the context surrounding its creation and distribution – they will categorise the incident into one of two categories:

Aggravated: incidents involving additional or abusive elements beyond the creation, sending or possession of nudes and semi-nudes;- including where there is an adult involved, where there is an intent to harm the pupil or where the images are used recklessly.
Experimental: incidents involving the creation and sending of nudes and semi-nudes with no adult involvement, no apparent intent to harm or reckless misuse.

Where it is necessary to view the imagery, e.g. if this is the only way to make a decision about whether to inform other agencies, the DSL should:

never copy, print, share, store or save them; this is illegal.
discuss the decision with the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team
make sure viewing is undertaken by the DSL (or equivalent) or another member of the safeguarding team with delegated authority from the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team
make sure viewing takes place with another member of staff present in the room, ideally the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team.
wherever possible, make sure viewing takes place on the premises of the education setting, ideally in the headteacher or a member of the senior leadership team’s office
make sure wherever possible that they are viewed by a staff member of the same sex as the child or young person in the images
record how and why the decision was made to view the imagery in the safeguarding or child protection records, including who was present, why the nudes or semi-nudes were viewed and any subsequent actions.
if any devices need to be taken and passed onto the police, the device(s) should be confiscated and the police should be called.

The above summarised points are explained in further detail with important supporting guidance in the UKCIS guidance – Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings.

Sextortion

There has been a large increase in reports of children and young people being forced into paying money or meeting another financial demand after an offender has threatened to release nudes or semi-nudes of them. This is financially motivated sexual extortion, a type of online blackmail often referred to as ‘sextortion’.It is a form of child sexual abuse. Lisa Wilkinson will ensure that staff are aware that this can happen and the school will follow guidance issued by the National Crime Agency.

26. Context of safeguarding incidents

Safeguarding incidents can occur outside of school and can be associated with outside factors. All staff, particularly the DSL and deputy DSL(s), will always consider the context of safeguarding incidents. Assessment of pupils’ behaviour will consider whether there are wider environmental factors that are a threat to their safety and/or welfare. The school will provide as much contextual information as possible when making referrals to CSC/CFW or external agencies.

27. Pupils potentially at greater risk of harm

Stoneyholme primary School recognises that some groups of pupils can face additional safeguarding challenges, and understands that further barriers may exist when determining abuse and neglect in these groups of pupils. Additional considerations for managing safeguarding concerns and incidents amongst these groups are outline below.

Pupils who need social workers

Pupils may need social workers due to safeguarding or welfare needs. These needs can leave pupils vulnerable to further harm and educational disadvantage.

As a matter of routine, the DSL within each school will hold and use information from their LA about whether a pupil has a social worker in order to make decisions in the best interests of the pupil’s safety, welfare, and educational outcomes.

Where a pupil needs a social worker, this will inform decisions about safeguarding, e.g. responding to unauthorised absence, and promoting welfare and educational outcomes, e.g. considering the provision pastoral or academic support and support with behaviour.

Home-educated children

Parents may choose elective home education (EHE) for their children. In some cases, EHE can mean that children are less visible to the services needed to safeguard and support them.

In line with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006,] Stoneyholme primary School will ensure it informs their LA of all deletions from the admissions register when a pupil is taken off roll.

Where a parent has expressed their intention to remove a pupil from a school within the trust for EHE, the school and other key professionals, will coordinate a meeting with the parent, where possible, before the final decision has been made, particularly if the pupil has SEND, is vulnerable, and/or has a social worker.

Where children are removed from roll for Elective Home Education and there are safeguarding concerns, school will ensure that concerns are shared with the LA.

CLA

Children most commonly become looked after because of abuse and/or neglect. Because of this, they can be at potentially greater risk in relation to safeguarding. Previously CLA, also known as care leavers, can also remain vulnerable after leaving care.

The school will ensure that the appropriate staff have the information they need, such as:

Looked after legal status, i.e. whether they are looked after under voluntary arrangements with consent of parents, or on an interim or full care order. • Contact arrangements with parents or those with parental responsibility.
Care arrangements and the levels of authority delegated to the carer by the authority looking after the pupil.

Pupils with SEND

When managing safeguarding in relation to pupils with SEND, staff within the trust and its schools will be aware of the following:

Certain indicators of abuse, such as behaviour, mood and injury, may relate to the pupil’s disability without further exploration; however, it should never be assumed that a pupil’s indicators relate only to their disability
Pupils with SEND can be disproportionally impacted by issues such as bullying, without outwardly showing any signs
Communication barriers may exist, as well as difficulties in overcoming these barriers

When reporting concerns or making referrals for pupils with SEND, the above factors will always be taken into consideration. When managing a safeguarding issue relating to a pupil with SEND, the DSL will liaise with the school’s SENCO, as well as the pupil’s parents where appropriate, to ensure that the pupil’s needs are met effectively.

LGBTQ+ pupils

The fact that a pupil may be LGBTQ+ is not in itself an inherent risk factor for harm; however, staff will be aware that LGBTQ+ pupils can be targeted by other individuals. Staff will also be aware that, in some cases, a pupil who is perceived by others to be LGBTQ+ (whether they are or not) can be just as vulnerable as pupils who identify as LGBTQ+.

Staff will also be aware that the risks to these pupils can be compounded when they do not have a trusted adult with whom they can speak openly with. All staff will endeavour to reduce the additional barriers faced by these pupils and provide a safe space for them to speak out and share any concerns they have.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma

We acknowledge that children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and trauma may be at increased risk of developing health and social difficulties.

All staff will be made aware of the long lasting impact of experiencing adversity and the lasting effect trauma can have on a child’s development.

Where a pupil is known to have experienced trauma, appropriate arrangements will be made to provide support based on the needs of the pupil and in line with all relevant guidance and policies. This may include close multi-agency working with external services.

28. Extracurricular activities and clubs and use of school premises by external organisations

Extra-curricular activities and clubs hosted by external bodies, e.g. charities or companies, will work in collaboration with the school to effectively safeguard pupils and adhere to local safeguarding arrangements.

Staff and volunteers running extracurricular activities and clubs are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and promote the welfare of pupils. Paid and volunteer staff understand how they should respond to child protection concerns and how to make a referral to CSC or the police, if necessary.

Stoneyholme primary School will always consider safeguarding arrangements when an extracurricular activity or club is arranged in view of DSL availability or ensuring that a transfer of control document has been completed for external agencies and the school is satisfied that the agency has appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place.

Where the governing board/body hires or rents out school facilities or the school premises to organisations or individuals, e.g. for providers to run community or extracurricular activities, it will ensure that appropriate safeguarding arrangements are in place to keep pupils safe. The school will refer to the DfE’s guidance on keeping children safe in out-of-school settings in these circumstances.

Where the governing board provides the activities under the direct supervision or management of school staff, child protection arrangements will apply. Where activities are provided separately by another body, this may not be the case; therefore, the governing board will seek assurance that the body concerned has appropriate safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures in place, including inspecting these as needed. The governing board will also ensure that there are arrangements in place to liaise with the school on these matters where appropriate. The governing board will ensure safeguarding requirements are included in any transfer of control agreement, i.e. a lease or hire agreement, as a condition of use and occupation of the premises, and specify that failure to comply with this would lead to termination of the agreement.

29. Alternative provision

The school will remain responsible for a pupil’s welfare during their time at an alternative provider. When placing a pupil with an alternative provider, the school will obtain or conduct written checks that the provider has conducted all relevant safeguarding checks on staff, have effective policies and ensure clear communication procedures in place in view of attendance. The checks will be regularly updated and stored centrally.

30. Managing referrals

All staff members, in particular the DSL, will be aware of the LA’s arrangements in place for managing referrals. The DSL will provide staff members with clarity and support where needed. When making a referral to CSC or other external agencies, information will be shared in line with confidentiality requirements and will only be shared where necessary to do so.

The DSL will work alongside external agencies, maintaining continuous liaison, including multi-agency liaison where appropriate, in order to ensure the wellbeing of the pupils involved. The DSL will work closely with the police to ensure the school does not jeopardise any criminal proceedings, and to obtain help and support as necessary.

Where a pupil has been harmed or is in immediate danger or at risk of harm, the referrer will be notified of the action that will be taken within one working day of a referral being made. Where this information is not forthcoming, the referrer will contact the assigned social worker for more information.

The school will not wait for the start or outcome of an investigation before protecting the victim and other pupils: this applies to criminal investigations as well as those made by CSC. Where CSC decide that a statutory investigation is not appropriate, the school will consider referring the incident again if it is believed that the pupil is at risk of harm. Where CSC decide that a statutory investigation is not appropriate and the school agrees with this decision, the school will consider the use of other support mechanisms, such as early help and pastoral support.

At all stages of the reporting and referral process, the pupil will be informed of the decisions made, actions taken and reasons for doing so. Discussions of concerns with parents will only take place where this would not put the pupil or others at potential risk of harm. The school will work closely with parents to ensure that the pupil, as well as their family, understands the arrangements in place, such as in-school interventions, is effectively supported, and knows where they can access additional support.

If the school are dissatisfied, local escalation procedures will be followed. 8.1 Resolving

Professional Disagreements (Escalation and Conflict Resolution) (proceduresonline.com)

31. Concerns about staff and safeguarding practices

If a staff member has concerns about another member of staff (including supply staff, volunteers and persons who use/hire the school premises), it will be raised with the headteacher. If the concern is with regards to the headteacher, it must be referred to the chair of governors, Aneesa Bibi 07807035581.

Any concerns regarding the safeguarding practices at the school will be raised with the SLT, and the necessary whistleblowing procedures will be followed, as outlined in the Whistleblowing Policy. If a staff member feels unable to raise an issue with the SLT, they should access other whistleblowing channels such as the NSPCC whistleblowing helpline (0800 028 0285).

32. Allegations of abuse against staff and low-level concerns

There are clear policies in line with those from the CSAP (Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership) for dealing with allegations against people who work with children.

All allegations against staff, supply staff, volunteers, contractors and any person who may use or hire the school premises, will be managed in line with the school’s Whistleblowing Policy – a copy of which will be provided to, and understood by, all staff at induction. The school will ensure all allegations against staff, including those who are not employees of the school, are dealt with appropriately and that the school liaises with the relevant parties.

When managing allegations against staff, the school will recognise the distinction between allegations that meet the harms threshold and allegations that do not, also known as “lowlevel concerns”. Allegations that meet the harms threshold include instances where staff have:

Behaved in a way that has harmed a child or may have harmed a child.
Committed or possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child.
Behaved towards a child in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to children.
Behaved, or may have behaved, in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children.

All staff at Stoneyholme primary School are aware of these procedures and aware of the following expectations and protocol:-

ALL staff and volunteers are aware that they must refer allegations or concerns around staff (including supply staff and volunteers) conduct to the Headteacher- Mrs Davison
ALL staff and volunteers are aware of the requirement to, and process of referring allegations or concerns around the Headteacher to the nominated Governor and how to contact them
The Headteacher and/or Chair of Governors will discuss the allegation with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
CSAP procedures for dealing with allegations against staff will be followed http://panlancashirescb.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_allegations.html
ALL staff and volunteers remember that the welfare of the child is paramount and that they have a duty to inform Mrs Davison if any adult's conduct gives cause for concern
All staff recognise the importance of sharing and reporting low-level concerns (see below guidance on low-level concerns) surrounding staff or any adult in a position of trust to the Mrs Davison.
ALL staff are aware of the school’s Whistle Blowing Policy which enables staff to raise concerns or allegations in confidence and for a sensitive enquiry to take place
Staff are fully aware of Guidance for Safer Working Practice 2022 and Staff Code Handbook and are aware of professional expectations of their own behaviour and conduct.
Further information, LADO referral information and flowchart of how allegations are managed: Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) - Lancashire County Council includes the threshold matrix.
Referrals will be made using the required format below when necessary. https://my.apps.lancashire.gov.uk/w/webpage/request?form=management_of_allegat ions_notification

Stoneyholme primary School recognises that children may make disclosures against someone who is in a position of trust / is working or volunteering with children, not in the school setting. This may be an adult in a place of worship, a sports coach or a club leader. After ensuring that the child is safe, we recognise that we must refer to the LADO and share information.

Low Level Concerns

Stoneyholme primary School ensure that all staff are aware of how to recognise and report low level concerns around staff behaviour or conduct.

The term ‘low-level’ concern does not mean that it is insignificant. A low-level concern is any concern – no matter how small, and even if no more than causing a sense of unease or a ‘nagging doubt’ - that an adult working in or on behalf of the school or college may have acted in a way that:

is inconsistent with the staff code of conduct, including inappropriate conduct outside of work and
does not meet the harm threshold or is otherwise not serious enough to consider a referral to the LADO.

Examples of such behaviour could include, but are not limited to:

being over friendly with children
having favourites
taking photographs of children on their mobile phone, contrary to school policy
engaging with a child on a one-to-one basis in a secluded area or behind a closed door, or humiliating pupils.

Stoneyholme primary School will promote an open and transparent culture in which all concerns about all adults working in or on behalf of the school or college (including supply teachers, volunteers, contractors or those that have hired/let the premises) are dealt with promptly and appropriately. Stoneyholme primary School will strive to embed a culture of openness, trust and transparency in which the school’s values and expected behaviour set out in the staff code of conduct are lived, monitored and reinforced constantly by all staff.

Stoneyholme primary School will ensure that staff are encouraged and feel confident to selfrefer, where, for example, they have found themselves in a situation which could be misinterpreted, might appear compromising to others, and/or on reflection they believe they have behaved in such a way that they consider falls below the expected professional standards.

All staff are clear on how to report low level concerns and will be empowered to do so. Staff must report their concerns to the Head teacher or DSL. If concerns are surrounding the Head teacher, this must be referred to the Chair of Governors. Guidance from Keeping Children Safe in Education, September 2024, will be followed in view of recording and storage of such concerns.

If in doubt whether the concern is a low-level concern, the DSL will consult with LADO for guidance.

The governing body will ensure low level concern procedures and staff behaviour expectations are clearly addressed within the Staff Handbook and procedures are implemented effectively, ensuring that appropriate action is taken in a timely manner to safeguard children and facilitate a whole school or college approach to dealing with any concerns.

33. Safer recruitment

Stoneyholme primary School is committed to keeping pupils safe by ensuring that adults who work or volunteer in school are safe to do so. We therefore ensure that:

Keeping Children Safe in Education, September 2024, Part 3 guidance is adhered to, to ensure that there is a strong reference and commitment to safeguarding during advertisement, selection and recruitment of new staff.

An enhanced DBS check with barred list information will be undertaken for all staff members engaged in regulated activity. A person will be considered to be in ‘regulated activity’ if, as a result of their work, they:

Are responsible on a daily basis for teaching, training, instructing or the care or supervision of children.
Regularly work in the school at times when children are on the premises.
Regularly come into contact with children under 18 years of age.

(Regular is defined as; at least 3 times in a 30 day period.)

The governing board will conduct the appropriate pre-employment checks for all prospective employees.

School will ensure that:

The appropriate DBS and suitability checks will be carried out for all governors, volunteers, and contractors. The DfE’s DBS Workforce Guides will be consulted when determining whether a position fits the child workforce criteria.

The original DBS certificate is seen for all appointees to the school, even where the on-line DBS system indicates that the check is clear.

There are sufficient staff/Governors who have undertaken appropriate Safer Recruitment training in the last 5 years and reached the required standard as verified by the course facilitators, to enable at least one person on every recruitment panel to be appropriately trained and there are at least 2 people on each selection panel.

Written assurances will be obtained from agencies and other employers that provide staff to work in school, to confirm that appropriate pre- employment checks have been undertaken in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education, September 2024.

Individual identity checks will be undertaken on those staff detailed above to ensure they are employees of the named agency/employer.

Conduct an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted candidates. This may help identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online and will inform shortlisted candidates of this procedure.

A transfer of control agreement will be used where other agencies/organisations use school premises and are not operating under school's safeguarding policies and procedures.

When an issue is declared, advice will be sought from Ofsted about the need to apply for a waiver. If a waiver is necessary, a risk assessment will be carried out and proportionate measures put in place until a waiver has been issued or matters resolved. If it is not resolved, this must be reported:- disqualification@ofsted.gov.uk

Advice will be sought from Human Resources, LADO and/or Schools Safeguarding Officers if any staff are unclear about any aspects of Safer Recruitment.

Referral to the DBS

There is a legal requirement for schools and colleges to make a referral to the DBS where they remove an individual from regulated activity (or would have removed an individual had they not left), and they believe the individual has:

engaged in relevant conduct in relation to children and/or adults, and/or
satisfied the harm test in relation to children and/or vulnerable adults, and/or
been cautioned or convicted of a relevant (automatic barring either with or without the right to make representations) offence.

Single central record (SCR)

The school keeps an SCR which records all staff, including agency, third-party supply staff and teacher trainees on salaried routes, who work at the school, even if they work for one day.

All members of the proprietor body are also recorded on the SCR.

The following information is recorded on the SCR:

An identity check
A barred list check
An enhanced DBS check
A prohibition from teaching check
A check of professional qualifications, where required
A check to determine the individual’s right to work in the UK
Additional checks for those who have lived or worked outside of the UK
Any other information deemed relevant.

If any checks have been conducted for volunteers or Governors, these may also be recorded on the SCR. If risk assessments are conducted to assess whether a volunteer should be subject to an enhanced DBS check, (with/without a barred list check, depending on whether they are in regulated activity), the risk assessment will be recorded.

The details of an individual will be removed from the SCR once they no longer work or volunteer at the school.

34. Review

This Policy is subject to ongoing review; however, will be reviewed no later than September 2025. All staff have received a copy of this policy.

35. Key Contacts, Roles and Training

Designated Safeguarding

Lead

Lisa Wilkinson

DSL training 17^th September 2024

Date of renewal September

2026

Deputy DSL (s)

Luanne Galawan

Jayne Fernandes

Anne Reid

DSL Training 27/02/2024

DSL training July 2024

DSL training 09/02/2023

Head teacher

Lisa Davison

All staff training Sept 2024

Chair/Safeguarding

Governor

Aneesa Bibi

Relevant Training & Dates

Date of renewal

Prevent Lead

Lisa Wilkinson

Relevant Training & Dates

Date of renewal

LCC School Safeguarding Officers

Victoria Wallace, Mechelle Lewis, Sarah

Holyhead, Natalie Barton

Safeguarding in Education Advice Line -

01772 531196

LCC MASH Education Officers

Matt Chipchase & Martine Blokland

Martine Blokland 01254 220914 Matt Chipchase 01254 220989 mash.education@lancashire.gov.uk

LADO – Local Authority Designated Officers

01772 536694

LADO.admin@lancashire.gov.uk

MASH – Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub

0300 123 6720

0300 123 6722 between 5.00pm - 8.00am

Child Friendly Policy

Acceptable Use Policies

Accessible Use Policy for Parents

I understand that Stoneyholme Community Primary School uses technology as part of the daily life of the school when it is appropriate to support teaching & learning and the smooth running of the school, and to help prepare the children and young people in our care for their future lives.
I understand that the school takes every reasonable precaution to keep pupils safe and to prevent pupils from accessing inappropriate materials, including behaviour policies and agreements, education and support and web filtering.
I understand that internet and use of school-owned devices, networks and cloud platforms out of school may be subject to filtering and monitoring. These should be used in the same manner as when in school.
I will promote positive online safety and model safe, responsible and positive behaviours in my own use of technology, including on social media: not sharing other’s images or details without permission and refraining from posting negative, threatening or violent comments about others, including the school staff, volunteers, governors, contractors, pupils or other parents/carers.
The impact of social media use is often felt strongly in schools, which is why we expect certain behaviours from pupils when using social media. I will support the school’s social media policy and not encourage my child to join any platform where they are below the minimum age.
I will follow the school’s Online Safety Policy, which outlines when I can capture and/or share images/videos. I will not share images of other people’s children on social media and understand that there may be cultural or legal reasons why this would be inappropriate or even dangerous. The school sometimes uses images/video of my child for internal purposes such as recording attainment, but it will only do so publicly if I have given my consent when my child joined the school.
I understand that for my child to grow up safe online, s/he will need positive input from school and home, so I will talk to my child about online safety (NB: the recent LGfL DigiSafe survey of 40,000 primary and secondary pupils found that 73% of pupils trust their parents on online safety, but only half talk about it with them more than once a year). Understanding human behaviour is more helpful than knowing how a particular app, site or game works.
I understand that whilst home networks are much less secure than school ones, I can apply child safety settings to my home internet. Internet Matters provides guides to help parents do this easily for all the main internet service providers in the UK.
I understand and support the commitments made by my child in the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) which s/he has signed and I understand that s/he will be challenged if s/he does not follow these rules.
I can find out more about online safety at Stoneyholme Community Primary School by reading the full online Safety Policy, available on the website, and can talk to my child’s class teacher and IT lead (drop in every Friday morning in the school lodge) if I have any concerns about my child/ren’s use of technology, or about that of others in the community, or if I have questions about online safety or technology use in school.

Accessible Use Policy for KS1 Children

I will only use a computer when an adult tells me I can.
I will keep my password safe and not share it with anyone.
I will always send polite messages.
I will tell an adult if I see something on the computer that makes me unhappy.

Accessible Use Policy for KS2 Children

I will ask permission before using the Internet and use it for a specific purpose.
I will only use activities that a teacher or suitable adult has told or allowed me to use.
I will take care of all computing equipment.
I will never share my personal details, such as my full name or address, with people I don’t know.
I will never share my password with anyone.
I will always tell an adult if something on the Internet makes me or my friends unhappy, or if I think I have done something wrong.
I know that if I use the internet inappropriately, I might not be allowed to use a computer / ipad.
I will never meet up with someone I have met on the Internet.
I will always check my messages are polite before I send them.
I will not reply to a message that isn’t kind, but I will save it and show it to an adult.
I will not open or download a file unless I am sure it is safe.
I know I should not believe everything I read on the Internet.

Online Safety Policy

The DSL has now been asked to take lead responsibility for webfiltering and monitoring, marking a clear shift. Schools now need to follow the new DfE standards and consider the roles and responsibilities of all staff – for DSLs and SLT, the challenge is to better understand, review and drive the rationale behind decisions in this area. Tech teams and safeguarding teams will need to work much more closely together for this to be possible and technicians will be charged to carry out regular checks and feed back to DSL teams. All staff need to be aware of the changes and renewed emphasis and play their part in feeding back about overblocking or gaps in the filtering provision. Schools will also be reviewing their approaches to monitoring in line with the standards (note that filtering and monitoring are not the same – there is guidance around this for DSLs at https://safefiltering.lgfl.net).

Introduction
Key people / dates
	[Stoneyholme \|Community Primary School ]	Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), with lead responsibility for filtering and monitoring	Lisa Wilkinson
		Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads / DSL Team Members	Luanne Galawan Jayne Fernades Anne Reid
		Link governor for safeguarding	Annesa Bibi
		Curriculum leads with relevance to online safeguarding and their role	Fatima Khatun -PSHCE Stephen Aitken- Computing
		Network manager / other technical support	Stephen Aitken
		Date this policy was reviewed and by whom	Sept 2024- Lisa Wilkinson DSL
		Date of next review and by whom	Sept 2025- Lisa Wilkinson DSL

What is this policy?

Online safety is an integral part of safeguarding and requires a whole school, cross-curricular approach and collaboration between key school leads. Accordingly, this policy is written in line with ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ 2023 (KCSIE), ‘Teaching Online Safety in Schools’, statutory RSHE guidance and other statutory documents. It is cross-curricular (with relevance beyond Relationships, Health and Sex Education, Citizenship and Computing) and designed to sit alongside or be integrated into your school’s statutory Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy. Any issues and concerns with online safety must always follow the school’s safeguarding and child protection procedures.

Who is it for; when is it reviewed?

This policy should be a living document, subject to full annual review but also amended where necessary during the year in response to developments in the school and local area. Although many aspects will be informed by legislation and regulations, we will involve staff, governors, pupils and parents in writing and reviewing the policy and make sure the policy makes sense and it is possible to follow it in all respects. This will help ensure all stakeholders understand the rules that are in place and why, and that the policy affects day-to-day practice. Pupils could help to design a version in language their peers understand or help you to audit compliance. Acceptable Use Policies (see appendices) for different stakeholders help with this – ensure these are reviewed alongside this overarching policy. Any changes to this policy should be immediately disseminated to all the above stakeholders.

Who is in charge of online safety?

KCSIE makes clear that “the designated safeguarding lead should take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety).” The DSL can delegate activities but not the responsibility for this area and whilst subject leads, e.g. for RSHE will plan the curriculum for their area, it is important that this ties into a whole-school approach.

What are the main online safety risks in 2023/2024?

Current Online Safeguarding Trends

In our school over the past year, we have particularly noticed the following in terms of device use and abuse and types of online/device-based incidents which affect the wellbeing and safeguarding of our students: Content, anything posted online - it might be words or it could be images and video. Children and young people may see illegal, inappropriate or harmful content when online. This includes things like pornography, fake news, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, anti-Semitism, radicalisation and extremism.

Nationally, some of the latest trends of the past twelve months are outlined below. These should be reflected in this policy and the acceptable use agreements we use, and seen in the context of the 4 Cs (see KCSIE for more details), a whole-school contextual safeguarding approach that incorporates policy and practice for curriculum, safeguarding and technical teams.

We may be updating this policy during the year to reflect any changes resulting from the Online Safety Bill being passed into law.

Self-generative artificial intelligence has been a significant change, with students having often unfettered access to tools that generate text and images at home or in school. These tools not only represent a challenge in terms of accuracy when young people are genuinely looking for information, but also in terms of plagiarism for teachers and above all safety: none of the mainstream tools have end-user safety settings, most have an age limit of 13 or even 18 and in spite of basic rude words not delivering results, will easily produce inappropriate material. Schools not only need to tackle this in terms of what comes into school but also educating young people and their parents on use of these tools in the home.

The continued cost-of-living crisis has meant that children have spent more time online and therefore exposed to all manner of online harms as families have had to cut back on leisure activities and the public provision of free activities for young people has reduced further.

Against this background, the Ofcom ‘Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2023’ has shown that YouTube remains the most used site or app among all under 18s and the reach of WhatsApp, TikTok and Snapchat increased yet further. As a school we recognise that many of our children and young people are on these apps regardless of age limits, which are often misunderstood or ignored. We therefore remember to remind about best practice while remembering the reality for most of our students is quite different.

This is striking when you consider that 20% of 3-4 year olds have access to their OWN mobile phone (let alone shared devices), rising to over 90 percent by the end of Primary School, and the vast majority have no safety controls or limitations to prevent harm or access to inappropriate material. At the same time, even 3 to 6 year olds are being tricked into ‘self-generated’ sexual content (Internet Watch Foundation Annual Report) while considered to be safely using devices in the home and the 7-10 year old age group is the fastest growing for this form of child sexual abuse material, up 60 percent within 12 months to represent over 60,000 cases found (of this same kind where the abuser is not present).

In the past year, more and more children and young people used apps such as snapchat as their source of news and information, with little attention paid to the veracity of influencers sharing news. The 2023 Revealing-Reality: Anti-social-Media Report highlights that this content is interspersed with highly regular exposure to disturbing, graphic and illegal content such as fights, attacks, sexual acts and weapons. At the same time, the Children’s Commissioner revealed the ever younger children are regularly consuming pornography and living out inappropriate behaviour and relationships due to ‘learning from’ pornography. This has coincided with the rise of misogynistic influencers such as Andrew Tate, which had a significant influence on many young boys over the past year which schools have had to counter.

From the many schools that LGfL spoke to over the past year, there was a marked increase in the number of schools having issues with fights being filmed and shared, a disturbing increase in the cases of selfharm and sexual abuse being coerced with threats of violence (many even in primary schools).

There has been a significant increase in the number of fake profiles causing issues in schools, both for schools – where the school logo and/or name have been used to share inappropriate content about students and also spread defamatory allegations about staff, and also for students, including where these are used to bully others (sometimes even pretending to be one student to bully a second student).

How will this policy be communicated?

This policy can only impact upon practice if it is a (regularly updated) living document. It must be accessible to and understood by all stakeholders. It will be communicated in the following ways:

Posted on the school website
Part of school induction pack for all new staff (including temporary, supply and non-classroombased staff and those starting mid-year)
Integral to safeguarding updates and training for all staff (especially in September refreshers)
Clearly reflected in the Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) for staff, volunteers, contractors, governors, pupils and parents/carers (which must be in accessible language appropriate to these groups), which will be issued to whole school community, on entry to the school, annually and whenever changed, plus displayed in school

Contents

What’s different about this policy for September 2023? 1

Introduction 1

Key people / dates 1

What is this policy? 2

Who is it for; when is it reviewed? 2

Who is in charge of online safety? 2

What are the main online safety risks in 2023/2024? 2

How will this policy be communicated? 4

Contents 4

Overview 7

Aims 7

Further Help and Support 7

Scope 8

Roles and responsibilities 8

Education and curriculum 8

Handling safeguarding concerns and incidents 10

Actions where there are concerns about a child 11

Sexting – sharing nudes and semi-nudes 13

Upskirting 14

Bullying 14

Child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment 14

Misuse of school technology (devices, systems, networks or platforms) 15

Social media incidents 15

Data protection and cybersecurity 17

Appropriate filtering and monitoring 17

Messaging/commenting systems (incl. email, learning platforms & more) 19

Authorised systems 19

Behaviour / usage principles 20

Online storage or learning platforms 20

School website 21

Digital images and video 21

Social media 22

Our SM presence 23

Staff, pupils’ and parents’ SM presence 23

Device usage 25

Personal devices including wearable technology and bring your own device (BYOD) 25

Use of school devices 26

Trips / events away from school 26

Searching and confiscation 27

Appendix – Roles 28

All staff 28

Headteacher/Principal – L.Davison 28

Designated Safeguarding Lead / Online Safety Lead – L.Wilkinson / S.Aitken 30

Governing Body, led by Online Safety / Safeguarding Link Governor – A.Bibi 31

PSHE / RSHE Lead/s – F.Khatun 32

Computing Lead – S.Aitken 33

Subject / aspect leaders 33

Network Manager/other technical support roles – S.Aitken 34

Data Protection Officer (DPO) – L.Galawan 35

Volunteers and contractors (including tutor) 35

Pupils 36

Parents/carers 36

External groups including parent associations – N/A 36

Overview

Aims

This policy aims to promote a whole school approach to online safety by:

Setting out expectations for all Stoneyholme Primary School community members’ online behaviour, attitudes and activities and use of digital technology (including when devices are offline)
Helping safeguarding and senior leadership teams to have a better understanding and awareness of all elements of online safeguarding through effective collaboration and communication with technical colleagues (e.g. for filtering and monitoring), curriculum leads (e.g. RSHE) and beyond.
Helping all stakeholders to recognise that online/digital behaviour standards (including social media activity) must be upheld beyond the confines of the school gates and school day, regardless of device or platform, and that the same standards of behaviour apply online and offline.
Facilitating the safe, responsible, respectful and positive use of technology to support teaching & learning, increase attainment and prepare children and young people for the risks and opportunities of today’s and tomorrow’s digital world, to survive and thrive online
Helping school staff working with children to understand their roles and responsibilities to work safely and responsibly with technology and the online world:
- o for the protection and benefit of the children and young people in their care, and o for their own protection, minimising misplaced or malicious allegations and to better understand their own standards and practice
- o for the benefit of the school, supporting the school ethos, aims and objectives, and protecting the reputation of the school and profession
Establishing clear structures by which online misdemeanours will be treated, and procedures to follow where there are doubts or concerns (with reference to other school policies such as Behaviour Policy or Anti-Bullying Policy)

Further Help and Support

Internal school channels should always be followed first for reporting and support, as documented in school policy documents, especially in response to incidents, which should be reported in line with your Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy. The DSL will handle referrals to local authority multi-agency safeguarding hubs (MASH) and normally the headteacher will handle referrals to the LA designated officer (LADO). The local authority, academy trust or third-party support organisations you work with may also have advisors to offer general support.

Beyond this, reporting.lgfl.net has a list of curated links to external support and helplines for both pupils and staff, including the Professionals’ Online-Safety Helpline from the UK Safer Internet Centre and the NSPCC Report Abuse Helpline for sexual harassment or abuse, as well as hotlines for hate crime, terrorism and fraud which might be useful to share with parents, and anonymous support for children and young people. Training is also available via safetraining.lgfl.net

Scope

This policy applies to all members of the Stoneyholme Primary School community (including teaching, supply and support staff, governors, volunteers, contractors, students/pupils, parents/carers, visitors and community users) who have access to our digital technology, networks and systems, whether onsite or remotely, and at any time, or who use technology in their school role.

Roles and responsibilities

This school is a community, and all members have a duty to behave respectfully online and offline, to use technology for teaching and learning and to prepare for life after school, and to immediately report any concerns or inappropriate behaviour, to protect staff, pupils, families and the reputation of the school. We learn together, make honest mistakes together and support each other in a world that is online and offline at the same time.

Depending on their role, all members of the school community should read the relevant section in Annex A of this document that describes individual roles and responsibilities. Please note there is one for All Staff which must be read even by those who have a named role in another section. There are also pupil, governor, etc role descriptions in the annex.

In 2023/2024, it is vital that all members understand their responsibilities and those of others when it comes to filtering and monitoring. All staff have a key role to play in feeding back on potential issues.

Education and curriculum

It is important that schools establish a carefully sequenced curriculum for online safety that builds on what pupils have already learned and identifies subject content that is appropriate for their stage of development.

As well as teaching about the underpinning knowledge and behaviours that can help pupils navigate the online world safely and confidently regardless of the device, platform or app, Teaching Online Safety in Schools recommends embedding teaching about online safety and harms through a whole school approach and provides an understanding of these risks to help tailor teaching and support to the specific needs of pupils, including vulnerable pupils – dedicated training around this with curriculum mapping for

RSHE/PSHE and online safety leads is available at safetraining.lgfl.net

RSHE guidance also recommends schools assess teaching to “identify where pupils need extra support or intervention [through] tests, written assignments or self evaluations, to capture progress.”

The following subjects have the clearest online safety links (see the relevant role descriptors above for more information):

Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health (also known as RSHE or PSHE)
Computing
Citizenship

However, as stated in the role descriptors above, it is the role of all staff to identify opportunities to thread online safety through all school activities, both outside the classroom and within the curriculum, supporting curriculum/stage/subject leads, and making the most of unexpected learning opportunities as they arise (which have a unique value for pupils)

Whenever overseeing the use of technology (devices, the internet, new technology such as augmented reality, etc) in school or setting as homework tasks, all staff should encourage sensible use, monitor what pupils/students are doing and consider potential dangers and the age appropriateness of websites (ask your DSL what appropriate filtering and monitoring policies are in place). “Parents and carers are likely to find it helpful to understand what systems schools use to filter and monitor online use. It will be especially important for parents and carers to be aware of what their children are being asked to do online, including the sites they will be asked to access and be clear who from the school or college (if anyone) their child is going to be interacting with online” (KCSIE 2023).

Equally, all staff should carefully supervise and guide pupils when engaged in learning activities involving online technology (including, extra-curricular, extended school activities if relevant and remote teaching), supporting them with search skills, critical thinking (e.g. disinformation, misinformation and fake news), age appropriate materials and signposting, and legal issues such as copyright and data law. saferesources.lgfl.net has regularly updated theme-based resources, materials and signposting for teachers and parents.

At Stoneyholme Primary School we recognise that online safety and broader digital resilience must be thread throughout the curriculum and that is why we are working to adopt the cross-curricular framework ‘Education for a Connected World – 2020 edition’ from UKCIS (the UK Council for Internet Safety).

Annual reviews of curriculum plans / schemes of work (including for SEND pupils) are used as an opportunity to follow this framework more closely in its key areas of Self-image and Identity, Online relationships, Online reputation, Online bullying, Managing online information, Health, Wellbeing and lifestyle, Privacy and security, and Copyright and ownership.

Teach Computing – National Centre for Computing Education, other resources include Project Evolve and Twinkl.

Handling safeguarding concerns and incidents

It is vital that all staff recognise that online safety is a part of safeguarding (as well as being a curriculum strand of Computing, PSHE/RSHE and Citizenship).

General concerns must be handled in the same way as any other safeguarding concern; safeguarding is often referred to as a jigsaw puzzle, so all stakeholders should err on the side of talking to the onlinesafety lead / designated safeguarding lead to contribute to the overall picture or highlight what might not yet be a problem.

Support staff will often have a unique insight and opportunity to find out about issues first in the playground, corridors, toilets and other communal areas outside the classroom (particularly relating to bullying and sexual harassment and violence).

School procedures for dealing with online safety will be mostly detailed in the following policies (primarily in the first key document):

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Behaviour Policy (including school sanctions)
Acceptable Use Policies
Data Protection Policy, agreements and other documentation (e.g. privacy statement and consent forms for data sharing, image use etc)

This school commits to take all reasonable precautions to ensure safeguarding pupils online, but recognises that incidents will occur both inside school and outside school (and that those from outside school will continue to impact pupils when they come into school or during extended periods away from school). All members of the school are encouraged to report issues swiftly to allow us to deal with them quickly and sensitively through the school’s escalation processes.

Any suspected online risk or infringement should be reported to the online safety lead / designated safeguarding lead on the same day – where clearly urgent, it will be made by the end of the lesson.

Any concern/allegation about staff misuse is always referred directly to the Headteacher, unless the concern is about the Headteacher in which case the complaint is referred to the Chair of Governors and the LADO (Local Authority’s Designated Officer). Staff may also use the NSPCC Whistleblowing Helpline (you may want to display a poster with details of this / other helplines in the staff room – see posters.lgfl.net and reporting.lgfl.net).

The school will actively seek support from other agencies as needed (i.e. the local authority, LGfL, UK

Safer Internet Centre’s Professionals’ Online Safety Helpline (POSH), NCA CEOP, Prevent Officer, Police, IWF and Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support Service). The DfE guidance Behaviour in Schools, advice for headteachers and school staff September 2022 provides advice and related legal duties including support for pupils and powers of staff when responding to incidents – see pages 32-34 for guidance on child on child sexual violence and harassment, behaviour incidents online and mobile phones.

We will inform parents/carers of online-safety incidents involving their children, and the Police where staff or pupils engage in or are subject to behaviour which we consider is particularly concerning or breaks the law (particular procedures are in place for sexting and upskirting; see section below).

The school should evaluate whether reporting procedures are adequate for any future closures/lockdowns/isolation etc and make alternative provisions in advance where these might be needed.

Actions where there are concerns about a child

The following flow chart (it cannot be edited) is taken from page 22 of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 as the key education safeguarding document. As outlined previously, online safety concerns are no different to any other safeguarding concern.

Sexting – sharing nudes and semi-nudes

All schools (regardless of phase) should refer to the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) guidance on sexting - now referred to as Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings to avoid unnecessary criminalisation of children. NB - where one of the parties is over 18, this is no longer sexting but child sexual abuse.

There is a one-page overview called Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: how to respond to an incident For all staff (not just classroom-based staff) to read, in recognition of the fact that it is mostly someone other than the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) or online safety lead to first become aware of an incident, and it is vital that the correct steps are taken. Staff other than the DSL must not attempt to view, share or delete the image or ask anyone else to do so, but to go straight to the DSL.

The school DSL will in turn use the full guidance document, Sharing nudes and semi -nudes – advice for educational settings (above) to decide next steps and whether other agencies need to be involved.

*Consider the 5 points for immediate referral at initial review:

The incident involves an adult
There is reason to believe that a child or young person has been coerced, blackmailed or groomed, or there are concerns about their capacity to consent (for example, owing to special educational needs)
What you know about the images or videos suggests the content depicts sexual acts which are unusual for the young person’s developmental stage, or are violent
The images involves sexual acts and any pupil in the images or videos is under 13
You have reason to believe a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm owing to the sharing of nudes and semi-nudes, for example, they are presenting as suicidal or self-harming

It is important that everyone understands that whilst sexting is illegal, pupils/students can come and talk to members of staff if they have made a mistake or had a problem in this area.

The documents referenced above and materials to support teaching about sexting can be found at sexting.lgfl.net

Upskirting

It is important that everyone understands that upskirting (taking a photo of someone under their clothing, not necessarily a skirt) is now a criminal offence and constitutes a form of sexual harassment as highlighted in Keeping Children Safe in Education. As with other forms of child on child abuse pupils/students can come and talk to members of staff if they have made a mistake or had a problem in this area.

Bullying

Online bullying, including incidents that take place outside school or from home should be treated like any other form of bullying and the school behaviour policy should be followed for online bullying, which may also be referred to as cyberbullying, including issues arising from banter.

It is important to be aware that in the past 12 months there has been an increase in anecdotal reports of fights being filmed and fake profiles being used to bully children in the name of others. When considering bullying, staff will be reminded of these issues.

Materials to support teaching about bullying and useful Department for Education guidance and case studies are at bullying.lgfl.net

Child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment

Part 5 of Keeping Children Safe in Education covers ‘Child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment’ and it would be useful for all staff to be aware of many aspects outlined there to support a whole-school response; case studies are also helpful for training.

Any incident of sexual harassment or violence (online or offline) should be reported to the DSL who will follow the full guidance. Staff should work to foster a zero-tolerance culture and maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’. The guidance stresses that schools must take all forms of sexual violence and harassment seriously, explaining how it exists on a continuum and that behaviours incorrectly viewed as ‘low level’ are treated seriously and not allowed to perpetuate. The document makes specific reference to behaviours such as bra-strap flicking and the careless use of language.

In the online environment, the recent proliferation of misogynistic content is particularly relevant when it comes to considering reasons for and how to combat this kind of behaviour.

Misuse of school technology (devices, systems, networks or platforms)

Clear and well communicated rules and procedures are essential to govern pupil and adult use of school networks, connections, internet connectivity and devices, cloud platforms and social media (both when on school site and outside of school).

These are defined in the relevant Acceptable Use Policy as well as in this document, for example in the sections relating to the professional and personal use of school platforms/networks/clouds, devices and other technology, as well as to BYOD (bring your own device) policy.

Where pupils contravene these rules, the school behaviour policy will be applied; where staff contravene these rules, action will be taken as outlined in the staff code of conduct/handbook.

It will be necessary to reinforce these as usual at the beginning of any school year but also to remind pupils that the same applies for any home learning that may take place in future periods of absence/ closure/quarantine etc.

Further to these steps, the school reserves the right to withdraw – temporarily or permanently – any or all access to such technology, or the right to bring devices onto school property.

The new responsibilities for filtering and monitoring, led by the DSL and following the new DfE standards, may mean that more such incidents will be discovered in the coming year.

Social media incidents

See the social media section later in this document for rules and expectations of behaviour for children and adults in the Stoneyholme Primary School community. These are also governed by school Acceptable Use Policies.

Breaches will be dealt with in line with the school behaviour policy (for pupils) or Staff Handbook (staff).

Further to this, where an incident relates to an inappropriate, upsetting, violent or abusive social media post by a member of the school community, Stoneyholme Primary School will request that the post be deleted and will expect this to be actioned promptly.

Where an offending post has been made by a third party, the school may report it to the platform it is hosted on, and may contact the Professionals’ Online Safety Helpline, POSH, (run by the UK Safer Internet Centre) for support or help to accelerate this process.

Data protection and cybersecurity

All pupils, staff, governors, volunteers, contractors and parents are bound by the school’s data protection and cybersecurity policy. It is important to remember that there is a close relationship between both data protection and cybersecurity and a school’s ability to effectively safeguard children. Schools are reminded of this in KCSIE which also refers to the DfE Standards of Cybersecurity for the first time in 2023.

Schools should remember that data protection does not prevent, or limit, the sharing of information for the purposes of keeping children safe. As outlined in Data protection in schools, 2023, “It’s not usually necessary to ask for consent to share personal information for the purposes of safeguarding a child.” And in KCSIE 2023, “The Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR do not prevent the sharing of information for the purposes of keeping children safe. Fears about sharing information must not be allowed to stand in the way of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare and protect the safety of children.”

Appropriate filtering and monitoring

Keeping Children Safe in Education has long asked schools to ensure “appropriate” webfiltering and monitoring systems which keep children safe online but do not “overblock”.

Since KCSIE 2023, in recognition of the importance of these systems to keeping children safe, the designated safeguarding lead now has lead responsibility for filtering and monitoring (see page 1 for the DSL name and the named governor with responsibility for filtering and monitoring).

Schools are also asked to follow the new DfE filtering and monitoring standards, which require them to:

identify and assign roles and responsibilities to manage filtering and monitoring systems
review filtering and monitoring provision at least annually
block harmful and inappropriate content without unreasonably impacting teaching and learning
have effective monitoring strategies in place that meet their safeguarding needs

As schools get to grips with these new standards, the challenge for DSLs and SLT is to better understand, review and drive the rationale behind decisions in this area. Tech teams and safeguarding teams will need to work much more closely together for this to be possible and technicians will be charged to carry out regular checks and feed back to DSL teams.

ALL STAFF need to be aware of the changes and renewed emphasis and play their part in feeding back about areas of concern, potential for students to bypass systems and any potential overblocking. They can submit concerns at any point by speaking with the DSL or IT lead and will be asked for feedback at the time of the regular checks which will now take place.

Staff will be reminded of the systems in place and their responsibilities at induction and start of year safeguarding as well as via AUPs and regular training reminders in the light of the annual review and regular checks that will be carried out.

It is very important that schools understand the difference between filtering and monitoring, the meaning of overblocking and other terms, as well as how to get the best out of systems. There are guidance videos and flyers to help with this at https://safefiltering.lgfl.net and training is provided for all staff / safeguarding teams / technical teams as appropriate.

At Stoneyholme Primary School:

web filtering is provided by Netsweeper Cloud on school site and for school devices used in the home
changes can be made by Stephen Aitken
overall responsibility is held by the DSL with further support by the SLT.
technical support and advice, setup and configuration are from IT Lead
regular checks are made half termly by IT Lead to ensure filtering is still active and functioning everywhere. These are evidenced netsweeper daily reports are generated and check by the ICT lead, these reports include Suspicious Search Report, Prevent Report and Full Search Query Report.
an annual review is carried out
guidance on how the system is ‘appropriate’ is available at appropriate.lgfl.net According to the DfE standards, “a variety of monitoring strategies may be required to minimise safeguarding risks on internet connected devices and may include:       
physically monitoring by staff watching screens of users
live supervision by staff on a console with device management software 
network monitoring using log files of internet traffic and web access 
individual device monitoring through software or third-party services

At Stoneyholme Primary School, we use :

Apple classroom to monitor live session use of iPads in the classroom, all devices are tagged in our |DHCP server and Netsweeper Cloud environment with the user's name and internet and web access is reported daily.

Messaging/commenting systems (incl. email, learning platforms & more)

Authorised systems

Pupils at this school communicate with each other and with staff using See-Saw
Staff at this school use the email system provided by Office 365 for all school emails. They never use a personal/private email account (or other messaging platform) to communicate with children or parents, or to colleagues when relating to school/child data, using a non-schooladministered system. Staff are permitted to use this email system to communicate with other staff members, parents and external organisations.
Staff at this school use our office 365 infrastructure to communicate with Staff, parents and external organisations

Any systems above are centrally managed and administered by the school or authorised IT partner (i.e. they can be monitored/audited/viewed centrally; are not private or linked to private accounts). This is for the mutual protection and privacy of all staff, pupils and parents, supporting safeguarding bestpractice, protecting children against abuse, staff against potential allegations and in line with UK data protection legislation.

Use of any new platform with communication facilities or any child login or storing school/child data must be approved in advance by the school and centrally managed. Any unauthorised attempt to use a different system may be a safeguarding concern or disciplinary matter and should be notified to the DSL (if by a child) or to the Headteacher (if by a staff member).

Where devices have multiple accounts for the same app, mistakes can happen, such as an email being sent from or data being uploaded to the wrong account. If this a private account is used for communication or to store data by mistake, the DSL/Headteacher/DPO (the particular circumstances of the incident will determine whose remit this is) should be informed immediately.

Behaviour / usage principles

More detail for all the points below are given in the Social media section of this policy as well as the school’s acceptable use agreements, behaviour policy and staff code of conduct.
Appropriate behaviour is expected at all times, and the system should not be used to send inappropriate materials or language which is or could be construed as bullying, aggressive, rude, insulting, illegal or otherwise inappropriate, or which (for staff) might bring the school into disrepute or compromise the professionalism of staff.
Data protection principles will be followed at all times when it comes to all school communications, in line with the school Data Protection Policy and only using the authorised systems mentioned above.
Pupils and staff are allowed to use the email system for reasonable (not excessive, not during lessons) personal use but should be aware that all use is monitored, their emails may be read and the same rules of appropriate behaviour apply at all times. Emails using inappropriate language, images, malware or to adult sites may be blocked and not arrive at their intended destination (and will be dealt with according to the appropriate policy and procedure).

Online storage or learning platforms

All the principles outlined above also apply to any system to which you log in online to conduct school business, whether it is to simply store files or data (an online ‘drive’) or collaborate, learn, teach, etc.

For all these, it is important to consider data protection and cybersecurity before adopting such a platform or service and at all times when using it. Stoneyholme Primary School has a clear cybersecurity and data protection policy which staff, governors and volunteers must follow at all times.

School website

The school website is a key public-facing information portal for the school community (both existing and prospective stakeholders) with a key reputational value. The Headteacher and Governors have delegated the day-to-day responsibility of updating the content of the website and ensuring compliance with DfE stipulations to ICT Lead and Business Manager

The site is managed by / hosted by Greenhouse School Websites.

Where staff submit information for the website, they are asked to remember that schools have the same duty as any person or organisation to respect and uphold copyright law – schools have been fined thousands of pounds for copyright breaches. Sources must always be credited and material only used with permission. There are many open-access libraries of public-domain images/sounds etc that can be used. Finding something on Google or YouTube does not mean that copyright has been respected. If in doubt, check with ICT Lead.

Digital images and video

When a pupil joins the school, parents/carers are asked if they give consent for their child’s image to be captured in photographs or videos, for what purpose (beyond internal assessment, which does not require express consent) and for how long. Parents answer as follows:

For displays around the school
For use in paper-based school marketing
For online prospectus or websites
For social media Etc.

Whenever a photo or video is taken/made, the member of staff taking it will check the latest database before using it for any purpose.

Any pupils shown in public facing materials are never identified with more than first name (and photo file names/tags do not include full names to avoid accidentally sharing them).

All staff are governed by their contract of employment and the school’s Acceptable Use Policy, which covers the use of mobile phones/personal equipment for taking pictures of pupils, and where these are stored. At Stoneyholme Primary School, no member of staff will ever use their personal phone to capture photos or videos of pupils.

Photos are stored on the local network and cloud platform in line with the retention schedule of the school Data Protection Policy.

Staff and parents are reminded annually about the importance of not sharing without permission, due to reasons of child protection (e.g. looked-after children often have restrictions for their own protection), data protection, religious or cultural reasons, or simply for reasons of personal privacy. Further detail on this subject and a sample letter to parents for taking photos or videos at school events can be found at parentfilming.lgfl.net

We encourage young people to think about their online reputation and digital footprint, so we should be good adult role models by not oversharing (or providing embarrassment in later life – and it is not for us to judge what is embarrassing or not).

Pupils are taught about how images can be manipulated in their online safety education programme and also taught to consider how to publish for a wide range of audiences which might include governors, parents or younger children

Pupils are advised to be very careful about placing any personal photos on social media. They are taught to understand the need to maintain privacy settings so as not to make public, personal information.

Pupils are taught that they should not post images or videos of others without their permission. We teach them about the risks associated with providing information with images (including the name of the file), that reveals the identity of others and their location. We teach them about the need to keep their data secure and what to do if they / or a friend are subject to bullying or abuse.

Social media

Our SM presence

Stoneyholme Primary School works on the principle that if we don’t manage our social media reputation, someone else will.

Online Reputation Management (ORM) is about understanding and managing our digital footprint (everything that can be seen or read about the school online). Few parents will apply for a school place without first Googling the school, and the Ofsted pre-inspection check includes monitoring what is being said online.

Negative coverage almost always causes some level of disruption. Up to half of all cases dealt with by the Professionals Online Safety Helpline (POSH: helpline@saferinternet.org.uk) involve schools’ (and staff members’) online reputation.

Accordingly, we manage and monitor our social media footprint carefully to know what is being said about the school and to respond to criticism and praise in a fair, responsible manner.

Mr Aitken is responsible for monitoring and editing our school X-Twitter/Facebook/and other social media accounts and checking our Wikipedia and Google reviews and other mentions online.

Staff, pupils’ and parents’ SM presence

Social media (including all apps, sites and games that allow sharing and interaction between users) is a fact of modern life, and as a school, we accept that many parents, staff and pupils will use it. However, as stated in the acceptable use policies which all members of the school community sign, we expect everybody to behave in a positive manner, engaging respectfully with the school and each other on social media, in the same way as they would face to face.

This positive behaviour can be summarised as not making any posts which are or could be construed as bullying, aggressive, rude, insulting, illegal or otherwise inappropriate, or which might bring the school or (particularly for staff) teaching profession into disrepute. This applies both to public pages and to private posts, e.g. parent chats, pages or groups.

If parents have a concern about the school, we would urge them to contact us directly and in private to resolve the matter. If an issue cannot be resolved in this way, the school complaints procedure should be followed. Sharing complaints on social media is unlikely to help resolve the matter, but can cause upset to staff, pupils and parents, also undermining staff morale and the reputation of the school (which is important for the pupils we serve).

Many social media platforms have a minimum age of 13 (note that WhatsApp is 16+), but the school regularly deals with issues arising on social media involving pupils/students under the age of 13. We ask parents to respect age ratings on social media platforms wherever possible and not encourage or condone underage use. It is worth noting that Online Harms regulation is likely to require more stringent age verification measures over the coming years.

However, the school has to strike a difficult balance of not encouraging underage use at the same time as needing to acknowledge reality in order to best help our pupils/students to avoid or cope with issues if they arise. Online safety lessons will look at social media and other online behaviour, how to be a good friend online and how to report bullying, misuse, intimidation or abuse. However, children will often learn most from the models of behaviour they see and experience, which will often be from adults.

Parents can best support this by talking to their children about the apps, sites and games they use (you don’t need to know them – ask your child to explain it to you), with whom, for how long, and when (late at night / in bedrooms is not helpful for a good night’s sleep and productive teaching and learning at school the next day). You may wish to refer to the Digital Family Agreement to help establish shared expectations and the Top Tips for Parents poster along with relevant items and support available from parentsafe.lgfl.net and introduce the Children’s Commission Digital 5 A Day.

Although the school has an official Facebook / X-Twitter / Instagram account and will respond to general enquiries about the school, it asks parents/carers not to use these channels, especially not to communicate about their children.

Email is the official electronic communication channel between parents and the school.

Pupils/students are not allowed* to be ‘friends’ with or make a friend request** to any staff, governors, volunteers and contractors or otherwise communicate via social media.

Pupils/students are discouraged from ‘following’ staff, governor, volunteer or contractor public accounts (e.g. following a staff member with a public Instagram account) as laid out in the AUPs. However, we accept that this can be hard to control (but this highlights the need for staff to remain professional in their private lives). In the reverse situation, however, staff must not follow such public student accounts.

* Exceptions may be made, e.g. for pre-existing family links, but these must be approved by the Headteacher/Principal, and should be declared upon entry of the pupil or staff member to the school).

** Any attempt to do so may be a safeguarding concern or disciplinary matter and should be notified to the DSL (if by a child) or to the Headteacher (if by a staff member).

Staff are reminded that they are obliged not to bring the school or profession into disrepute and the easiest way to avoid this is to have the strictest privacy settings and avoid inappropriate sharing and oversharing online. They should never discuss the school or its stakeholders on social media and be careful that their personal opinions might not be attributed to the school, trust or local authority, bringing the school into disrepute.

The serious consequences of inappropriate behaviour on social media are underlined by the fact that there has been a significant number of Prohibition Orders issued by the Teacher Regulation Agency to teaching staff that involved misuse of social media/technology.

All members of the school community are reminded that particularly in the context of social media, it is important to comply with the school policy on Digital images and video and permission is sought before uploading photographs, videos or any other information about other people.

The statements of the Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) which all members of the school community have signed are also relevant to social media activity, as is the school’s Data Protection Policy.

Device usage

AUPs remind those with access to school devices about rules on the misuse of school technology – devices used at home should be used just like if they were in full view of a teacher or colleague. Please read the following in conjunction with those AUPs and the sections of this document which impact upon device usage, e.g. copyright, data protection, social media, misuse of technology, and digital images and video.

Personal devices including wearable technology and bring your own device (BYOD)

Pupils are NOT allowed to bring mobile phones.
All staff who work directly with children should leave their mobile phones on silent in their locker and only use them in private staff areas during school hours. See also the ‘Digital images and video’ section of this document and the school data protection cybersecurity policies. Child/staff data should never be downloaded onto a private phone. If a staff member is expecting an important personal call when teaching or otherwise on duty, they may leave their phone with the school office to answer on their behalf or ask for the message to be left with the school office. ● Volunteers, contractors, governors should leave their phones in their pockets and turned off. Under no circumstances should they be used in the presence of children or to take photographs or videos. If this is required (e.g. for contractors to take photos of equipment or buildings), permission of the headteacher should be sought (the headteacher may choose to delegate this) and this should be done in the presence of a member staff.
Parents are asked to leave their phones in their pockets and turned off when they are on site. They should ask permission before taking any photos, e.g. of displays in corridors or classrooms, and avoid capturing other children. When at school events, please refer to the Digital images and video section of this document. Parents are asked not to call pupils on their mobile phones during the school day; urgent messages can be passed via the school office.

Use of school devices

Staff and pupils are expected to follow the terms of the school acceptable use policies for appropriate use and behaviour when on school devices, whether on site or at home.

School devices are not to be used in any way which contravenes AUPs, behaviour policy / staff code of conduct.

Wifi is accessible to staff, pupils and guests for school-related internet use / limited personal use within the framework of the acceptable use policy. All such use is monitored.

School devices for staff or students are restricted to the apps/software installed by the school, whether for use at home or school, and may be used for learning.

All and any usage of devices and/or systems and platforms may be tracked.

Trips / events away from school

For school trips/events away from school, teachers will be issued a school duty phone and this number used for any authorised or emergency communications with pupils/students and parents. Any deviation from this policy (e.g. by mistake or because the school phone will not work) will be notified immediately to the Headteacher. Teachers using their personal phone in an emergency will ensure that the number is hidden to avoid a parent or student accessing a teacher’s private phone number.

Searching and confiscation

In line with the DfE guidance ‘Searching, screening and confiscation: advice for schools’, the Headteacher and staff authorised by them have a statutory power to search pupils/property on school premises. This includes the content of mobile phones and other devices, for example as a result of a reasonable suspicion that a device contains illegal or undesirable material, including but not exclusive to sexual images, pornography, violence or bullying.

Full details of the school’s search procedures are available in the school Behaviour Policy.

Appendix – Roles

Please read the relevant roles & responsibilities section from the following pages.

All school staff must read the “All Staff” section as well as any other relevant to specialist roles Roles:

All Staff
Headteacher/Principal
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Governing Body, led by Online Safety / Safeguarding Link Governor
PSHE / RSHE Lead/s
Computing Lead
Subject / aspect leaders
Network Manager/technician
Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Volunteers and contractors (including tutor)
Pupils
Parents/carers
External groups including parent associations

All staff

All staff should sign and follow the staff acceptable use policy in conjunction with this policy, the school’s main safeguarding policy, the code of conduct/handbook and relevant parts of Keeping Children Safe in Education to support a whole-school safeguarding approach.

This includes reporting any concerns, no matter how small, to the designated safety lead as named in the AUP, maintaining an awareness of current online safety issues (see the start of this document for issues in 2023) and guidance (such as KCSIE), modelling safe, responsible and professional behaviours in their own use of technology at school and beyond and avoiding scaring, victim-blaming language.

Staff should also be aware of the new DfE standards and relevant changes to filtering and monitoring and play their part in feeding back about overblocking, gaps in provision or pupils bypassing protections.

Headteacher – Lisa Davison

Key responsibilities:

Foster a culture of safeguarding where online-safety is fully integrated into whole-school safeguarding

Oversee and support the activities of the designated safeguarding lead team and ensure they work technical colleagues to complete an online safety audit in line with KCSIE (including technology in use in the school)
Undertake training in offline and online safeguarding, in accordance with statutory guidance and Local Safeguarding Children Partnership support and guidance
Ensure ALL staff undergo safeguarding training (including online-safety) at induction and with regular updates and that they agree and adhere to policies and procedures
Ensure ALL governors and trustees undergo safeguarding and child protection training and updates (including online-safety) to provide strategic challenge and oversight into policy and practice and that governors are regularly updated on the nature and effectiveness of the school’s arrangements. Ensure the school implements and makes effective use of appropriate ICT systems and services including school-safe filtering and monitoring, protected email systems and that all technology including remote systems are implemented according to child-safety first principles.
Better understand, review and drive the rationale behind decisions in filtering and monitoring as per the new DfE standards—through regular liaison with technical colleagues and the DSL– in particular understand what is blocked or allowed for whom, when, and how as per KCSIE. In 2023/4 this will involve starting regular checks and annual reviews, upskilling the DSL and appointing a filtering and monitoring governor
Liaise with the designated safeguarding lead on all online-safety issues which might arise and receive regular updates on school issues and broader policy and practice information
Support safeguarding leads and technical staff as they review protections for pupils in the home and remote-learning procedures, rules and safeguards. Take overall responsibility for data management and information security ensuring the school’s provision follows best practice in information handling; work with the DPO, DSL and governors to ensure a compliant framework for storing data, but helping to ensure that child protection is always put first and data-protection processes support careful and legal sharing of information
Understand and make all staff aware of procedures to be followed in the event of a serious online safeguarding incident
Ensure suitable risk assessments are undertaken so the curriculum meets needs of pupils, including risk of children being radicalised
Ensure the school website meets statutory requirements

Designated Safeguarding Lead / Online Safety Lead - Lisa Wilkinson

Key responsibilities (remember the DSL can delegate certain online-safety duties but not the overall responsibility; this assertion and all quotes below are from Keeping Children Safe in Education):

The DSL should “take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection (including online safety and understanding the filtering and monitoring systems and processes in place).
Ensure “An effective whole school approach to online safety as per KCSIE
In 2023/4 working to take up the new responsibility for filtering and monitoring by working closely with technical colleagues, SLT and the new filtering governor to learn more about this area, better understand, review and drive the rationale behind systems in place and initiate regular checks and annual reviews, including support for devices in the home.
Where online-safety duties are delegated and in areas of the curriculum where the DSL is not directly responsible but which cover areas of online safety (e.g. RSHE), ensure there is regular review and open communication and that the DSL’s clear overarching responsibility for online safety is not compromised or messaging to pupils confused
Ensure ALL staff and supply staff undergo safeguarding and child protection training (including online-safety) at induction and that this is regularly updated.
- o In 2023/4 this must include filtering and monitoring and help them to understand their roles
- o all staff must read KCSIE Part 1 and all those working with children also Annex B – translations are available in 13 community languages at lgfl.net (B the condensed Annex A can be provided instead to staff who do not directly work with children if this is better)
- o cascade knowledge of risks and opportunities throughout the organisation lgfl.net has helpful CPD materials including PowerPoints, videos and more
Ensure that ALL governors and trustees undergo safeguarding and child protection training (including online-safety) at induction to enable them to provide strategic challenge and oversight into policy and practice and that this is regularly updated
Take day-to-day responsibility for safeguarding issues and be aware of the potential for serious child protection concerns
Be mindful of using appropriate language and terminology around children when managing concerns, including avoiding victim-blaming language
Remind staff of safeguarding considerations as part of a review of remote learning procedures and technology, including that the same principles of online-safety and behaviour apply
Work closely with SLT, staff and technical colleagues to complete an online safety audit (including technology in use in the school)

Work with the headteacher, DPO and governors to ensure a compliant framework for storing data, but helping to ensure that child protection is always put first and data-protection processes support careful and legal sharing of information

Stay up to date with the latest trends in online safeguarding and “undertake Prevent awareness training.” – see safetraining.lgfl.ne are based (in harmony with policies for behaviour, safeguarding, Prevent and others) and submit for review to the governors/trustees.
Receive regular updates in online-safety issues and legislation, be aware of local and school trends – see safeblog.lgfl.net for examples or sign up to the LGfL safeguarding newsletter
Ensure that online-safety education is embedded across the curriculum in line with the statutory

RSHE guidance (e.g. by use of the updated UKCIS framework ‘Education for a Connected World – 2020 edition’) and beyond, in wider school life

Promote an awareness of and commitment to online-safety throughout the school community, with a strong focus on parents, including hard-to-reach parents – dedicated resources at parentsafe.lgfl.net
Communicate regularly with SLT and the safeguarding governor/committee to discuss current issues (anonymised), review incident logs and filtering/change control logs and discuss how filtering and monitoring work and have been functioning/helping.
Ensure all staff are aware of the procedures that need to be followed in the event of an online safety incident, and that these are logged in the same way as any other safeguarding incident.
Ensure adequate provision for staff to flag issues when not in school and for pupils to disclose issues when off site, especially when in isolation/quarantine, e.g. a survey to facilitate disclosures and an online form on the school home page about ‘something that worrying me’ that gets mailed securely to the DSL inbox
Ensure staff adopt a zero-tolerance, whole school approach to all forms of child-on-child abuse, and don’t dismiss it as banter (including bullying).
Pay particular attention to online tutors, both those engaged by the school as part of the DfE scheme who can be asked to sign the contractor AUP, and those hired by parents.

Governing Body, led by Online Safety / Safeguarding Link Governor- Anisa Bibi

Key responsibilities (quotes are taken from Keeping Children Safe in Education)

Approve this policy and strategy and subsequently review its effectiveness, e.g. by asking the questions in the helpful document from the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCIS) Online safety in schools and colleges: Questions from the Governing Board
Undergo (and signpost all other governors and Trustees to attend) safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety) at induction to provide strategic challenge and into policy and practice, ensuring this is regularly updated

Ensure that all staff also receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection (including online) training at induction and that this is updated

Appoint a filtering and monitoring governor to work closely with the DSL on the new filtering and monitoring standards
Support the school in encouraging parents and the wider community to become engaged in online safety activities
Have regular strategic reviews with the online-safety coordinator / DSL and incorporate online safety into standing discussions of safeguarding at governor meetings
Work with the DPO, DSL and headteacher to ensure a compliant framework for storing data, but helping to ensure that child protection is always put first and data-protection processes support careful and legal sharing of information
Check all school staff have read Part 1 of KCSIE; SLT and all working directly with children have read Annex B
Ensure that all staff undergo safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety and now also reminders about filtering and monitoring
“Ensure that children are taught about safeguarding, including online safety […] as part of providing a broad and balanced curriculum […] Consider a whole school or college approach to online safety [with] a clear policy on the use of mobile technology.”

PSHE / RSHE Lead/s – Fathima Khatun

Key responsibilities:

As listed in the ‘all staff’ section, plus:
Embed consent, mental wellbeing, healthy relationships and staying safe online as well as raising awareness of the risks and challenges from recent trends in self-generative artificial intelligence, financial extortion and sharing intimate pictures online into the PSHE / Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education curriculum. “This will include being taught what positive, healthy and respectful online relationships look like, the effects of their online actions on others and knowing how to recognise and display respectful behaviour online. Throughout these subjects, teachers will address online safety and appropriate behaviour in an age appropriate way that is relevant to their pupils’ lives.”
Focus on the underpinning knowledge and behaviours outlined in Teaching Online Safety in Schools in an age appropriate way to help pupils to navigate the online world safely and confidently regardless of their device, platform or app.
Assess teaching to “identify where pupils need extra support or intervention [through] tests, written assignments or self evaluations, to capture progress” and to complement the computing curriculum,.
Work closely with the DSL/OSL and all other staff to ensure an understanding of the issues, approaches and messaging within PSHE / RSHE.

Note that an RSHE policy should be included on the school website.

Work closely with the Computing subject leader to avoid overlap but ensure a complementary whole-school approach, and with all other lead staff to embed the same whole-school approach

Computing Lead – [ Stephen Aitken]

Key responsibilities:

As listed in the ‘all staff’ section, plus:
Oversee the delivery of the online safety element of the Computing curriculum in accordance with the national curriculum
Work closely with the RSHE lead to avoid overlap but ensure a complementary whole-school approach
Work closely with the DSL/OSL and all other staff to ensure an understanding of the issues, approaches and messaging within Computing
Collaborate with technical staff and others responsible for ICT use in school to ensure a common and consistent approach, in line with acceptable-use agreements

Subject / aspect leaders

Key responsibilities:

As listed in the ‘all staff’ section, plus:
Look for opportunities to embed online safety in your subject or aspect, especially as part of the RSHE curriculum, and model positive attitudes and approaches to staff and pupils alike
Consider how the UKCIS framework Education for a Connected World and Teaching Online Safety in Schools can be applied in your context
Work closely with the DSL/OSL and all other staff to ensure an understanding of the issues, approaches and messaging within Computing
Ensure subject specific action plans also have an online-safety element

Network Manager/other technical support roles – Stephen Aitken

Key responsibilities:

As listed in the ‘all staff’ section, plus:

Collaborate regularly with the DSL and leadership team to help them make key strategic decisions around the safeguarding elements of technology.

Note that KCSIE changes expect a great understanding of technology and its role in safeguarding when it comes to filtering and monitoring and in 2023/4 you will be required to support safeguarding teams to understand and manage these systems and carry out regular reviews and annual checks.
Support DSLs and SLT to carry out an annual online safety audit as now recommended in KCSIE. This should also include a review of technology, including filtering and monitoring systems (what is allowed, blocked and why and how ‘over blocking’ is avoided as per KCSIE) to support their role as per the new DfE standards, protections for pupils in the home and remote-learning.
Keep up to date with the school’s online safety policy and technical information in order to effectively carry out their online safety role and to inform and update others as relevant
Work closely with the designated safeguarding lead / online safety lead / data protection officer / LGfL nominated contact / RSHE lead to ensure that school systems and networks reflect school policy and there are no conflicts between educational messages and practice.
Ensure the above stakeholders understand the consequences of existing services and of any changes to these systems (especially in terms of access to personal and sensitive records / data and to systems such as YouTube mode, web filtering settings, sharing permissions for files on cloud platforms etc
Maintain up-to-date documentation of the school’s online security and technical procedures
To report online-safety related issues that come to their attention in line with school policy
Manage the school’s systems, networks and devices, according to a strict password policy, with systems in place for detection of misuse and malicious attack, with adequate protection, encryption and backup for data, including disaster recovery plans, and auditable access controls.
Ensure the data protection policy and cybersecurity policy are up to date, easy to follow and practicable. Monitor the use of school technology, online platforms and social media presence and that any misuse/attempted misuse is identified and reported in line with school policy
Work with the Headteacher to ensure the school website meets statutory DfE requirements

Data Protection Officer (DPO) – Luanne Galawan - Key responsibilities:

Alongside those of other staff, provide data protection expertise and training and support the DP and cybersecurity policy and compliance with those and legislation and ensure that the policies conform with each other and with this policy.
Not prevent, or limit, the sharing of information for the purposes of keeping children safe. As outlined in Data protection in schools, 2023, “It’s not usually necessary to ask for consent to share personal information for the purposes of safeguarding a child.” And in KCSIE 2023, “The Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR do not prevent the sharing of information for the purposes of

keeping children safe. Fears about sharing information must not be allowed to stand in the way of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare and protect the safety of children.”

Note that retention schedules for safeguarding records may be required to be set as ‘Very long term need (until pupil is aged 25 or older)’. However, some local authorities require record retention until 25 for all pupil records. An example of an LA safeguarding record retention policy can be read at safepolicies.lgfl.net , but you should check the rules in your area.
Ensure that all access to safeguarding data is limited as appropriate, and also monitored and audited

Volunteers and contractors (including tutor)

Key responsibilities:

Read, understand, sign and adhere to an acceptable use policy (AUP)
Report any concerns, no matter how small, to the designated safety lead
Maintain an awareness of current online safety issues and guidance
Model safe, responsible and professional behaviours in their own use of technology at school and as part of remote teaching or any online communications
Note that as per AUP agreement a contractor will never attempt to arrange any meeting, including tutoring session, without the full prior knowledge and approval of the school, and will never do so directly with a pupil. The same applies to any private/direct communication with a pupil.

Pupils

Key responsibilities:

Read, understand, sign and adhere to the student/pupil acceptable use policy

Parents/carers

Key responsibilities:

Read, sign and adhere to the school’s parental acceptable use policy (AUP), read the pupil AUP and encourage their children to follow it

External groups including parent associations – Key responsibilities:

Any external individual/organisation will sign an acceptable use policy prior to using technology or the internet within school
Support the school in promoting online safety and data protection
Model safe, responsible, respectful and positive behaviours in their own use of technology, including on social media: not sharing other’s images or details without permission and refraining from posting negative, threatening or violent comments about others, including the school staff, volunteers, governors, contractors, pupils or other parents/carers

Whistleblowing Policy

1. Introduction

1.1 The Governing Body is committed to the highest possible standards of openness, probity and accountability. In line with that commitment, we expect employees, and others that we deal with, who have serious concerns about any aspect of the school's work to come forward and voice those concerns. It is recognised that most cases will have to proceed on a confidential basis.

1.2 Under this Whistleblowing Policy you can raise such concerns without fear of victimisation, subsequent discrimination or disadvantage. Any employee who raises a concern is protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, part of which was updated by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. The Policy is intended to encourage and enable employees to raise serious concerns within the school or the council rather than overlooking a problem or 'blowing the whistle' outside.

1.3 Employees are often the first to realise that there may be something seriously wrong within the school/council. However, they may not express their concerns because they feel that speaking up would be disloyal to their colleagues, the school or to the council. They may also fear harassment or victimisation. In these circumstances it may be easier to ignore the concern rather than report what may just be a suspicion of malpractice.

1.4 The policy applies to all employees and applies equally to those designated as casual, temporary or agency workers and authorised volunteers, those on work experience and governors. It also applies to contractors working for the school or the council on the school's premises e.g. agency staff, builders, drivers, and covers suppliers and those providing services under a contract with the school in their own premises. Members of the public should raise concerns relating to any aspect of school business under the school's Complaints Procedure.

1.5 This policy is in addition to the schools/council's complaints procedures and other statutory reporting procedures, including safeguarding procedures. Employees should be made aware of the existence of these procedures.

1.6 This policy has been discussed with the recognised trade unions/professional associations and the Diocesan Authorities and has their support.

2. Aims and scope of this policy

2.1 This policy aims to:

▪ encourage you to feel confident in raising serious concerns and to question and act upon concerns about practice;
▪ provide avenues for you to raise those concerns and receive feedback on any action taken;
▪ ensure that you receive a response to your concerns and that you are aware of how to pursue them if you are not satisfied; and
▪ reassure you that you will be protected from possible reprisals or victimisation if you have a reasonable belief that you have made any disclosure which is in the public interest.

2.2 There are existing procedures in place to enable you to lodge a grievance or complaint relating to your own employment. The Whistleblowing Policy is intended to cover major concerns that fall outside the scope of other procedures.

These include:

▪ conduct which is an offence or a breach of law;
▪ failure to comply with a legal obligation;
▪ disclosures related to miscarriages of justice;
▪ racial, sexual, disability or other discrimination where other procedures, such as the school's Bullying and Harassment Procedure, do not apply;
▪ health and safety risks, including risks to the public/pupils as well as other employees;
▪ damage to the environment;
▪ the unauthorised use of public funds;
▪ possible fraud, bribery and corruption, including but not limited to, theft of property, financial irregularities, misuse of property and school systems, nepotism, conflicts of interest, or supplier kickbacks;
▪ sexual or physical abuse of pupil. Disclosures of this nature must always be made and dealt with under the school's safeguarding procedures;
▪ other unethical conduct; and
▪ actions which are unprofessional or inappropriate or conflict with a general understanding of what is right and wrong.

Note: There is a requirement under the Scheme for Financing Schools in Lancashire for the Governing Body to notify the council's Internal Audit Service immediately of all (actual or suspected) financial or accounting irregularities. This requirement is not superseded by this Whistleblowing Policy and the Governing Body will need to act accordingly if a financial issue is raised.

2.3 Thus, any serious concerns that you have about any aspect of service provision or the conduct of school staff, governors, officers/members of the council or others acting on behalf of the school can be reported under the Whistleblowing Policy. This may be about something that

▪ makes you feel uncomfortable in terms of known standards, your experience or the standards you believe the governors and the school subscribe to;
▪ is against the school's policies, procedures or School Governance Regulations 2013;
▪ falls below established standards of practice; or ▪ amounts to improper conduct.

2.4 This policy does not replace the school or the council's complaints procedures.

3. Key principles

3.1 The school is committed to good practice and high standards and wants to be supportive of all its employees.

3.2 The school recognises that the decision to report a concern can be a difficult one to make. If what you are saying is true, you should have nothing to fear because you will be doing your duty to your employer and to those for whom you are providing a service.

3.3 The Governing Body will not tolerate any harassment or victimisation (including informal pressures) and will take appropriate action to protect you when you raise a concern which is in the public interest. Any member of staff who harasses or victimises a whistleblower may not only be personally liable but will be subject to disciplinary action.

3.4 All disclosures will be treated seriously and will be reviewed in accordance with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA). As a member of the school's staff or a worker at the school, you have statutory protection against victimisation and dismissal under the PIDA if you speak out genuinely against corruption and malpractice at work, if the reason for the victimisation or dismissal is because you have made a disclosure which is protected under PIDA.

3.5 "Malpractice" includes any kind of improper practice or conduct which falls short of what is reasonably expected whether it relates to a positive act or omission and includes any form of harassment. The school will not tolerate harassment or victimisation.

3.6 It is essential for all concerned that disclosures of wrongdoing or irregularity are dealt with properly, quickly and discreetly. This is in the interests of the school, its employees, any persons who are the subject of such allegations, as well as the person making the disclosure.

3.7 Investigations into allegations of potential malpractice will not influence or be influenced by any disciplinary or redundancy proceedings that are already taking place.

4. Confidentiality

4.1 All concerns will be treated in confidence and every effort will be made not to reveal your identity if you so wish. It must be appreciated that the investigation process may reveal the source of the information and you may need to come forward as a witness and provide a statement as part of the evidence.

4.2 It may be possible to establish the truth about allegations from another independent source and the school will seek to do this where possible.

4.3 The school expects all organisations that deal with us and who have serious concerns about any aspect of the school's work to come forward and voice those concerns. It is recognised that most cases will have to proceed on a confidential basis.

5. Anonymous allegations

5.1 This policy encourages you to put your name to your allegation whenever possible.

5.2 Where an individual chooses to report their concerns anonymously, such anonymity will be respected. However, our ability to investigate anonymous complaints can be hampered by not being able to further explore issues or obtain evidence during the investigative process. Furthermore, if we do not know who has provided the information, it is not possible to either reassure or protect you.

5.3 Concerns expressed anonymously may be less powerful and will only be considered at the discretion of the school. In exercising such discretion, the following factors may need to be taken into account:

▪ the seriousness of the issues raised;
▪ the credibility of the concern; and
▪ the likelihood of confirming the allegation from attributable sources.

5.4 If the allegation suggests criminal activity and the case warrants police assistance, the identity of the person reporting the details may be important at a later date if criminal proceedings are to be pursued effectively. Identification is therefore preferred and will assist the investigation.

6. Untrue allegations

6.1 If you make an allegation which you believe is in the public interest but it is not confirmed by the investigation, no action will be taken against you. If, however, you make an allegation frivolously, maliciously, or for personal gain, disciplinary action may be taken against you if you are a school employee.

6.2 If you are a School Governor, you may breach the Code of Conduct for School Governing Bodies. If you are a contractor or partner, such allegations may put you in breach of your contractual responsibilities to the school.

6.3 Malicious or vexatious allegations include those that are trivial and do not have substance and are made persistently to cause trouble.

7. How to raise a concern

7.1 In raising a concern, you should provide the following information:

▪ the background and history of the concern (giving relevant dates);
▪ the reason why you are particularly concerned about the situation;
▪ the name(s) of any colleagues/employees who you consider are directly involved; and
▪ the name(s) of any colleagues/employees who you believe may be able to help provide further information.
- 2 Concerns should normally be raised with a designated senior member of staff e.g. Headteacher/Chair of Governors. This depends, however, on the seriousness and sensitivity of the issues involved and who is suspected of the malpractice. For example, if you believe that senior management of the school is involved you may wish to approach a senior officer of the council. If you believe officers of the council generally are involved, you should approach the council's Director of Corporate Services (in the role of monitoring officer) or in the case of a financial issue, the council's Internal Audit Service.

3 Staff in Voluntary Aided Schools may wish to approach a Diocesan Authority Officer. If it is believed that officers of the Diocesan/Church Authorities are involved, an approach might be made directly to the Bishop.

4 If however, you feel that you still want to raise your concerns with the council, there are a number of options to choose from. Concerns may be raised verbally to the whistleblowing telephone line, by email, by an on-line referral form or in writing.

5 To make a confidential telephone call please ring the dedicated whistleblowing number 01772 532500, where you will be requested to press 1 for financial matters (directed to the Internal Audit Service) and 2 if it relates to any other concern (directed to Human Resources).

6 Financial matters include the following:

theft of property including assets and cash;
financial irregularities including those affecting cash, stores, property, remuneration or allowances;
fraud;
misuse of school property, vehicles or equipment;
misuse of school systems;
nepotism;
conflicts of interest giving rise to fraud, bribery or corruption;
supplier kickbacks.

7 An officer will answer your call and if the officer is unavailable, there will be an opportunity to leave a voicemail message. An officer will return your call if you so wish but please remember to leave a telephone number in your message.
8 If you prefer to use email there are two dedicated email addresses:

For financial concerns – internalauditinvestigations@lancashire.gov.uk
For any other concern - WhistleblowingComplaints@lancashire.gov.uk

9 An on-line referral form is available which contains two options; one for financial concerns and one for any other concern.

10 Concerns can also be made in writing and correspondence should be sent:

For financial concerns to – Head of Service Internal Audit, Internal Audit Service, Finance Directorate, Lancashire County Council, County Hall, Preston, PR1 0LD.

For any other concern to – Head of Service Human Resources, Human Resources Service Centre, Corporate Services Directorate, Lancashire County Council, County Hall, Preston, PR1 0LD.

7.11 Alternatively, you may contact a representative of the Schools Human Resources Team:

➢ Jeanette Whitham, Head of Schools HR Team - 01772 530436

➢ Steve Lewis, Senior HR Manager 01772 531776

(Districts 1 & 2 – Lancaster & Morecambe and Wyre)

➢ Claire Neville, Senior HR Manager - 01772 530435

(Districts 4 & 6 – Fylde and Preston)

➢ Vic Welch, Senior HR Manager - 01772 531814

(Districts 7 and 8 - South Ribble and West Lancashire)

➢ Andy Cooper, Senior HR Manager – 01772 535781 (Districts 9 and 11 – Chorley and Hyndburn)

➢ Karen Tracey, Senior HR Manager - 01772 535175

(Districts 12, 13, 14 - Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale)

12 The earlier you express the concern, the easier it is for action to be taken.

13 Although you are not expected to prove beyond doubt the truth of an allegation, you will need to demonstrate to the person contacted that there are reasonable grounds for your concern.

14 You may wish to consider discussing your concern with a colleague first and you may find it easier to raise the matter as a collective concern if there are two (or more) of you who have had the same experience or concerns.

15 You may invite a fellow worker, a trade union representative or an official employed by a trade union to be present during any meetings or interviews in connection with the concerns you have raised.

16 If you believe that you have to take the matter externally, possible contacts are listed at Section 10 of this policy.

8. How the Governing Body/council will respond

8.1 The Governing Body/council will provide a response to your concerns. If you confirm your wish to raise the concerns formally under this policy, a responsible person will be designated by the school management, where appropriate, or by the management of the council, to co-ordinate the response to the concerns you have raised, in consultation with the Director of Corporate Services or the Internal Audit Service as necessary. The responsible person will respond to you in accordance with paragraph 8.6 below and where the responsible person is outside the management of the school, s/he will notify the council's Director of Corporate Services for registration, monitoring and annual reporting purposes.

8.2 Where appropriate, the matters raised may:

▪ be investigated by school/council management, internal audit, or through the disciplinary procedure;
▪ be referred to the police;
▪ be referred to the external auditor; or
▪ form the subject of an independent inquiry.
- 3 In order to protect individuals and those accused of misdeeds or possible malpractice, initial enquiries will be made to decide whether an investigation is appropriate and, if so, what form it should take. Such testing out of your concerns is not the same as either accepting or rejecting them. The overriding principle which school management/the council will have in mind is the public interest.

4 Concerns or allegations which fall within the scope of specific procedures (for example, child protection or discrimination issues) will normally be referred for consideration under those procedures.

5 Some concerns may be resolved by agreed action without the need for investigation. If urgent action is required this will be taken before any investigation is conducted.

6 Within ten working days of a concern being raised, the responsible person will write to you to:

▪ acknowledge that the concern has been received;
▪ indicate how it is proposed to deal with the matter;
▪ provide an estimate of how long it will take to provide a final response;
▪ inform you whether any initial enquiries have been made;
▪ supply you with information on staff support mechanisms (where appropriate); and
▪ inform you whether further investigations will take place and if not, why not.
- 7 The amount of contact between those considering the issues and you will depend on the nature of the matters raised, the potential difficulties involved and the clarity of the information provided. If necessary further information will be sought from you.

8 Where any meeting is arranged under this policy, away from school premises if you so wish, you can be accompanied by a trade union or professional association representative or work colleague.

9 The Governing Body will take steps to minimise any difficulties which you may experience as a result of raising a concern. For example, if you are required to give evidence in criminal or disciplinary proceedings, arrangements will be made for you to receive appropriate advice about the procedure.

10 It is accepted that you need to be assured that the matter has been properly addressed. Thus, subject to legal constraints, you will be informed of the outcome of any investigation.

9. The Responsible Officer

9.1 The Headteacher has overall responsibility for the maintenance and operation of this policy in respect of concerns raised formally within the school, and should maintain a record of concerns raised and the outcome to report as necessary to the Governing Body.

9.2 The council's Director of Corporate Services has overall responsibility for the maintenance and operation of this policy in respect of concerns raised formally outside the management of the school and will maintain appropriate records of concerns raised and report as necessary to the council.

10. How the matter can be taken further

10.1 This policy is intended to provide you with an avenue within the School/council to raise concerns. The Governing Body hopes you will be satisfied with any action taken. If you are not, and if you feel it is right to take the matter outside the School/council, you may wish to contact your trade union/professional association or one of the following possible contact points:

External Auditor

* Grant Thornton LLP

4 Hardman Square

Spinningfields

Manchester

M3 3EB

( 0161 953 6900

Website: https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/en/officelocations/?location=manchester

Public Concern at Work

* Public Concern at Work

CAN Mezzanine

7-14 Great Dover Street

London

SE1 4YR

( 020 7404 6609

Email: whistle@pcaw.org.uk

Lancashire Constabulary

* Lancashire Constabulary Headquarters

PO Box 77

Hutton

Preston

PR4 5SB

( 101

Website: https://www.lancashire.police.uk/

Action Fraud

(: 0300 123 2040

Website: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

HM Customs and Excise

* HMRC Fraud Hotline

Cardiff

CF14 5ZN

(: 0800 788 887 Website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenuecustoms/contact/customs-excise-and-vat-fraud-reporting

The Information Commissioner

* The Office of the Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

( 0303 123 1113

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

The Environment Agency

* National Customer Contact Centre

PO Box 544

Rotherham

S60 1BY

( 03708 506 506

Email: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment agency

Health and Safety Executive

* Health & Safety Executive

Redgrave Court

Merton Road

Bootle

Merseyside

L20 7HS

( 0300 003 1747

Website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/index.htm

10.2 If you do take the matter outside the School/council, you should ensure that you do not disclose confidential information that falls outside the scope of the complaint.

You should check with the relevant contact point about that.