At Our Lady & St. Swithin’s Catholic Primary School, we regard the safeguarding of children as our main priority. We believe that we all have the right to be happy, to be safe and to learn. We all have the responsibility to make this happen. We will ensure that:

• The welfare of the child remains paramount.
• All children whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/ or sexual identity have the right to be protected from harm.
• All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
• All staff and volunteers working at our school have a responsibility to report concerns to one of the safeguarding team: Mrs Hartley (Head Teacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead), Mrs Morgan (Designated Safeguarding Lead), Mrs Munro and Mrs Blair.

Safer Recruitment:

We follow strict procedures to ensure that everyone who works with our children is vetted, keeping our children as safe as possible.

Ongoing checks and ‘whistle-blowing’ are in line with current policy.

Staff Training:

• Staff are trained in child protection issues and they are aware of the procedures to follow.
• Staff are encouraged to be vigilant in order to maintain the safety of our children.
• All Staff & Volunteers are given our safeguarding policies and directed to the documents
• All staff have an up-to-date understanding of safeguarding issues (including those highlighted in the PREVENT strategy) and are able to implement the safeguarding children policy and procedure appropriately.
• Policies are in line with current guidance and procedures.

• Staff are able to respond appropriately to any:

• significant changes in children’s behaviour; • deterioration in their general well-being; • unexplained bruising, marks or signs of possible abuse; • signs of neglect; • comments children make which give cause for concern.

• All staff are aware of the need to maintain privacy and confidentiality.

  Information Sharing:

• We have an obligation to obtain necessary information from parents in advance of a child being admitted to school, including:                 • emergency contact numbers; • the child’s special dietary requirements or any food allergies the child may have; • the child’s special health requirements; • information about who has legal contact with the child; and who has parental responsibility for the child.

• Written parental permission is requested, at the time of the child’s admission to the provision, to the seeking of any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment in the future. PARENTS & CARERS MUST TELL US OF ANY CHANGES TO THESE DETAILS. We take confidentiality very seriously. Any information which we hold is treated as confidential and shared on a ‘need-to-know’ basis.

  Links with External Agencies:

• We are fortunate to be supported by a range of external agencies which can be called upon to support the work we do in school.
• These include; School Nurse, Health Practitioners, Educational Psychology, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, Behaviour Support, Social Services and Specialists in supporting Special Educational Needs

Operation Encompass

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

Our Key Adult is Mrs Morgan

You can find out more by visiting www.operationencompass.org

Operation Encompass Letter Parents and Carers

Our safeguarding policies cover all areas of school life and can be viewed below.

School Closures

In the event of school closure, our duty and responsibility to safeguard our pupils remains. Our regular check ins with families needing a bit of extra help and support will continue throughout a period of school closure. Please do not feel offended if a member of school staff calls to check in with you. If you have any safeguarding concerns while the school is closed for your child or for any other pupil from the school, please contact us on:

safeguarding@olss.liverpool.sch.uk 

or ring school on 01515463868

Wellbeing

Mental Health support for children

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/talking-to-your-children-scary-world-news

Tips for talking to your children about Covid-19

Newsround

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround

Daily news updates for children

Tiny Happy People

https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people

Activities for developing younger children’s language and communication

Go Noodle

https://www.gonoodle.com/

Videos for physical wellbeing

Childline

https://www.childline.org.uk/

NSPCC

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/

Ebug

https://www.e-bug.eu/

Advice for personal hygiene and preventing spread of disease

Further information

Mindheart

The Corona Virus Social Story

Primary Schools’ Wellbeing Booklet

For any further information on safeguarding see below. 

Safeguarding Policies