Safeguarding

What is Safeguarding?

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. 

In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all at Saint Mary’s RC Primary Academy ensure the approach is child-centred. This means that Saint Mary’s RC Primary Academy consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child.

Saint Mary’s RC Primary Academy recognises that no single practitioner 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.

The purpose of safeguarding children is to:

  • Protect them from abuse, maltreatment and exploitation.
  • Prevent anything from harming their health or development.
  • Ensure they can grow up under safe and effective care.
  • Take action to ensure they have the best outcomes in life.

As part of our Safeguarding offer, Saint Mary’s RC Primary Academy and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi Academy Trust (OLoL CAMT) have a team of people who lead on safeguarding our students, they are our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs). 

Saint Mary’s RC Primary Academy DSLs are also the people who will support with any concerns raised around children’s health, wellbeing and safety, as described above. If you have a concern regarding the wellbeing, health, development, relationships or safety of a child, please use the contact details below.

Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) contact details:

Mrs L Gleed-Thornley (Designated Safeguarding Lead)

Mrs Brader (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead)

Miss Spikings (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead)

Mrs Williams (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead)

Tel: 01205 362092

Out of hours duty team (6pm-8am, weekends and bank holidays): 

Tel: 01522 782333

Safeguarding hotline number for OLoL:

Tel: 01158550557

This will be diverted to our safeguarding team between 9am-3pm weekdays, and will send a voicemail to the safeguarding team outside of these times.

Moira Dales (Trust Safeguarding Lead)
Tel:07852133114
Email: m.dales@ololcatholicmat.co.uk

CONTEXTUAL SAFEGUARDING

At Saint Mary’s RC Primary Academy, we recognise that safeguarding risks can occur both inside and outside the home, including online, within peer groups, communities and social spaces. Contextual safeguarding considers the wider environmental factors that may place children at risk of harm, exploitation or abuse.

In line with Lincolnshire County Council safeguarding priorities and local safeguarding partnership guidance, we understand that children in Boston and across Lincolnshire may experience increased vulnerabilities linked to:

  • domestic abuse
  • neglect
  • online harm
  • child exploitation
  • mental health concerns
  • bullying
  • peer-on-peer abuse
  • anti-social behaviour
  • impact of deprivation

We take a proactive and preventative approach to safeguarding through strong partnerships with families and external agencies, robust safeguarding procedures, staff training, effective filtering and monitoring systems, and a curriculum that teaches children how to stay safe and seek support. Our Saint Mary’s Pride Values, restorative approach, pastoral support, early intervention and strong culture of vigilance help to ensure that all pupils feel safe, valued and supported to thrive.

Safeguarding for Parents

We feel that it is important to support our parents to know how they can protect their children, where to find help and raise concerns if necessary.

As well as skills which are taught within the specific curriculum of Religious Education, PSHE & RSE, please find below contact details for a variety of organisations who support parents and young people if they have any safeguarding, mental health or welfare needs.

  • Parent line 07520 619919: Healthy Family Teams confidential texting service to provide parents and carers advice around feeding, child development, parenting advice and support, emotional health and wellbeing, behaviour difficulties and family health.
  • Health4kids – www.healthforkids.co.uk; this is an NHS site supporting young children and parents.

All the above websites are for students and their families should they need them.

CAMHS crisis team: (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team) part of the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

This service is for young people experiencing a mental health crisis. This includes young people who:

  • are at risk of immediate and significant self-harm
  • are an immediate and significant risk to others due to their mental health
  • are being considered for admission to a mental health inpatient unit
  • are in acute psychological or emotional distress that is causing them to not be able to go about their daily activities, such as going to school and looking after themselves

Tel: 01522 309120 

Safeguarding for pupils

We feel that it is important to support our pupils to know how they can be safe and protected, and to empower them to recognise situations which are unsuitable for them. As well as skills which are taught within the specific curriculum of Religious Education, PSHE & RSE, please find below contact details for a variety of organisations who support young people and their families if they have any safeguarding, mental health or welfare needs.

  • Child line 0800 1111 www.childline.org.uk; Childline is here to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through. You can talk about anything. Whether it’s something big or small, trained counsellors are on hand to support you.
  • ChatHealth – 07520 649893: this is a confidential texting service for 13 to 19 year olds in Lincolnshire Healthcare NHS Trust.
  • Kooth – www.kooth.com: Free, safe and anonymous online support for young people
  • Health4teens – www.healthforteens.co.uk– this is an NHS site supporting young people around emotional wellbeing.
  • Health4kids – www.healthforkids.co.uk: this is an NHS site supporting young children and parents.
  • Young Minds – www.youngminds.org.uk: this organisation support young people to have the best Mental Health
  • Jigsaw – https://www.changegrowlive.org/jigsaw-young-person-family-service-nottingham/info: Support people up to the age of 18 with their drug and alcohol use. The service is free and confidential.

If you have any concerns regarding Safeguarding any child, you can contact the following Local Authority Multi Agency teams: 

Lincolnshire County Council contact details:

EDAN Lincs Domestic Abuse Service

Operation Encompass

EDAN Lincs Domestic Abuse Service

EDAN Lincs Domestic Abuse Service is a registered charity. They cover the county of Lincolnshire, and provide support and assistance to men, women and children suffering, or fleeing from domestic abuse. As an organisation, there mission statement is: ‘To support and empower all those affected by domestic abuse. To raise awareness of the impacts of domestic abuse and promote intolerance of it’.

The website for Domestic Abuse support is EDAN Lincs Domestic Abuse Service https://edanlincs.org.uk/

EDAN Lincs Domestic Abuse Service Open Hours

Outreach Hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm
Refuge Hours: Monday – Friday: 8.30am – 8.30pm
Tel: 01522 510041
General Enquiries: info@edanlincs.org.uk
Secure Email: info.secure@edanlincs.cjsm.net

Operation Encompass

Operation Encompass is an innovative project which Lincolnshire Police is running in partnership with local schools. The project aims to safeguard and support children who are affected by domestic abuse.

What is Operation Encompass?

The project aims to safeguard and support children and young people who are involved in or affected by incidents involving domestic abuse.

Witnessing domestic abuse is really distressing for a young person, who can often see the abuse, hear it from another room, see a parent’s injuries or distress afterwards or be physically hurt trying to stop the abuse.

Following such an incident, children will often arrive at school upset and unprepared. Operation Encompass aims to ensure that appropriate school staff are made aware early enough to support children in the best way possible.

How does Operation Encompass Work?

Following an incident of domestic abuse in the home, children will often arrive at school upset and unprepared. Operation Encompass aims to ensure that appropriate school staff are made aware of the incident early enough to support children in the best way possible.

After we receive a report of abuse in which children were present in the home or usually reside there, brief information will be shared with the school directly from Lincolnshire Police. This information will be handled by the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead within the school. This ensures support can be provided as quickly as possible and children can feel safe and listened to.

Each Designated Safeguarding Lead has been fully trained to liaise with the Police and Children’s Services. They are able to ensure the right support is made available to the child following the disclosure of a domestic abuse incident.

Police will share information with the Designated Safeguarding Lead. The school will be informed that there was an incident and the name of the child. No further information will be given at this point.

What Should the School do with the Information?

By knowing that the child has had this experience, the school is in a better position to be supportive and understanding of the child’s needs and possible behaviours. The Designated Safeguarding Lead will share this information on a need to know basis only.

More help and support :

At Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy, safeguarding and the welfare of our pupils is our highest priority. As part of this commitment, we take our responsibilities under the Prevent Duty very seriously.

The Prevent Duty, introduced under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, requires schools to have due regard to the need to prevent children and young people from being drawn into terrorism and extremist activities.

What is Prevent?

The Prevent Duty is about protecting pupils from the risk of radicalisation and extremism. Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support or be involved in extremist ideologies. Extremism is behaviour or beliefs that seek to undermine fundamental British values such as democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect.

You can read more about Prevent by clicking here.(opens in new tab)

How We Promote Prevent

We help pupils stay safe by:

  • Raising awareness of radicalisation and extremism through our personal development curriculum and providing age-appropriate opportunities for pupils to learn how to challenge extremist views and make safe, informed decisions
  • Teaching British Values, including respect for difference, tolerance and the importance of law and democracy
  • Working with staff, parents and external partners to identify and respond to concerns early

What We Do if We Have Concerns

If we have concerns that a pupil may be at risk of radicalisation or extremism, we take action in line with our safeguarding procedures. This may include:

  • Consulting with senior leaders and the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
  • Speaking to the pupil and their parents/carers
  • Calling the Anti-Terrorism hotline
  • Referring to local authority safeguarding teams and the Prevent Programme

We always act in the best interests of the pupil and in accordance with our safeguarding policies and will be on hand to support any student who requires it.