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What is safeguarding?
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.
Safeguarding children and child protection guidance and legislation applies to all children up to the age of 18. Taken from Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2024.
SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT OF INTENT
At Alfred Lord Tennyson School, we are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all of our pupils, so they can learn in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. We believe every pupil should be able to participate in all school activities in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from harm. This is the responsibility of every adult employed by, or invited to deliver services at Alfred Lord Tennyson School. We recognise our responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all our pupils by protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect and bullying. All people who work with our children and on behalf of Alfred Lord Tennyson School will comply with safeguarding procedures in relation to recruitment, risk assessments, off and on site procedures, environmental safety, e-safety and as part of their every day practice with children. It is the responsibility of all staff to know safeguarding procedures, apply the principles in practice, attend training and report any concerns.
All staff will undergo an enhanced DBS check and it their responsibility to notify the DSL if there has been any change in their personal circumstance that make pose a threat to children.
Our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policies can be found below.
If you have any concerns about a child in our school, you should share this with our Designated Safeguarding Lead – Mrs K O'Connor (Head Teacher) - or one of the Deputy Safeguarding Leads, Mrs J Appleby (Inclusion Manager) and Mrs S Smith (Assistant Head).
What is Child Protection?
Child Protection is part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. It refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer significant harm.
Our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs)
Every organisation has to have a “named” person for safeguarding children and young people. The Governing body has to ensure that an appropriate member of staff should take the lead. This person should have the status and authority within the school to carry out the duties of the post including committing resources and where appropriate supporting and directing staff. At Alfred Lord Tennyson School the Designated Safeguarding Lead is Kelly O'Connor, our Head Teacher. We also have three other members of staff who are fully trained and take the role of Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads.
DSLs ensure all children are safe within our school. If you have any safeguarding concerns, please contact one of our DSLs.
Mrs K O'Connor
Mrs S Smith
Mrs J Appleby
Mrs L Bunker
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (M.A.S.H)
The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (M.A.S.H) deals with referrals from professionals and members of the public who may have concerns about a child’s welfare following contact with the helpline that is now also based in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub. It makes the process of dealing with referrals quicker and more effective by improving the way the Council’s Children’s Social Care, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), Youth Offending Service (YOS) and education work alongside other partner agency colleagues, including Northamptonshire police, Northamptonshire health partners, National Probation Service, and the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), to share information.
Contact M.A.S.H
By telephone: contact the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub: 0300 126 7000 (option 1)
By e-mail to:
At the foot of the page is a parent/carer leaflet regarding the M.A.S.H referral process.
Early Help Support Service
The Early Help Support Service is for those working with children and families. We provide information, advice or guidance around:
- Early Help Assessment
- support to create a team around the family meeting (including finding out what other agencies may be involved with the child or family you are supporting)
- access to services, interventions and training.
Telephone: 0300 126 1000
Email:
If we advise that early help is needed, you can use the Early Help Assessment process.
Our Early Help Offer
Alfred Lord Tennyson School has a dedicated Family Support Worker - Mrs Laura Bunker. Our Family Support Worker signposts parents/carers to relevant agencies so that they may get the best support for them and their family, as well as provide information about courses available locally or virtually that may also help.
Mrs Bunker also offers an Early Help Assessment (EHA). An EHA is a simple way to help identify the needs of children and families and make a plan to meet those needs. It's purpose is to provide a coordinated response so no-one in the family misses out on the support they need.
Safeguarding Curriculum
At Alfred Lord Tennyson we prioritise the safeguarding of the children and plan many opportunities within the curriculum to raise awareness. Please see the document below which highlights some of the approaches we take and themes covered.
Many elements of safeguarding are also taught in our Computing lessons as part of online safety and our PSHE lessons which follow the JIGSAW Scheme of work. The JIGSAW Programme takes children's and young people's safety very seriously and aims to equip them to lead safe, happy and healthy lives, to embrace the opportunities open to them, to aim high, to be empowered to keep themselves safe, to know their rights and responsibilities and to know where and how to ask for help when needed. The JIGSAW Programme builds the foundations of children's positive relationships with themselves, self-esteem, self-respect, and assertiveness skills; and approaches sensitive subjects in an age-and stage-appropriate way. The Programme focuses on healthy relationships, what to do if you are worried about something, your rights as a child, your personal space, body privacy and who can help us. Through this we are building their ability and confidence to speak out when they feel hurt or unsafe.
Through Relationships Education (RSE), we teach the knowledge needed to report abuse by focusing upon boundaries and privacy, ensuring children understand that they have rights over their own bodies.
Prevent Strategy
As part of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s ongoing safeguarding and child protection duties, we are fully behind the Government's Prevent Strategy.
From 1 July 2015 all schools are subject to a duty under section 26 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the ‘Prevent Duty for Schools’.
At Alfred Lord Tennyson School we build pupils’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting fundamental British Values and enabling our pupils to challenge extremist views. You can read about what we do to promote British Values here.
The statutory guidance refers to the importance of Prevent awareness training to equip staff to identify children at risk of being drawn into terrorism and to challenge extremist ideas. All staff have also completed online training on the Prevent Strategy.
NSPCC - The Pants Rule
Please click on the link below for more information about keeping children aware and safe.
Safeguarding Related Policies
Safeguarding Supporting Documents