Safeguarding
Safeguarding at Sir Jim's
Sir James Smith’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
No one wants to hear about children being abused, neglected or unsafe. We all need to know what to do if there are concerns about the safety of any child or vulnerable young person. Remember these three important messages:
- All children have a right to be safe no matter who they are or what their circumstances.
- Keeping children safe is everyone's responsibility.
- We all need to listen to children even though we may not always be comfortable with what we hear.
The school promote the welfare of students in ensuring:
- We protect children from maltreatment
- We prevent the impairment of children's mental and physical health or development
- That children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- We take actions to enable all children to have the best outcomes
Who should I talk to if I have concerns about a child?
It doesn’t matter if you are a paid worker, a volunteer or a member of the community, you have a responsibility to act if you are worried about a child.
The Designated safeguarding Lead at Sir Jim’s is Mr Dyson.
- The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are: Mrs Rundle and Mrs Ashton-Smith.
- They can be contacted on 01840 213274 or email enquiries@sirjamessmiths.cornwall.sch.uk.
- Devon and Cornwall Police telephone number 101.
- Cornwall’s Multi-Agency Referral Unit 0300 1231 116.
- Cornwall Children’s Social Care 01209 251300.
Further sources of excellent information are:
That telephone call or email might be the most important one you will ever make!
- Each agency will have someone who has a responsibility for child protection and safeguarding issues - they have had training to know what to do next.
- It is not your responsibility to investigate safeguarding concerns but you must tell the appropriate person. It will be this person’s job to decide what action to take next. If necessary they will speak to Children’s Social Care or the police. The police and social workers can then decide whether they need to investigate your concerns.
You can view our Safeguarding policies here.
Operation Encompass
Sir Jim’s is an Operation Encompass school. This means we work with the police when they have been called to domestic incidents where children are present. The police will contact the school within 24 hours of an incident happening. School staff will follow up all Operation Encompass referrals. We advise parents/carers where incidents have occurred to get in contact with school so we can work together to best support any child involved.
Operation Encompass key staff are:
- Mrs Rundle, Pastoral Support and Well-being Manager
- Mrs Ashton-Smith, Pastoral Support and Well-being
Prevent @ Sir Jim’s
Protecting children from the risk of radicalisation and extremism should be seen as part of schools’ and childcare providers’ wider safeguarding duties, and is similar in nature to protecting children from other harms (e.g. drugs, gangs, neglect, sexual exploitation), whether these come from within their family or are the product of outside influences.
The statutory guidance makes clear the need for schools to ensure that children are safe from terrorist and extremist material when accessing the internet in schools. Schools should ensure that suitable filtering is in place. This is part of our e-safety strategy.
Extremism includes extreme right-wing and left-wing organisations and any other group that intentionally promotes the use of violence.
If you have any concerns over inappropriate content being accessed by children please contact the school immediately. You can also contact your local police force or dial 101 (the non-emergency number). They can talk to you in confidence about your concerns and help you gain access to support and advice.
The Department for Education has dedicated a telephone helpline (020 7340 7264) to enable those with concerns about extremism to contact them directly. Concerns can also be raised by email to counter.extremism@education.gsi.gov.uk
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)
Sir James Smiths are committed to working with the local authority, police, and professional agencies to support young people and families who may be affected by CSE or CCE. This form of abuse can affect both males and females, occurring where an individual or group take advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into taking part in sexual or criminal activity, in exchange for something that the victim needs or wants.
There are a range of innovative and creative campaigns to raise awareness amongst all young people and protect those young people at risk of CSE and CCE and we work closely with the police to promote these.
PEER on PEER Abuse
During the summer of 2021, the government asked OFSTED to carry out a review of sexual abuse in schools.
The underlining message for everyone to understand is
IT COULD HAPPEN HERE
The school has taken a firm response to the OFSTED review in making students aware of their safeguarding responsibilities, understanding the extent of peer-on-peer abuse and the significant part that technology can play in this. Peer on peer abuse can include:
- Bullying
- Physical Abuse
- Sexual violence
- Sexual harassment
To be a safe and happy school, Sir James Smith's will support students who have both suffered and instigated peer on peer abuse, setting high expectations and standards of being a good person
The following two websites offer good information for parents/carers, students and the community
The school has a student network panel to discuss Peer on Peer abuse with the aim of sharing and understanding the safeguarding concerns of young people in the 21st Century world.
