Key Policies
Our Safeguarding and Child Protection policies can be viewed on our main policies page,
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You can find a range of safeguarding advice leaflets at the bottom of this page.
Chad Vale Commitment to Safeguarding and Child Protection
At Chad Vale Primary School we are committed to safeguarding children and young people and we expect everyone who works in our school to share this commitment.
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Adults in our school take all welfare concerns seriously and encourage children and young people to talk to us about anything that may worry them.
Safeguarding Contacts in School
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Single Point of Contact for PREVENT
Operation Encompass Key Adult
Senior Mental Health First Aider
Paul Sansom (Head Teacher)
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Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Steve Dubberley (Deputy Head Teacher)
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Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Naomi Burnett (Assistant Head Teacher)
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Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Helen Larcombe (SENDCO)
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Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Phillip Goodman (After-School Manager
Communication with Parents​
Our school will always discuss concerns with parents/carers and consent for any referrals will be sought unless to do so would:
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Place the child at risk of significant harm or further risk of significant harm.
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Place a vulnerable adult at risk of harm.
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Compromise any enquiries that need to be undertaken by children’s social care or the police.
The school will endeavour to ensure that parents have an understanding of the responsibilities placed on the school and staff for safeguarding children.
In the best interests of safeguarding children there may be occasions when the school has to consult with other agencies without a parent or carer’s prior knowledge.
Our first concern and responsibility is the child’s welfare and we have a duty to protect children first and always. Such consultation may result in a formal referral which could prompt visits from social care and/or the police. We fully understand that this can be a very distressing set of circumstances.
Our school will follow the procedures required by the Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board. We adopt the local authority policy which is kept under regular review.
Curriculum
Child safety issues and child protection will be addressed through the curriculum where appropriate especially through PSHE, Computing and E-Safety, Citizenship, RSE and British values.
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We use a variety of resources and approaches to teach the children how to keep themselves safe, build their resilience and manage risks.
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The curriculum, and in particular the personal, social and health education development strand of the curriculum, includes an emphasis on relationships (relationships and sex education), building confidence and resilience in pupils and in developing preventative strategies to ensure their own protection and that of others.
Opportunities are provided for pupils to develop the skills and strategies they need to stay safe from abuse, including age appropriate discussions about healthy relationships, their bodies and being able to say no to requests that they do not want to carry out. Clear advice and guidance is built into the curriculum to ensure that pupils understand that there is a range of contacts they can turn to for advice and support and that they know where and how to report abuse.
Child Sexual Exploitation
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a form of sexual abuse which sees children/young people being manipulated or coerced into sexual activity for receiving ‘something’ such as; gifts, money, food, attention, somewhere to stay etc. Technology is very often used to groom victims. This may occur through social networking sites and mobile phones with internet access. CSE has gained a large amount of media attention over the last year as lots of services involved with children and young people have noticed a big rise in cases involving CSE.
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Charities such as NSPCC and Barnardos have been campaigning to raise the profile of this form of child abuse.
Internet Safety
Children and young people spend lots of time on the internet. They may go online to research information for homework or to play games, chat with friends and make new ones. The internet holds a massive amount of useful information and can also be a really good way of learning about new things and keeping in contact with friends and family. It can also be a very dangerous place so it is important that children are protected and monitored when they are online.
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CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) has lots of information about how to keep your children safe online and parental controls. The link to the website is below.
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Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
In April 2014 every school in England received new safeguarding guidelines and detailed information on identifying and responding to Female Genital Mutilation. FGM is a procedure carried out on young girls between the ages of infancy and 15 years of age.
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Female Genital Mutilation is classified as a form of Child Abuse in the UK. It therefore makes the procedure of it a serious Child Protection issue. It is illegal for anyone to perform FGM in the UK or to arrange for a child to be transported to another country for the procedure. The maximum sentence for carrying out FGM or helping it to take place is 14 years in prison.
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There is lots of information and support available online for parents/carers concerned about this subject or if you know someone who is at risk:
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Contact the Police if you think that a girl or young woman is in danger of FGM and is still in the UK.
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Contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (020 7008 1500) if she’s already been taken abroad.
The NSPCC has detailed advice on how to spot the signs, symptoms and effects of FGM and provides support for people who are concerned about a child or who have been affected themselves. The link to the website is below.
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Reporting a Concern of Abuse or Neglect
If you have concerns about any child in Birmingham you should contact Birmingham's Children Advice and Support Service (CASS) on 0121 303 1888. If you believe a child is at immediate risk, you should call 999.
​The link below will direct you to the Birmingham City Council's Children's Services page, which tells you how to report a concern.
Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership is a statutory board which has been set up as part of the Every Child Matters government reforms. BSCP ensures that all organisations that work with children work together to keep children and young people safe from harm.
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Operation Encompass
Chad Vale is part of Operation Encompass which is a national scheme that operates jointly between schools and police forces.
Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has experienced domestic abuse.
As a school we have ensured that a member of our staff, (Paul Sansom- Designated Safeguarding Lead) known as a Key Adult, has been trained in the Operation Encompass procedures allowing us to then use the information that has been shared, in confidence, to support the child/ren in our care. If we receive an Operation Encompass alert we will get in touch with you to offer further support.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 identifies children who experience domestic abuse as victims of domestic abuse in their own right.
We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved.
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You can discover more about Operation Encompass by clicking here.