Safeguarding at Chalfont St Peter Church of England Academy

At this school, the health, safety and well-being of every child are our paramount concern. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. Our aim is for children to enjoy their time as pupils in this school. We want to work in partnership with parents to help pupils achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution.

To promote a safe environment for pupils, our selection and recruitment policy includes all checks on staff and regular volunteers’ suitability, including Disclosure and Barring checks, as recommended by Buckinghamshire County Council and in line with current legislation.

We are also mindful of our responsibilities under section 175/157 of the Education Act 2002 and the latest addition of "Keeping Children Safe in Education". We have a Designated Safeguard Lead for Child Protection, Mrs Valentine and a Deputy Safeguarding Lead for Child Protection, Mrs Alburg. They have received appropriate training for this role. In addition all staff receive child protection awareness training on a regular basis to support them to develop their understanding of risks both in the real world and online, which may impact on our students and their welfare. As a school we believe safeguarding children is everyone's responsibility.

Occasions do arise when our concern about a child requires us to consult other agencies. Whilst we would always aim to work in partnership with parents there may be exceptions to this when concerns are raised for the protection of a child.

On very rare occasions Social Care, whilst undertaking an investigation under s47 of the Children Act 1989, may want to speak to a child without parents’ knowledge. This would be a decision made in collaboration with partner agencies and would only be done in situations where a child might be at immediate risk of harm. To gain consent at this point may increase the level of risk to the child or cause evidence of a crime to be lost.

The procedures, which we follow, have been laid down by the Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Partnership and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all. This fully complies with the Keeping Children Safe in Education (2023).

If you want to know more about our procedures, please speak to Mrs Valentine, the Designated Safeguarding Lead for Child Protection. 

Prevent Strategy

What is the Prevent strategy?

• Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.
• The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?

• From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.
• This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from any other harm.
• Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues, at an appropriate level so they better understand how to protect themselves.

What does this mean in practice at Chalfont St Peter Church of England Academy?

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy. These include:

• Having strong vision and values which pervade our school.
• Focusing on core values.
• Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity.
• Challenging prejudices and racist comments.
• Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity.
• Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy.

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.

Safeguarding Information for Parents

NSPCC information on child abuse: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/

Metropolitan Police information on child sexual exploitation:

https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/caa/child-abuse/child-sexual-exploitation/

The Children's Society information on child criminal exploitation County: Lines https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/child-criminal-exploitation-and-county-lines

Educate Against Hate information on Radicalisation:

https://www.educateagainsthate.com/parents/

Information about keeping safe online from the UK Council for Internet Safety: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-safety-online-a-practical-guide-for-parents-and-carers/child-safety-online-a-practical-guide-for-parents-and-carers-whose-children-are-using-social-media