Safeguarding in action

There are lots of ways that we can tangibly show you how we keep children safe at Colville School. Safeguarding runs throughout everything we do and the needs of children, particularly their well-being, come first in our actions and thoughts. If you don't work in education it can be hard to grasp what safeguarding looks like and to know where to look for help. This page is aimed at showing some of the ways Colville actively strives to keep the children in our care free from harm so they can thrive emotionally, academically and socially. An aim we think is well summarised with our motto of 'we love, we laugh, we learn'. 

Safer Recruitment (Who works here)

All volunteers and employees are vetted to ensure that they are suitable to work with children.

Before applicants proceed with an intention to apply for a position or to support in the school are expected to take full consideration of the following points.

• All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. They are required to disclose all previous criminal convictions and cautions on their application.
• Candidates will be provided with an induction process and will be expected to engage with this monitored process.
• The school will assess a candidate’s knowledge of safeguarding by asking specific questions about this area during the interview process and answers to this question will form part of the decision-making process.
• Our safeguarding policies and procedures will be explained during induction and on a regular basis;
• Safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone.
• Colville complies with all guidance on Childcare Disqualification and we will seek further advice from appropriate bodies when necessary.
• Application forms must be completed in full. Particular attention must be made to work history and inform the school of any gaps in employment.
• Full details of qualifications will be required.

Designated Safeguarding Leads (Who is responsible for safeguarding)

The headteacher (Andrew Hastings) is ultimately responsible for ensuring safeguarding at Colville. The deputy headteacher (Daniel Watkins) and the SENDCO (Cathey Brown) are Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leaders. Together they form the official safeguarding team. However, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and the whole staff team at Colville (including volunteers) are an essential part of the process. We operate on a system whereby everyone acknowledges that safeguarding issues do happen in our community and that it's everyone's collective responsibility to report, support and challenge where necessary. 

You can talk to anyone at Colville about a safeguarding issue. The people with the most training and experience are the Designated Safeguarding Leads. 

Mr Hastings

Mr Watkins

Mrs Brown 

Safe Relationships (What makes me feel safe?)

One strategy we use is to ask each child to create a palm of trust diagram. This is a really tangible way of making sure each child has familiar, trusted adults who they can speak to at school. We encourage regular revisiting of the diagram and each child can access it at school every day. If a child wants to talk to someone about something they are unsure about or they feel unsafe because of, they can always talk to one of their trusted adults. 

'I feel safe because I know I can always tell them if something is wrong' 

'I don't have to talk to my teacher because I can choose anyone I trust' 

'Mrs Bond always listens to me' 

Safeguarding Actions (What types of things happen here)

When a safeguarding issue arises the school follows the statutory guidance and processes for logging concerns (we use an online system), sharing information with key people (Safeguarding leads) and generating actions.  Not all safeguarding concerns result in us contacting social care and/or the police, in fact the vast majority of them can be dealt with by partnership working between the parents, school and external services. Because we endeavour to build positive relationships with pupils we feel we are able to spot problems, keep a record, build a picture, liaise with parents and take action to keep the children at our school safe. 

We have onsite therapists (play and music), school family workers and an experienced mental health lead. We regularly host meetings for professionals and parents. There are times when to keep a child safe we do have to inform social care and/or the police. In these situations we rely on experience and knowledge of the child protection framework for what can be quite challenging conversations. Our staff are mindful that the needs of the child come first and we will not shy away from challenging each other, staff, parents or other members of the community about their Safeguarding obligations.

We know that safeguarding issues do exist in our community and we are proud to play our part in making sure every child is safe from harm.