Broadhempston Village Primary School is committed to safeguarding all members of the school community and our visitors. The school's procedures operate in line with the Devon and Torbay Safeguarding Children Board and Department of Education statutory guidance. The school is committed to cooperating fully with other agencies on matters relating to child protection. If you have any concerns about the welfare of the students please report them immediately to the designated safeguarding lead. Broadhempston Village Primary School Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy is available on the school website and by request at the school office. This policy operates as part of a wider suite of welfare policies.

The lead safeguarding officers in the school are:

Mr Daniel Turner - Head of School - Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSL)

Miss Hannah Nicolson - Deputy Safeguarding Officer 

Miss Claire Simpson - Deputy Safeguarding Officer

Mrs Rachel Shaw - Executive Headteacher (Deputy Designated Officer for Child Protection)

Mrs Linda Mitchel - Safeguarding Governor

If any member of staff is concerned about a pupil's well-being, emotional or physical, and/or has worries about their safety either from their own or others’ actions (others  include adults and young people in and out of school)

The school procedure is as follows:

• Discuss concerns with the School Designated Officer or Deputy officer (if DSL not on site)
• Concerns must be reported as soon as possible. It is much better to share a concern or worry than to keep it to yourself.
• The School Desingated Officer will make a decision as to whether outside agencies should be involved. This will usually be following advice from the Child Protection Threshold Team (CYPS)
• Write down as soon as possible what the pupil has told you, including the time, date, and names of other people involved.
• Confidentiality should never be promised, you have a legal obligation to share any concerns that involve a child being harmed or at risk of harm
• The pupil's welfare is paramount.
• If the concern relates to the conduct of another member of staff this must be reported to the Executive Headteacher.

​Remember - Never feel worried to share a concern.

It is always better to share a concern and find out later that there was nothing to worry about than not to share a concern and find out later that a child has suffered.

Staying safe online

With the increased access children have to devices that can connect to the internet, it has never been more important to understand how to be safe when using online content.

Whether children are accessing images, online games, social media platforms or just surfing the web, as part of their homework, they need to remain safe.

At Broadhempston Village Primary School we take E-Safety seriously and wanted to share some useful information with parents/carers and children to help raise awareness of this important subject area.

Some useful websites:

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/ - 'Since 2006, Thinkuknow has been keeping children and young people safe by providing education about sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. Thinkuknow is unique. It is underpinned by the latest intelligence about child sex offending from CEOP Command. Thinkuknow aims to ensure that everyone has access to this practical information – children, young people, their parents and carers and the professionals who work with them. Alongside the Thinkuknow website the programme provides educational resources, including films, cartoons and lesson plans, to help professionals raise young people’s awareness.'

https://net-aware.org.uk/ - a really useful site to check that information on websites, social networks and games the children are using is appropriate for their age. It also includes helpful hints and tips with staying safe and the dangers with each.

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/nspcc - contains articles and useful information for keeping your children safe online.

Useful resources:

Below are two information booklets to help parents' keep their children safe online. They have been produced by O2 and the NSPCC and contain some vitally important information when it comes to child safety online.

Useful social media parent help guides

Below are a number of guides for parents on some common social media platforms. These have been produced by Thinkuknow in order to highlight the key concepts of each platform and how to remain safe. For more information go to https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Support-tools/How-to-guides/

Broadhempston Village Primary School has been given the opportunity to take part in a project that will run jointly between schools and Devon and Cornwall Police.

Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has been exposed to, or involved in, any domestic incident.

Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school staff, known as a Key Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make a provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been involved in, or exposed to, a domestic abuse incident.

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.

      Please click on the following link for more information http://www.operationencompass.org/