Safeguarding at Orchard Meadow

Safeguarding Statement

Orchard Meadow Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We have a number of policies and procedures in place that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, which can be viewed here.

The government has launced a new website which gives parents, teachers and school leaders practical advice on protecting children against extremism and radicalisation. Educate Against Hate.

Pupil Voice

Capturing how pupil feel and any worries they may have is really important to us. We regularly use pupil voice surveys and pupil conferencing to evaluate what we do, particularly when it comes to pupil well-being. The latest survey was conducted earlier this term (headline findings below).

We use 'Zones of Regulation' in every classroom too as part of our Family Meetings, which helps pupils who are worried or upset express how they are feeling.

​Daily Pledge:

Our commitment to keeping everyone safe is reinforced daily through our pledge, which is part of Family Meetings. Teachers remind pupils that: 'it is my job to keep you safe' and they answer: 'it is our job to keep it that way'. This helps to create a culture of shared responsibility for everyone's safety.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead for Orchard Meadow is Heather Richards (Headteacher).

All of our Deputy DSLs have received DSL training and form part of our wider Safeguarding team, which works together to ensure pupils ar Orchard Meadow are kept safe:

You may also find the following links useful for further information:

Contact details for Local Authority Designated Officer

Concerns about a child 

Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board

NSPCC Is your child ready to be left alone? 

Safeguarding is everyones responsibility - if you concerns for a child's welfare you can report to the NSPCC 

The government has produced a useful resource regarding safeguarding during Covid-19. 

The government has launced a new website which gives parents, teachers and school leaders practical advice on protecting children against extremism and radicalisation. Educate Against Hate.

Making a referral to PREVENT advice click here 

You may also find the following links useful for further information:

Contact details for Local Authority Designated Officer

Concerns about a child 

Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board

NSPCC Is your child ready to be left alone? 

More useful resources:

We are committed to keeping every child safe and for this reason, we ensure that any adult working in school undertake rigorous criminal checks. We insist that any visitor to school who will be working in areas where children have access has clearance and photographic evidence of who they are. We pride ourselves in giving children “A Voice” and for this reason we investigate any allegation a child makes. All staff have had Child Protection training.

Please click the links below to visit:

Education Against Hate website

Education Against Hate Twitter

ThinkUKnow website

CEOP website

UK Safer Internet Centre website

Fortnite for Parents

Minecraft for Parents

Roblox for Parents

YouTube for Parents

FIFA for Parents

Childnet International - Parents and Carers Toolkit

Support For Parents - Childline guidance

Support For Parents - Relationships Education (RSE)

Extra Links

Please click the links below to visit:

Childline website

Keeping Children Safe in Education website

Working Together for Safeguarding Children website

Childline's Information on " Worry's about the world"

Young minds has a lot of information and support for parents. 

https://www.letstalkaboutit.nhs.uk/other-services/support-for-parents/. Relationship advice 

https://www.rsehub.org.uk/for-parentscarers/ RSE Advice

Click here for advice from the School Nurse on spotting the signs of sepsis.

Parenting with a mental illness support information click here

If you're concerned about a child or young person's mental health, you can get free, confidential advice via phone, email or webchat from the Young Minds Parents Helpline.

For children there is Childline: under 19s can call 0800 1111 for free, confidential support

Self care information from Anna Freud Centre

 

Stranger Danger

Please see resources (right) from Safety4Kids on how support your child to stay safe in the community, especially if they are in Year 5/6 and able to walk to or from school alone.

It is important that pupils do not feel afraid and have the confidence to do the right thing if they are approached by a stranger.

Introducing Ollee – a virtual friend!

Ollee is a digital friend for children aged 8-11, created by Parent Zone and funded by BBC Children in Need’s A Million & Me initiative, which aims to make a difference to children’s emotional wellbeing.

It’s designed to help children reflect on how they feel and to process their experiences with the support and help of their parents and carers.  There are a range of scenarios that can be explored together.

Children can choose an emotion that matches how they feel about it: happy, angry, sad, confused, frustrated, stressed or worried. They can next choose from a list of topics – for instance, a child who was worried about school might be able to select ‘I haven’t done my homework’ as the cause of their worry. 

You can more information and download the Ollee app here: https://parentzone.org.uk/Ollee