Safeguarding
Safeguarding, safety and promoting the welfare of children is the highest priority for Badsey First School:
- Protecting children from maltreatment
- Preventing the impairment of children’s health or development
- Ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
There are a number of legal frameworks and definitions of safeguarding which can be found in the GLA Safeguarding Policy and GLA Safeguarding Handbook.
Safeguarding is about more than Child Protection. The latter is specifically about protecting children and young people from suspected abuse and neglect. It includes everything an organisation can do to keep children and young people safe, including minimizing the risk of harm and accidents and taking action to tackle safety concerns.
Staff Training
We maintain a culture of 'it could happen here' at Badsey - communication and training around safeguarding is our number one priority. All staff undertake whole school Child Protection training regularly. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (Mrs Emma Davis) and our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (Miss Colleen Penrose, Mrs Amy Atkinson and Mrs Tessa Jackson) also update their knowledge through attending regular revision training led by the GSCB or Worcestershire Children First. Designated Safeguarding Leads have updated Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) training and safer recruitment training is also completed by all relevant personnel. All staff are held to account around Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance and Safer Working Practices guidance. Regular meetings will address concerns and this ensures staff can assess risk and respond to this in a timely manner. Annually, we complete a Section 175 safeguarding audit for Worcestershire County Council that results in an action plan and acts as a tool for our own quality assurance.
Pupil Provision
With this in mind, the school will provide a broad and balanced curriculum underpinned by our Badsey Bes values; used to model and articulate British values, linked to our robust PSHCE curriculum which will be developed in relation to our own context.
Whistleblowing
We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our children, staff and visitors, whilst promoting an environment where children and adults will feel confident about sharing any concerns which they may have about their own safety or the well-being of others. Employees who have concerns regarding the safeguarding arrangements at the school or the Trust should be encouraged to report their concerns and refer to the GLA Whistleblowing Policy which can be found here.