Safeguarding Statement for High Ongar Primary School
 
At High Ongar Primary School we are all committed to Safeguarding all of our pupils by ensuring that we provide an environment for our pupils that is safe and secure and one where pupils have confidence in all our staff to care for them and keep them safe from harm and risk.
 
Safeguarding means that we:
•    Protect children from any maltreatment or neglect
•    Prevent impairment of children’s health and development
•    Ensure that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
•    Take action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
 
Safeguarding action may need to be needed to protect our children from:
•    Neglect
•    Physical abuse
•    Sexual abuse
•    Emotional abuse
•    Bullying, including cyber bullying
•    Racist, disability, homophobic and transgender abuse
•    Gender based abuse and violence
•    Radicalisation
•    Extremism
•    Child Sexual Exploitation and trafficking
•    Social media and the internet  eg Sexting
•    Substance abuse
•    Gang activity or violence
•    Female Genital Mutilation
•    Fabricated or induced illness
•    Poor parenting
•    Any other issue that may pose a risk or harm to a child
 
At High Ongar we use the following documents to support and guide us in our Safeguarding policy and procedures:
•    Local Authority SET Procedures January 2018
•    Child Protection Policy September 2022
•    What to do if You’re Worried a Child is Being Abused – DfE – March 2015
•    Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022
•    Working Together to Safeguard Children – DfE – July 2018
•    The Prevent Duty – DfE – July 2015
 
To successfully safeguard our pupils means that we will enable them to:
•    Feel safe and secure in the school environment
•    Feel emotionally safe and secure
•    Know that we will ensure that any medical need they have will be attended to carefully, sensitively and with empathy
•    Feel protected from risk and harm
•    Know that there is always a trusted adult available to them should they have a worry, concern or anxiety
•    Know that we will help, guide and support them through adversity should it arise
•    Know that all our staff will do our very best by them to ensure that their school days are happy, positive and productive
 
To ensure the above, we will ensure that:
•    Staff are employed in line with all LA safer recruitment procedures and that the Head and at least one member of the Governing Body have the required Safer Recruitment training
•    There is a Designated Child Protection Person and Deputy Designated Child Protection Person who adhere to their statutory duties
•    All our Staff have regular update training on Safeguarding
•    All our Staff are informed with updates as appropriate
•    Parents and Carers are aware of our Safeguarding procedures and who the designated staff are
•    Our school ethos and mission statement put child safety and well-being at the forefront
•    Staff will follow school policy and procedure and understand their legal responsibilities
•    There is a named Governor with responsibility for Safeguarding and Child Protection
•    The school site is safe and secure
Our safeguarding policy is part of a suite of comprehensive policies, procedures, standards and guidance that we have in place in order to demonstrate our commitment to:
•    Safeguard and promote the welfare of children
•    Enable staff and volunteers to have a clear understanding of what to do if they have concerns about a child or young person
•    Understand how allegations against staff and volunteers will be dealt with
Policies that are underpinned,  include Child Protection, Health and Safety, Anti bullying, PREVENT, Equalities, and any others that relate directly to the safety and well-being of children.
 
If you are worried about a child at High Ongar, please contact the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead, who is our Headteacher, Mrs Jodie Evans or one of the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads Mrs Scharni Hampshire and Ms Jo Putterford. Our named Governor for Child Protection and Safeguarding is Mrs W Pike.  Alternatively, please follow the attached link https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/report-abuse or for further advice and guidance, the Essex Safeguarding Board http://www.escb.co.uk/

Safeguarding is of paramount importance at High Ongar and it is something that we give a high priority to. School staff are police checked and undertake a DBS check before they are appointed. The school site is secure and visitors are required to sign in at the school office and produce identification and a DBS if they are working directly with the children.

Child Sexual Exploitation

Please click below to download a copy of the guide for parents and carers.

Child Online Education

Essex Police has highlighted two websites which focuses and provide support on two specific areas of Child Online education. Each site has age specific levels of awareness for children and young people as well as areas for parents, teachers and trainers.

• http://parentinfo.org/article/staying-safe-on-minecraft - How to keep your child safe when playing Minecraft online

• www.thinkuknow.co.uk - This site provides a guide to internet safety and safe surfing. According to Essex Police this site contains very good all round information, including video clips.
• www.internetmatters.org - This site provides tips and advice on Children's Internet Safety and covers a wide range of exploitation, pornography etc.

• NSPCC Online Safety