‘Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility.
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. In
order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all practitioners should make sure their
approach is child centred. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in
the best interests of the child.’ (KCSIE)
At St Lawrence CE Primary School we believe that it is always unacceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind and recognise that safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people is everyone’s responsibility. We follow Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership procedures and acknowledge that the welfare of the child is paramount. As a Church of England Primary School we believe that every child matters and that everyone has the right to be heard.
Our Safeguarding Team includes:
Craig Battrick- Supervisory Designated Safeguarding Lead
Andrea Hemmings – Designated Safeguarding Lead
Katie Osborne – Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Links you may find useful relating to safeguarding and well-being:
Telford and Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership
Childline
NSPCC
Young Minds
BeeU
The 4 Cs of online safety
An important step in improving online safety is identifying what the potential risks might be.
KCSIE groups online safety risks into four areas: content, contact, conduct and commerce (sometimes referred to as contract). These are known as the 4 Cs of online safety.
Content
Content is anything posted online – it might be words or it could be images and video. Children and young people may see illegal, inappropriate or harmful content when online. This includes things like pornography, fake news, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, anti-Semitism, radicalisation and extremism.
Contact
Contact is about the risk of harm young people may face when interacting with other users online. This includes things like peer-to-peer pressure or seeing inappropriate commercial advertising. Sometimes adults pose as children or young adults with the intention of grooming or exploiting a child or young person for sexual, criminal, financial or other purposes.
Conduct
Conduct means the way people behave online. Some online behaviour can increase the likelihood, or even cause, harm – for example, online bullying. Conduct also includes things like sharing or receiving nudes and semi-nude images and viewing or sending pornography.
Commerce
Commerce is about the risk from things like online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing or financial scams. Children and young people may be exposed to these risks directly. Schools should also consider how the risk from commerce applies to staff.
Further information can be found on the NSPCC website:
The 4 Cs of online safety | NSPCC Learning
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
There have recently been many updates and changes regarding CSE, following the CSE Inquiry. As a Telford & Wrekin school, we take part in termly training and receive updates from the Safeguarding Partnership. There is a new duty on schools to provide awareness to all staff and parents regarding CSE.
What is child sexual exploitation (CSE)
Child sexual exploitation is a type of modern slavery when a male or female under 18 is sexually exploited for the benefit or gain of someone else. The benefit or gain can come in many forms such as increased social status or financial gain. Some victims are also trafficked for the purpose of exploitation.
Multiple tactics are used to exploit the child such as ‘grooming’ which is when the victim is given something, such as food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts or money in return for performing sexual activities or having sexual activities performed on them. Other methods may include violence, bullying and intimidation, with threats of physical harm or humiliation.
Abusers are increasingly using the internet to target vulnerable children. It can happen across any device that’s connected to the web, like computers, consoles, tablets, mobile phones and smart speakers.
Children can be at risk of online abuse from people they know or from strangers. It might be part of other abuse which is taking place offline, like bullying or grooming.
For more information on CSE please use the following Telford & Wrekin link:
Spot the signs you need to look out for – Telford & Wrekin Council
The Prevent Duty.
We have a legal duty to safeguard people from becoming terrorists, supporting terrorism or becoming involved with acts of extremism. As part of this duty, staff undertake training each year and a risk assessment is put in place.
Further information on the Prevent duty can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance/prevent-duty-guidance-for-england-and-wales-accessible
The federation risk assessment can be found here:
Tibberton and St Lawrence CE Primary Federation Prevent Duty Risk Assessment 2024