At St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our all our pupils. Under the Education Act 2002 (section 175/157), schools must “make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children”.  We will endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued.  The school will therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.

If you are concerned about a child’s welfare please contact:

Designated Safeguarding Lead & Prevent Lead: Philomena Egan (Headteacher)

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead & Prevent Lead: Jessica Sharkey (Deputy Headteacher)

Safeguarding Governor: Tim King

NB: For a copy of our Safeguarding Policy please see our Policies page.

Safer Recruitment

We ensure that everyone working in our school has successfully completed the necessary clearances to enable them to work with children. Every interview panel includes at least one member who has relevant Safer Recruitment training.

Safety on the Web

We are committed to keeping our children and families informed and empowered with the latest online safety information. We regularly share updates through our school newsletters, which include tips for safe internet use, guidance on current online trends, and alerts about potential risks. We also signpost trusted UK-based resources such as ThinkUKnow (www.thinkuknow.co.uk), Childnet (www.childnet.com), and the UK Safer Internet Centre (www.saferinternet.org.uk), which offer age-appropriate advice, interactive activities, and guidance for both children and parents. By maintaining open communication and promoting awareness through these channels, we aim to ensure our school community stays informed, vigilant, and safe online. We avoid putting photographs onto our school website featuring children face on to protect their privacy. 

Social Care

Part of our legal duty to safeguard our children, may also include us needing to consult specifically with and take advice from, the Police or Children's Social Care, should the need arise. Schools will seek such advice when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded.  Parents/carers will appreciate that staff in the school, who all have a legal responsibility for safeguarding, were carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.  

Parental Involvement

The staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with the parent/carer, and where possible inform them of the referral to Social Care.  This will only be done where such discussion will not place the child at increased risk of significant harm.  

Information Sharing

Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. In accordance with local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively.  Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service.

Training

We follow the advice contained in the latest edition of ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) and all staff receive training every year. Designated Safeguarding Leads have all completed their training or refresher training.

Staff Conduct

Staff are expected to follow the advice in the KCSIE document and work within the St Mary’s Code of Conduct. We are all expected to share any concerns we have about staff conduct around children with the Head Teacher. As in all schools, if there are concerns about the conduct of the Head, then these should be shared with the Chair of Governors. The staff ‘Whistleblowing Policy’ has been discussed and adopted and all staff have access to this document.

Improvements

We take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously and are committed to improving them.  By working closely together as a staff and with our partner agencies, we firmly believe that we will continue to offer a safe learning environment for all our children.

Please take the time to read our policies and do not hesitate to contact the school should you have any questions about the very serious issue.

Please do let us know if there is further information that parents would appreciate being added to this page or links to other sources of support.