At St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, the safety and wellbeing of every child is of the highest importance. As a Catholic school, we believe that every child is a precious and unique gift from God and deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our pupils and to providing a safe, nurturing and welcoming environment in which children can learn, flourish and achieve their full potential.

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. All staff receive regular safeguarding training and are expected to remain vigilant to any concerns about a child's welfare. We work closely with families, our parish, the Local Authority, Children's Social Care, the Police and other agencies where this is necessary to protect children and promote their wellbeing.

If you are concerned about a child

If you have a concern about the welfare or safety of a child, please contact a member of our safeguarding team.

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and Prevent Lead:
Jessica Sharkey – Headteacher

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL):
Mr. Morgan

Ms. Clinton

Safeguarding Governor:
Tim King

If you have an immediate concern that a child is at risk of significant harm, please contact the appropriate emergency service or Children's Social Care directly.

A copy of our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy can be found on our Policies page.

Safer Recruitment

We take great care to ensure that adults working at St Mary’s are suitable to work with children.

We follow robust safer recruitment procedures, including appropriate identity, qualification and employment checks and the necessary Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. At least one member of every recruitment panel has completed appropriate safer recruitment training.

Our safeguarding responsibilities continue after appointment. Staff are expected to maintain professional boundaries and follow the school's Code of Conduct and safeguarding procedures at all times.

Online Safety

We recognise that children increasingly live, learn and communicate online. Online safety is therefore an important part of our safeguarding provision.

We teach children how to use technology safely, responsibly and respectfully and regularly provide parents and carers with information about current online risks, including the ever changing risks which accompany AI tools, online trends and guidance through our newsletters and other communications.

We signpost families to trusted sources of advice, including:

• ThinkUKnow – age-appropriate advice and guidance for children, young people, parents and professionals.

• Childnet – resources to help children use technology safely and positively.

• UK Safer Internet Centre – advice and resources for children, families and schools.

Parents and carers are encouraged to speak regularly with their children about their online experiences and to contact the school if they have concerns.

Working with Children's Social Care and Other Agencies

Safeguarding children sometimes requires the school to seek advice from or share information with Children's Social Care, the Police, health services or other relevant agencies.

Where we have concerns about a child's welfare, we will follow our safeguarding procedures and seek appropriate advice. This may include making a referral to Children's Social Care where the circumstances meet the relevant threshold.

We recognise that, on occasion, a concern reported to Children's Social Care or another agency may subsequently be found not to require further action. This does not mean that the school has acted incorrectly. School staff have a professional and legal responsibility to act on concerns and to prioritise the safety and welfare of children.

Our approach is always to act reasonably, proportionately and in the best interests of the child.

Working with Parents and Carers

We value our partnership with parents and carers and, wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so, we will discuss safeguarding concerns with them and work together to support their child.

There are circumstances, however, where sharing information with a parent or carer before taking further action could increase the risk to a child or compromise an assessment or investigation. In these circumstances, information may be shared with the appropriate safeguarding professionals without prior parental notification.

Information Sharing

Safeguarding sometimes requires information to be shared between professionals.

All school staff have a responsibility to report concerns about a child's welfare, including concerns relating to neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation or other forms of harm.

Information will be shared lawfully, securely, sensitively and proportionately, and only with those who need the information to safeguard and support the child.

The school will follow current safeguarding guidance and local information-sharing arrangements when making decisions about sharing information.

Safeguarding Training

All staff receive safeguarding and child protection training on induction and regularly thereafter, in accordance with current statutory guidance.

Staff are expected to remain alert to signs that a child may be experiencing harm, abuse, neglect or exploitation and to understand how and when to report concerns.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead receive appropriate training and undertake regular updates in accordance with statutory requirements.

Staff Conduct and Professional Boundaries

All adults working at St Mary’s are expected to maintain high standards of professional conduct and to follow the school's Code of Conduct and safeguarding procedures.

Staff have a responsibility to report concerns about the behaviour or conduct of any adult working with children. Concerns about staff or volunteers should be reported in accordance with the school's safeguarding procedures.

Where the concern relates to the Headteacher, it should be reported to the Chair of Governors.

Our Commitment

Safeguarding is central to the life of St Mary’s. We are committed to continually reviewing and strengthening our safeguarding practice and to ensuring that our policies, procedures and training reflect current statutory guidance and best practice.

Through strong relationships between children, families, staff, governors, our parish and our partner agencies, we strive to create a school community where children feel safe, valued, respected and able to thrive.

If you have any questions about safeguarding at St Mary’s, please contact the school. We welcome constructive communication with parents and carers and are always happy to provide further information about our safeguarding arrangements.