Keeping Children Safe

Child Protection and Safeguarding

The welfare of the children is paramount.

The safety and wellbeing of the children is the most important responsibility of the school.  Emersons Green Primary School recognises its responsibility to care for children and take appropriate action in case of suspected or reported child abuse.

Key systems for ensuring children are kept safe:

• To recognise that all staff have accountability in regard to Child Protection Procedures.
• To keep all staff informed about child protection procedures and issues.
• To provide a clear model for management in case of suspected or disclosed child abuse.
• To provide a model for open and effective communication between children and staff, parents, agencies and other adults working with children.
• To help children acquire skills and attitudes to both resist abuse in their own lives and to prepare them for responsibilities including parenthood in their own lives.
• To encourage children to make reasoned and informed choices, judgements and decisions.

Who can I talk to?

The school has a designated senior staff member responsible for co-ordinated action in cases of child protection both within and outside of the school.

The designated child protection lead is:

 Mr Karl Hemmings (Headteacher)

All staff, parents and visitors are to be aware of this person’s name and report concerns to him.

In the absence of the Head, the deputy designated child protection lead is:

Mrs Soraya Young (Deputy Headteacher)

In the absence of the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher, the most senior member of staff assumes this role.

There is a governor who oversees and monitors Safeguarding in the school:

Mrs Jo Bishop

The school will ensure there is a clear system of communication for channelling concerns and that there are no barriers to this communication.

All staff will read and follow Keeping-children-safe-in-education. In addition, the school follows the guidelines set out by the South Gloucestershire Children’s board – http://sites.southglos.gov.uk/safeguarding/ 

​Behaviour

Behaviour Principles

Good behaviour is that which conforms to the reasonable expectations and requirements of the school and is based on the need for physical safety, feelings of security and considering the needs and feelings of others – ‘treat others as you would like to be treated yourself’. 

This can best be achieved in the framework of a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere in which children are able to give of their best in all school life, as well as to be encouraged and stimulated to fulfil their potential.

Aims:

The aims and values of the school have been agreed by staff, governors, parents and pupils and are reviewed annually. These underpin all our policies. The 7 school values are:

Kindness, Enthusiasm, Respect, Inclusivity, Perseverance, Curiosity, Creativity

All members of the school community are expected to model and communicate these values through their behaviour. Demonstration of these values in children is directly linked to reward systems in school.

At Emersons Green Primary school we operate under a ‘no-blame’ approach to discipline and behaviour, not making judgements about behaviour incidents or individual pupils, but instead consistently following the behaviour policy.  We recognise that everyone makes the wrong choices at some time in their lives and believe that any effective behaviour system must be based on teaching children to learn from their mistakes and therefore become better citizens over time.

At Emersons Green we believe that positive behaviour should be the outcomes of positive, consistent and defined relationships between staff and pupils.

Principles:

• We, as the adults, always model calm, controlled and caring behaviour.
• Our attention as adults is focused first on those children who are behaving well.
• We define as a school what we will all consistently do: recognition, expectations, and routines.
• We make our expectations explicit through clear routines.
• We have 3 simple rules which are referred to in every discussion about conduct.

Our three rules are that everyone will be:

Ready

Respectful

Safe

All conversations with children about conduct will refer back to these 3 rules.  We have spent time discussing what each of these means in different contexts, so the children and adults in school are as clear as possible about what is expected.

Recognition of good behaviour and  rewards are an essential part of our approach to behaviour.  Staff will be making it their priority to recognise, praise and reward  those children meeting expectations.  Rewards will be in the form of:

• Verbal praise
• Stickers
• House Points (which contribute to a weekly  reward for the winning House)
• Green Cards (sent home on the day they are given)
• Rainbow Awards (given in weekly Celebration Assembly to children who have been consistently demonstrating our School Values.

We all know that managing and improving behaviour is a learning process.  Some children find this more challenging and will need more support.  At Emersons Green Primary School, we will ensure that the correct support is in place for those children who need it, so they can come to school successfully and are able to learn.