Safeguarding at LCPS

Procedures and responsibilities

We are sometimes asked who is responsible in school for child protection and our answer is very simple: everyone.  Child Protection is a shared responsibility, and the document Working Together to Safeguard Children says “the action we take to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm - is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play.” (HM Government, 2013). 

In practice, this means that although people in schools have different, specific roles, we all have a responsibility to make sure children are kept safe from harm. 

Procedures

1. If a member of staff has concerns about the safety or welfare of a child, he or she will make written notes on to a form called “Log of Concern about a Child’s Welfare.”  This is a standard form supplied to all schools by the Local Authority.  Basic, factual information will be recorded on this form and it will be passed immediately to one of the Designated Persons for Child Protection.

    

2. The Designated Person will then decide on the course of action to be taken.  Usually, we will meet straight away to discuss the situation before we make a decision.  If we are unsure of how to proceed, we can either telephone the Education Child Protection Service for advice – they have a direct telephone helpline staffed during the day in term time – or we can conduct a “what if?” A “what-if” is where we telephone Children’s Services Contact Centre, and present the situation without naming anyone involved.  They will then advise us of the next steps or put us through to a Social worker to discuss things in more detail.

    

3. Our decisions about what to do really depend on the situation we have, but our priority is always to do whatever is best to ensure the safety of the child or children involved.