Keeping children safe and promoting their welfare.
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined as protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
At Gillespie School all staff and governors take our responsibilities for safeguarding children very seriously and regularly review our policies and procedures. We work closely with parents and multi-agency services to ensure all our children are protected. We teach our children to keep themselves safe both within school and in the wider world including on the internet. We encourage increasing independence and self-discipline amongst our pupils and believe everyone within the school community has an important role to play in sharing responsibility for the development of excellent behaviour.
Safeguarding children is the responsibility of everyone and we want all staff to be proactive and to take steps they feel are necessary to keep children safe and well. These include;
Helping children to understand risk and how to keep themselves safe e.g. online
Promote respect between pupils and prevent bullying
Being vigilant to the signs that a child is at risk of harm and taking appropriate action
Work with parents to keep children safe and well
Listen to and believe the child and maintain a strong child focus at all times
The Headteacher Mark Owen and Deputy Headteacher Katrina Moses are the designated senior persons responsible for safeguarding.
Extremism and Radicalisation – Information for parents about preventing extremism and radicalisation to be read in conjunction with the school’s Child Protection Policy
Statement on safer recruitment practice: In line with KCSIE and safer recruitment practices, the school will conduct an online search for all shortlisted candidates. The online search is part of our safeguarding checks and will seek publicly available information on candidates’ suitability to work with children. Shortlisted candidates will be provided with further guidance and will be asked to clarify their online presence.