At Balshaw Lane, we take safeguarding very seriously. We take the following actions as part of our safeguarding culture:

• apply safer recruitment procedures when selecting new staff
• train all our staff annually
• keep up to date with new potential safeguarding risks 
• fully risk-assess school buildings, activities and educational visits
• encourage our pupils and staff to speak out about any safeguarding concerns
• teach the children, through Computing and PSHE, about online safety
• follow up any concerns re child-on-child abuse with a zero tolerance approach
• participate in Operation Encompass
• liaise with agencies to support children as part of the Lancashire Continuum of Need

Ms Gregson is the main DSL and Mr Woodrow is the back-up DSL.

Mrs Wildig, our SENCO, has also received DSL training.

“The children’s wellbeing is looked after.  My child feels confident in talking to teachers if she is unhappy.”

“Supporting children’s and family wellbeing in and out of school.”

“Creating a safe and positive environment for all children, guiding them to achieve excellence.”

Parents' Questionnaire comments, Autumn 2023.

Operation Encompass

All schools in Lancashire participate in a safeguarding project, called Operation Encompass, which is run in partnership with Lancashire Police. The project aims to support children who are affected by domestic abuse.

Following a domestic abuse incident attended by Lancashire Police, at which children from our school were present, the police will notify us early the next morning and prior to the start of the school day. This enables us to offer support or whatever is needed to any child arriving at school.

Each school has a member of staff (key adult) who is trained to liaise with the police, when required, whilst ensuring support is available to the child.

The key adult in our school is Ms Gregson, with the second key adult being Mr Woodrow.

We are committed to providing the best possible care and support for all our pupils.

If you would like to speak to someone further about the Operation Encompass project or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Gregson via the school office.

Prevent 

The Prevent duty requires all education providers ‘to help prevent the risk of people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism’. This includes safeguarding learners from extremist ideologies and radicalisation. Protecting pupils from the risk of radicalisation is part of the school’s wider safeguarding duties.

Extremism refers to the vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. Extremism also includes calling for the death of members of the armed forces. Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and extremist ideologies associated with terrorist groups.

Staff and governors are trained to identify risk factors and signs of radicalisation. When necessary, further advice may be sought and/or referrals made to the police. 

We will engage with parents and families, as they are in a key position to spot signs of radicalisation. In doing so, we will assist and advise family members who raise concerns and provide information for support mechanisms. Any concerns over radicalisation will be discussed with the pupil’s parents, unless the school has reason to believe that the child would be placed at risk as a result.

Safeguarding support for children and families

Children, need help? You can ask Childline for help. You can call, chat or email. There's a video you can watch about what happens when you contact Childline: https://www.childline.org.uk/get-support/

Parents:

The internet is a fantastic place overflowing with knowledge, games and communities of people, and, just like pupils across the country, the pupils here at Balshaw Lane CP School spend a great deal of time using the internet within school and at home.  This is why it is important pupils learn how to be safe when browsing online and becoming members of online communities.

We use the SWGfL 360 tool for evaluating and improving our online provision. We have gained our 'committed to Safety Online' certificate.

We have planned our Computing curriculum to ensure that we teach the children about Online Safety. We support this teaching with discussion, assemblies and visual reminders around school. As technology moves on, we review our teaching accordingly. For example, we teach children about the dangers of new apps as these develop.

During Anti-Bullying Week in November, we teach the children about how bullying or dangers can happen online. In particular, we remind them to tell an adult if they receive a direct message, image or request for an image from a stranger. Increasingly, children are seeing these as 'normal', like junk mail , so we need to highlight their dangers. Additionally, children need to know not to send unfriendly or rude messages to each other which may cause friendship issues or embarrass others. 

We encourage parents not to allow their children to access social media until they are at least 13, as recommended. We remind parents about the dangers of allowing their children to play online games beyond their age and about posting on YouTube. 

Parents play a key part in keeping the children safe. The links below provide a lot of support for parents and carers:

NSPCC https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/

Childline https://www.childline.org.uk/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm8rT7-nT-wIVyNPtCh3CsAB6EAAYASAAEgJ9nvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Childnet resources.  http://www.childnet.com/resources

Safer Internet Centre https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/

Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Assurance Partnership (CSAP) https://www.safeguardingpartnership.org.uk/

LSCB Online Safeguarding http://www.lancashiresafeguarding.org.uk/online-safeguarding.aspx

A guide from Google to show parents how they can protect your family online.
http://www.google.co.uk/safetycenter/families/start/

Children's online safety test

https://www.virginmedia.com/blog/online-safety/childrens-internet-safety-test/

YouTube Safety Centre - http://www.youtube.com/yt/policyandsafety/safety.html

The Cybersmile Foundation website (The Cyberbullying Charity) http://www.cybersmile.org/

The BBC website has help & support for children re online safety.
https://www.bbc.com/ownit/curations/staying-safe

'The Parents' and Carers' Guide to the Internet', has been created by CEOP to provide a light hearted and realistic look at what it takes to be a better online parent.
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/parentsguide/

Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (CEOP): report a concern https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/

"The Parents Guide to Technology from the UK Safer Internet Centre has been created to answer these questions and introduce some of the most popular devices, highlighting the safety tools available and empowering parents with the knowledge they need to support their children to use these technologies safely and responsibly".
http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology

How to set up the parental controls offered by your internet provider (UK Safer Internet Centre) http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parental-controls

Protecting your child against extremism online http://familiesmatter.org.uk/extremism-online-protecting-your-children/ 

"I wanted to say how impressed I have been with the information my child has been given regarding strangers. I was unaware she had been learning about this until it came out while we were playing together.
She was pretending to be a teacher asking me questions about what I should do if someone asked me my name, where I lived etc. She corrected me when I gave the wrong answers and told me the correct things to do in different situations that she had obviously been taught.

A brilliant insight into her time at school!"

Email from a Y1 parent, Autumn 2022.