Safeguarding and Well-Being at BGPS

At Borough Green Primary School we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and well-being of all children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This means that we have specific procedures and a clearly defined Child Protection Policy in place.  All staff (including supply staff, volunteers and governors) must ensure that they are aware of these procedures. You can see a list of Policies relating to Safeguarding by clicking on the 'Policies' link which will take you to the Policies - including Child Friendly Policies page.

Roles and Responsibilities

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mr Joe Wheatley (Deputy Headteacher & SENCO Lead). Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are Mrs Karen Jackson (Headteacher) and Mrs Gretchen Hemsley (Infant Lead) and Ms Louise Dechaine (Family Liaison Officer).

Karen Jackson	Joe Wheatley	Gretchen Hemsley	Louise Dechaine

The Governors with responsibility for safeguarding in our school are Mrs Ingham and Mrs James.

The Designated Person for Looked After Children (LAC) is Mr Joe Wheatley who is also our Pupil Premium Lead, working in partnership with our FLO, Louise Dechaine.

Training

We believe that safeguarding risks can happen everywhere and remain ‘professionally curious’ at all times. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. All school staff are trained in Child Protection, and children are made aware of the adults they can talk to if they have any concerns. Staff are trained to look out for signs of physical/emotional harm or neglect and are required to report these to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).

Safeguarding is the prime concern of all our staff and especially the Governing Body.  Our Safeguarding/Child Protection Governors, Mrs Ingham and Mrs James, undertake a rigorous audit of practice and policies each year to ensure that all our safeguarding work is up to date.  School Leaders report to the whole governing body at termly meetings and agree further action points.  The DSL team meets weekly to monitor the well-being of all children.

All staff and Governors undertake annual safeguarding training which includes Child Protection information, safer recruitment, Health and Safety, risk assessments, medical issues, Channel and PREVENT (part of the Government's scheme to ensure that children and families are kept safe from radicalisation and extremism). Children will be supported with curriculum content suited to their age and ability. Some of this is identifiable from the curriculum plans, and other aspects come into areas such as Citizenship and Online Safety as well as national initiatives such as Anti-Bullying Week in November and Safer Internet Day in February each year.

We actively support the Government's Prevent Agenda to counter radicalism and extremism. 

British Values and the Prevent Duty

We recognise and celebrate the fact that we are held together by the shared human values of Respect & Tolerance, Individual Liberty, Democracy and Rule of Law.

At Borough Green Primary School, we support initiatives to reinforce ownership of these values. All staff are trained to recognise signs of radicalisation and extremism in line with the requirements of the Prevent Duty and Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Safer Working Practices

From first contact with the school, all adults working with children - school staff, visiting professionals, volunteers in school and student placements - are rigorously checked using the Disclosure and Barring service, the Disqualification by association documents and, for all staff, references are collated, and for teachers, the online prohibition check is completed. Vacancies are advertised in accordance with safeguarding principles and Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE 2023). A detailed document - the school central record - is kept updated and contains all statutory evidence.

The school has a range of safeguarding documents: policies, procedures and recommendations. This includes the Local Authority's Safeguarding Self-Review which is completed annually. These are all held in the Headteacher's office. There is a visitors ipad for all to sign in, and a Safeguarding at BGPS leaflet which we have produced.  All visitors must sign in and wear a badge with a red lanyard and visiting professionals will be expected to show and wear their photo ID badge provided by their employer.  Everyone is reminded it is a criminal offence to seek work whether paid or voluntary, having been barred or convicted of offences and deemed unsuitable to work with children.

Domestic Violence

                                         

Kent Local Authority has worked closely with Kent Police to set up a new system for early reporting of domestic violence. The following is information for parents relating to this area:

To provide school safeguarding leads with information relating to children that have been involved in, or witnessed, a domestic abuse incident. The provision of this information is to ensure that the appropriate care and welfare is in place for the child whilst they are at school.

This may mean talking to pupils about their experiences, raising awareness through classroom discussion and schools activities, helping victims and families by providing to them signposting information.

This school is committed to protecting children and young people and working with partners to stop domestic abuse.  

Photographs and Videos

We want to celebrate the special experiences we offer our children at Borough Green. We are mindful of our duty of care towards all our pupils. We take the issue of safeguarding very seriously and this includes the use of photographic and video images. Any photographs or videos taken by parents, carers and relatives at school productions, sports days, or other events are for the enjoyment of individual families. They must not be used in any way that could potentially place a child at risk. This would include publishing images in any form of print or on the internet including social networking sites. This is emphasised before concerts and productions.

We understand that in exceptional circumstances a parent or carer may not wish their child to be photographed or videoed in this way. If this is the case then please contact the headteacher to discuss how this can be best achieved or complete the Permissions document given to all parents at the beginning of the school year.

Online Safety and Safeguarding discussion topics with pupils

Online safety is covered frequently in many different areas of the curriculum including computing lessons and PHSE and RSE and is also the focus of Safer Internet Day in February every year.  Our PHSE curriculum includes lessons on bullying, road safety, safety during school holidays, personal boundaries and mental health.  In addition to lessons, we organise visitors and workshops to highlight important issues. We were pleased to welcome our local Community Warden, Sandra Edmonds, in October when she spoke to KS1 about Stranger Danger – her PowerPoint presentation can be viewed here: : Stranger Danger - Borough Green October 23.pptx.  Other visitors who come frequently to run workshops are the NSPCC, the Fire Service and the NHS.

If you have a query or concern regarding the safety of a child, please email asking your concern to be forwarded to a member of the Safeguarding Team:

school.office@bgpschool.kent.sch.uk

If you have concerns about the immediate safety of a child, please contact the police on 999; telephone the school or contact Kent County Council. The Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-Agency Partnership (KSCMP) can be contacted at kscmp@kent.gov.uk or on their out of hours number 03000 41 91 91 or online https://www.kscmp.org.uk/guidance/worried-about-a-child

Useful Safeguarding Websites

The PANTS / Underwear rule – guidance for parents on how to talk to your child about keeping themselves safe from sexual abuse.

CEOPs Thinkuknow - Thinkuknow is the education programme from NCA-CEOP, a UK organisation which protects children both online and offline.

Childline - a free, private and confidential service where you can talk about anything. Whatever your worry, whenever you need help, we're here for you online, on the phone, anytime.

NSPCC - stands for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. It means that each of us has a responsibility to keep childhood free from abuse, and we must do everything possible to protect children and prevent it from happening.

 Anti-Bullying Alliance - The Anti-Bullying Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals that are united against bullying.

Well-Being and Mental Health

Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community (World Health Organisation).  

At BGPS we aim to promote positive mental health for every member of our staff and pupils. We believe that good mental health is the most important prerequisite for pupils to fulfil their potential. 

The starting point for learning is a positive ethos and climate of respect and safety based upon shared values across the school community, including amongst parents, pupils and staff.

We believe that supporting children to manage and overcome anxiety is vitally important; we want them to be able to take risks, not to miss opportunities due to a fear of failure, to develop resilience, cope with setbacks, contribute positively to lessons, to think for themselves, to be curious, to question, to speak up, to nurture healthy relationships, and to find peace in natural surroundings.

We pursue this aim using both universal, whole school approaches and specialised, targeted approaches aimed at vulnerable pupils. In addition to promoting positive mental health, we aim to recognise and respond to ill mental health. In an average classroom, three children will be suffering from a diagnosable mental health issue.  Pupils can be affected both directly and indirectly by mental ill health and we want our school to be a safe and stable environment in which it is ok to struggle and where meaningful support is available.

Every classroom has a Zones of Regulation corner.  These all display the four zones of being – an easy way to think and talk about how we feel on the inside and the sorts of emotions everyone experiences.

                                                

Children use lolly sticks to show which zone they are in at various point across the school day and may use the corner to take a few minutes away from activities in order to self-regulate.  We teach our children a variety of methods for self-regulation such as breathing techniques, wiggle walks and having a drink of water. Children are encouraged to use their own personalised ‘toolkit’ of tried and trusted methods for self-regulation.  We want children to understand that there are not good and bad emotions: all emotions are valid and tell us important information about our feelings and needs.

If your child has experienced chat that has made them feel uncomfortable or someone is trying to meet up with them, you can report this directly to CEOP using the button below.